An Exotic Adventure

[Nima Tann]

Being called Mistress with that tone made her blush, she couldn't tell if she was being trolled or not. One thing she knew was Sio's servants sometimes liked to troll her for being shy about things. "Uhm... thank you!" She responded, as Hestia helped Sio into her wheelchair and the trio started moving towards Sio's bedroom. It sounded like the start of a very "action-filled" story, but their purpose was different.

As they continued walking, Hestia suddenly spoke, asking to join the trip to the dreamland. Nima was surprised by the sudden request first, but then nodded. "Of course." She responded, putting up a smile. "It's a simple process. You'll just need to think about nothing, as if you are sleeping, and I'll do the rest."

After a small time skip, they would arrive to the bedroom. Hestia helped Sio to her bed, making sure to arrange the pillows for her to feel more comfortable. "Should I lie down as well, Mistress?" Hestia asked to Nima, innocently.

"Uh-huh. Whatever makes you comfortable." Why did it make her uncomfortable for some reason?

Anyway, once both were in a comfortable position, she started to talk, herself pulling a chair near them.

"Alright. Sio, Hestia, I want you to just relax and close your eyes." She said, sending both mental brushes that would help them feel like they were in the clouds. At this point, they would hear her words inside their mind instead of the real world. "You are safe. No thoughts, no obstacles. Clear your mind from everything but your imagination. Just imagine what you want me to show you, and it will appear." She reached out to their minds, linking herself to them.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Nima Tann"]


"Oh, so it is a bit like what Chesna does. Mistress plays games with her sometimes," Hestia blurted out, then flushed quite a bit. Though she'd been exposed to Siobhan's rather...open-minded life style, she was shyer when compared to the more 'liberated' harem girls that populated her court.


"Yes, just a bit like that. But with less naked women and caramel syrup, presumably," Siobhan cracked a thin sort of smile, as she lay down on the bed. She took a breath, trying to relax. "Ready when you are, Nima." She propped her head up on the pillow and tried to forget the cares that burdened her. Instead she tried to think of better days, of martial glory, triumph and strength. Of legions marching to victory and her enemies being crushed beneath her heels.

 

[Nima Tann]

Sio told her that she was ready and Hestia nodded in agreement with an excited and curious look on her face, so Nima closed her eyes and focused on their link to start. Feeding the link energy to reinforce the connection, she proceeded to read their minds and prepare the illusion accordingly.

Once everything was ready, the reality started to shift around them, which would feel like they were in a very fast elevator. A few seconds after dealing with a bit of nausea, the feeling would pass and once they opened their eyes, they would find themselves inside a totally different world.

“You can open your eyes.” Nima spoke.

They were inside a battlefield, standing in a tent just a little far from the blaster bolt barrage between two trenches. Dressed in full armor, Nima found Sio and Hestia, who were also wearing armor of their choice.

“Wow.” Hestia spoke, examining her new clothing. “It feels... heavy.”

“Uh huh. I designed it to be a realistic simulation of a battlefield. You will feel pain, exhaustion, satisfaction from the consequences of your actions.” Small doses though, because of Sio’s illness. “The enemy has the numbers, they are technologically superior, and led by a very powerful Sith Lord.” She wouldn’t want to make it too easy. If the two looked out the tent, they would see a good view of the battlefield. Tanks, ships and soldiers. The neverending struggle of good and evil. There were a lot of things to explode and destroy for their hearts’ content.

It probably didn't have red, green or blue ending.

“People will listen to you.” She turned to Sio, with a smile on her face. “Whenever you are ready.” She made a hand gesture towards the entrance, inviting her to start the fight.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Nima Tann"]


Hestia examined her armour and the rifle she'd slung over her shoulder. Both felt very heavy, yet natural. She could never recall carrying, let alone firing a gun before, yet somehow she felt like she knew just how to wield the weapon. "You know, Mistress, this could be a useful way to train soldiers. Bit like Virtual Reality." Nima's words got her attention though. "So we will feel pain. But we cannot die in this...simulation, right?" she asked. "Sorry, just a little nervous."


"You won't die for real. But if you get a blaster bolt to the head, you'll feel like you died. So don't get hit," Siobhan said gruffly. If the servant girl wanted to play soldier, cool, but this also meant that she would not indulge or coddle her. "Time to get into the game, ladies."


