Dominion A Pound of Rebellion | EE Dominion of Orellon II

[Ingrid L'lerim]

Ingrid L’lerim
The Red Witch; Emperor's hand; Director of Blackwatch; Baroness of Vengard, Head of the House L’lerim, CEO of the HPI Consortium​

Location: Capital City, Orellon II
Equipment: 2x red blade lightsaber shoto | Tactical Turtleneck with this look as Imperial Uniform | Viper Mk. I Skinsuit | G1 OmniLink
Ground forces: 2/2 Infinite Droids (Honour Guard with her)
Tag(s): Kalic Daws | Lace Donnadieu | Loreena Arenais-Valhoun | Aya Clarke | Vidalu Na'an | LE-03 (Leigh) | Kelsen Ghastt | Open

Ingrid received the answer from the Admiral within moments that it was indeed the Emperor's command. This was to be expected after she sent a message to the Emperor and knew the man so well that she knew the Lord Commander could do it without thinking.

”I'm going to the arena, the queen was there for the last time, it's on the edge of town, from here it looks like the building has already suffered damage. If you open fire, do it at the opposite end of town, but I'll try to get out by then.”

Yes, it was expected that after the insult and ambush, things would not be left so much, especially that they had walked into this trap. After Lanteeb, they were too confident in that regard. But now there was no choice but to end it. And that only ends when they have certainty about the Queen's death.

After that, all she really had to do was head back. Since there was nothing stopping her now, she was jogging at a pace. She was about two miles away from the arena, meaning at this pace Ingrid had plenty of time to go over, look around, and get back to a safe distance.

It means, that would have happened if she hadn't met Aya Clarke again halfway…

​

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Was this what the attack on Commenor and Chasin City by the Sith looked like? After the shields had been dropped anyways. Lori had been deep underground during that, moving out of the bunkers and deep through the tunnels to make her escape from the Sith monsters that tried to capture her. It was worse when one of her school friends had tried to convince her to turn herself in after she had discovered that he was working for the Sith.

And now here she was, running for her life with Lorne Kantera as the city they were in was reduced to ash. So many lives gone. And she wasn't even recording it!

A reprieve arrived sooner than expected. The star destroyers moving away to destinations unknown. "Maybe the back up has arrived!" Yet that hope was short lived as the attacks from Kelsen Ghastt continued.

Lori hurried up the ramp, listenig to the exchange between Lorne and his droid. No doubt they made a great team and it made her think of Arla, her disguised assassin droid for a bodyguard.

"I'm Lori Arenais and yes, I've got quite a bit of experience shooting down fighters! Just get us in the air!" She quickly sprang into the seat and buckled herself in before taking hold of the controls and training her eyes on the transparasteel in front of her.

Hopefully Lorne was a good enough pilot.

 

[Lorne Kantera]

​

Location: Above the Capital, Orellon II
Tags: Loreena Arenais-Valhoun

It felt good to be back at the Wyrm's controls, even if they were a little sluggish; Lorne had taken apart the maneuvering thrusters, intending to clean them, and only half-finished the job before this sudden exit had been forced upon him. Given the total lack of profits on this doomed run, he wasn't quite sure where he'd find the credits to get replacement parts for the ones he'd just had to abandon, still lying on the hangar floor. He'd probably have to bluff his way into a sabacc game, or maybe ask for another loan... He grimaced at the thought.

He never seemed to make any progress on his debts. Probably because he immediately blew every payout on having a good time.

The Wyrm's engines, which Beebo had already warmed up, hummed unsteadily; one or the other of them was always acting up, sometimes both. But Lorne knew his ship's eccentricities, and her unpredictable nature sometimes worked in his favor, especially when dodging rigid-minded pilots who expected traditional maneuvers. As the hangar doors opened, the Wyrm jetted out between them, emerging from the sealed environment into a scene straight from one of Corellia's nine hells: dust, ash, and the screams of the doomed.

Half the city was gone already; it was easy to tell from the air. Where half an hour ago there had been apartment blocks, caf shops, hospitals, schools, now there was just a blackened mass of scorched and churned earth, the only evidence that the vaporized buildings had ever existed. The Imperial barrage was continuing to creep into the parts of the capital that still stood, methodically erasing a few streets at a time. From his high vantage point, Lorne could see streams of refugees fleeing into the countryside, seeking the shelter of the jungles.

