Dominion Identity Crisis | BOTM Dominion of Altiria/Anarris

[Caraxes Xargrodon]

Identity Crisis | BotM Dominion of Altiria/Anarris​

For millennia, the Planet of Alteria/Anarris has been torn apart by infighting between it's two native species, the Altiri and the Anarrans. In recent time such fighting had come to a temporary end thanks to the diplomatic efforts of the Zweihander Union. However, since the collapse of the Union, tensions have once more risen between the Altiri and Anarrans. With the genocidal Brotherhood of the Maw approaching the Planet, one would expect both Altiri and Anarrans to collaborate with each other against the Maw. However over a thousand years of rivalry have complicated these efforts as both species have remained distrustful of each other. Eventually the fragile peace between both species and any attempt at unification against the Maw would come to an end when the Anarran Empire would declare war on the Altirian Republic.

Under the influence of agents of the Heathen Priests of the Maw who sought to exploit the growing tensions between the Anarrans and Altiri in order to set the stage for the Maw’s expansion in the East, a Coup d’etat was orchestrated by Elements of the Anarran Military which would result in the rise of a new Pro-Mawite Military Junta. Having acquired advanced modern weaponry from the Final Dawn, the Pro-Mawite Anarran Empire would blitz the Altiri Republic bringing them to the brink of collapse and beginning a genocidal campaign against their species with the goal of total global domination.

However in their desperation, the Altiri sent a call for help which quickly caught the attention of the Galactic Alliance. Soon enough the NJO and GADF would be deployed in full-force against the Pro-Mawite Anarrans despite the Tech they had acquired from the Final Dawn. This would turn the tide against them and force them on the defensive. In response to this sudden intervention from the part of the Galactic Alliance, the Anarrans called for support from their newfound allies in the Brotherhood of the Maw, seeking to both repel the Alliance interlopers and complete their genocidal campaign against the Altiri. With the arrival of the Mawites, they would be able to turn the tide in their favor once more and put an indefinite end to the ongoing war between the Anarrans and Altiri.

Objective I : Secure the Shipyards

Location : Orbit of Altiria/Anarris, around the Harbor-class Mobile Space Dock

In orbit of Altiria/Anarris lies a Harbor-Class Mobile Space Dock. Initially controlled by the Anarrans, it was captured by the Galactic Alliance during their intervention and has since become the base of operations for their Fleet which has since maintained a blockade above the world to cut off the Anarrans of any more Mawite support. With the arrival of the Maw, control of the Harbor-Class Mobile Space Dock will be vital to secure victory on the surface. As such the Fleets of the Alliance and the Maw clash above Altiria/Anarris determined to defend/capture the Mobile Space Dock and secure Naval Superiority above the war-torn world.

Objective II : Urban Assault

Location : The ruins of the Altiri Capital of Cerdana.

With the arrival of Mawite Reinforcements, the Alliance and Altiri have found themselves on the backfoot, being forced back to the Altiri Capital of Cerdana, where Mawite and Anarran Forces make plans to storm the Capital and put an end to the stubborn resistance of the Altiri and kick out the Alliance interlopers once and for all. However the Alliance and Altiri have entrenched themselves throughout the devastated ruins of the Captain prepared to engage their foes in a brutal urban battle for control of the Altiri Capital.

Objective III: The Last Stand

Location : Altirian Presidential Palace

While the Battle rages on throughout the Altiri Capital City of Cerdana, the Jedi have been providing protection to the Altiri Leadership in anticipation for an attempted decapitation strike by the Maw's Elite in order to bring swift end to the War by depriving the Altiri of any proper command. Sure enough, the Maw's Best warriors (NSO, Knights of Ren, etc.) have come to eliminate the Altiri Leadership but now they have to deal with the New Jedi Order, the only ones standing between them and the Altiri Leadership. They are determined to repel the Mawites at any cost, for if the Altiri Leadership fall to their blades, the war is sure to be lost.

​

 

[Crane Baxa]

"Always Stand on Principle...Even if You Stand Alone"
John Adams, Letter to Edmund Jenning in 1782

​

It had been several decades since the fall of the Zweihander Union, even far longer since the fights had long concluded. The whole event accumiliated with not much of a success in diplomacy, but rather a forced peace between the land. The War Between Two Worlds was one of the final conclusions of the Zweihander Unions legacy. All throughout, it had waged a long and constant war from eons back against a tyrant only known as "Holowan", a droid AI that had ravaged the land for centuries. Having formed a droid army, it had sent itself with its own generals towards the brink, attempting to finally secure the planet of Altiria/Anarris. Only due to the brave actions of those who lost their lives in that fight, did the AI finally get turned back from destruction of the races of Altiri and Anarrian.

But It Was Not Destroyed​

The Chadra-Fan leaned over the side of a nearby guard rail as the desert winds blew gently over him, the small string of cigarra smoke wafting into the wind. The horizon during the day was nothing but of beauty, something that could only be described as peaceful. It had been many months since his awakening once more into the world and everything around him just...was different. The body he now has, was just like the old one and yet it felt as if he could withstand now the test of time. The wind blew once more as several droids walked behind him, carrying crates of metal and weaponry towards various sections of the facility. There was a cracking tone nearby before a holoprojector turned on and showed a blue face with green lines all around it, resembling a mixture of a Chiss and Human face with a strange yet gentle accent that would be heard from a servant in a noble house.

"Mr. Baxa, we appreciate the supplies that were delivered promptly on schedule. We expect the facility to be running in just a few moments, we recommend yourself to go down onto the lower levels."

"I will be down in a few moments...is the facility really ready to run again at full capacity?"

"Damage during the war was considered near non-existent. We have one of the most fortified positions in the galaxy, even those under contract has not dared chase after us as a target. However with the given stages that is soon to come, we would like to be more than fortified and prepared for what I have been scanning the channels for, to be an upcoming invasion."

"Fair point...but why now? You been considered inactive and the planet has let itself run...well nearly into the ground. Why now?"

"The people fought without hesitation, possibly beyond my processors...even those from its heritage fought against it. Civil War has emerged which the probability of total destruction ranges into minor percentages. The given stakes of a major galactic power invading though, increases the odds drastically and reduces my own survival rates by the lower end of double digits. Self Preservation is all I need to accomplish, it is merely an added bonus if it keeps others away from territory deemed as of my own from the terms of the war."

"I...guess I understand. You do care don't you?"

"I will belay answering that question with a request again to go into the lower decks. We are less than thirty seconds away from full activation."

The Chadra-Fan only nodded in agreement as the holographic image vanished from view. Taking careful steps, he went towards a nearby elevator and closed the metal shutters from the side as the elevator descended into the lower levels. The grinding of loud gears can be heard, the twisting of pistons and the crunching noises of plates being smashed together can be seen the more further down into the facility he had went. Finally, the elevator would stop and the Chadra-Fan would let himself out in what appeared to be the command area, surrounded by droids of various types, from time periods far forgotten. The projected face would reappear, strangely looking out from the main viewing area and glancing upwards into the sky.

"Facility is now fully operational. Do you care to join us Mr. Baxa, the watchful eye on this world onto others?"

"Mr. Holowan, I be more than happy to witness it."