She stepped out of the tent and marched into the trench. Soldiers, walkers and other combat vehicles were assembled. There was the loud boom of thunder and lightning slashed from the heavens, accompanied by shouts and the roar of artillery fire. Enemy gunships roared through the sky, and a missile exploded a bit further away, causing the ground to shake and columns of earth and smoke to rise up. Hestia and Siobhan sought cover. Cries of pain were heard, a medic rushed towards wounded. The sky was dark, illuminated only by beams of turbolaser fire, and the ground was covered in deep mud.


They soon came across one of the Firemane officers. This was a youngish woman whose dark skin marked her as a Dahomian and who bore the rank insignia of a Major. Her armour was dirty and her face scarred, but she looked defiant. "Ma'am, good to see you. Keep your head down, the enemy's giving us no breather," she had to yell to make herself heard over the noise. "Comm says we've lost another heavy droid transport. The enemy is closing in on us. It won't take much before we're caught in a cauldron. Enemy gunships keep harassing our transports, preventing the Second and Third Legion from reaching us . If we don't achieve a breakthrough soon, the situation looks grim. What are your orders?"


"What's our ammo situation? And do we still have enough combat effectives?"


"Just about, but it will become critical soon. Same applies to fuel. We've identified the enemy airfield, but it is heavily guarded. But if we could take it out, the enemy's stranglehold on our supply lines would be broken," the Major reported. Producing a datapad, she displayed a map of the battlefield. The enemy defences were strong, but one could make out gaps.


Siobhan took a breath. This was more like it. "We can't perform a frontal assault," at that the Major nodded curtly. "But come hell or high water, we're winning this battle. I want you to assemble a crack commando of the best soldiers in this legion. Our artillery will launch a hurricane bombardment. A series of short, intense barrages to target enemy batteries, roads, command centres and lines of communication. The last barrage will move forward of the advancing infantry to keep the enemy busy just before we strike. My strike force will take this route, slip through enemy lines," she pounted at a path on the map, "and hit the air field. Then we can bring up reinforcements and hit the enemy hard."


The Captain thought about it. "It's a bold plan, m'Lady..but risky. The assault will have to be precisely timed, especially to avoid casualties from friendly fire. And you'll be cut off from all support. The enemy has also laid mines. Ion shells will knock out some of them, but not all. But say the word and I'll unleash hell on them."


"Fortune favours the bold. Let's get ready."

 

[Nima Tann]

A Virtual Reality kind of training could very well work, prepare people for all kinds of situations and make them face their fears. A thought for later.

Nima knew what a battlefield looked and felt like, so she could understand Hestia's nervousness, after all, it would be the first time the servant was in a battlefield. Even if there were no real consequences, she would still get hurt, like Sio said. "You'll be fine." Nima added, with a smile. "Just be careful about what happens around you, and examine your surroundings very carefully. Even a rookie soldier can defeat powerful foes if they know how to manipulate the environment to their needs." With that, the three ladies escaped the tent and moved to the trench, with the loud voices of the artillery and soldiers shouting welcoming them. Enemy ships appeared in the sky from the dark clouds, bombarding an area not so far from their location. Likewise, Nima threw herself to a cover, as the explosion created a small earthquake.

The painful cries of the not so lucky soldiers could be heard, and medics rushing to help them. For someone who wasn't used to seeing the horrors of a battlefield, it would be a bad experience. Hestia looked around nervously, feeling the sweat forming on her face, but she stood her ground and moved forward with her Mistresses, staying in cover not to get caught by the blaster bolt barrage. Not so long after, an officer who wore Firemane armor approached them, the young, dark skinned woman nodded to Sio and gave her a brief status report. Listening to her, she could see that the situation was grim. Seeing Sio in her old form, Nima couldn't help but smile as the woman gave the Dahomian orders.

A selected bunch would distract the enemy, with the artillery giving hell to enemy locations, meanwhile the other group takes the alternate route to bring reinforcements. It would just work in this scenario, as they were less in numbers and there weren't enough resources. Of course, the Force would help them greatly also.

She left after the last words were said, the datapad in her hand with the map of the area opened.