He wondered how long that protection would last them. The Empire tended to be... thorough.

The thought churned Lorne's stomach, but what could he do? He was one guy with one ship, a guy who wasn't even supposed to be caught up in this mess. People like him couldn't change the course of the galaxy, so why bother worrying about politics? He'd survived as long as he had by never forming opinions about "tyranny this" and "freedom that". He rode on the solar wind whichever way it blew, because he was going to die one day, and he wanted to pack as many good times into his life as he possibly could before that day came.

As he reflected on that lack of interest in involving himself in struggles like this, the young woman's name finally registered. "Sorry, what?" He slowly asked, using the headset now that he was in the cockpit and Lori was in the gun turret. "Arenais? Is, ah... Is Lori short for something?" He had a sinking suspicion he already new the answer. This woman clearly wasn't a local, and she had one of the most famous surnames in the galaxy, and she happened to be here just when rebel activity was going on... Lorne swallowed hard.

For the moment, though, there was no time to worry about it. "Incoming fighters!" The smuggler said, distracted by the threat to his ship; three Imperial interceptors had broken off from orbit, giving chase as he tried to ascend. He jinked the Wyrm this way and that, evading the first of their volleys. "Let's see that experience of yours," Lorne told his passenger. "We can't get out of here directly; I've got to make a run for the jungles, get out from under the star destroyers. Can you keep them off us until then?"

A volley from the lead fighter slammed into the Wyrm's shields, and Lorne cursed. "Come on, baby, hold together."

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori heard the voice of Lorne Kantera coming from down below. She spotted the headset and quickly put it on, just barely making out his question of her name's abreviation. "Yeah it's Loreena. Named after my grandmother, why?"

Any thoughts that she had regarding herself were gone however, the moment that the fighters came into view. Lorne had reacted in a way that had surprised her, using sporadic techniques that made her really glad that she didn't suffer with motion sickness. Lori started opening fire, yet she wasn't used to the line of sight of the gun turret, and so her aim was a bit off.

"Yes, I'll try!" She grit her teeth as the ship's shields were pounded by more laserfire from the fighters. Lori held down the trigger, releasing a volley of bolts of her own once the fighters appeared near her targeted sights. "Accelerate quickly! Punch it for five seconds and then brake hard! I'll handle the rest!"

Inside of her pocket, the muffled voice of Arla could be heard; "Ca--ain! -ori! Lo-i?! Whe--e -re y--?!"

 

[Lorne Kantera]

Location: Above the Capital, Orellon II
Tags: Loreena Arenais-Valhoun

Loreeena Arenais, the face of the Eclipse Rebellion, was aboard his ship... He was never going to get out of here alive, was he?

Lorne kept up his erratic movements, dodging around shattered buildings and flying through plumes of smoke in an effort to shake off their pursuers, but the fighters came on doggedly; no doubt they were under strict orders to ensure that no one escaped this little lesson in Imperial power and retribution. The smuggler's dodging kept most of the enemy fire well away from the Wyrm, and the shields were holding so far, but he could see that his unorthodox flying style was making it difficult for his gunner to find a target.

"Copy that," Lorne replied to her suggestion; she was an experienced rebel, after all, and probably knew a thing or two about taking down Eternal Empire fighters. So he did as she asked. The Wyrm jolted ahead at full throttle, streaking over the charred spot where half a city had once stood, engines screaming at full burn. He counted down slowly in his head from the moment he'd started accelerating. Five... four... three... two... one... And then he cut the engines and fired the maneuvering thrusters, directed backward, at maximum.

A wheeled or tracked vehicle can use friction to brake, but there's no ground or axles for a speeding starship to grab onto; only firing the thrusters in reverse can bring it to a sudden stop, and that's not easy on the vehicle or crew. The Wyrm's hull groaned as she strained against her own momentum, the thrusters trying desperately to hold her back without ripping her apart. Lorne was nearly thrown from his seat, his head slamming against the controls as the inertial dampers struggled to keep the change in speed from pulping his organs.

But the Imperial fighters had not anticipated this crazy maneuver, so maybe this was their chance...

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori had no time to fumble in her pocket for her commlink to answer Arla. She was too focused on taking out those fighters. As Lorne Kantera accelerated his ship, Lori counted down the five seconds herself, bracing for when the momentum would shift.