The Chadra-Fan walked to the viewport as the viewport window raised up gently as it kept going higher and higher up in level, all the while slowly turning itself. It was no mere facility, it was a fully operational mobile fortress, a fortress that was never defeated. In all the years, all the bounties given, it was never defeated once. With a few moderate steps given, it would finally stop and prepare the weaponry it had loaded up with. Various droids in different stations pulled aging levers, some testing the boundaries of its own creation. It had finally stopped moving, having arranged itself to aim now several miles away towards the nearest city, it would finally unload its weapon payload onto the unsuspecting city that housed suspected members of the Brotherhood of the Maw. With a simple charge, six large green beams would come from six different Proton Beam Cannons charging on the platform before erupting onto the city itself, one close to the Capital of Cerdana. The very capital it tried to reach many decades ago and failed due to the intervention of the Zweihander Union. There was no true targeting, hitting merely skyscrapers that were right at level, being shot from the middle and start collapsing onto itself. It would almost resemble a terrorist attack...if it was not for the large green beams that could be linked to where it had targeted. The giant behemoth of destruction had reawakened and it had a clear target. Brotherhood of the Maw, it was of preservation. It felt invincible, never defeated. It dared them to try, to try and kill it once and for all! The fortress itself is named? The one Holowan mocks their forces from afar with as it planned its next move?

The Spirit of Holowan
​

Tags: Marlon Sularen Caraxes Xargrodon

 

[Khione]

Location: Low orbit
Tags: OPEN
Equipment:
Piloting - Torr'Chir
Eyes of Khoine
Pulsiva flight suit
2x Cartridge Revolvers
Retractable Neural Stinger

Accompanied by three squadrons of eight Chir'Shada Starfighters

Squadron quipped with a mixture of proton torpedoes, disruptor torpedoes and Witchfire Missiles

The 25 star fighters of the Emerald Nebula had broken hyperspace on the other side of the world and were travelling at high speed in the very upper atmosphere of the planet. Their leader, Khione, had a plan. Whilst the heavies of the Final Dawn and their ilk attacked space side and lured the defenders into a higher orbit, Khione would strike from below and cut the throat of the defenders, figuratively. With a dangerous foe at their rear and the station under seige, the defenders might just disengage.

The atmospheric turbulence buffeted her craft, Khione was eager to get in to space proper and into the action. It wasn't long before the force rounded the planet in there Chir'shada and Khione could see the station hanging in space. She slowed her speed, they could wait a little longer, undetected in the planetary ionosphere before pouncing. It was just a case of waiting for the main fleet of the Maw to engage.

 

[Zachariel Steelblood]

Objective: Secure the shipyards
Tags: Khione | Open
Links: Weapons | Chosen​

Another world that the Brotherhood needed, another world to hopefully fuel the fires of war for awhile longer. And another shipyard to hopefully boost their productions to continue the fight, holding off the curs of the alliance for good. With that thought in mind, Zachariel fully intended on securing the shipyards of Altirra/Anarris for the tribes of the Maw, and hopefully keep it out of the Final Dawns grasp. Just as he had done on Oriam Mei, he would do so here.

As his fleet of fast strike craft emerged, Zachariel took in the tactical view of the system. It was... acceptable, but they'd have to move quickly if they wanted to keep the anarchy going and the forces of good at bay. It would be difficult, depleted as the Brotherhood was, but it would be worthwhile if they could secure those shipyards. Perhaps they would be put into good use to build automated ships as well. Turning to his tactical officer, Zachariel snarled out.
"Bring us into boarding range, my Bloodsworn and I will take that shipyard. Inform any of our allies of this fact as well."

The information was passed along as the warlord made his way off the bridge. As he left, the rumble of the engines shook the entire ship, telling all aboard they were making full bore towards the shipyards. His crew was efficient, following his orders and spreading the message. Below decks, it was much the same, with his warriors already boarding pods and ships to take them to their destination. Zachariel himself made his way to the front, followed closely by his Chosen.

Turning just before his own transport, Zachariel turned to address his forces. Some were already boarded, others yet waiting, but all heard his voice across the myriad of ships.
"My Bloodsworn, we will take these shipyards and deny the alliance their due. Kill their defenders, capture their engineers and learned scholarship, and make an example of the rest. For the Avatars, take these shipyards in the name of the tribes and the Avatars!"

Many of his warriors echoed that final cry, shouting their devotions to the Avatars clearly and loudly. They would do as commanded, in the name of the Avatars. Turning as the cries reached a crescendo and died, Zachariel boarded his transport. They would take these shipyards and all of worth within them. And any who stood in their way would die before the might of the Bloodsworn. Soon thereafter, the light turned green and they shot forth from their ships, streaking towards the shipyard in a flurry of hate and fury. In the name of the Avatars, they brought war to the shipyards of Altiria/Anarris.

 

[Caraxes Xargrodon]

Objective: The Last Stand
Location: City streets on the way to the Palace
Allies: Maw


“My faithful long have you struggled against the heretics, the unclean and unfaithful in the eyes of the four. Do you not know that the Maw, that the unforgiving abyss is the only path to salvation.” Caraxes had said with his booming synthetic voice. He sounded more like a terrifying machine than any holy man devoured to the Maw’s endeavors. He stood in the bloody streets on the path towards the presidential palace. The converted Annarians had been skeptical at first, but were shown by priest Caraxes that all things are possible through the Brotherhood’s own resilience in what they believed in. All around the Heathen was surrounded by converted Annarians all bearing the mark of the Maw in their flesh.

All around the streets were in chaos. The Annarians had been flying the banner of the Maw. The chants of “War, Death, Rebirth.” It was music to his ears next to the cries of those that had been slain. It had become a holy war of sorts as well as an ethnic cleansing. Caraxes had preached that the Altrisians were little more than a blight that needed to be cleansed. Likewise they thought the Annarians as people who supported butchers and fanatics. All thanks to Alliance propaganda. Now these two sides seemed nothing more than pawns in in a game between light and darkness.

The crowd marched with weapon in hand, be it blaster or the rusty durasteel blades of the Maw. Caraxes was armed with a staff, and his lightsaber spreading Sith Runes along the streets. He had hoped to conduct a ritual that would purify the world. All the while the devoted faithful to the Maw would start to torture captured Altirians and those that dared defied the word of the Maw seeking to claim the conquest that was there’s by divine right of the Avatars. Caraxes eyed the palace on the horizon determined to use the city as an offering to the Avatars themselves.

 

[Trelan Kalien]

Court of Blades
​

Things were starting to get much worse, more and more so by the hour. Transports with refugees of Altrisians kept taking off during the course of several weeks but started to slow down, with a majority now being soldiers that were on the front lines. The Brotherhood of the Maw would no matter what, cause hell and havoc onto those that deem it. The Galactic Alliance itself seemed to have abandoned them and with it, their own chance for survival and escape. The corridor was now narrowing and it became something far worse. It was becoming a suicide mission, Court of Blade units were now dwindled to a select few remaining, each trying to guard a particular corridor with their armored walkers.

The Strap-Fly was Trelans own personal armored walker, it was designed with him specifically in mind ever since he took over the mercenary company. That changed however in the following years with the reappearance of Callum Saville, the Prince himself that was a Noble on this planet. Strangely though, he seemed to not have shown up for this fight...which begged the question on what was more important than his own people? Trelan had to push those thoughts out, he had to focus on helping as many get out of the city as possible, with what limited ammunition he had remaining. Soldering the last of the wires overhead in his cockpit, he slammed the panel overhead shut and proceeded to turn back on the armored walker.

​

Systems started to read operational, he only had possibly eight missiles left with two of them, being for last resort. Dangerous yet useful, Seismic Missiles. Flicking the controls around to test the turning, noticing now he could lean around the corners once more, he started to work on his patrol route, going back to work in stopping any advancements he could...alone.

