We All Thaw This Coming | ORC Invasion of Rhen Var

[Sol Stazi]

​

FIREBIRD​

ONE HOUR AGO​

​

"Let me make sure I've got this straight. You expect us to sacrifice some of our best warriors so they can go on some damn fool idealistic treasure hunt?"

Captain Stazi couldn't believe what he was hearing. This is why wars were won by soldiers, not Jedi.

"That is exactly what I expect you to do," Admiral Garak glared at him for speaking out of turn, "Seldom do the Aing-Tii speak in anything save cryptic riddles, but on this matter their emissary was quite clear. We must not allow the Sith Emperor or his agents to recover what lies underneath Rhen Var's surface."

Sol opened his mouth to tell Garak where he could shove his 'expectations', but Major Sunfell placed a firm hand on his shoulder. A ghostly conclave of holoimages were arrayed before the two Twilight Company officers, senior representatives from both the Underground and Alliance High Command. He couldn't believe they were now basing their strategy on the word of some mystics.

"Your mission remains unchanged," General [member="Coren Starchaser"] aboard the FarStar carrier Stormbreaker interjected, "Launch for the surface, deploy by grav chute and TT-48s once you're over the target. Starfighter support will clear the worst of their air defenses ahead of time, but there is no denying this is a high risk jump. As soon as you've landed, make for the network access facility we believe we've identified."

"Priorities?" Major Sunfell asked.

"Fleet movements, weapons projects, Jedi prison camps, anything you can get your hands on."

"Understood," Lyra nodded, "May the Force be with you, Master Jedi."

"And with you."

DREYPA'S PEAK​

PRESENT​

​

Sol plunged his vibroknife into the Sith-Imperial legionnaire's chest.

An explosion went off behind him, some kind of power generator that had overloaded either by sabotage or merely as collateral damage. It was like a flare in the night, bathing the rebel commando's bloodied features in a burnt orange glow while he stood over his kill. Captain Stazi had lost his rifle during the jump, and as soon as he landed had found himself locked in a hand to hand fight to the death with a pair of Sith sentries. It could have been worse, a lot of brave young men and women hadn't even survived the drop.

Everything had gone wrong from the moment they had arrived. Rhen Var's orbit was supposed to be sparsely defended, but it had taken all of the combined skill aboard the Firebird to evade total destruction at the hands of multiple Sith dreadnoughts. There was no time to abort, so by General Starchaser's command they had launched anyway. Now here Captain Stazi was, armed only with his heavy blaster and knife, separated from his unit in a nest of vipers.

​

​

Raiders of the Fallen Star - Although neither side yet realizes it, both the Empire and Coalition are locked in a race to uncover the Fell Star, an ancient Force imbued artifact powerful enough to turn the tide for whoever claims it. Sealed away deep within a lost Jedi city underneath the ice, tormented spirits and foul subterranean creatures stand between you and glory.

Operation Bangarang - Seeking to take the Sith's overwhelming defenses by surprise, small but elite infiltration teams have been dispatched to Dreypa's Peak, seat of Imperial power on Rhen Var. Attempting to breach the network access facility so they might obtain intel to use against the Sith, by the time the Emperor arrives the operation is already underway and it is too late to abort.

Scum and Villainy - Worship of the Jedi religion is illegal in this part of the galaxy, and that means the black market for relics is booming. Tomb raiders are common, so all recovered artifacts of value have been stored in a secure warehouse on Dreypa's Peak while they await transport to Bastion. Scoundrels and opportunists are taking advantage of the chaos to attempt a break in.


LOCATION HEADERS

Spoiler

​

​

​

​

​

 

[Coren Starchaser]

Alliance-in-Exile FarStar Corvette Stormbreaker​

One Hour Ago​

There was a time when the Jedi Master was one of the former Commanders of the Galactic Alliance, serving under Nemo Ven to keep the growing military organized. Now, the man who was there from the beginning was serving as the General of the supporters of the ideals of the Alliance. And today, he was supporting a team from the Alliance and Outer Rim Coalition in their pursuits of assisting the Aing-Tii’s emissary.

He was here to support the team, and that was saying something. Moving back from the galaxy at large to assist with a particular task. Granted, it was obvious why he was here. The Jedi were able to handle themselves as they stood, with the Silvers working hard to assist with the greater goals, but this was going straight for the Sith. Starchaser was well known in the galaxy, especially within the Jedi and Sith conflict in the galaxy.

The focus here was to remove the Jedi artifact, but the Alliance forces had a lot of history against the Sith Empire. And taking the time to dismantle part of the war machine, and provide the Jedi the chance to hit back was more than enough reason for this mission to go forward the way it should. His hands felt the metal of the amulet given to him by [member="Celeste Rigel"], and made his way to the armory, where his light armor was waiting.

Operation Raiders of the Fell Star​

Ancient Jedi City Entrance​

He understood where his comrades were up in arms with regard to the attack, but the Coalition had a point and purpose. When an Aing-Tii said to jump, and in a direct fashion, you jumped. Coren Starchaser had made his way to the system’s surface and knew he had a different path than the commander of the Twilight Squadron. With their fighters overhead, Starchaser knew he was heading into the belly of the beast.

Light Alliance armor with a designation that had him as not only a General, but to those who understood the stripes, a charter member of the Galactic Alliance, and a member of the Shattered Order, blue and white field, with blood red in the foreground. On his back was a GADF Rifle, and on his hip was his lightsaber pike’s hilt, compressed to look like a standard lightsaber.