And shift it did. The multiple g-force that wracked her body pulled her against the straps of her seat. Yet they held firm and prevented her from being thrown. She trained her eyes on the fighters that approached even quicker, pulling on the trigger as the enemy flew right into her crosshairs. Plumes of smoke appeared as she made a couple of direct hits while the fighters zoomed past them. "Punch it! Go get them!"

Lori took the brief seconds to pull her commlink out of her pocket and hit the button. "I'm here! In another ship taking out some fighters! We've got them on the run! Rendevous on my signal and be our wingman!"

~Understood, Captain.~ The tone in Arla's voice let Lori know that she was either set to get the silent treatment or a lecture once she was back on board Jaster's Sparrow. Neither of which were something to look forward to.

 

[Lorne Kantera]

Location: Above the Capital, Orellon II
Tags: Loreena Arenais-Valhoun

As the Wyrm juddered and shook, Lorne wrestled with the yoke, struggling to get his ship back under control. He could feel blood running down the side of his face from where he'd hit his head; he probably should've strapped himself in. Hindsight was 20/20. There was no time to worry about the past, though, or even to check his injury. The sudden acceleration and deceleration had wreaked havoc on the subsystems, and he was adjusting power distribution with one hand while he tried to steer with the other. Sparks flew from several panels above him.

The gambit had paid off, though; Loreena was a good shot. Several fighters tumbled end over end, caught in bursts of turret fire as they sped past the Wyrm, and exploded against the ruins below. Despite the strain of holding things together up in the cockpit, Lorne let out a savage whoop. "Great shooting! That should get them off our backs for now." He hoped. They still would have to make for open skies, still would have to find some way to make it past an entire Imperial fleet that had moved in to cut this planet off. That wouldn't be easy.

As long as Loreena was aboard, good shot or no, it might actually be impossible.

As he finally finished reassigning power, Lorne managed to arrest the Wyrm's downward spiral; she had nearly nosedived straight into the ruins right after the fighters, but her engines and thrusters had finally kicked back on. The smuggler punched the ship forward, flying through plumes of smoke, dodging and weaving in an effort to lose any remaining fighters. In the meantime, he had a decision to make. What exactly was he going to do with the high-profile rebel on his ship? He didn't do political causes. His only concern now was getting himself out of here.

"So," he said into the headset, "you're with the rebellion, then? What exactly is your plan for all those people down there?"

 

[Ingrid L'lerim]

Ingrid L’lerim
The Red Witch; Emperor's hand; Director of Blackwatch; Baroness of Vengard, Head of the House L’lerim, CEO of the HPI Consortium​

Location: Capital City, Orellon II
Equipment: 2x red blade lightsaber shoto | Tactical Turtleneck with this look as Imperial Uniform | Viper Mk. I Skinsuit | G1 OmniLink
Ground forces: 2/2 Infinite Droids (Honour Guard with her)
Tag(s): Kalic Daws | Lace Donnadieu | Loreena Arenais-Valhoun | Aya Clarke | Vidalu Na'an | LE-03 (Leigh) | Kelsen Ghastt | Open

After all, she decided she wouldn’t stop and wouldn’t let the other woman notice her. She didn’t want to start fighting now, especially not when she had so little time. So she reached out to the Force and disappeared from everyone's eyes, as well as from the sensors. So she avoided Aya Clarke and went on. As she got closer to the ruins and the Arena, she reached out again to the Force, this time to be even more attuned to her surroundings and the aura the Queen had. Hoping she’ll find it, or maybe she’d rather because she doesn't?

The red-haired woman didn't even know which would have been a better case if the queen was alive or not. True, if she didn’t find her, it could have meant that she was far enough away and she wouldn’t find her. However, she was still here nearby. As much as she felt there were several around her or just around. But she didn't really matter to her, she knew where to go, and from that moment on, the queen couldn't escape. In order not to devour her own strength unnecessarily when she got further away from the religious woman, she became visible again, only hiding her presence, not herself.

She ran, rushed as if her own life had passed on this. Ironically, this was actually the case because she didn’t have too much time to kill the queen and even get out of here. She followed the aura she felt in the Force, almost lit up for the woman as a turn signal. And a few minutes later she arrived at that part. It was a little further away from the arena, meaning there was also a tunnel under them where they could escape. However, luckily she felt where the queen was, so it wasn’t hard to get there.