 

[Kyrel Ren]

​

Objective: Urban Assault
Allies: Maw
Opposition: Trelan Kalien


The Maws Wrath had arrived, and with it brought hunger and death. The incarnation of Hunger had arrived to the planet below with the idea of laying siege to the city. Along the path he made with his barbaric horde of Crimson Hand Stormtroopers had started to assault the city with earnest with the help of the fanatical Annarians. The shouts of the Maw’s Mantras filled the streets along with the blood that matched the crimson banners of Kyrel’s own men. “Slay the nonbelievers…. Let none escape from the Maw’s Wrath.” He called out to his own cannibalistic men had already followed in earnest.

He stood back as the Stormtroopers covered in bones, furs, and blood let out howling ear cries descending through the streets. Like the dogs of war that they were, once they were unleashed Kyrel couldn’t maintain a firm grip to stop them. This was not his intention. He could watch as smoke started to billow out from newly ignited flames. The sharp edges of rusty durasteel against flesh and bone mixed with the cries of the weak. Kyrel’s own spear the Hunger would feast off the life force that would feed into his power. What became of the weak would feed into his very strength.

The trail of crimson would only increase in intensity. It was starting to grow worse where the cannibal troopers would rip into the civilians that attempted to flee. Some would watch as the loved ones they once knew were being feasted on alive. Some of the organs were paraded around among the men while they laughed and cheered. Kyrel appreciated the gruesome display as his heavy steps took him deeper into the city. His eyes focused on the ends of the city. Watching as the Altirians tried to mount a defense against such savagery from their rivals and the bloodthirsty invaders.

“Press deeper into the city… Anyone that tried to defend or surrender kill them all. Prices for infidelity in the eyes of the Avatars must be paid with blood.” He declared to the forces that were following him. His eyes shifted to the walkers that were firing upon his own horde. He growled ferociously as the monster would slowly set himself on a path of wider destruction. All the while the carnage of his own men didn’t cease to end.

 

[Marlon Sularen]

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I D E N T I T Y_C R I S I S
Secure the Shipyards

FINAL DAWN
ANARRIS, UNKNOWN REGIONS

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SHADOW HAND COMMAND TASK FORCE VADER​
Fleet Comp. FDS Predator | [100|100] FDS Vanquisher | [100|100] FDS Despoiler | [100|100] FDS Torment | [100|100] FDS Defiance | [100|100] FDS Armitage Hux | [100|100]

Once more, the Brotherhood of the Maw was on the move, now involving itself in a Civil War on the world of Anarris between the Anarrans and the Altiri, the former having recently aligned themselves with the Maw, triggering a war against their neighbors and waging a genocidal campaign against them forcing the latter to request help from the Galactic Alliance. However to the Final Dawn, the conflict on Anarris was of little concern to them as what really mattered was what lay in orbit of the Planet, a single Harbor-Class Mobile Space Dock, currently occupied by a Joint GADF-Altiri Force whom occupied it shortly after the Alliance's intervention. Securing the Shipyard would further expand the Final Dawn's Shipbuilding Capabilities and considering the Shipyards in orbit of Anarris was merely a mobile drydock, it could be easily moved back into the territories of the Final Dawn where they would be safe from any Imperial of Alliance incursion.

As such, a Fleet of Five Large Triangle-shaped Warships would soon arrive at Anarris, marking the arrival of Task Force Vader, the personal fleet of none other then Marlon Sularen, High Regent of the Final Dawn. Sularen sought to acquire control of the shipyard in order to further advance his plans and strengthen his position within the Maw, already concerned with the growing strength of the Tribes of the Maw whose naval capabilities had improved significantly in recent times as demonstrated with the vast warfleets of the Kragamond Wartribe and the Massive Flagships of the Crimson Hands and Knights of Ren. Depriving the Tribes of any significant naval infrastructure would be crucial if the Final Dawn was to defeat them in a potential civil war within the Maw, whose likelihood continues to increase due to the belligerent nature of the Tribes.

"What's our situation, Colonel?" Sularen asked to his trusted aide Colonel Rackham. "We've arrived at Anarris, sir and there seems to be a considerable Alliance Fleet defending the Shipyards in orbit. However our scans have also identified the presence of a Squadron of Fighters from the Emerald Nebula and boarding craft from the Bloodsworn." Rackham said. "The Bloodsworn, huh? And i assume their target is the shipyards as usual." the High Regent remarked. Since Mori's ascension, the High Regent had been at odds with both Kyrel Ren and Zachariel Steelblood, who both made it clear that they would seek to challenge the status-quo of Sith Rule over the Maw as well as having opposed Sularen's plans before hand, such as his privious attempts to expand the Final Dawn's influence in the Outer Rim and plans to double down on the Maw's commitment to the Maw Corridor.

Ren and Steelblood reminded Sularen of the Senators of the Galactic Alliance, grumpy old men who usually stuck with the "old ways" and were resistant to change. The High Regent was certain that one day those two individuals would eventually seek his demise just like many before them, but in time they would be dealt with. Now the priority was the Shipyards and getting it back to Final Dawn Territory. "Get me Darth Acherus, i will require his assistance for this task. As for the Fleet begin advancing on the Shipyards. In order to even secure it, one must have complete dominance over the space surrounding it" the High Regent said to his aide.

Soon enough, Task Force Vader would begin it's advance towards the Shipyards, the primary batteries of their warships primed and ready to unleash hell upon any Alliance or Altiri Warship that stood in his way, with hundreds of pilots headed towards their craft ready to be deployed at any moment now. By the end of the day, those Shipyards would end up in the hands of the Final Dawn, one way or another regardless of what progress the Bloodsworn made. After all, if things turned sour it wouldn't be the first time the Final Dawn had actively opposed the Tribes and Heathen Priests with Military Force and it would not be the last.

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Tags | Zachariel Steelblood | Khione | Sinestra ​

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[/div]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Objective: 2
Allies: Ned-V
Enemies: The Maw


It was hard not to hear the sounds of battle in the distance. In some ways it was common place. Kay had heard them for years during her time on Altiria/Annaris where she had built her tea company , however today it was different. The sounds of gunfire with the addition of screams of terror were not what usually was befitting the civil war that had plagued the planet for centuries. This was a war brought on by outsiders, akin to an invasion.

Kay's shoppe and home weren't in the city, but in the outskirts. She stood on the balcony with her loader droid Ned-V next to her whom seemed equally concerned about the distant battle as she was. "We've gotta get out of here, V. I have a bad feeling about this...Pack up everything that we can, everything that's dangerous, especially. We don't need the wrong people to get a hold of some of those ingredients. Then we'll secure the shoppe if we have the time."

Ned-V had no vocalizers, so he addressed his comments to her via sign language. ~Where will we hide?~

"I'll put a call out to one of our customers. If there's a blockade, he should be able to get through somehow. In the meantime we'll get away from the city and cause as little of a disturbance as we can so that we're not noticed." Kay didn't want to have to fight. She knew how and had caused a lot of damage of her own in the past, yet hiding out here in her shoppe was her way of avoiding all of that. Until now. She was sure that her late husband Veiere Arenais would have wanted her to stay and fight, but she couldn't take on such an assault on her own. It'd be suicide.