“Starchaser to Raiders, keep your eyes open. The City is… teeming.” The Dark Side was here, and he was hoping that they knew he was here and that would give the team the peace they would need. The Jedi Master was stepping ahead of his strike team and put a hand up for them to hold. As he did, he grabbed his lightsaber with the other hand.

Someone was here.

And he felt someone familiar

 

[Darth Carnifex]

A scream cut through the air, cut short as the owner slammed hard into the wall behind him. He stumbled forward, one foot coming awkwardly in front of the other as he groped for his weapon that was no longer within his reach. Suddenly, a monstrously large blade of pure Mandalorian iron speared his abdomen, slicing through durasteel, flesh, bone, durasteel again, and finally, the turadium wall behind him as the sheer force from the weapon’s passing pinned him against it.

The blade was attached to a linked chain that grew slack as the weapon rested embedded in the wall, only to grow taut once more as the blade was torn free from the corpse. It spiraled backward through the air before connecting with a large rod, clamps reengaged to keep the blade firmly connected with the hilt once again. The hand that held the weapon spun it around and pressed it against a completely identical weapon, both sides fusing seamlessly into one singular tool of war.

Letting his weapon fall to his side, the Emperor of the Sith surveyed his surrounding with no little measure of disdain; though his expression was hidden behind the leering helmet that encapsulated his head. “Crownguard, to me!” All around the Emperor came his trusted personal guard, segmented red plastoid armor covering a black body glove while lightsaber pikes crackled and cast red shadows over everything.

“Sweep this fortress clean of infestation!”

[member="Ao Xian"]​

 

[Jend-Ro Quill]

Dreypa's Peak
Operation Bangarang
Allies: [member="Sol Stazi"] [member="Kyle Farnes"] [member="Arcanus Sunstrider"] [member="Tera Highwind"] [member="Janick Beauchamp"]
Enemies: [member="Darth Morbus"] [member="Darth Carnifex"] [member="Ao Xian"] [member="Kaine Australis"]


They offered Quill a choice between a grav chute and a seat on a crowded, noisy TT-48. He picked the chute immediately. He'd never jumped before.

The gigantic fortress offered its share of nooks and crannies, most of them too cold to linger in. Quill hunkered down between a statue and a turadium wall. It seemed as good a place as any to focus on his shaky breathing and wait for his hands to stop twitching. He brushed snow off the lightsaber that he'd dropped, once on touchdown and again just a few seconds ago. He'd worked in the kind of circuits that let it operate underwater - a handy feature for a borderline hermit who spent his time in swamps and forests - so the snow wouldn't hurt it. But cleaning something helped with the nerves, so he wiped every bit of snow out of the belt ring and the blade emitter. People ran by, maybe allies, maybe Sith troops. They didn't see him crouched between the statue and the wall, and he didn't move.

“Five things you can see,” he muttered under his breath, as his heart kept hammering. “Saber, snowdrift, statue, sky… wall. Four things you can hear. Shot, scream, sabers... heartbeat. Three things you can touch. Stone, steel, snow. Two things you can smell. Smoke, ozone. One thing you can feel. Sith.”

He held out a hand and watched his fingers. They were less than perfectly still, but he felt better, more in control. His breathing got more regular. He turned on the blue saber and stepped out onto the frigid stone walkway.

The Force said thattaway. He went thattaway.

 

[Janick Beauchamp]

Objective: Penetrate the Sith network
Equipment: Scramble key, datapad, data spike, armor, lightsabers
Allies: ORC [member="Sol Stazi"] [member="Kyle Farnes"] [member="Tera Highwind"] [member="Jend-Ro Quill"] [member="Arcanus Sunstrider"]
Enemies: Sith [member="Darth Carnifex"] [member="Kaine Australis"] [member="Valdus Bral"] [member="Adenn Kyramud"] [member="Aedan Miles"] [member="Strider Garon"] [member="Ao Xian"]
Engaging: [member="Sebastian Thel"] (eventually)

One hour ago​

Firebird​

Admiral Garak sent Twilight Company, as well as other ORC operatives, on a mission whose global objective was not to let the Sith Emperor or his agents recover what lies beneath Rhen Var's surface, but Janick was perhaps a curious choice on slicing duty. Sure, Janick wasn't completely inept with computers, but tinkering with hardware, as was done when alchemizing devices such as the HoldoModem that became the Utai Mental Modem (and hence had the same firmware as the base device), was not the same as tinkering with software. That, even though Janick had clear memories of teaching Memory Rub and Drain Knowledge to someone in computing-intensive terms surfacing. The Alliance High Command somehow deemed that I was of better use slicing a network in some high-level Sith facility than in any starfighter capacity, maybe because they believed that the Sith's starfighter forces were stretched thinly enough for the regulars to engage without having to rely on the elites, or maybe because they thought that there were enough transferrable skills between alchemizing computer hardware and slicing to be worth the risk. But such was the risk of serving in the naval reserve, she thought, before making the jump by grav chute just after Sol Stazi did his.