The red-haired woman reached out to the Force again, hid herself again, and after a short concentration teleported near the Queen with the help of the Force…

​

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori took note of how much the Wyrm shook and strained itself with the sudden maneuvers that Lorne Kantera had put her threw. She wasn't quite built for this. Either that or she needed more tweeking. But she couldn't think about such things right now. Time was pressing.

The Jaster's Sparrow came in hot, opening fire on the remaining fighters have it gave chase. Arla's skills were unmatched as her reflexes were much quicker than those of her biological counterparts.

Lori heard Lorne's questions and it made her think back on Commenor once more. How many cities would be destroyed? How many lives would be lost? And how many could they save?

"We need to save as many as we can. How many can you fit in here? Let's go to one of the further settlements. We can't stop the Destroyers. I can use my own ship to get as many as I can. With the two ships, we'd at least have a chance to ensure the population isn't entirely wiped out!"

 

[Vidalu Na'an]

Talira stared at the rebel for a moment, before turning her gaze out into the arena. Truthfully, she hadn't quite thought this far ahead. What was her plan? She was doing the right thing, wasn't she? Fighting the Empire. Making sure Orellon II did not end up like Bakura. Joining the Rebels in their struggle.

It was the Honorable thing.

Right?

"One way or another, we will have to leave our home, Talira. Once the Empire brings their fleet en mass, we have no way to fight back, unless the Rebellion has a trick up it's sleeve."

"Aunt..."

"The Rebellion has ships, however we are not equipped to engage in a space battle with the Empire. If we had more allies, perhaps we could, but as it stands... Nothing we do here will damage the Empire more than an inconvenience."

Lace stepped forward from the two Kentra women, and stood at the balcony rails. The city was chaos. The imperials were scattered, and frantic. That didn't change the fact that there were just too few Imperials for them to have done any meaningful damage to their ranks.

Location: Capital City, Orellon II
Tag(s): Kalic Daws s | Lace Donnadieu | Loreena Arenais-Valhoun | Ingrid L'lerim | Aya Clarke | Lorne Kantera | Taozi Fuyuan​

Na'an only stared in horrified disbelief. Below the balcony, the silence was punctuated by the sounds of blasterfire and screaming.

"You have no plan," came the stunned response after a second. "None of you have a plan but to have us save the entire population of your planet for you. No thoughts towards orbital bombardment, no protections for the offworld transports...You fully expected us to do all the work here.

And you didn't even tell the Voice that."

Leigh had banked her support on trusting that the Queen had a plan for protecting her people, if not the surface of the planet herself. She didn't have many resources to dedicate to this operation, so that trust had been absolutely essential. And this Queen, this karking idiot of a royal had just thrown her city into chaos, her planet into open rebellion, and her people into the line of fire without so much as an idea on how to keep them from dying for her cause. She'd told the Voice her defiance wouldn't lead to death, based on absolutely nothing.

This palace was no longer a position worth holding. The best Na'an could do to protect the Eclipse--to help Leigh--was damage control.

"We're moving," she said abruptly, not even bothering to hide her fury. "Now."

Without waiting for approval, she lunged forward, grabbing the royal by the waist and pulling her close. A quick duck-and-pull sent the Queen over her shoulder, and Na'an turned back towards the railing, sparing a quick look down at the fight below. The Hand had apparently decided the guard wasn't worth her attention and disappeared from sight, which was always a bad sign. She could be already on the ledge as far she she knew. The only way to avoid her would be to act on instinct, and let the Force guide her hand--

Which was why her next act was to vault over the edge of the balcony.

The Queen's terrified squeals rung through Na'an's helmet as they dropped all the way down to the arena below. But Na'an was no stranger to long difficult drops, even ones where rolling was no option. She landed hard, her knees screaming as she pushed herself into a run down the nearest break in the building line. As she bolted around a corner, she spared a finger to activate her comm signal.

"We need an evac fleet," she said breathlessly. "And I need pickup coordinates. Orellon's got no plan, it's up to us to recover what they promised. I've got the gorram Royal Idiot but there's children in unarmed shuttles already in orbit, this needs to happen NOW!"

Leigh would know what to do. All Na'an had to do until then was keep this planet's ruling power alive--no matter how inept.