Ned-V left the balcony and followed Kay's orders while she took out her holo-comm and recorded a message for Grand Shepherd Burtch and Dorthea Dobson : "Forgive the intrusion, but this is of the utmost importance! I need an evac off of Altiria/Annaris immediately! I repeat, I need an evac off of Altiria/Annaris immediately! The civil war has gotten out of hand and I'm afraid that outsiders have joined in. I fear the worst and can't have my products fall into the wrong hands! Please help! V and I are getting as far away from the city as we can! You must hurry!" She stopped the recording and sent it off, in hopes that communications hadn't been cut off. At least word would get out in any rate.

After a final look at the flashes of light in the distance from battle, Kay turned and headed down the stairs to her shoppe to help V in packing everything up onto loading platforms.

 

[Grand Shepherd Burtch]

Objective: extract Kay-Larr from the war zone

Forces:

• The Lady Shii-Cho ~FLAG~
  • 6 squadrons of DZA fighters
  • 2 squadrons of Gospel Class Dropships
• x6 Obstruction Interceptor Corvettes

Seven humble warships materialized out of hyperspace at a fair distance from Alteria/Annares, just outside of the outer edge of the planet’s gravity well. The moment they were finished reverting to real-space, the six small corvettes began generating a combined interdiction field as an exclusion zone around the small fleet. The artificial gravity field stretched to meet the outer edge of the planet’s own natural gravity field, and produced a large enough perimeter to keep any opportunistic dissidents from simply hyper-jumping inside of extreme range of the lone Ophanim Guard Angel. The field was not large enough, however, to interdict the entire system, which allowed attackers and defenders alike in other areas around the planet to come and go as they pleased. This was ideal to the Navis Sacra forces.

Grand Shepherd Burtch had a simple mission: evacuate Kay-Larr from the warzone, and get her to safety. If he could recover more refugees as a bonus, that was acceptable, but his Navis Sacra mandate dictated that he wasn’t overly concerned with the territorial conquests of expansionist nations. The Navis Sacra Religion was born of refugees that dwelt in space to avoid these very conquests as much as possible. He knew that the full might of the Maw would be brought to bear on this planet. He knew that they would pursue the shipyards to enhance their own strength. As always, these conquests were about greed, and the Nomadic Peoples Coalition was averse to feeding into this type of conquest.

However, Burtch was also a commissioned Grand Admiral of the Elysium Imperium. Whilst his forces were entirely made up of Navis Sacra assets, his other masters, the Elysium royal family, had declared war on the Maw quite some time ago. Technically, Burtch was obligated to resist the Mawite forces here in any capacity possible, but he simply wasn’t equipped to handle that with the forces he had brought. His sole mission — with the blessings of Willow & Ivy — was strictly limited to evacuate a VIP, and nothing more. Any refugees of opportunity were also an acceptable consolation, but not a priority. If he was forced into a gunfight with the maw, he would be obligated to indulge them, but only if provoked, and not at the expense of his primary mission.

As soon as reports from their arrival were finished rolling in from his chief staffers, he took stock of the situation. Mawite forces were already rolling in to take over the shipyards in an overwhelming assault. Burtch was ok with this, since this would keep them occupied for a time. Not long, but enough to give Burtch a chance to complete his own mission without too much harassment. The Maw, particularly the Final Dawn, would not be too keen on letting Burtch’s fleet dwell there for too long, but like Burtch, Marlon Sularen was likely not too keen on wasting resources on objectives that distracted from his own main objective. Burtch could always be wrong, of course, but as long as Burtch kept his distance from the shipyards, he would likely have until the facility fell to Mawite forces before he had to worry about getting pushed out of the system. In theory, at least…

On instinct, he looked around for his old flag captain, Captain Treyfa, as an old habit. He then felt… guilt as he remembered how she had sacrificed her body to become the soul of Shii-Cho in the bonding ritual not long ago. He attempted to reach out to her through his Holy Communion, but he could barely feel her. Something was wrong with his bond with her, and it concerned him. Most bonded ones could get diagnosis and technical data from their angels, and as they evolved, they could talk telepathically with one another. But something was in the way between Burtch and Shii-Cho. He was struggling to commune with her as most masters could seem to do so easily. It bothered him greatly.

He pushed it from his mind for now. He began giving orders, “Flight Control, begin sending two full squadrons of Gospel Class Dropships and a squadron of DZA fighter escorts to the pickup location where Kay-Larr is to be recovered. Keep only four holy knights per Dropship as to have enough room for medical supplies, and to recover Kay-Larr ‘s stock and any other refugees we pick up along the way. We aren’t here to save everyone, but if she manages to take some civillians with her, we won’t be unequipped to accommodate them. Now, patch me through to Kay-Larr ‘s frequency.”

Suddenly, the holocomm at his command console lit up with an icon to indicate that he was live, “Lady Kay, this is Grand Shepherd Burtch. I am sending four dozen transports to your location. I am attaching their comm channel to this message and you are to coordinate with them as to bring them to your location. Together, they can hold roughly 1400 beings and whatever supplies that you feel you need to bring with you. I’m sorry that I am unable to bring more, but we could only do so much on short notice. The ships will be on their way very soon. Be ready. Burtch out.”

 

[Crane Baxa]

The Spirit of Holowan​

There was many ways the Spirit of Holowan could assert more or less, more issues for those around them. But apparently the fighting on the ground, the fighting in space, was starting to intensify more greatly. The inside of the command room was of calm however, it was still a massive moving fortress and it liked the idea of possibly putting terror into any enemies it was to find. The fighting on the ground was difficult to aim towards, but it was preparing towards it with a different kind of weapon. But the fighting upwards into space...that would require a different kind of thinking.

"Mr. Baxa, can you kindly help configure towards the shipyard in orbit? I wish to make a statement."

"Of course, what is your target?"

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Tags: Marlon Sularen Grand Shepherd Burtch Zachariel Steelblood Khione

The loud clasping noise from the surface indicated that the Spirit of Holowan was moving the turrets based on it. It whined as they had to be pinpoint accurate, even the slightest mistake can cause issues. It would soon stop with a loud CLACKING noise, the turret barrels rising as they aimed from afar with green glows emitting from the barrels. Then they would fire, two triple proton beam turrets firing at two different targets, the glow exposing their positions as six bright green lights would shoot out into the outer atmosphere and into the orbit of the planet.

From afar, the beams seemed to be together but the further they had shot, the further apart the two trio of beams would become. Three of the beams would attempt to strike towards the shipyard itself, only to miss by a few meters a piece, save for one of the docked under construction frigates which would be completely destroyed by one of the proton beam cannons that were fired from the surface. One was extremely close towards Zachariel Steelblood by thirty meters shuttlecraft, shooting away from the shipyard.

The second trio however, was aimed at one of the Star Destroyers that entered the area of operation. The three beams would attempt to hit towards Marlon Sularen fleet of starships, the one targeted being the FDS Torment which thankfully had two of the beams miss it completely. Whether or not the third beam missed also was up to the captain in charge, it was a long shot and the first of the day but it was aiming to kill. It acted like orbital cannon emplacements and were rather powerful, but thankfully seems to just be a long beam that dissipates within a few seconds.

On the ground, their progress would be recorded from their shots, most getting ready to fire again over time as the cannons were currently cooling. Crane Baxa himself was doing the computation repair work, himself being a Mechu Deru user as he tried to ensure the aged systems would keep working right. All the while, the Holowan AI was planning out its next move. It was indeed...invincible.

 

[Kay-Larr]

Objective: 2
Allies: Ned-V Grand Shepherd Burtch
Enemies: The Maw

Boxes and crates were everywhere. Both Kay and Ned-V were emptying the shelves and packing them up. Still the sounds of battle sounded distant, yet neither of them knew how long that would last. At least Kay wasn't doing this alone. Ned-V was a silent, yet loyal companion that easily pulled his own weight when it came to helping her out. Most especially as her customer base had grown and she had big orders to fill.