Present time​

Dreypa's Peak​

From her spaceborne experience, she knew that the need for the Firebird to evade multiple dreadnoughts and hence force a premature jump on both their part and Coren's part would raise some questions regarding where the main ORC fleet was, beyond the partially faulty intel. Where the frak is Therapy Command? That fleet seemed to be a unit the Sith, and also the First Order previously, tended to tread lightly around on a battlefield even when the conditions appeared to be favorable to them, and they would have engaged those dreadnoughts from below and/or aft. Or maybe it didn't engage yet until enemy reinforcements would come, or some such thing... she thought, while in the grav chute, with her equipment securely fastened to her armor as she made her descent through the planet's cold atmosphere. And she refrained from using the Force on hostiles while on the descent because she feels it would compromise the entire operation: while Griet saved her hide in a secret operation on Shusugaunt, here she would not assume anyone else would do so for her. And, combined to the cold temperature, her nervousness made her tremble inside her suit of armor.

It was a good thing that she landed on top of a snow drift: the drift was able to amortize the impact of the fall, which even with a grav chute, could still be felt on a body wearing armor. She felt some pain in the lower back, but nothing that she couldn't endure on her way to the Peak proper. The computing portion is all down to me now, she thought, while realizing that among the "lot of brave young men and women" that didn't survive the jump were her backup if things went awry with the enemy systems. Plus she wasn't even sure if the Sith operated on a bring-your-own-device basis, so she assumed that it wasn't the case, and she'd rather not get started on the slicing portion until she arrived at the nearest terminal. For now, she just got up from the gall and went under Force-powered cloak and she needed to make sure the tracks of her arrival could be hideable under the windy conditions as she made her quiet, invisible approach towards the Peak, and maybe form up with additional operatives that survived the jump before making the entry inside the facility through one of those nooks and crannies that may as well be some HVAC conduit.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

​

Objective: Delve greedily and deeply at the Jedi city
Equipment: In signature
Allies: Sith
Enemies: Rabbits [member="Coren Starchaser"]

When the initial survey team for this site had vanished, it had piqued the Lady of Secrets' interest. If the same had occurred on a world like Korriban or Ziost or Upekzar or Oricon or, well any of the Sith holy worlds, the loss would have been written off as falling prey to those world's usual dangers. But Rhen Var... the only thing dangerous on the world was the cold, and while the cold could kill, that didn't explain the rather sudden abrupt silence. Something had been awoken by the survey team, and if some sort of guardian or guardians had been disturbed... well that just meant there was something very valuable, powerful, or dangerous hidden within the ancient Jedi city that had been discovered in the ice and snow.

In that regard, the Lady of Secrets had personally led the next expedition to the city, conveniently landing at a discovered entrance on the other side of where Coren and his forces were gathering, but if she had known that Rhen Var was about to be attacked, she would have brought far more forces. Or she would have stayed at home with her wife and daughter. As it was...

"Bloody Jedi," she grumbled. Order of Shadows Adepts, her personal followers, were with her along with Sith-Imperial Legionaries. She could sense him again, that constant thorn in the side of the Sith that she was very tempted to stop playing with and just outright kill at this rate. Converting him into a Child of the Emperor might be amusing, but her patience with Coren had just about run its course. "Keep the skies here clear, don't let a single enemy fighter or shuttle land here," she ordered a cohort of the Legionaries. The rest would come with her and her Adepts as they entered the city.

She could feel corruption below, which made her smile, if thinly, as it could be a useful weapon in what was going to be a struggle. But it was the maelstrom in the currents of the Force that were most interesting, and its epicenter would be the prize.

 

[Darth Morbus]

Allies: [member="Darth Carnifex"] [member="Ao Xian"] [member="Kaine Australis"] [member="Taeli Raaf"]​

Enemies: [member="Jend-Ro Quill"] [member="Sol Stazi"] [member="Kyle Farnes"] [member="Arcanus Sunstrider"] [member="Tera Highwind"] [member="Janick Beauchamp"]​

​

​

​

Basking in the Sith Emperor's presence...​

​

Slinking behind the hulking forms of the Sith Emperor and his Crownguard, dressed in stained and torn robes, Darth Morbus smiled with pointed teeth. He enjoyed watching the death, the waves of fear and defeat that wafted from those departing the mortal realm, even as the spatter of blood and gore excited him. The relatively tall, yet thoroughly thin and long limbed, Twi'lek Sith Lord looked toward his Sith Emperor with hooded eyelids that were darkened by sickness and dark power. Seeing the galvanizing leader in all his glory, leading his sentients into battle dressed in such dread armor and wielding weapons the size of small individuals, only helped restore some luster to the decrepit Twi'lek.

"Ka, ka, ji si'ines cahsinark clanan," Morbus chortled to himself in Ryl, smiling even more so with his pointed teeth, as his yellow eyes flashed across the corpse against the wall. "The Sith Emperor leads the way. Onward, onward. Ka, ka..."

Despite the energy and auras, the fervor and tangible excitement, Morbus could only manage a mildly fast walk assisted by his walking cane in his left hand. The dark wooden handle was clasped within long, spindly fingers ended with sharp nails, even as the Sith began coughing while following in his fellow's wake. He would need to seek living energy soon, before the sickness within threatened to begin hindering his physicality more than it was, or else Morbus would be of little-to-no use in the battle to come. Already his lungs were struggling, every breath a challenge, his ragged exhales obvious as to his decaying form. The shaking would begin next, then the joint stiffness and finally more skin turning to scabrous flakes... but not if he drained the life force of another, held the disease within at bay, borrowed more time.

