Building From The Ash-era(OS Dominion of Ashera)

[Darth Timoris]

As she sat in the shuttle, she kept her hood up. Since her coma, she’d gained sufficient weight and muscle to appear at first glance just another Sith. In her robes, she could just as easily have passed for a young man, such was her physique.

And so she chose not to speak to any of the troopers who initially engaged in banter, but the longer the journey progressed, one-by-one they stopped talking until just one was left. There was always one. And yes, he was talking to his knife – why do they always do that?

In truth she didn’t care if they were noisy or silent. She wanted just two things from them – competence and obedience. Anything that didn’t fit into either category didn’t matter. She didn’t want them to fear her, or respect her – in fact she didn’t care what they thought of her. As long as they did their job and didn’t interfere with her doing hers, they’d get on fine. If not, she had means to resolve any…disagreements.

As a small siren and a change in lighting indicated they were due to land – and it was clearly night where they were going, the squad leader spoke. “Pipe down Corporal and everyone listen up.” The staff sergeant looked at each of the eight men in turn, two corporals and six privates. “You take orders from me or her,” he jerked his thumb in Melori’s direction and suddenly the interest in her magnified as eight soldiers suddenly sat up straight. Hormones!

“We’re looking for guys that worship Jedi,” he paused to allow the collective groans to dissipate. “We’re not expecting any Jedi, but you never know – but I’m sure our Sith here can take care of them.”

Melori wasn’t sure if she was supposed to say anything at this point, but she hadn’t planned to and therefore simply waited for the shuttle to land.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Objective: Establish Sith dominance
Allies: [member="Tain Organa"] [member="Darth Ferus"]

The outskirts were falling rapidly now to Taeli's forces, most of the security forces had been pushed back towards the inner city and the palace. The civilians in the Sith-held areas were docile though, recognizing that only those that raised a weapon at a Sith trooper was dealt with. Taeli was calling additional forces to help take the rest of the capital, not because she needed them, but because overkill and overwhelming force would shatter any remaining resistance. Once the capital fell, the rest of the cities on Ashera would fold.

That would still leave the holdout cells that would need to be mopped up, but Taeli was quite content with how the operation was going so far. Hardly any civilians had been injured, and she was now receiving a report from one of Ferus's team that they were about to eliminate the enemy war council. Break the body, take off the head, and you would have a very compliant planet. Not to mention that her fellow Sith were annihilating the light side cults on the world, weakening resolve there too. It was all about hearts and minds, but a wake-up call to just how powerful the One Sith had grown was always good too.

 

[Darth Ferus]

Objective: Sith Dominance
Allies: [member="Tain Organa"] [member="Darth Arcanix"]

With both hands now behind his back the Sith Lord would watch on as his Assassins made quick work of the group. But not all of the members were killed. In fact, Ferus kept one alive, holding him close. This high lord he spared was an assistant of his own. One that had made sure there would be no royal guards within the palace room itself. And one he would install as the high king.

When the last of the dignitaries was struck down, the Zabrak would cast a glance over to his accomplice, offering a large grin. "And with that, you have your throne, high king. Call off your guards now."

This high king glanced between the Assassins, the Sith Lord, and the dead bodies in the center. With a gulp he would call out, his voice shaky at first, but he quickly fixed that. "L... Le- *ahem* Let it be known that these people were traitors, and a rightful ruler has been put into place with the assistance of the Sith. They are free to leave." Ferus waved a hand to the Assassins by the door. One quickly pulled it open, and the honor guard would simply stand and stare at the massacre. None would move to go against the Sith, as none of them wanted to die. Taking this new High King without any pause, they would move to remove the bodies of the 'traitors'.

"Good. Now, I would suggest you call off any resistance within the city. We can't have open war." The blue eyes of the Zabrak shifted back to the new King, and the King would quickly gulp and move off to do just that. All around the city those fighting would begin to stop, surrendering to the Sith without hesitation. They did not want war after all. Patching in to none other than Arcanix, Ferus would have a rather cheery tone.

"It was a success Lady Arcanix. The city is ours."

 

[Saffron]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

Hang on she did!

Her balance would go flying out the window again, as those torrential winds would sweep another large shudder across the MCH. For a moment, she was afraid. Ice would dart down her spine, and a small shiver of fear would cause her to tremble. She clung on tighter to Shil's fur, burying her face against the softness of the pelt over his chest.