But now all of that was put on hold.

A banging was heard at her door, after the doorhandle was turned and the person on the other end discovered that the shoppe door was locked. "Miss Kay! Miss Kay let us in!!"

Ned-V knew that voice. He looked to Kay first, waiting for her approval before moving to the door and unlocking it. A young family hurried inside consisting of a mother and three of her children. Their faces showed nothing but fear, almost pale when usually their faces were tan in colour.

"Cera, are you all alright?"

"There's monsters in the city! They are killing everyone, Kay!"

"Is anyone fighting them? What about the Altirian soldiers?"

"There's not enough, Kay! They aren't strong enough!"

At that moment Kay's holo-comm on the counter came to life showing the blue image of Grand Shepherd Burtch . She breathed a sigh of relief as she heard his words, affirming that help was on the way. Kay took hold of the commlink, noting the new comm channel added to it and flicked it on to send out a message. "This is... Lady Kay. I'll keep this channel open so that you can lock onto my signal. Right now we're at my shoope but will soon be moving out further east. There's a small clearing in the forest. We'll meet you there! Thank you!" She pocketed the commlink and then turned to Cera. "Help V and I load up. We'll take you all with us. I'll put you on the first transport out of here."

"Thank you, Miss Kay! Thank you!"

It wasn't too much longer after they all started to put the boxes in the crates for Ned-V to load onto the platforms when more frantic knocks began sounding at her door, followed by panicked voices. "Miss Kay! Miss Kay let us in!!"

This escape wasn't going to be easy...

 

[Max Sinn]

Post: 1
Objective: Reign
Tags: Grand Shepherd Burtch | Kay-Larr

Spoiler: Fleet

Victory II Class Star Destroyer (Solomon)
Victory II Class Star Destroyer (Samson)
X4 Samael Class Frigate
X12 Squadrons Nssis-class Clawcraft
x4 Squadrons of TIE/sa bombers
X10 Spider Cruiser fully load with Crusader troopers for the surface.

---

Two old Victory class II Star destroyers came out of Hyperspace, the ships had clearly seen better days. Behind them came four small frigates followed by ten spider cruisers. The Victory II scorched and pocked market by the battles they had seen but the good new is they were fully functional. On the Bridge of one of them stood Max and all around her, her crew was prepping for the fight ahead of them. Her xo turned to her. "They couldn't provide us with better ships, not these old rust buckets?" Max didn't answer right away instead she was keeping her eye on various monitors and stations on the bridge. She watched as logistics and communication motioned back and forth with one another reading their hand signals. They were communicating another unknown fleet had entered the system just before them.

"I could have brought Emperors fleet, but it is still being repaired and upgraded after the Failure on Empress Teta." That was a sad day for all Tetan's having been decimated by the Galactic Alliance in the short-lived resurgence of the Tetan Empire. Max had been in command of the corvettes in that battle and barely made it out. "These Old Victories will hold up, back in my Imperial days my first full command was on Victory II." Her thick Imperial accent showing though nothing showed on her face weather that was a good or bad thing Max was often hard to read her thoughts distant.

"We need to show the Maw the Tetan's still live and our crusade is not yet dead." Answering the Xo's next question before it could even leave his mouth. "I am more concerned about these unknown interlopers." She motioned towards comms and logistics' stations. Then she raised her hand in the air her fingers motioning to their lead officers telling them to start trying to hack into the comms of Grand Shepherd Burtch Fleet.

"They have set up an Interdictor field." One of her officers called out, interesting Max thought to herself now wondering what these newcomers were playing at. "They are now launching ships and fighters heading for the Planet's surface." Then Max raised her other hand and again moved her fingers into several positions motioning to prep launching all fighters and bombers. That's when her xo chimed in. "I'm just glad they gave us Clawcraft and not old ties, no offense to your interceptor Admiral."


Max didn't flinch or even smirk one bit at those words in truth she would have rather had Tie interceptors rather then blueberry tech. You never could trust aliens to build anything worth a damn in her opinion even if Chiss where near humanish there blue skin still creeped her out. As the fighters prepped Max then gave the order. "Send them to surface skirt the indictor field and intercept if they can or blow the heck of them on surface what ever they are doing will be stopped. Keep half the fighters as support." Her officers nodded to her. Her eyes went back to watching them her head returning to the comms who were dutifully trying to hack into the Unknown fleets comms to find out what they were doing. For the moment she refrain from attempting to engage them, her main concern the interdiction field. The Spiders would follow behind the fighters though they had different destination then the fighters as they were taking troops to the surface it made Maw squadrons look even bigger and more menacing.

---

Spoiler: Synopsis

1. Attempting to Hack Grand Shepherd Burtch comms
2. Launching Fighters and bombers to the surface to intercept or stop Grand Shepherd Burtch forces in atmosphere or on surface.
3. Launching spiders to the surface to transport troops.

 

[Trelan Kalien]

Court of Blades
Vehicle: Strap-Fly
Kyrel Ren Grand Shepherd Burtch Max Sinn Kay-Larr​

The Blush Laser Cannons would erupt in firing down the street once more, the cannons threatening to overheat every time he pulled the trigger as more and more of the Maws tribal whatever they were kept falling. They refuse to just stay away, the more he killed, the more that kept coming forward. It was a constant, yet endless horde of enemies that was begging to finally be stopped in its tracks, even if for a short time. A loud explosion from nearby would be heard and felt his heart partly drop, one of the Walkers just fell from Alpha Batallion. The exploded top would fume from beside him as it started to fall, the horde from this Kyrel Ren just never seemed to end!

On that moment, he made a very dangerous choice and loaded up one of the Seismic Missiles. Dumb firing, he fired it directly onto the street in front of him without caring much of the consequence. The ball of energy would expand outward, consuming some of the soldiers before pulling back inward and exploding with ferocity of force. The ring cut diagonally, smashing into one of his own walkers and into a large building whom started to collapse going towards the street. The streets own duracrete was being destroyed and uplifted, forces of gases erupted from afar and caused hell and havoc. Backing the walker up, there was a crackle of communication as he tried to regroup with any other walkers.

"Acting Prince, we have multiple entries, registered IIF of Maw, landing forces and various enemy aerospace. Two friendly transports shot down, response?"

"Control, divert air assets into the sky. Any available artillery has new target, weapons free with extreme prejustice. Empty out, we are nearly done here."

"Roger that, last transport is out in twenty. Best be on it."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
​

"We have orders, we need air assets in the air. Interceptors, change route to the skies. Retribution, you are weapons free, eliminate targets as seen fit."

There was a crackle of loud engines screaming through the streets before going upwards into the skies. A total of thirty Silverline VTOLs and a dozen Dragoon VTOLs were attempting to break towards the group of Max Sinn , all attempting to strike out towards enemy starfighters as they went straight forward in a suicide rush. It would seem to be easy to destroy but they were incredibly fast and extremely maneuverable, weaving in and out of shots as if they were the top form of interceptors in space itself. Then cluster homing missiles shot out from behind, far back from the interceptors as the Dragoons fired with their own!

On the ground, there was a Retribution Artillery Walker that was stationed towards the hanger bays for evacuation. It was the literal last artillery unit that was currently online, the rest was out of ammo, abandoned in advances or destroyed by enemy forces. It was loaded for the sole reason to keep firing out towards enemy starfighters and landing craft. Cluster missiles in groups of ten would fire out while the lower end of five missiles would cycle through and prepare to fire on any starfighters or landing craft that got to close.