Hobbling behind the large crimson armored soldiers ahead, Morbus drew his lightsaber in his right hand, the dark and corrupt weapon feeling like an extension of his body - ruined as it was. Yet, ever one to be curious, the Sith paused beside the corpse left by Darth Carnifex, before crouching to look into the dead eyes of the sentient. The Twi'lek inclined his head, his thin and dissected lekku twitching, as he reached out and poked the oozing blood that covered the torso. He toyed with the slick substance between thumb and forefinger, smiling with cracked lips, before he stood and continued after his Emperor.

"The Jedi are close, the light side is undeniably present," Morbus muttered in a guttural voice, coarse from exertion. "It will be a delicious feast. Amho'uk bei..."

Licking the blood from his fingers, the pallid Twi'lek walked on, following Carnifex and his guards with cane clacking on the ground...

 

[Kimiko Taiyou]

Aboard the bridge of AIN Nagato​

Combined Akaran and Coalition Fleet​

30 minutes ago, just outside of the Rhen Var System​

​

The Firebird and accompanying strike group launched from the staging point, leaving the amassed fleets waiting their turn, if they got it. It didn't stop the troops from running over their last minute checks, drills for all sorts of situations, honing their skills. Akaran and Coalition Marines moved together while their officers poured over topography maps and intel. Pilots from all walks of life assisted their maintenance crews in preparing the multitude ships across the fleet. All around was the camaraderie and bond that brought these groups together. Chika surveyed the vast hanger of her new ship with pride, the Akaran Supreme Commander had some whimsical flashbacks of her imperial days. The fond memories caused her to crack an unusual smile.

The moment was not meant to last however, as an alarm sounded, followed by a summons from the bridge for her specifically. It took her no time to reach the centrally located command center,"Status?" She barked, looking for an update. Her second in command snapped to attention and relayed the message,"Ma'am, the strike group ran into heavier defenses than anticipated, their advance has stalled, requesting immediate assistance." Chika's crimson eyes, got a certain look in them and her bridge crew knew what was coming.

"Open fleet comm across all channels." A pause,"All vessels, prepare to jump. All hands man your stations! Pilots, prepare your fighters to launch! Bring all shields and weapons up. Ground troops, stand-by for further instructions. We're going in!"

​

Rhen Var orbit​

Present​

​

The battle raged above the planet. Smaller ships crisscrossed through the larger vessels as the space between was slashed with multi-colored laser fire. Coalition and allied vessels were in close combat with their Imperial counterparts, trading shots, and slugging it out.

Objective (currently): Keep the Imperial fleets occupied​

Allies: ORC and any on our side​

Enemies: Sith and any on their side​

(feel free to play with me!)​

 

[Yula Perl]

Location: Jedi City
Objective: Retrieve the Fell Star with Old Men
With: [member="Zef Halo"] | [member="Mav Vohaloveer"]
Allies: [member="Coren Starchaser"] | ORC
Enemies: TSE

​

​

The Outer Rim Coalition wasn’t known for full-scale assaults. They weren’t known for their structured, militant strength. They weren’t known as conquerors. Hell, whenever they came out on top, there was a lot of head scratching.

Yula peeked out from the pillar she’d taken shelter behind, a great mass of duracrete anchored lopsidedly into the ice. At first the question was, “Why Rhen Var?” and the answer was, “To take the Fell Star”.

And to poke the bear. With a big, pointy stick. They’d done it before, but not like this. Not with fleets and warriors and hired guns, but then again that’s what the Coalition was—a motley crew of smugglers, bounty hunters, mechanics, junkyard dogs, Jedi, and anyone else who wanted to join in.

Yula fumbled with the comm in her helmet as Coren’s voice filtered through, wondering if she should have worn thicker armor. “Yeah, that’s a word for it. Hey, you find the Fell Star yet by any chance?” Already she could sense more dark siders than she’d ever come across and it made her nervous. This whole thing made her nervous, but Yula never let something like gut feelings stop her. The little spider droid clinging to her back trilled in agreement, it’s sensors lighting up with heat signatures, friendly and hostile. The droid was a pet project of Yula’s, a way for her to explore basic mechanics and test her technopathy. It was a miniature stripped-down version of it's war-like predecessors, capable of only lifeform scanning and fielding a small blaster mounted onto it's back. “It’s okay, Emily.” She reached back to pat the baby droid on its head. “We’ll be okay, right grandpa, Uncle Mav?”

She turned to face the two old men who fate had paired her with on this ice ball of a planet, one of them being her smuggler of a grandfather. The other, more recent addition, was her Uncle Mav. Yula didn’t know that she had an Uncle Mav until today, but decided that she liked him.

“Emily will help us get the Fell Star, but watch out. Sometimes she shorts out, and one time she exploded. But that won't happen today, right?”

Emily chirped when she heard her name, just happy to be apart of the team.

 

[Ardasz Verd]

It was all wrong, and that was what made it so damn funny. Tactically speaking, the most defensible position on a given world was a foolish target. When that world was Rhen Var, a planet which a thousand lifetimes ago had been thrust into an eternal ice age, that situation only seemed to compound itself. For anyone else in the Galaxy, those seemed like terrible odds.

Ardasz liked those odds.

Any chance a Mando had to poke holes in the strategies and fortifications of a perceived "superior force" was like walking a child through a candy store. They never said "no," and they wanted everything. He sat eagerly in the dropship next to all the Coalition troops, some nervous about their mission, some just ready to do their duty.

And he just couldn't wipe the smirk off his face. Buy'ce, Ard. Game face. He had to remember this wasn't just a game for these people. This was life and death. It was something with real consequences. No matter how much humor he found in their plight, he had to respect that.