"Tell me when it's over..." she'd say, her voice muffled against the noise of the MCH fighting the turbulence. They would drop altitude, the hull of the vessel burning a hot glowing amber. Clouds would soon break against it, as if cushioning the blow as it would disappear amidst the sea of pale white.

Until finally, thrusters would kick in. Stabilizers would hum, and slowly the vast turbulence that would crash against the vessel would start to wane into a tolerable shake.

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

 

[Darth Timoris]

The shuttle landed with a couple of soft bumps and the men were on their feet before the first one ended. Melori simply sat there, hood still up. She closed her eyes and sensed as far as she could. There were no Jedi in the vicinity, that she was sure of.

The ramp lowered and the men filed off. Only when the last one had disembarked did she unclip her belt and stand up, walking slowly to leave the ship. The men were already fanning out, a variety of hand-signals indicating they knew exactly what they were doing – but in complete silence.

The staff sergeant handed her an earpiece. “It never hurts to know what we’re doing. If we encounter resistance, we’ll deal with it.” There was a reassuring finality to the word deal even though his voice barely raised above a whisper. “You can go off and do your own thing, or follow us in case we find something interesting. Your call…” He was clearly searching for an appropriate title for her. She didn’t provide one. But she did at least speak.

“I’ll follow. If I find something interesting, I’ll let you know.” Her own voice was quiet enough that only the squad leader would have heard. She would have smiled but in the darkness and with her hood raised it would have been futile.

The tell-tale sound of a silenced pistol made both their heads snap up at once. “I figure you got my interest piqued. That’s way too soon unless your guys are trigger-happy or we were compromised.”

The staff sergeant shook his head, “These are elite troops, we’d better step carefully.” And together they set off for the direction of the shot.

 

[Vrag]

Objective: Suppress lightside cults
Allies: [member="Matsu Xiangu"] | [member="Reverance"] | [member="Darell Irani"] | [member="Darth Hauntruss"] | [member="Tmoxin Temi"] | [member="Sage Bane"]​

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6D-FOf09JZI​

Her muscles were singing as her blade tasted flesh time and time again, a song she knew well. It was the only dance that knew no fixed steps, no figures, no defined motions; it was ruled by those who were strong enough to prevail, the one true process of elimination. It was natural selection manifest, and however brutal some would claim it to be, assigning morality to the whims of the Force is a foolish endeavor.

People, however… oh, people could very well judge other people. She could feel it, the stares full of despair as they tried in vain to find a shred of humanity to hold on in that impenetrable shell. Naught but two black sockets would meet their begging gaze, cold and empty as their owner plunged her lightsaber into another body.

Reverance was somewhere close by, probably. She couldn't feel him very well, not through the Vonduun adorning her body, but she could hear him nonetheless; the screams were a dead giveaway, and as a spray of warm blood missed her skull by an inch, her suspicions stood confirmed.

That was also about the only thing still standing, incidentally. Aside from the horde of Vong that was hunting down the last stragglers, the collective effort of the Sith had erased the encampment clear off the map. Cadavers lay littering the trampled earth, discarded weaponry and gored bits of people scattered in between.

"Feth," the woman spat out the word with near-affection, leaning her head back to gaze at the gray, immutable skies above them. As far as the eye could see there was nothing but an endless stretch of ash, as if the world was already mourning its lost ones. The veil of a widow.

"We're done here," she spoke into her oggzil, louder this time, and forcibly withdrew her eyes from the empty firmament. No God would judge her tonight, nor tomorrow, nor ever.

"Commander Temi," the Hand of the Dark Lord addressed the woman directly as she sought out the officer and her squadrons, still a ways away from the ravaged camp. "Demo whatever's left of this place. I want to see nothing but a smoking crater when you're done."

With that, the armored Knight turned back to Gabriel, her brow furrowing for a moment. "There's more of these, if you want to come," she gestured at something behind his back, a vague silhouette in the shadow of the mountains. Their next target wasn't so much an encampment as it was a fortress, and those holding out within had doubtlessly seen what waste the Sith had lain to their redoubt in the open field. They would need to approach it with greater care, that much was obvious, and the Yuuzhan Vong surrounding her were hardly the best force for that.

Oh, well. They had a few tricks up their sleeve, so to speak. That was, if Iron Maiden would be willing to weave her net around another group of hapless victims. With a pitch like that, however, Vrag was pretty sure that she could convince the Sorceress to join them. If not… there were always other bargaining chips she could use.