A little later, their artillery roared once more, unleashing considerable amounts of firepower upon the coordinates the Dahomian selected according to scout reports, hitting enemy outposts and places of interest, creating quite a destruction. "Enjoy that, karkers." She commented. Hit the enemy hard, but only for a short time. Of course, the ammo was limited, so soon the distraction team would have to move.

"Ma'am, artillery strike has begun and my team will advance in a few minutes. We will keep them away from you." She gave her status report, speaking through her holocomm.

"Before we go..." Nima said, then added. "Sio, you might not have the strength you had before, so you'll need to find different tactics if we face something that requires your old strength." There was no way to say it in a sugarcoated way, so she decided to be direct about it. There were enemies which were harder to hit, and it would also help Sio mentally prepare herself and find different strategies considering her condition.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Nima Tann"]


Artillery was often referred to as the king of a battlefield. Even in this day and age, there was a high degree of truth to this. There was a loud, thunderous noise, almost as bad as an earthquake when the Firemane legion's guns and missile launchers unloaded upon enemy positions. Without comprehensive ear protection, one risked going death.


Their ammunition was limited, and so they would prioritise command centres, lines of communication, enemy batteries and supply routes. The intent was to throw the enemy into disarray and to give the shock troops the chance to slip through - and get close to their objective without being slaughtered while crossing no man's land.


Ion shells would cause little damage to personnel unless they scored a direct hit, but wreak havoc with electronics. This would affect not only communications equipment and droids, but vehicles unless they had been shielded against such attacks. Furthermore, they migh disable some buried land mines. High explosive shells would blast enemies to smithereens, whilst columns of smoke would obfuscate the advance.


All in all, there were three phases.


It was so dark that Siobhan had activated the infrared vision mode of her helmet, giving her a better view on the apocalyptic, bleak battlefield. The positions of her soldiers, including equipment, combat readiness and so on, were marked on hder HUD display. The same applied to the troopers assigned to the diversion force, who had been outfitted with heavier equipment such as a few walkers. The last was an euphemism for forlorn hope. Many of those who emerged from the trenches would die and never make it back. But that was the nature of war. It would not be long before the enemy unleashed counterfire upon their positions, raining down fire and brimstone upon the beleaguered base.


A frown creased her features when she heard Nima's words. Her jaw tightened. "I see. I'll deal," she finally spoke. "Even if it means not dropping another SD. Say your prayers, girls," she spoke a bit louder, addressing the soldiers. Then she received a signal from the artillery crew, indicating that the last barrage was about to begin. This one would move forward of the advancing infantry. "Move it. Once more unto the breach," she grabbed a battle shield and then she was out of the trenches. Hestia, having sealed her armour and covered herself with a helmet, followed after her, carrying a battle rifle.

 

[Nima Tann]

Ion shells hit the communication posts, mine fields, places where scouts reported to be vehicle and droid heavy. The ones that didn't have a shield were disabled immediately, and the ones that had a shield had their shields damaged. Explosive shells hit the patrolling areas, thick enemy lines, and the advancing enemy infantry. The time was of the essence before the enemy filled the lines once more, and as the last barrage hit, the Major called Sio, giving her the reports that it was the time to move. So they prepared, with the selected few whose mission was to infiltrate the enemy air field. Sacrifices were unavoidable, only a little mistake would be their end. They had one shot. However, it was the life of a soldier, the ones that were in this battlefield knew it very well.

She saw the slight disappointment in her expression when she told Sio about her condition, but she seemed like she was dealing with it. The soldiers were inspired by Sio's words, and seeing her in the front lines strengthened their will. They followed her, rifles and shields ready, to the outside of the trenches where most of them would probably die. Nima, feeling slightly nauseous, followed the group after checking her equipment once more. Until they reached to the side route where they would be safe from unwanted attention, they were bombarded by the blaster bolt barrage. A bubble would slow them down, so it wasn't an option, until they reached the side route they had to endure and protect themselves from the bombardment. Nima created a barrier in front of her and kept pushing. Around them explosions happened, some of the soldiers were lost, but it wasn't enough to shake their will even a little bit. Hestia stood closer to her Mistress.

The darkness was illuminated by the light show that escaped their weapons.