He pulled the helmet over his head, and Ardasz Verd became the Faceless Warrior his people were renown for being.

Today, he'd settled on Ol' Reliable mag-locked to the back of his armor as an insurance policy. It was a far cry from his custom loadout, but he'd been financing the work for months and this job was the ticket to the credits he would need to put the finishing touches on his 'gam. In lieu of the bulkier beskar'kandar, he wore a plain suit of less impressive armor that would do the trick, for now.

He held Bwatha in both hands as they exited the ship, all hurrying to their rally points. The drive inward would be like a blood sink, he reckoned. If the Sith had any acumen at all, they'd either defend it through siege combat, or they'd filter the ORC forces through the main gate and whittle down their numbers bit by bit.

In his experience, Sith were almost always too brazen not to give into bravado.

Were they just... letting them in so they could showcase their superior might? "Hah!" Ardasz couldn't help but laugh. Kad, he loved days like today. He raised the rifle and glanced down iron sights, looking over the heads of his allies and into the frozen fortress. "Alright, most of the enemy is engaging," he mused. "Give it two minutes..."

Then toss the Thermal. At least then I can say I minimalized allied casualties.

 

[Cyran Vaas]

Location: Dreypas Peak​

Objective: Scum and Villainy​

​

In route to Rhen Var​

​

It was a bit of a risky game Cyran was playing today. Many would see it as him double crossing two whole factions at the same time. When he first got into bounty hunting for galactic factions it seemed as though The Sith Empire was the way to go, they didn't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon and were violent enough to hire people like him. However, the interest of spooky space wizards and their hokey religions wasn't the same was a man of money like himself. Cyran believed that the Coalition provided a good enough alternative. Plus when he got word on just how valuable old Jedi relics were he was felt this would be an opportunity he wouldn't want to pass up. The thing was, he wasn't sure who else had the same idea.

​

​

Present Time at Dreypas Peak​

​

It was certainly hectic, he didn't know that the coalition could put up such a fight. Then again he figured anyone could if they were determined enough to do so. But like most conflicts Cyran couldn't really care less about the politics surrounding this one. It gave him something to do and that was good enough for him. However, he did feel like he had one, really good advantage, he looked like a Mandalorian. Since The Sith Empire was allied with the Mandalorians he was able to almost painfully easily to make his way to his destination. Even if he wasn't the only Mando on his side.

With a bit of confidence he moved with a casual stride to his destination which was somewhat away from all the action. Maybe this job wouldn't be so difficult after all. He just hoped that no real Mandalorians confronted him as they'd most likely kick his pretty teeth in. One for being an enemy. Two, and probably most importantly, being a walking insult to their culture. He was only somewhat lucky with the last Mandalorian he came across. Which he failed in his confrontation but her biological clock was ticking and he hyped her up on lovey dovey pheromones, so she didn't kill him, she just married him.

 

[Jerec Asyr]

ENEMY: [member="Vanessa Vantai"]

TASK FORCE SCARLET:

• Commander: Admiral Sulik Aviccu, Outer Rim Coalition
• Nebula II-class Star Destroyer designated D1
• Majestic II-class heavy cruisers designated M1 through M3
• Sacheen II-class escort frigates designated K1 through K3
• Nagata-class heavy corvettes designated X1 and X2
• Total capital length: 5000m

TF Scarlet comprised some very, very nice boats. Of all the roles that Jerec had to play on this cruise, chronicler was going to be his favourite. In every spare minute he found himself sketching REC structural supports or noting component suppliers.

Now, granted, he didn't have much in the way of spare time. Hadn't for three days, as TF Scarlet geared up for the final approach to the Rhen Var system and breached the Sith borders. And today he found himself especially busy as captain and acting helmsman for the Nagata-class corvette X1. It had another name in a language whose consonant patterns he couldn't pronounce; all these ships did, thanks to some aggressive REC marketing in a truly wonky part of the Outer Rim. He didn't even know what species Admiral Aviccu represented, but that was life in the Coalition.

The task force hit realspace at some distance from the initial insertion, far enough away that long-range weapons would be the order of the day, at least to start. That left Jerec and corvette X1 with two jobs: picket duty, and not getting hit. Once the Sith defense forces coalesced and came gunning, those jobs would grow a lot more pressing. In the meantime he kept sketching.

 

[Mav Halo]

​

Location: Jedi City
Objective: Retrieve… Something or other. What? It wasn’t like there was a briefing.
Retinue: Pops ([member="Zef Halo"]) & the Kid ([Member="Yula Perl"])
Allies: Some Guy on the Comms ([Member="Coren Starchaser"])
Enemies: Discostick Bois

​

​

The battered lighter in his hands struggled to strike, the flint sputtering and spitting sparks in the frozen depths of the Jedi City. Eliciting a curse from the Corellian as he tried in apparent vain to bring warmth to his cigarra. Wondering not for the first time what the flying kark he was doing here.

When he’d been asked to spend some quality time with the old man, Mav had envisioned grabbing a few beers, maybe a cliche game of father son grav ball or even taking in a limmie game together - the Coronet Panthers had a real shot at the title this year after all. What he hadn’t really considered, and he supposed he really should have with his family history, was that quality time in the Halo family was really code for ‘do you want to raid a snow planet full of psychopathic sith for a bunch of dusty trinkets?’

In hindsight, he only had himself to blame.