"Move out!"

 

[Tmoxin Temi]

Objective: Demolish encampment
[member="Matsu Xiangu"] [member="Vrag"] [member="Sage Bane"] [member="Darth Hauntruss"] [member="Darell Irani"] [member="Reverance"]

Tmoxin heard signs that the battle was winding down before she saw the proof with her own eyes - the sound of infrequent sobs, occasional sparks, electric dissonance and shouts of her troops pulling the wounded back to the med tents. Commander Temi watched Vrag slice through her final enemies, her Vonduun armor gleaming, her black eyes, soulless. Then the omnipotent Sith hurled an order in her direction.

“Yes, my Lord,” she answered.

“Monarch five,” she said addressing one of her soldiers who had just returned from the front line. “Begin setting up explosive charges around the perimeter of the encampment. But I want all of the wounded off the field before you set up the interior charges.” She motioned to a couple of aimless troopers standing around. “Don’t just stand there,” she admonished in a firm, loud voice. “Go help Monarch five NOW!" The troopers dutifully followed the first female soldier who began unpacking the explosive charges.

Another stormtrooper approached her and saluted. Her platoon was still so new she couldn’t put the voice to a name. “Ten killed in battle,” he reported. “Five seriously wounded. And... one deserter, Commander." She frowned deepened at that last piece of news. They both watched the medics begin treating troopers who were finally being pulled back, some of them carried on stretchers. The more battle-seasoned of The Blood Monarchs stood at attention and in formation. However the rest of the soldiers seemed a little shell shocked at the horrors they had witnessed and the desecration of the field in front of them.

Tmoxin heard the call to move out and signaled for her troopers to pull back so the rest of the explosive charges could be set in place. Once the field was clear of soldiers, she gave the order to detonate and the charges went off in staccato bursts - BOOM BOOM BOOM! When the smoke and dust cleared, the earth around the lightside cultists would be scorched black, and where there were whole cadavers before, there were merely bits of flesh and bone left mixed with rubble.

 

[Reverance]

Objective: Suppress lightside cults
Allies: [member="Matsu Xiangu"] | [member="Vrag"] | [member="Darell Irani"] | [member="Tmoxin Temi"] | [member="Darth Hauntruss"] | [member="Sage Bane"]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aY_2yQjd4oc​

The inflection of power was something to always distract the Wrath, but a particular armor always caught his attention. Cleaving the last fighter in his nearby proximity, he dropped his lightsabers to sheathed position as he turned his head. Sacrifice, pain, acceptance. The danced across the divide that separated him from his partner, [member="Matsu Xiangu"], as he soaked in her mentalism and the impact upon her disciple, [member="Sage Bane"]. He could feel the resonations of loss through the crab armory, emanating in to something that closely resembled stimulation of his olfactory senses. He wanted to be there, to watch the drip of blood from wound, the cut of bone with vibro dagger, smell the sanguine mineral cut across the air with ripe over flow. He mourned for a moment, just long enough for distraction, as he felt a punch against his helmet from a cultist.

Un-phased, he turned to the man, who was backed up by several friends, and was shaking his hand undoubtedly from the crack in his fist. "Did that hurt?" The Wrath spoke as he moved forward, punching the man hard in the face and caving in the septum. An ad-hoc weapon hit the lord against the back, sending debris flying as he turned and grabbed the man by the throat. Separating the figure from his larynx with a twist of the wrist, he smacked the next man right in the face with the flesh before ducking a swing. One, two, augmented punched cracked ribs with each impact as he sent another man down and dead from the pure impact.

Running forward, he jumped and kicked with a push, collapsing the figure before him and slamming him down into the dirt and ruffled sod. Another duck, he twisted and punched the man hard in the chest, heart stopped on impact as he was sent several yards, skating across the ground. A metal bat hit across the chest, Gabriel recoiled and yanked the weapon free from the hand before exerting his augmented force on it, creasing it at the middle and forming an adjunct boomerang. With a slow turn towards the man, the victim took off running just before the Wrath pegged him in the back of the head with the object. Blood and mud seemed to mix just fine today, though Gabriel silently was upset that the bat didn't come back.

Just then, he heard the plans of Hand, [member="Vrag"], towards a fortress. Waving, he followed her lead.