 

[LE-03 (Leigh)]

Location: Capital City, Orellon II
Tag(s): Kalic Daws | Lace Donnadieu | Loreena Arenais-Valhoun | Ingrid L'lerim | Vidalu Na'an | Lorne Kantera

​

Leigh did not have the time to be quite so angry as her human partner. As soon as Na'an's voice crackled over the comms, she had already begun the Voice's work.

Humans. Why did humans have to be so difficult? If the Queen had simply told the Voice of Abbaji of her expectations, they could have planned for this to go much more smoothly. Covert removals of civilians beforehand would have been much safer, and resulted in far less panicked improvisation. Was it pride, perhaps? The Orellon people were a warrior culture, which statistically predisposed them to levels of independence that often seemed counterproductive to growth. Leigh added an addendum to her dossier of the planet, making a mental note to research cultural norms before engaging in future alliances. Understanding how different planets approached the concept of rebellion would be necessary in making effective use of them.

In the meantime, there were children that needed saving. Leigh opened channels to two separate resources bookmarked as "Fleet Operations" in her memory banks and adjusted her internal audio feed. For the sake of expediency, she used a vocal modulation common for her wider correspondences as the Voice; it would be more efficient for quick recognition and obedience.

<<Attention Echo and Lapin. Redirect efforts towards evacuation. We need teams both recovering the planetary population on the ground, and recovering transport shuttles in orbit. Please note that the shuttles are carrying juvenile civilians. And we are on a timeline--recovery must be complete before the arrival of the Imperial fleet. Speed is top prioty, I repeat, speed is top priority. Copy and respond.>>

​

 

[Lorne Kantera]

​

Location: Above the Capital, Orellon II
Tags: Loreena Arenais-Valhoun

Perhaps he should have been ashamed of it, but Lorne's immediate reaction to Lori's words was relief. She has a ship, so she'll get off mine. It was a coward's response, but cowards lived a lot longer than heroes. What would it matter if he got caught up in her little rebellion only to die in a haze of turbolaser fire as soon as he broke atmosphere? Maybe they'd sing songs about how the people of Orellon II were martyred for the cause, but none of those martyrs would be around to feel honored. Lorne had one life to live, and he wasn't going to throw it away.

But then she asked how many people the Wyrm could fit, and he sighed. Maybe he could take a few. As long as he didn't have Loreena Arenais, infamous rebel leader, aboard the ship, he might just have a chance of slipping out of the system, especially if the rebel relief fleet was causing chaos among the blockade at the same time. He was pretty good at this whole smuggling thing, and he didn't want it said that he was afraid of anybody. "Maybe fifty folks," he finally said, "if they don't have any personal space issues. It'll be tight."

Fifty people, out of the whole population of the planet. It was a drop in the bucket, almost unnoticeable. But to those fifty, people whose lives were every bit as complicated and intricate and valuable as his own, it would mean everything. Lorne wasn't sure there was any real way of getting paid on this job; desperate refugees tended not to have much to offer, not when their planet was about to cease being habitable. But it wasn't like he was doing charity, which he never did. He just happened to be leaving at the same time. Might as well.

It was all Lori's fault, she'd made him do it. He didn't do hero stuff. She must've twisted his arm. Or so he told himself.

The Wyrm, covered by the Sparrow's guns from any more fighters, soared into open airspace. Behind it, plumes of dust and smoke indicated that the capital city was still being pounded into oblivion by the fleet above. But in a jungle clearing below, a small gathering of refugees had parked landspeeders in a broad circle. They were waving their arms up at the two ships, holding up their children on their shoulders, desperately signaling for rescue. With a heavy sigh, Lorne set the Wyrm down at the edge of the clearing.

This is not how I saw today going. "I can probably fit most of them," he said, "if you want to get to your ship."

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

"Fifty? That's wicked! Much more than what I can carry. Thank you!" Given that Arla was covering their backs, Lori unbuckled herself and then got to her feet, hurrying back to the cockpit where Lorne Kantera was piloting them. Her eyes were drawn to the transparsteel window where she could see the people down below trying to catch their attention. "Take them to Commenor, if you can. Contact either Caedyn Arenais or Darlyn Excron and they'll see that you're paid for your efforts and cover your expenses. Tell them Goofball said to take it out of her account. They'll understand." It was the least she could do. Especially for taking a slew of people all the way out to Commenor.

Now they just needed to evacuate as many as they could. It will never be enough. But this wasn't exactly how any of them anticipated this mission to go...