Meanwhile, Major and her army also advanced. "I am not ordering you to attack. I am ordering you to die. In the time that it takes us to die, the reinforcements will come and take our place. Now, move!" Major shouted to her team. Now that the mine field in front of them was dealt with, it was a bit easier to proceed. The heavy hitters, rocket launchers and walkers, started bombarding the enemy lines, meanwhile the infantry moved closer. The surprise effect from the attack helped them advance to defensive positions once the enemy returned fire, which didn't take that long. "Keep the line! Remember your training!" The Major shouted once more, keeping suppressive fire from her cover. She was under heavy fire by the enemy tanks, so this cover wasn't going to last so long.

The strike force would reach the side route after a while, with the help of the distraction force which kept the attention on themselves. Corpses of the enemies patrolling the area could be seen, hit by the artillery, in a gruesome detail. Destroyed vehicles and the parts of machines. Remains of soldiers were splattered everywhere. Oil and blood mixed together. Hestia looked like she was going to puke, but kept herself together very hardly.

"I sense a presence nearby. Might be enemies." Nima spoke. Hestia was surprised how unaffected she sounded. If only she knew that this was one of the better days.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Nima Tann"]


I’ve been where you are now and I know just how you feel. It’s entirely natural that there should beat in the breast of every one of you a hope and desire that some day you can use the skill you have acquired here. Suppress it! You don’t know the horrible aspects of war. I’ve been through two wars and I know. I’ve seen cities and homes in ashes. I’ve seen thousands of men lying on the ground, their dead faces looking up at the skies. I tell you, war is hell.


Siobhan would have agreed with General Sherman. War was hell, but also often a necessity. This was something the Jedi had never understood. Too many of them mistook battle for a leisurely stroll through the park where you converted the bad guys and no one got hurt. In her opinion, this was why so many of them lost their nerve in battle and 'fell to the dark side'. Indeed, she found the entire concept of falling idiotic. As if the dark side was some sort of Chaos demon that pounced on naughty Jedi. In order to do evil, you had to choose it. By believing otherwise, 'fallen Jedi' damned themselves...and gave themselves a convenient excuse for their actions by blaming it on an otherworldly entity. In short, it was a self-fulfilling prophecy.


Finding cover amongst the debris, Siobhan retrieved her macrobinoculars. Before them lay a scenery of devastation. Broken, ruined vehicles, charred and sometimes mangled corpses, body parts and pools of blood. Remains were splattered everywhere and artillery fire had blown deep craters into the battle-scarred ground. The sky was pitch-black, but the darkness was illuminated by flares and the light show caused by blaster bolts and turbolaser barrages, casting a bright scarlet light upon the land. Here and there, bolts of blue-white lightning slashed from the sky.


However, units of enemy soldiers could be seen, as figures encased in grey armour made their through the ruined landscape. Her gaze also fell upon artillery cannons. "More are coming. Take cover," she ordered blandly and the Firemane soldiers did as ordered. They did not really need much forewarning, for the roar of engines could be heard.


While fighters roared through the dark sky, enemy war machines rolled across the ground, sometimes crushing wrecks that impeded their path. However, rather than head towards the strike force, they went the other way. A gargantuan walker, armed with an imposing cannon, crushed a speeder beneath its massive legs as if it were a mere toy. The mud-soaked ground quaked beneath its heavy footsteps.


"They're going to attack Major Determination's troops," Hestia said in alarm, having realised where they would be headed after checking the holomap. "She's going to be outnumbered." A simulation it might have been, but suddenly it no longer seemed fun and games. Perhaps it gave her a bit of an idea of what real soldiers had to endure in combat.


"I know," Siobhan retorted coldly. "Now keep your head down and don't make any noise."


"B-but," Hestia did not get any further because Freya Solveig smacked her.


"Welcome to war, kid," the tough, golden-haired Sergeant grunted.


Looking through her binoculars again, Siobhan checked the enemy positions after the horde of machines had vacated the area. She could make out some heavy guns. These were anti-air cannons, but they also be used against infantry. These were located on a pair of hills. Furthermore, the enemy had entrenched positions."Some sacrifices are as unavoidable as they are necessary. They're not expecting an attack from this quarter. Their sentries won't be the most alert. Those heavy guns are a problem." But they may also be of use, she thought.