There was a muted whoompf as his lighter finally found the courage to brave the wintry clime, momentarily washing his golden hued features in orange as he quickly stole a labor intensive drag from the cigarra. Savoring the rush of the nic-i-tain it brought with it. The world might have been as cold and as blue as a Jedi’s balls, but there was nothing like a solid lungful of smoke to take the edge off the situation. That's why he made sure to take another two or three in short order.

“Sure, kid. We’ll be just peachy.” Mav replied absently as he stuffed the lighter into the bandoleer hidden beneath his all weather poncho. Uncle Mav. He still wasn’t sure how he felt about being called that. Up until a few weeks ago, the only family he had to contend with was his mom, and even then that was just a matter of an annual holocall around life day. Now it seemed there was a veritable army of little pink nephews, nieces and more besides. And that was just the part of the family Zef Halo was willing to acknowledge and introduce to him this week. “Don't you go worrying your head none, If anything goes wrong, I’m sure pops here can handle it all by his lonesome. I bet he's already primed to bore them all to death with a few stories of his days when the Crusades were young.”

Not that there was any resentment there or anything.

"What say we put a hustle on this, eh? I'm freezing my shebs off."

 

[Onrai]

Enemy: [member="Jerec Asyr"]

It was Crimson Command that would be entering the field of battle, or rather a section of Crimson Command. There were ten examples of the modified XoXaan II-class Star Destroyers in service, and currently five of those were on the field of battle, preparing to engage their hostile compatriots. Vanessa Vantai, the infamous Sith Lord who had done her best to strengthen the alliances between her home power and the allies of the Sith Empire, was aboard the Sceltor, currently serving as the ersatz flagship within this squadron of vessels.

There were several methods of attack Vanessa wished to consider pursuing. For the time being, however, her ships would launch their squadrons of fighters - each was carrying a squadron of Forge-class interceptors and one of Eightgun-class assault fighters - and they would remain within relatively close quarters. The XoXaans would slowly move towards the hostile targets - there were multiple smaller ships on the enemy side, and Vanessa, while unfamiliar with ORC ship designs, certainly had expectations regarding these vessels and their capabilities. The Crimson Command XoXaan II design possessed shield-penetrating solar ionization cannon batteries for medium range brawling, as well as dual heavy pulse cannons for closer ranged pulverization of targets and a pair of SBeam light beam cannons - one on each side of the ship, intended to gut corvette and frigate-scale warships at even long range. Such would only come from a broadside, though, and right now they were more directly facing the target.

Crimson Command
Class | Name | Length | Shields | Hull
Crimson Command XoXaan II-class Star Destroyer | Sceltor | 1000m | 100 | 100
Crimson Command XoXaan II-class Star Destroyer | Corrupter | 1000m | 100 | 100
Crimson Command XoXaan II-class Star Destroyer | Achilles | 1000m | 100 | 100
Crimson Command XoXaan II-class Star Destroyer | Harrow​ | 1000m | 100 | 100
Crimson Command XoXaan II-class Star Destroyer | Titan​ | 1000m | 100 | 100

 

[Kyle Farnes]

Objective: Link up with Twilight
Coalition: [member="Sol Stazi"] [member="Jend-Ro Quill"] [member="Cyran Vaas"] [member="Ardasz Verd"] [member="Janick Beauchamp"]
Empire: [member="Darth Morbus"] [member="Kaine Australis"]

The jump from the Firebird was probably one of the more exciting things that the man had done in a while. Farnes was contracted out to the Alliance in Exile but he was starting to fall in love with life in the Coalition. It allowed him the chance to give his full attention when there wasn’t something going down in the galaxy, to hang as a Warden of the Sky. But today? It was a mission that the Aing-Tii provided.

He knew they not the most forward with their goal. Moving with the Twilight Company, Kyle Farnes hit the ground and went for his rifle. He was separated a bit farther than he hoped from the rest. The Mandalorian’s heads-up display found the location of where he needed to be. Checking his rifle’s charge, he nodded. The dark gold beskar only found the reflection of the fire in the dark, looking almost as if his own armor was aflame.

The jetpack would give him enough ability to get around to the Twilights. “This is Farnes to Twilight, and Coalition Forces who survived the jump, where am I needed?”

Simple and to the point, the Mandalorian was going to do what he could to turn the tide.

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Location: Dreya's Peak
Wearing: Armor | Pathfinder Boots | The Forgemaster's Ring | Ring of Stasis | Sofitor
Wielding: 10 Czerka knives | 2 Nastirci Combat Knives | Copero's Wail | Fire and Smoke (lightsabers) | Combat Gauntlets | Knight Obsidian Sword | 2 Dissuader K-30 Pistols with Glitter Bullets
Allies: ORC, CIS, anyone else on their side
Enemies: well this is somewhat complicated, isn't it?
Direct Tags: [member="Keira Cerdulan"] [member="Celessa"]
Post: One

It seemed Coalitioniors were landing all around them. Scherezade, standing in the snow, her armor covered by a purple fur coat, looked at the landing people with growing interest. She wished she'd thought of bringing some food along for this part of the day, the long wait. Sure, there was screaming and such coming from the building on the Peak itself, but considering this was a Sith military base and whatnot, could anyone really claim to be surprised by any of it?

Flicking at her datapad, the Sithling grinned. She would not be able to hide the fact she was a Sith, not this day. But then, there was no need to. The only thing she had to hide was her true identity, and thanks to some connections pulled with the Ministry of Secrets, anyone scanning her would get the name she'd chosen to parade as for the mission; Feyre Darling. It was a silly name, the first part chosen for its meaning and the second one chosen after her speeder, but it worked. No one expected their chit to go all kaboom because of someone with a last name such as Darling!

