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[INITIALIZATION AND ARCHIVE RETRIEVAL COMPLETE.]
FORMOS CAMPAIGN RECORD 03: AGGRESSIVE COMPETITION
[BEGINNING PLAYBACK]
Formos
8:20 AM
[ERROR] / [ERROR] / 878 ABY
"So I tell the guy, 'Hey I'm not the one trying to buy some scrapheap here!' And then he starts going off on me about how 'every ship is valuable, not junk' or whatever." The guard sighed as his partner went on about some story or whatever else was bugging him today. He hated having to patrol the outskirts of his settlement, always having to listen to some weird story or argument. It wasn't like anything ever happened these days anyway, not after the raider and pirate population started disappearing.
"And then he says-hey what's that?" The guard finally looked back at his long-winded partner, raising an eyebrow as the latter guard was squinting at something from beyond the window of their guard post. "It's probably just an animal or something." He waved off the concern in his partner's voice as he leaned back on his stool. "No it's definitely not an animal. It's a repulsorcraft!" Now that got his attention. He stood up and his eyes widened as he spotted the vehicle moving across the open terrain, and it wasn't only one either. Several were racing towards the outpost.
"Should we call this in?" The guards shared a look but before either of them could move to the outpost's commlink, the door was kicked open. A Squire rushed in, their sword leveled at the pair of guards who quickly threw up their hands in surrender. Little did they know that similar scenes would be happening across the outposts that lined the outskirts of the settlement, allowing the Mailocs to pass by without raising alarm as the Squires secured their prisoners.
Thus far, all had gone according to plan. But this was the easy part.
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The small settlement of Levstrom wasn't too dissimilar to other such towns across Formos. It was mainly a small agricultural settlement, but with some infrastructure to make trade viable. What separated it from other settlements though was the high walls that surrounded the bulk of the town and the heavily fortified building that sat in the center of said town. Of course the regular patrols and scattered militarized cargo vehicles also made Levstrom different and distinct.
Levstrom had long since been under the control of a local warlord, with other nearby settlements having to pay a fee so that his wrath wasn't thrust upon them. Kenth Orum wasn't the usual Formos warlord either. He had been the son of a wealthy businessman from before the Bryn'adul occupation of the planet, himself having fled into hiding in the Confederacy of Independent Systems. By the time that the CIS had dissolved he was left with a hefty inheritance and some experience from service in the military. As such, he thought it was only natural that Formos be restored to its former glory in his image.
Levstrom was just the first to be remade as he saw fit, with the locals subdued by curfews and mercenary guards. They had slowly adjusted to life under their warlord and now he looked to expand his power after securing his domain. There was just one problem. One very apparent and dangerous problem.
"No reports have come in from the outer guard posts for almost an hour. Communication with the towns of Gley and Addlemuth isn't going through either." Warlord Orum's fist clenched at the news and the officer quickly stepped back without dropping his salute. "They've jammed us then." The warlord's gruff voice filled the silent command center, the rest of the officers either watching and waiting for orders or still trying to contact the outer patrols and posts.
"Tell the city to go into lockdown. All citizens caught outside their homes will be detained. I want every soldier at the ready and in their defensive positions." The officers set to work and soon enough the lockdown alarm was blaring across Levstrom, the people quickly shuffling back to their homes or the nearest building to hide away as the usual patrols of the city headed towards the wall and took up their designated positions there.
"General Orum? We have an incoming transmission." The warlord turned and briefly fixed the officer in question with a glare before nodding to the holo-display that he had been staring at, which currently displayed a map of the settlement. "Let it through. Let's see what they want."
The warlord stood up straight and adopted a stern, more regulated angered stare as the display shifted and formed into the image of a masked and cloaked man. "Kenth Orum, general of Levstrom, Gley, and Addlemuth." Alisteri's voice alone drew a hot glare from the warlord. "The Dominion's master. I was wondering when you and your kind would make your move. You think that I haven't prepared for this? Do you think that Levstrom will be an easy victory for you?"
Alisteri's head cocked to he side, his arms crossing behind his back as he seemed to observe the warlord for a few moments. "Oh I know you have. But you misunderstand me Orum. I'm not here to gloat or trade words, I'm here to give you an understanding of your situation." Before the warlord could respond one of the alarms in the command center suddenly started going off. "We have movement in the atmosphere sir! There's a ship moving into low orbit!"
"You have one chance to surrender Orum, to avoid needless bloodshed and casualties. Make your choice."
Orum turned to bark an order but was interrupted by another officer's hasty and panicked shouting. "Reports coming back from the walls, groups of speeders are appearing around the outskirts!" Orum muttered a curse and turned back to the display of the Sith. "We'll fight to the end! I won't give up easily you masked bastard!" Alisteri inclined his head, standing up a bit straighter. "I know you will."