"Freya, take your group, quietly make your way forward and take out the sentries. Then turn their heavy guns on them," she pointed towards the area in question. There was a cruel grin on Freya's face when she removed her vibroknife from her boot. "Give me a signal when you're in position. I will lead another group, go high with jets and blitz the troops at thosee bunkers. Varkathras, you're on shield duty. Tann, sow confusion. Raven, your group is on sniping duty. Find a good position to fire from. We advance by fire and movement."

 

[Nima Tann]

The strike team took cover taking advantage of the destroyed environment, meanwhile Sio checked the area with her macrobinoculars. Just nearby her position, she could see the decaying head of an enemy soldier, staring at her, expressionless. It looked both sad and at peace, the creepy part of it. Then again, there were way creepier things in a battlefield, this was only one piece. Nima sighed. War, was hell. Yet it was necessary, to protect the innocent one needed to spill blood. One big burden for a soldier to carry. Her train of thoughts were interrupted as she heard Sio’s voice, giving the news of enemy reinforcements approaching.

However, the reinforcements seemed to be not for the strike force as they weren’t attacked yet, but the distraction one, the young Major’s troops. Considering the count and the strength of auras she was sensing, the numbers were enough to cripple their forces. Hestia was strongly opposed to the idea, of course, being not familiar with the battlefield. “We can’t let them see us, we have a mission to do. If we fail, their sacrifices will be in vain. This is sadly normal for a battlefield, Hestia. I wish we could save everyone, but it’s how this works.” Nima also said her piece after Sio and the golden haired soldier. Hestia, even though still hesitant, nodded and let the reinforcements pass. The heavy machinery crushed the vehicle parts and intestines in their way as they slowly left the scene.

They were hidden, for now, and opportunity arised for them to take the nearby patrol by surprise. According to Sio, there were heavy guns, which would be a problem if they weren’t taken care of, but also could be very helpful if they managed to capture them. The plan was simple, they were going to use this situation to their advantage and quickly eliminate the patrol before they informed the others about their existence. Everyone had their missions, so they prepared themselves, and left the cover to find a better one to execute the plan. Freya and her group went from cover to cover stealthily, taking their movement to consideration and slowly getting closer to the sentries. Raven and her group, using their camouflage went prone and moved towards the hills nearby, blending in with the environment, trying to find a good position that saw the camp clearly. Allies nearby Varkathras would feel faster and stronger, and more focused. She concentrated on the Force to provide a barrier once the plan was executed.

As for Nima, she stayed in cover and took a deep breath, reaching to the people in the camp. She carefully wrapped their brains like an ivy with her mental touch, slowly taking control of their perception. Once the plan started, they would feel like a thousand needles stabbing their brains. They would start to hear and see things that don’t exist. If they were lucky, it would even cause some paranoia and get them attacking each other.

Soon, from everyone signals would arrive.

Meanwhile, Major Determination’s troops, with the reinforcements appearing from the side, were in a quite difficult situation. The young Major’s cover was bombarded with enemy fire, almost destroyed. Taking her shield, she rushed to another. Her holocomm beeped shortly afterwards. “Major, we lost one of our walkers...ugh...” The message cut after the huge cannon from the walker roared. The fighters bombarded the ranged units, not giving them any breathing space.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Nima Tann"]


Freya Solveig knew only one truth: It's time to give war a chance. After weeks in the trenches, she was dirty, sweaty and running on adrenaline. She was also really eager to take the fight to the enemy and blow their brains out. She was what Firemane members called old guard, for she'd been with the boss ladies from the start. Denon, Bespin, Eriadu, Roche, Gehenna, Tygara, Ruusan, Kaeshana...she'd been there and survived it all. She was Firemane's most decorated, senior NCO. She could have accepted a promotion a long time ago and settled for moving toy soldiers on a map, but she'd refused every time.


Why? Because it was a bloody boring. She'd been a warrior from the moment she'd picked up a blood-soaked knife in the dark, zombie-infested slums of Denon and sworn she'd never let anyone push her around. A warrior's place was on the battlefield, getting right into the action and driving recruits to stop angsting and storm that damn trench. One day, she'd probably die in a battlefield like this. She was fine with that. It sure beat getting old, succumbing to dementia and dying in bed surrounded by fat grandkids.