Above them, she knew, war was raging. She'd danced this dance before. But the pew pew in space was the one that interested the Blood Hound little to nothing. The ground was where all the fun was to be had, and with the Confederacy's recent decision to be all peaceful again for a while, Force, she could use all the ground pew pew she could get.

"So…" she said to her mission-partner, [member="Celessa"], "what if we pretend-chain you up and march right to their front door and knock? Think they'd let us in?"

The childish grin on her face was hard to miss. Fighting was happening all around them, and Scherezade could hear the song of battle and death coursing through her veins. It would only get louder once she actually joined in on the fighting and had all her blades out. She couldn't wait for that part. The only thing that mayhaps could have given her pause was the need to pick sides; but with the shifts around Dathomir, the side had practically chosen itself for her. There was a vow she was meant to keep; the destruction of Dathomir would lay in her hands in a future that would not arrive anytime soon. And with shifting changes around the planet... She had a guess who'd show up alongside the Sith this day.

And her blades were ready.

 

[Argis Volmir]

​

Objective: Retrieve Fell Star
Enemies: Sith, [member="Darth Voracitos"]
Allies: [member="Mav Vohaloveer"], [member="Yula Perl"], [member="Coren Starchaser"]
Equipment: Armor, Temperance & Serenity, Coyonite Rifle, Firewall Grenades

Sitting in the pilot's chair of The Azure Star, Argis shifted uncomfortably within its confines. Even having had a majority of say in the creation of the vessel they’d still decided to put a human sized chair as the pilot seat. To the Dashade it was akin to sitting in a toddlers chair, thankfully the ride was soon to be over. The light freighter coasted over the ancient Jedi city, completely unseen the stealth field generator activated and the vast array of counter sensor systems at play.

Argis had come to Rhen Var for two reasons, to make the presence of the Jedi Wardens known, the second because it was the Jedi’s duty to aid in the battle against the dark. For too long the Sith had been allowed to do as they please, bringing multiple worlds beneath their oppressive rule. They could not be allowed to retrieve the Fell Star at any cost.

Activating the autopilot sequence Argis rose from the pilot's seat making his way to the back of the vessel, a hatch in the ground opening. Cold air whipped in its chill biting at the Dashade’s face the rest of his armored form insulated within the armor. Dawning his helmet it sealed with a hiss, within its confines the HUD came to life. The Dashade would have to remember to thank Kreus for the helmet idea later. A single inhalation of air was all Argis took before he leapt.

Plummeting through the air the Dashade reached out to the force, welcoming it. The cool sensation flooded the Dashade’s being, flowing into him, through him, filling his entire form. The force coalesced around the Dashade in a semi-translucent barrier shielding him as he barreled from the sky to the fast approaching snow-covered ground below.

The last thing a Legionnaire would see as he looked up was the gigantic booted feet of Argis as first the barrier slammed down into them, then the weight of Argis himself.

On impact with the legionnaire and the ground Argis’ barrier detonated kicking snow, dirt and gravel high into the air the energy slamming outwards catching three more Legionnaires and flinging them head over heel away from the Dashade where they lay limp. The sounds of booted feet approached, the Dashade reaching behind his back drew the Coyonite rifle, finger resting on the trigger. This is where it begins.

 

[Jerec Asyr]

ENEMY: [member="Vanessa Vantai"]

TASK FORCE SCARLET:

• Commander: Admiral Sulik Aviccu, Outer Rim Coalition
• Nebula II-class Star Destroyer designated D1
• Majestic II-class heavy cruisers designated M1 through M3
• Sacheen II-class escort frigates designated K1 through K3
• Nagata-class heavy corvettes designated X1 and X2
• Total capital length: 5000m

TF Scarlet shared a variety of data between its ships. At the helm-slash-conn of Corvette X1, Jerec eyed that data. The Sith forces comprised five identical red Star Destroyers, all of an unfamiliar make. To his eye they looked like modified XoXaans, the newer ones: tough brawlers, each a match for Admiral Aviccu’s Nebula. On the plus side, they were advancing slowly, and XoXaans were fearsome at standard ranges but fairly terrible at long ones like this.

Which meant Aviccu could take one of two strategies. Either he could hammer the XoXaans until they got close enough to seriously fire back and eradicate TF Scarlet...or he could kite. The Majestics had a serious complement of long-range weapons and were more than fast enough to stay ahead of the XoXaans. The problem was going to be the Nebula, not exactly known for its speed. If Aviccu could square that circle, the Majestics could probably kite one or two of the XoXaans to death and even the odds.

“This is Admiral Aviccu to all ships,” said the massively eyebrowed alien. “Starburst.”

Jerec yanked on the controls and the X1 soared straight up relative to the shared plane of the two fleets. The other vessels scattered too, except for the Majestics, whose long-range cannons hammered at one of the XoXaans. The Majestics began to turn; their broadside and aft mounts could do quite a solid job against chasing ships. And they’d need to. As for the rest of TF Scarlet, the idea was to scatter and build angular velocity, make themselves difficult to target. All of TF Scarlet except D1, that is. The sluggish command ship reoriented, but Jerec didn’t have the first clue toward what. But the bulk of the task force was turning into a bubble with the XoXaans in the middle, just outside standard weapons range. Only the Majestics could seriously engage the XoXaans at long range, so it wasn’t exactly encirclement. More like patience.