 

[Darth Timoris]

Objective: Rid the planet of the local branch of The Cult of Those Who Redeem

She popped the earpiece in as she walked, the chatter was initially annoying but she found she was able to filter it out quickly, so she only heard relevant information.

And the identity of the man they’d shot counted in that category.

As she approached the prone man with the staff sergeant, two troopers parted to give them access. The victim was average looking – a human or near-human – and his only distinctive feature was the volume of blood issuing from a wound in his throat.

“He’s still alive but the shot means he can’t talk.” The corporal handed the squad leader a small communications device. “It’s all he had on him. We figured he was about to call our arrival in.”

“Assuming he hadn’t already of course.” The staff sergeant turned his back on the dying man. “If he can’t speak, he’s of no use to us.”

Melori stepped forward, “Not so fast, give me a moment.” She knelt beside the prone figure and removed her hood. Her face was impassive. She called the Force to her and sensed for an emotion – oddly fear was what she was expecting but there was none. Even if he could speak, there was no guarantee they would have got much out of him. So she searched again. There was pain and plenty of it, he must be close to death. So she latched on to the feeling, feeding on it as she went and followed it back to its source – the man’s mind.

As a Jedi she was told to be gentle at this point – but she was no longer a Jedi and time was pressing. ‘Tell me about The Cult of Those Who Redeem.’ He was not adept at blocking her out but he was stubborn and she couldn’t afford to play games. So she simply repeated the phrase over and over.

Surface thoughts betrayed him – images flashed into his mind of faces and places and…a locked door with what appeared to be a pass code. ‘What if you forget to lock the door, what if you left it open, can you be sure its locked? What if you have allowed the Sith in to your very sanctuary?’ The trick worked. Subconsciously she’d worried him, worried him enough to think back to closing the door. To locking it. To entering in the pass-code.

She put a hand on his face, he was near death but waste not want not. Red faux lightning coalesced around her hand before entering his skull. His body writhed and wriggled temporarily as she drained what life he had left out of him.

She stood and faced the staff sergeant, her eyes still yellow. “I know where to go…and I also know the access codes.” A faint smile crossed her lips. “Keep up.” It never hurt to let those that serve know who was in charge.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Location: Capital city
Objective: Establish dominance
Allies: [member="Tain Organa"] [member="Darth Ferus"]

The fighting looked to be intensifying when many of the soldiers and rebels stopped and laid down their weapons, Taeli was somewhat confused, but then the message crackled over her comlink from Ferus that his mission had been a success. Well, that was good and she couldn't hear much fighting anymore. There would be some holdouts, but they would be dealt as they had been last time.

"Excellent to hear, Ferus," she replied, deactivating her lightsaber. Around her Sith troopers were moving forward to restrain and secure those that surrendered or help the wounded. With the fight over, Taeli would prefer to help these people now, but they would need to be processed and detained while they were registered as potential threats. They had rebelled once, they could do so again.

Still, over the comlink, she could hear other cities were starting to surrender, but a few had decided to carry on with the fight. They would be her focus now, Ferus could deal with any holdout cells.

"Sounds like a few cities in the southern section of the world are still rebelling," she said, her tones clipped and professional. "I'll be leaving half of the forces here to hold the area under your command. Ferus. I'll be taking the others to deal with the further rebellion."

Gesturing for her men to follow her, she made her way to gunship transports that would take them to the other operation zone to regain control of the planet's population. They never learned it seemed.

 

[Hira Mitsae]

Objective: Suppress lightside cults & have fun​

Allies: [member="Reverance"] | [member="Matsu Xiangu"] | [member="Sage Bane"] | [member="Darth Hauntruss"] | [member="Tmoxin Temi"] | [member="Vrag"]​

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The stock of his canon planted itself firmly in the face of one of the cultists, blood splattered, bones crunched and Irani sighed- just slightly bored. His tux had been cleaned just the other day and now it had blood splattered all over it, so annoying.

Enemies down for the moment there was some space to breath again, he looked around and saw [member="Reverance"] being immensely hot. Almost made Irani hot and flustered, but he kept it between the head for now. Still. Unf. Checking his cannon he made sure to reload the thing for future use and then finally followed the mass of people trundling along behind Vrag.

Seemed they had a fortress to end, briefly the businessman wondered if he could deduct the price of a visit to the dry cleaner, then he wondered if the yuuzhan vong fabric wouldn’t clean out itself after a while, and if it didn’t… if there was a way Titan could incorporate it into their design.