Up in the sky, explosions of the Cluster Homing Missiles would occur and split off towards multiple targets. They were not letting the situation get worse without their permission, they were going to fight as if that was all they had left to give.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
​

The sounds of battle would echo even louder as a massive explosion would erupt from outside the Tea Shop of Kay-Larr , the flaming wreckage of another walker would start to whine and fall into the streets nearby. Two other walkers were in the streets, trainee armored walkers that were used known as Cerebrums, they were getting desperate for walkers to use in this defense. The eruption of missiles flying out, blaster fire going all over the place as they held off a force of Tribesmen away from their doorstep. They seemed to be outnumbered but rounding along the corner, came another armored walker.

Kronos, an assault variant that was designed for front line action. It walked around a nearby buildling and unleashed all of its firepower in just a few seconds. Missiles flew over vehicles, turbolasers broke apart the duracrete that was before it, repeating autocannons ripped through hordes of the tribesmen and a disruptor cannon fired at anything problematic, reducing it to ash. Everything was now focused on the Kronos as it was barraged by all forms of firepower, its sound speaks trying to echo out as they tried to hold off the assault.

"Evacuation is recommended! Evacuation is recomme-"

Another walker would explode, yet another Cerebrum fell as it loudly whined before falling forward along the line. They were losing and it was not much longer till things would go from bad, to much worse.

 

[Grand Shepherd Burtch]

Objective: extract Kay-Larr from the war zone

Forces:

• The Lady Shii-Cho ~FLAG~
  • 6 squadrons of DZA fighters
  • 2 squadrons of Gospel Class Dropships
• x6 Obstruction Interceptor Corvettes

Tag: Max Sinn

"Sir, the squad leader of the DZA fighter escorts reports that the latest fleet arrival has launched strikecraft to intercept them!"

Burtch quickly keyed his holo-console to encapsulate the scope of the developing situation between the new arrivals and his own forces. At first, when they had arrived, Burtch had been quick to assume that by the mixture of ancient ships and Maw signature technologies that this had been some militia group to reinforce the invasion, apart from Burtch's mission. The fact that this group was now sectioning off from the main invasion to deal with the Navis Sacra flotilla meant that at least someone down there had decided that Burtch's fleet mattered. So much for trying to stay as irrelevant as possible…

The opposing force had entered the system adjacent to Burtch's group in a separate sector over the planet's surface. Burtch's group was much further away from the planet, however, which put the other fleet in an ideal position to intercept his transports and their escorts. Burtch then thoughtfully keyed up sensor readings on the craft that the enemy was using and he noted the vintage and profile of the ships that they had chosen to intercept his efforts. A small thought amused him quietly. Old Chiss Clawcraft, eh? Funny, how they deemed my people to be unworthy of their vision of "rebirth", yet they willingly rely on ancient Chiss tech to help manifest those goals…

Burtch turned to address his flight control officer, a new addition to his bridge of the mon calamari race, "Commander, what is the escort squad commander's disposition of the intercepting force?"

The mon cal male responded promptly, "Sir, he believes he can get their whole attention long enough to allow our transports to reach the surface, but he will need reinforcements in order to survive the effort."

"Very well," Burtch began, "tell him that he is authorized to engage the enemy interception force as he sees fit and that he is authorized to use heavy ordnance. Scramble the rest of our fighters and have two squadrons reinforce his position as quickly as possible while the remaining three squadrons hang close to our capital ships in reserve. Now, what about the enemy capital ships?" Burtch turned to his chief sensory officer, a female Chiss whom he vaguely remembered by the name of Thavanna who had recently been promoted.

Lieutenant Commander Thavanna turned away from her screen and pulled her headset from her ears to reply in a crisp, Chiss accent, "Grand Shepherd, they have not moved to intercept yet, but our searchlight sensors tell us that the two star destroyers are very, very old."

"Likely veteran crews" Burtch surmised quickly.

"Most likely, sir. And the Victory class star destroyers are solid despite their age. The four frigates escorting them are newer, of the Samael class; heavy focus on ION weaponry and guided ordnance."

Burtch keyed up data that was collected on the six capital ships in question and took a moment to think about what to do next. He decided to think out loud so that his officers could hear him, "Our two forces are fairly even. They have us in sheer tonnage and numbers, but we have them in range and technology by the looks of it. If this turns into a standing brawl, we won't win, and we didn't come here for that. We need to provide enough support for our transports to get to the ground, pick up their passengers, and get to safety. Those two Victory class star destroyers are powerful for their age, but they are ill suited for interdicting our movements, being built for aggressive assault. Those Samael frigates, however, give them mobility and coverage which can hinder our extraction efforts.

"Weapons station; are we in range of their artillery?" Burtch addressed his weapons officer, a human male.

"No sir. They are still outside of our interdiction field, which puts them outside of naval battlefield range. Their missiles might be able to reach us, but we have enough countermeasures for those to last against that kind of barrage for a while. They are in range of our own guns though!" The commander grinned impishly. The L91 turbolasers were state-of-the-art in long range gunnery, and were a considerable boasting point for Ophanim Guard gunnery crews. No doubt, the man was eager to play with his toys.

"Ok then," Burtch began to summarize, "we don't need to outright defeat the maw here, we only need to keep from losing our objective. Here are our orders: Bring our entire fleet of capital ships on a heading that puts our starboard sides beam-on with the enemy fleet. Begin broadside bombardments with the L91s and deactivate anti-recoil measures. We will target the enemy frigates, destroying them one at a time, while using our guns' recoil to maintain our range advantage. The Lady Shii-Cho will go all-ahead full and our corvettes will keep pace with us, which will allow us to begin slowly circling the enemy fleet. Launch L2 Tamor-class ECM Drones to create decoys of all our ships, but don't activate their countermeasure systems unless we are fired upon. We need to buy as much time as possible, so everything we can do to extend our endurance under fire is ideal at this time. Navigation, does our projected heading put us on top of the Final Dawn fleet?"

The nav officer replied, "no sir. We will be slowly increasing our distance between us and them at a tangential angle."

"Ok, good. We don't want to end up strolling into a crossfire. Let's see if we can draw those victory class star destroyers away from the landing zone and prevent them from providing fire support to the spider cruisers that they are sending down. The enemy commander will have a choice to make. Either let us circle them and range them down until they are beyond serviceability, or come out and chase us away. I suspect it will take them a while to figure that out."

"Aye sir," the nav officer replied.

The bridge deck officer began delegating commands according to Burtch's orders and Burtch let the verbal racket fall into the background of his mind. He keyed his console to zoom in on the battle between the clawcraft and the DZA fighters, wondering what the squadron commander had in mind…

Wing-Commander Farreck's perspective:

"Bad Dog, this is six-third lead. We're moving to cut off the enemy interceptors. I advise that you switch over to Cruise Mode on those old tubs and get a move on. We'll keep them busy."

"Six-third, you guys and your Angels are crazy. Thanks for the escort. May the Navi Protect."

"The Navi Protects, Bad Dog. It always does. Six-Third lead out"

The 48 gospel class dropships veered off in a direction that still brought them closer towards their destination, but put a little more distance between them and the incoming Clawcraft. Inversely, Commander Farreck and his 12 DZA starfighters steered straight towards the enemy incoming and began running scans.