So she moved onward, heading from cover to cover. There was a ton of debris lying around, and the ground was soaked with mud, rain water, blood and the occasional guts. As she crouched across the war-scarred ground, her gauntlet covered hand touched something awfully soft, and she found it was someone's entrails. She pressed on without a word. Gently raising said hand, still coated with a dead soldier's bits, she moved her fingers in a quick gesture. The signal was meant for the Drow witch on the team. Xalda was a weirdo. She acted like a starstruck fangirl any time Siobhan looked in her direction, and the Sergeant would not be surprised if she prayed regularly to a statue of the Boss-Lady. Besides, her way of talking was plain weird.


But she was good at her job, even if her thing for spiders was creepy. Anyhow, the Xioquo got the message, and muttered an incantation in that strange language of hers. Soon a thick mist rose up into the air, as if commanded by an invisible force. It formed a ceiling above their heads and wrapped itself around the infiltration team like a blanket.


Freya felt a bit of a chill when the witch gently touched her shoulder, lowering her body temperature. If the enemy used heat and IR vision, they could still get a headsup, but it would give the team an advantage. No-shows shielded them from scanners. Motioning again, the Sergeant got closer and closer to the sentries standing guard.


Cigarette smoke invaded her nostrils as she crawled up the hill. One of the soldiers on her team got out a pair of wire cutters and began to make a few precise cuts into the barbed wire, while the others watched his back. Once an opening was made, the team snuck through, with Freya being the first one in.


The sentries looked alert enough, but relaxed. They were smoking, sharing jokes and probably thinking of the day they'd get to go home and bang their missus. Or their hubby. Whatever rocked their boat. The thick fog worked both ways, for it meant Freya could not see much. However, she'd switched on her helmet's infrared vision and had good gears.


She followed the pattern of patrols for a bit, mentally counting. The artillery crew was counting on the sentries to protect their hide. The clock was ticking. In a few moments, the Boss-Lady would begin her attack. Inaction was a Jedi's principle, not a soldier's. "Execute," Freya kept her voice low and quiet.


Xalda gestured and suddenly a crate full of shells dropped. Startled by the noise, a guard turned around to investigate - and promptly found his forward movement arrested when Kerrigan's muscle wrapped her strong arms around him. The unwelcome, tight bear hug was accompanied by her dropping a double coil of rope around his neck and then pulling taut.


He struggled, trying to pull at one of the coils, but this hastened his demise, for he only succeeded in tightening the other. The two soldiers next to him did not get the chance to respond, for they met a similar fate at the hand of Freya's comrades. "Intruders!" a Sith trooper, encased in silver plate armour with a reflective mask, yelled. With one hand, Freya hurled an ion grenade towards the fray. Sparks flew as the explosive detonated, mucking with equipment and shorting out comms. With her other hand, she fired her silenced shatterpistol.


CRACK CRACK Two gunners hit the ground ere one heard the shots sail through the air. One got his faceplate smeared with blood as the projectile penetrated his skull, the other clutched a broken kneecap. The air was filled with the high-pitched whine of blaster fire, shouted orders and cries of the wounded, as the Sith troopers rallied, forcing the ambushers to seek cover.


Then in the midst of the enemy, roots suddenly rose from the ground to seize them. Freya acted swiftly, sprinting across the remaining distance. She lunged across the wreckage drawing out both her vibrodagger. The soldier slammed into a shooter with her full body weight, blade stabbing into his neck joint as both of them crashed into the ground. So far, so good.

 

[Nima Tann]

And thus, the attack has started.

Thanks to Freya's ion bomb, neither the mounted machine guns nor the communications worked. The Sith troopers could've had the advantage, but a good ambush was always useful to turn the tables. However, it didn't prevent the enemy from firing back and they still had a considerable amount of strength in their hands. Soon, the open field turned into a light show. The only thing that was visible for those outside the thick fog if they didn't have the right tools. Fortunately, our heroes had those tools.

Raven and her snipers, now that a thick fog took over the area, activated their infrared vision as well. "Freya and the others engaged the enemy. You," Raven ordered to one of the sharpshooters. "Mark the enemy and give us targets." It was a smart move, after all, it was difficult to understand a friend from enemy in this fog. They had to play it safe, especially since the enemy had the numbers. Anyway, then she added. "Others. Fire at will. Let's give'em hell." Now that the orders were given, Raven took the first shot, adding one more scream to the noise pile.