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The town of Levstrom itself seemed to flinch as the Altorius swooped low in the clouds above it, the frigate's guns aimed downward as it soared over the city. The ship fired off a volley and pulled back up into the sky as the bolts sped towards their target. The first hit the fortified command center dead on top and blew off the top floor along with the communications array that sat atop it, the second impacting the building's center floor directly and causing it to crumble.
By the time the soldiers of Levstrom had time to take in the sight of their most important asset being reduced to rubble the formations of Mailocs around the settlement sped forward and rushed towards the walls. Their laser cannons fired off and impacted the walls without much damage to the walls themselves, but the force of the impacts as well as higher placed shots threw many of the defenders from their posts.
The soldiers were quick to return fire with their blasters, both handheld and mounted, while the few turrets that weren't shot by the incoming speeders turned to let loose their fury upon the invaders. The tight groups of Mailocs break off and scatter to dodge the heavy fire issuing forth from the walls, their own cannons starting to disable the turrets and blow the mounted blaster positions off the walls as they focused on their targets. The heavy front gate of the settlement was able to repel the assault easier than most given their more fortified watchtowers, but they were distracted. A trio of Squires emerged from the buildings and homes closest to the gate and quickly leapt into the undefended rear of the guard posts on either side of the gate.
The crews manning the mounted guns and turrets barely had time to turn and face their attackers as the blades of the Squires dug into them, point-blank blaster fire briefly lighting up the watchtowers as the Squires cleared them. Soon enough the heavy gate was starting to retract as the towers were cleared of the last defenders, two Squires pulling their wounded comrade out into the settlement as the first Mailoc sped into the now-open gate. The speeder stopped and doors on either side opened with a hiss, Legionnaires spilling from within and filling the street while the cannon swiveled around and quickly put an end to a group of soldiers trying to reinforce the gate.
More and more speeders came into the city as the siege quickly turned into street-to-street fighting, with skirmishes between the soldiers and the Legionnaires breaking out across Levstrom as the Mailocs unloaded their passengers and helped to destroy the smaller watchtowers that dotted the settlement's interior. The civilians huddled in their homes, clutching their families or barricading their doors and windows while soldiers fought in the streets beyond their homes.
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Exarch Salneva Limont paced nervously in her makeshift office, resisting the urge to bite her lip or finger to calm her nerves as she awaited a status report from someone on the situation in Levstrom. It had been nearly three hours since the attack had begun, the surrender never materializing like she had hoped, and yet she still had heard nothing. It was supposed to be a simple show of force with the plan for attack only used as a last resort. Knowing the High Priest though...
She jumped as an alert from the holoprojector on her desk sounded off, quickly stepping over to answer it. The cultist sighed in relief as a projection of Alisteri appeared, with her offering a small bow. "High Priest, it is a pleasure to see you alive and well! I trust Levstrom has been pacified?" The Sith nodded, briefly glancing behind himself at something that didn't appear on the projection. "Not without a casualty count unfortunately. Orum was as stubborn as expected. Thankfully his soldiers weren't all that eager to fight to the last man and the citizens just stayed in their homes. The settlement is in our hands and the ultimatums to Gley and Addlemuth are being prepared now."
That brought a small frown to the cultist's face. "Ultimatums High Priest? Surely with their leader and strongest military bastion now ours Orum's soldiers are of no more concern." Alisteri chuckled and shook his head. "Were it so easy." She bit her lip but chose not to respond, idly wondering how she would break the news of a military conquest rather than a diplomatic one to the rest of the Dominion.
"I'll continue to oversee Levstrom for another hour or so before I leave it to Dellwild and Thetbye to finalize the occupation. The people here seem pretty eager to just get the fighting over with so the occupation shouldn't last too long. I assume you have some resources prepared to be sent out?" Salneva nodded and crossed her arms in front of herself as she stood up straighter to respond. "They're ready for transport, and our ambassadors are eager to meet with the people of Levstrom."
Alisteri seemed relieved by the news, his shoulders briefly losing their tension as he glanced around. "Good work. Go ahead and send them this way then, we have some rebuilding to do." The Exarch bowed respectfully as the projection fizzled out, the Sith slipping the device back into his pocket as he turned to face the ruins of the Levstrom command center. "Still no survivors?" One of the Legionnaires poking through the rubble shook their head, their fellow soldiers not seeming to offer any answer to the contrary. So the first shots had been effective after all, he'd have to get Captain Skep to give whoever fired those a promotion later.
He nodded, satisfied with the results and crossed his arms behind his back as he stepped away from the rubble. "Return to your patrols then. We need to ensure that no civilians were caught in the crossfire and that we have all the remaining enemy soldiers rounded up." With salutes or bows the Legionnaires left him, his gaze fixed on the settlement before him. Another town to add to the Dominion, this one a subject of conquest rather than integration.
It would prove to be a test for their existing system, but he was up to challenge and his cult was as well. Levstrom now belonged to the Dominion of Formos. And that wouldn't change.
Formos
11:45 AM
[ERROR] / [ERROR] / 878 ABY
[ENDING RECORD PLAYBACK]