"Talk to me, deuce," Farreck said to his wingman, "wat do we know?"

"Old Chiss Clawcraft, sir. About the same speed and maneuvering as our fighters, but older, and their targeting is no where nearly as advanced as ours. That being said, there are a lot more of them than there are of us."

"We're about to change that, deuce. Alright, Six-third!" Farreck then addressed his whole squadron, "we got seven-two marks, and one-six-eight boxes. Let's hit them with the 'bug spray' and then rush them hard while they are scattering to shake the missile locks. My Angel will assign all of your targets so that the cluster missiles are evenly spread across all enemy marks. That ought to even the odds until the rest of our boys from The Lady Shii-Cho show up. Now let's…"

Suddenly, a dazzling, sparkling of lights exploded in the distance where the Clawcraft should be. Farreck quickly tried to check his scopes, but his wingman beat him to it, "Sir! The Clawcraft formation is taking hits from somewhere in the atmosphere of the planet! Cluster missiles from Dragoon Interceptors!"

Farreck grinned. So the Court of Blades is here, eh?

"Let's not waste this chance, boys! Sending target assignments now! Fire now! Let's get in there! The Navi Protects!"

Perspective: Daro Roz’yrn

Daro, codename Bad Dog, stood in the cramped cockpit behind the copilot seat to watch events through the canopy. Many, many years of experience made these situations feel like second nature to him. He was so familiar with the dangers of war that he sometimes didn't even know exactly how he was in danger anymore. He lived off of habits and muscle memory for the most part anymore. His gut told him that things were getting tight now. He watched as flames began to form on the nose of the transport as they plummeted into the planet's atmosphere. He quickly tapped the copilot on the shoulder, "send a message to Kay-Larr for me. Tell her to get to the landing zone as fast as she can. Things are getting hot up here and we won't have long at all."

Spoiler: Synopsis

• Burtch orders the squadron of DZA fighters to intercept the Clawcraft squadron while the Dropships make a run for the surface.
• Burtch orders all of his fighters to deploy and send two squadrons to reinforce the twelve escorts that are already out there.
• Burtch orders his capital ships to aim their starboard sides at Max Sinn forces, focusing on the Samael class frigates one at a time.
• Burtch uses the immense recoil on his long range guns to help him put more distance between his ships and Max Sinn
• Burtch orders his star destroyer to launch L2 Tamor-class ECM Drones to follow along but does not activate their decoy functions just yet.
• DZA fighters are about to launch 168 homing cluster missiles at the 72 incoming Clawcraft when Trelan Kalien missiles hit the Clawcraft before they can fire. DZA fighters take advantage of the opportunity to hit the Clawcraft with their own salvo of cluster missiles and rush in to the chaos.
• @Daro Roz'yrn is in one of the Dropships and as he enters the atmosphere, he sends Kay-Larr a message telling her to hurry up.

Other tags: Marlon Sularen | Khione | Zachariel Steelblood

 

[Khione]

Location: Low orbit
Tags: Marlon Sularen Zachariel Steelblood Grand Shepherd Burtch
Equipment:
Piloting - Torr'Chir
Eyes of Khoine
Pulsiva flight suit
2x Cartridge Revolvers
Retractable Neural Stinger

Accompanied by three squadrons of eight Chir'Shada Starfighters

Squadron quipped with a mixture of proton torpedoes, disruptor torpedoes and Witchfire Missiles

"Foelie in aanval posisie, betrek op my merk. eskader 2 lei hul vegters af, 3 skakel hul puntverdediging uit. Slegs nie-noodsaaklike teikens. Vir die newel!" "Foils in attack position, engage on my mark. squadron 2 divert their fighters, 3 eliminate their point defence. Non-vital targets only. For the nebula!" Khione called into her comms as her squadrons drew beneath the station and pulled up hard to attack the lumbering station.

True to her plan, a lot of the enemy combat patrol had moved higher to form a screen against the Final Dawn warships brought by Marlon Sularen and his mass of expendable fighters. From somewhere on the ground, hot beams of energy lanced force, detonating one of Frigates undergoing repairs, there was no indication who made the strike, and ground based weapons posed no threat to tiny nimble fighters, but it was an interesting development.

Khione locked on to the sheild generators and flak cannons and her squadron began launching disruptor torpedoes, weapons that would disable the systems without causing catastrophic damage to the station.

"Khi! Blood Sworn incoming!" crackled the communicator on her console.

"Ek sien hulle, eskader 1 en 3 op my, laat hulle 'n pad oopmaak!" I see them, squadron 1 and 3 on me, lets clear them a path. Her fighter and 16 attending fighters moved rapidly across the underside of the station towards the predicted breaching point for Zachariel Steelblood and his assault boats. Torpedoes and disruptor cannons raked the different defensive positions, reducing the fire that the incoming tribe would face. Khiones own fighters were taking fire and one of her squadron returned to his gods in a fireball to her left. Her own craft was nearly impossible to effectively target with its Phase Masque running, but even she felt pressure from the level of flak.

Khione gave to order to pull back in order to regroup once she felt they had supported the bloodsport attack sufficiently. Several of her fighters engaged their Vapor dispensers leaving a cloud of laser absorbing Emerald green gas in their wake to cover the withdrawal. They would be back shortly, but it was the bloodsworn's time for their attack run. Khione has lost three, a kill and two crippled, but in exchange had done significant damage to that defensive systems on that sector of the station.

 

[Zachariel Steelblood]

Objective: Secure the shipyards
Tags: Khione | Marlon Sularen | Crane Baxa | Sinestra
Links: Weapons | Chosen​

In orbit of Atliria/Anarris, battle raged between the Brotherhood and the defenders of this pitiful world. At the fore were Khione and her cohort, sleek and deadly fighters tearing apart the enemy with efficiency. They fought around the shipyard, killing one another even as the Bloodsworns boarding pods and assault boats approached. The arrival of the Final Dawn during this approach changed nothing, at least not for Zachariel and his warband who would be boarding the station. They would still take and hold it in the name of the tribes and the Avatars.

However, it did herald new tasking for the Bloodsworns fleet. Where before they were moving to support Khione, now they moved more to stand between the Final Dawn and the shipyards. Specifically, they stood between the directed landing points of the Bloodsworn and the Final Dawn. They didn't stand directly against the Final Dawn and continued to fire upon alliance vessels, along with shipyard defenses, but it was clear they wouldn't roll over for the Final Dawn here.

As for the boarding squads, thanks to the help of Khione, they slammed into the side of the space station with only a single assault boat lost. Very acceptable casualties all things considered. From those pods came the Bloodsworn, melee warriors rushing out with weapons and shields drawn, and behind them came their ranged brethren. From damaged pods or perfectly fine ones, wounded or not, they roared into the station and slammed into the defenders. Said soldiers had been given warning of where the Bloodsworn would arrive, but hadn't had time to properly prepare.

From his own pod, Zachariel emerged flanked by a pair of his Chosen. He emerged into an empty corridor, with only the faintest echoes of distant screams to note that a battle was raging. Turning, the warlord began marching towards the nearest souls he could sense, even as he sent out a message to Khione.
"Your aid is much appreciated. And continued aid would be well rewarded." Chuckling across the comms, Zachariel continued. "I aim to take these shipyards for the tribes and for the Bloodsworn. Were you to help us, you would reap the rewards that come from these shipyards. Can I count on your aid against all who would try to keep them from us?"