 

[Kyrel Ren]

Location: Rhen Var Atmosphere
Objective: Acquire the Fell Star Artifact before the Sith or the Jedi can
Equipment Raiment of the Vigilant, Vader's Bane Lightsaber, Kyrel's Harbinger Saberstaff
Enemies: Jedi, [member="Argis Volmir"] [member="Mav Vohaloveer"] [member="Zef Halo"] [member="Yula Perl"] [member="Coren Starchaser"]
Allies: [member="Taeli Raaf"] @Darth Voracitus
Forces: 10x BC-LX Lightsaber Combatant Droids, 10x BC2 Elite Centurion Droids, 5x B2-GP Grapple Droids

​

​

https://youtu.be/Ig_rywxn8EE​

​

​

​

​

While Kyrel had been building ties among the Sith, gaining favor with the Sith Emperor in hopes of achieving his own ambitions of ressurecting a new Imperial Regime within the Outer Rim. His dream to see the Hand realized was paramount, and while he did not trust his Sith Cousins at times, he needed them to make his dreams his vision a reality, and most importantly of all to rebuild the Knights of Ren of course. As one of the last of the Knights of Ren, and even with the First Order at it's death throes even as a fragment, he needed to gain more power. Power in the dark side as that is what he wanted, what he desired the most when Sieger had disappeared, when the bond between Master and Servant had ended, and now that he was free of his chains. Power was his right, and when he had learned of the powerful artifact on Rhen Var. He felt a desire to acquire it even to beat the Sith to it.

Traveling aboard a Hellspawn Transport, a new craft that had been designed from the factories on Mustafar, carrying Droids that were from the assembly lines of the Gahenn Droid Foundry. Making use of ancient droid designs carried by the Seperatist known as Gizor Delso ages ago. Droids that were lined with Cortosis some even wielding Lightsabers and Cortosis blades capable of dealing with Jedi, even as the Master of Ren stood among them, he wondered if the work his HK unit put into these would fulfill their work. He knew one thing of course, they would buy him some time in gaining the artifact and dealing with the Jedi, after all he did not want it to fall into the hands of the Sith, but if the worse came to worse he may have to reluctantly give it up.

The transport entered the atmosphere of the frigid world, marked with Jedi Temples, Tombs, even whole cities dating back to the time of the Old Republic. Kyrel already sensed the raw power of the artifact, knowing it was close also sensing the presence of that of the Jedi below. He gritted his teeth in anger. 'They are close, they are hunting for it... No I must hurry that power is my right.' He thought angrily to himself. With the transport landing on the outskirts of the City that was located not far from where they had landed. The Master of Ren cursed himself silently as the ramp opened to blistering cold, The Sith had a headstart and if he was lucky the Jedi would distract them long enough for himself to gain an opening.

Stepping forth, his helmet tightly sealed, the red armorweave cape billowed around himself as he raised the red hood above his mask. Looking back to his droid forces he uttered a single command. "Come." Stepping forth exiting the transport the Master of Ren continued in a stride towards the city with his droids in tow. The freezing winds was nothing to him when he had a blazing fire of determination from within. He would gain the power he sought and none would challenge him, none would challenge the Crimson Hand on this day, even more so a smirk came to his lips. It had been a long time since he faced a Jedi and looked forward to the encounter.

 

[Zef Halo]

​

Location: Jedi City
Objective: Get my retirement plan sorted i.e snatch the Fell Star
Allies: Trash Fam [[member="Yula Perl"] & [member="Mav Vohaloveer"]] | ORC
Enemies: Scipio's Sith Bosses.

​

​

​

Cold ain't matter when you're a karkin' avaricious smuggler. The thought of money keeps you warm, don't it. Was that [member="Daro Tarsi"] speaking in his mind again? The more time he spent away from that old karker, the more he seemed to get in his mind and make him do stupid chit like this.

Robbing tHe fElL sTaR.

That's the stupidest name for a thing that costed a chit ton of creds he'd ever heard but Zef Halo did not expect anything less from supposedly mystical religious piece of junk Jedi and Sith would kill each other for.

But hey, look at it from the bright side - Family Time! Cause you just couldn't resist bailing "for a pack of cigs" the moment you saw the two lines a few decades, ago right?

So why the heck not bring your closest of blood to a creepy karkin' planet lookin' for a weird as kark trinket? Zef did not want to admit it but he was an old karker. The cunning gunslinger-smuggler would've hit up this thing alone or with Tarsi a decade ago.

Not anymore. Time takes its toll.

"I ain't said nothin' about the damn Crusaders days today, have I, kid?" Zef bit back at his son. Yes, abandoning one daughter was not enough. There had to be a son abandoned as well. They had only recently met, but their striking facial resemblance did startle him. Sometimes Zef couldn't help but wonder whether if he was Mav's age he would've drawn faster than the time they acquainted each other a few weeks ago.

" 's all good, kiddo." He nodded reassuringly at Yula. " You'll for sure be fine, I ain't riskin' your mothers headbutts again." That's karkin' sure.

"Just get this darn piece of scrap you've named Emily lead us to the jackpot and we'll bail off before your Jedi friends know what's goin' on."

As much as he always emitted an intense dose of grumpiness, deep inside Zef felt, in a sense, fulfilled by uniting his family.

Even in the most ridiculous of ways.

I mean - kark Taungsgiving day, right?