Varkathras ran to another cover after her last cover got destroyed by the continuous bombardment of heavy weapons, and focused on the Force auras of allies nearby, enhancing their abilities to see and react. They would hear like the Eldorai, and see like the Xioquo in the dark. Then, activating her lightsaber, she joined the group and pushed through the defences.

And Nima started her mental assault. Before the attack started, she already wrapped their minds like an ivy, and it was the time to release the poison. Sending several strong mental blasts through their link and meddling with the appropriate parts of their brain with her attacks, she could feel the enemies has started to feel strong headaches. Their aim became quite off as realistic illusions of her allies appeared everywhere, and not giving their brain any chance to understand they weren't real, they would also hear sounds, amplifying the effect. This would give Freya's group a chance to focus on the attack more than trying to defend themselves, and give Sio's group a good entrance.

So far, so good.

Or... she talked too soon. A few minutes later, the link between her and the soldiers has been cut, followed by the sudden urge to vomit. She didn't know the reason why as she didn't sense a presence, let alone a counter attack. Taking deep breaths to prevent herself from puking, she searched for anything or anyone that could cause this... but her search was a failure. There was no one. Nothing different. Same presences. Same auras. But she was sure that there was someone else here. Someone who knew how to hide themself very well, and had knowledge about mentalism.

"Be careful." Nima activated her holocomm to warn her allies. "There is a Sith in the area. I can't sense their location with the Force."

Well, there was not one, but two of them. Concealing their Force auras and heat signatures, the two moved silently in the fog. Meanwhile, the soldiers, now free of Nima's mental attacks, slowly started to come back to reality. There was something else though, they now had a lot more confidence and their attacks were more precise.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Nima Tann"]

((Feel free to bot the NPCs as you see fit. Maybe lil Hestia gets a hero moment)).


And so battle was joined. Bullets flew, grenades exploded, people died. A thick fog provided the advancing soldiers some cover...to a small degree. But movement caused distortions in the cloud and the enemy was canny enough to switch to infrared scanners. Thus the moment of surprise only lasted briefly. Battle shield in one hand and lightsabre in the other, Siobhan charged, sprinting across the blood-soaked, muddy ground. Here and there, she used her jetpack to cross the distance. "Onward, watch out for traps," she declared, yelling to make herself heard over the cacophony of sound.


A cry of pain was heard when a soldier was cut down by a volley fired from a repeater nest, whilst another screamed in agony when he was blown after triggering a tripwire and activating a booby trap. The Force screamed a warning inside her mind and Siobhan jumped, leaping through a air just a moment before a trap beneath her boots was activated, causing a loud boom accompanied by a cloud of smoke. The shockwave hit her hard and she made a heavy landing, crawling as blasterfire came her way through the fog.


Pain surged through her, but the adrenaline did not make her notice. Raising her battle shield to provide some cover, she drew upon her telekinetic power. "Raven, give me some cover," she contacted the sharpshooter, whose team was laying down precise shots on the repeater nests. "Freya, get on those guns." A powerful wave of telekinetic energy erupted from her. Sweeping across the land, it caused a tremendous boom when it triggered mines buried in the ground, blowing them up before they could do harm.


Then there was another boom. It came from the small hill Freya and her group had seized, as one of the huge antiaircraft cannons was turned on the defenders. The cannon was supposed to hit bombers and such, but also did fine against ground positions. "Go, go. I'll deal with the Sith. Tann, try to locate them," Siobhan yellled. Varkathras was already advancing, putting her skills as a tank to good use by providing a bubble, and so Siobhan advanced as well. Her Force used had caused a stab of pain inside her chest, but she ignored it, too determined to win. As she passed through the smoke, she fell upon enemy soldiers like a raging banshee.


Her wrist flamer spat a volley of scorching heat into an enemy emplacement, then her lightsabre scythed down troopers. Her burning blade moved in a blur, slashing bolts out of the air or ridding attackers of body parts. However, meanwhile the pair of Sith had not been idle. Rather they cast a web of deceit and lies. One Firemane soldier, caught in their web and unable to escape, aimed his bolter towards where Siobhan was, and fired an explosive bolt.