Zachariel didn't simply mean the forces of good, he also meant the Final Dawn. He had been informed of their arrival in system, knew they sought these shipyards just as he did. No doubt to further reinforce the Final Dawn and their Sith masters. In that, Sularen and he weren't too different, both seeking to further their own goals and groups. Unfortunately for Sularen, the High Regent didn't seek to worship the Avatars or aid the faithful, seeing them all only as pawns.

That made the two natural foes, even moreso than any prior division in the Brotherhood would have made them. A shame, truly, but for now they were still allied. Zachariel wouldn't fight them, his own warband simply stood in the way of Task Force Vader, they wouldn't fire upon them unless fired upon. As Zachariel turned the corner and beheld a squad of defenders, he allowed the concerns of command to fade for a moment. Instead, he let the bloodlust take hold, prompting him to leap forward into them with a blood curling scream, becoming a whirlwhind of death as he did so.

"For the Dark Three!"

 

[Kyrel Ren]

Location: Within the City
Allies: The Maw
Enemies: Trelan Kalien
Nearby: Kay-Larr
​

The Wrath of the Maw would advance along with his fantastic mix of fanatic Annarians and his own savage Crimson Hand troopers that had roamed the streets block by block. With each step that Kyrel moved the spear in his hand would start to suck in energy from the dead. That energy would be fed into the Wrath himself, and fueling his rage and desire to go forth and slaughter the enemy. He would let his senses overtake him, any enemy soldier he came across would be impaled by his spear of dark side energy. What little life force his foes carried would be fed back into the dark warrior as he kept his advance. While his own troops were advancing street by street, and block by block.

"Come my loyal maggots. We must take this city in the name of the Avatars. Do your duty to them, and slay the nonbelievers!" He would shout among the loud screams, blaster fire, and explosions that would happen all around them. Bloody banners of the Hands, and the Mawite insignia would wave through the fierce fighting. Kyrel's eyes would focus on ahead to lines of tanks, and narrowed his gaze. The Hunger in his hands had tempted him with a large amount of prey, the enemy made it too worthy of a target to pass up before him. Quickly he would start moving past the other soldiers, shoving and pushing his way through them, while any unfortunate foe unlucky enough to cross the beast's pass would suffer the forked tipped blades of the Hunger.

Soon he could feel the ringing in his ears from the blast of a seismic missile that had almost knocked him off his feet. The familiar bang was like sweet music to his ears, as he saw the destructive force tear through armor, flesh, and bone of his own stormtroopers. What came was an ugly smirk behind the mask of the Ren Master. His gaze focused intently on the tanks before him. Raising his spear in the direction of the armored defensive lines he shouted. "My brothers we march forward!" He said with such passionate conviction while he started to drag his legs through the shattered duracrete.

With his deadly intent, and the gnawing hunger of his dark spear he raised his weapon towards the tanks. With an ear shattering scream, and the flash of ancient Sith runes the weapon would fire a beam of crimson energy towards them. The crimson beam of energy was released in an attempt to reduce the tanks into nothing. If the blast succeeded in hitting the armored line, the crimson beam would start to drain them of any life force feeding it back to the Wrath.

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

CAEDYN ARENAIS​

---

Starfighter: NJO - Jedi Vector Mk 2.
Inventory: Jedi Garments | Armistice Staff Lightsaber.
Objective II: Protect & Evacuate Kay-Larr .

---

En route to Altiria.​

The news of civil war across Altiria had reached Caedyn Arenais via the Holonet, and as tensions were coming to a head, his initial thoughts ran to his Mother Kay-Larr . She had called Altiria her home for a great deal of time now, hidden there away from the spotlight of the Galaxy and having eluded an untimely demise, her life remained a well-kept secret to most of the people who had loved and called her friend and family; Caedyn, however, was the exception to this, and she had come to him for help some time ago, involving him in the secret yet peaceful life that she had wished so desperately for.

Now though, it seemed that peace had come to an abrupt and violent end with the arrival of the Brotherhood of the Maw, a known foe of the Galactic Alliance and one Caedyn had not yet had the displeasure of meeting on the battlefront.

As the Jedi Vector MK 2 shot through hyperspace en route to Altiria, Caedyn relied on the auto-pilot to announce their arrival while he instead looked to meditation and the Force to guide his instincts in the coming battle. The Jedi Knight had no wish to engage others in a fight of any sort, yet he needed to ensure that his Mother, the last living founder of House Arenais and the woman who had raised and cared for him, survived this awful affair.

As if on queue, the console at the centre of the Starfighters cockpit sounded his imminent arrival to Altiria's coordinates causing Caedyn's eyes to open and his hands to reach for the controls just as the hyperdrive released the single vessel from its light speed, the star lines quickly receding to their natural state while the Jedi Knight was left to watch the Fleet of the Maw already targeting what appeared to be Altiria's orbital Shipyard Station.

Diverting the Fighter away from the hostile Fleet, Caedyn pointed the nose towards Altiria itself and sent the engines into full-throttle as he sought to avoid being caught up in the violent exchange.

"Mom, it's Caedyn. How copy?" the Jedi Knight spoke through his headset connected via the Starfighters' communication systems. It was a live transmission using Kay's personal frequency that she had given him to be used in emergencies such as this one; "I'm nearing Altiria's orbit and I'm coming to pull you out of there immediately".

Relevant Tags: Khione , Zachariel Steelblood , Marlon Sularen , Grand Shepherd Burtch , Crane Baxa, Max Sinn .

 

[Kay-Larr]

Objective: 2
Allies: Ned-V, Grand Shepherd Burtch , Daro Roz’yrn Trelan Kalien Caedyn Arenais
Enemies: The Maw, Kyrel Ren


More and more of the tea shoppe's usual customers came frantically to the shoppe's door seeking shelter from the battle as it grew ever closer. And right away they were put to work helping to load up the shoppe's supplies onto the loading platforms that began to be linked together like a train.

Suddenly the explosions sounded too close. The calls for evacuation rang out, causing Kay to look to Ned-V. "Time's up. We need to leave now." He gave her a nod and signalled for her to head to the front of the loading platforms. Kay slipped her Monarch tea cups into her satchel after carefully bundling them up and slung it over her shoulder. She waved everyone over. "Get onto the platforms everyone! We're leaving!" It didn't take much coaxing for the citizens to hop on board. No one wanted to become a part of the bloodbath.

As if on cue, Kay's commlink came to life as she reached the front of the loading platform train and turned it on. First up was Daro, urging her to get to the rendevouz point. She signalled him back. ~We're on our way and will be there soon!~

Ned-V took up the rear, sitting on the last landing platform with a blaster rifle in hand. His photoreceptors took in the area around them, awaiting enemy targets should they get close enough to pose a threat.

The forest where Kay often collected fresh ingredients for her shoppe now stood as the cover for their escape. She drove the train of loading platforms through the trail, weaving through the trees. It wasn't a fast journey, yet it wasn't a crawling one either. Once again her commlink became active as her son's voice was heard above that of the battle behind them. How he had found out so quickly, she wasn't sure. Altiria/Annaris was mostly ignored by everyone, which was why she chose it as her place of refuge. But now all of that was gone for good. "Cae! I've got help coming down from a friendly fleet above! I think they are friends of your sister! We're meeting at the clearing in the forest. I've got a bunch of families with me. We'll need an escort in case the Maw tries to stop us from fleeing! Be careful!"

The air behind her felt cold. Kay knew that feeling well and what it had meant. Darksiders. She didn't want to fight them, especially now. But that didn't mean that she couldn't do so as a last resort. Still, she was vastly outnumbered and outgunned.