Self-cleaning fabrics.

Would be quite the hit, which gave him an idea for future usage. Didn’t have a pen, notebook or anything else of the kind on him, so the man simply thought very furiously, trying to brand it into his mindset.

Self-cleaning fabric.

Self-cleaning fabric.

Se- You get the idea.

 

[Vrag]

Objective: Suppress lightside cults 2.0
Allies: [member="Reverance"] | [member="Matsu Xiangu"] | [member="Sage Bane"] | [member="Darth Hauntruss"] | [member="Tmoxin Temi"] | [member="Darell Irani"]​

________________________________________________________________________​

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ps3sdWWoWI​

"Irani!"

It was more of a growl than a shout, and the only warning she gave him before her fingers closed around the bloodstained tux he was dressed in. What was up with that, anyway? The businessman had been wearing a very similar outfit the first time they had met — ah, that beautiful day under the sun, full of explosions and blood — and from what she'd seen of him, Irani didn't seem like the stupid type. Well, he had his moments, granted, but he usually displayed at least a modicum of intelligence.

In all but his choices in fashion, anyway.

"You're going to get shot one of these days," she remarked offhandedly as she dragged him along, her grip strengthened by the crabs adorning her body. See? That was reasonable battlefield clothing, not a suit. Silly Irani. A small sigh escaped her lips as she set him back on his feet when they reached the ground transport vehicles — or the Vong version thereof — and climbed in with the rest of her forces.

Soon enough the silhouette in the distance grew into a rather imposing set of fortified permacrete walls and if she narrowed her eyes, the woman could already see the forms of its panicked defenders scurrying about. Her mouth stretched into a wide smile as they rode ever closer, and she sank her sharp teeth into her bottom lip to bite back a strangled sound of anticipation. Compared to the fortress looming at the foot of the mountains, the encampment barely qualified as an hors d'ouvre, and the woman could feel her mouth watering at the sight of the main course.

With a groan the Knight withdrew her eyes from the structure, making a mental note to eat more before heading planetside; it was clearly affecting her judgement.

"I want shield units at the front, soak the enemy fire, maintain rank cohesion," the woman spoke curtly into her oggzil as her gaze swept over the anxious Vong. Unlike human troops, the blood-steeped beasts didn't seem the least bit daunted by the prospect of another grisly engagement. It was quite delightful, commanding warriors that hesitated at nothing.

"A squad of Otliq'Nuhlrokka will go around the mountain, take them from behind." She managed to keep her face straight even as she uttered those words, surprisingly enough — not that it would've mattered, what with the helmet on her head — and then watched with no small amount of satisfaction as the swarm of monstrous insects disappeared into the sky.

"The rest of you, cover fire! Blast bug the door as soon as we're in range," the Hand of the Dark Lord finished, cutting off the transmission as the Yuuzhan Vong began their assault. Her heart skipped a beat in her chest as the forces moved, strangely harmonious in their chaos; god, did she love war.

"Darell," she breathed out as the skull turned its empty eyes to the man. "You'd better hope they've got some soft pillows up there, or everyone's going to hear your screams," Vrag mouthed into his ear all fire and blood and ash. The scent of battle stuck to her skin like a fine perfume, and she would add to it with fervor as she stepped into combat again with the red blade in hand.

 

[Tmoxin Temi]

Objective: Storm the fortress
Allies: [member="Matsu Xiangu"] [member="Vrag"] [member="Sage Bane"] [member="Darth Hauntruss"][member="Darell Irani"] [member="Reverance"]

Commander Temi and The Blood Monarchs rode together in a military cargo speeder which made haste to the next battlefield. Tmoxin herself sat in the front with the driver so she could get a good look at the enemy territory as they came upon it. With her electrobinoculars she detected a rather large fortress nestled in the barren mountains. Once they got close enough but out of long-range fire, the cargo speeder parked and the Monarchs began setting up another mobile base and comm center nearby.

Her stormtroopers stood in formation now, a few less than what was there before. The tactical team quickly positioned themselves in hidden places among the rocks to confirm that the map they had of the surrounding region and fortress exterior was accurate. She listened to Vrag give her orders and then addressed the Monarchs in a brusque voice: "Attention Troops!" She waited a beat until she spoke again. "The Vong will be on the front-line. I want you to stay in a secondary position behind them and once the main door is blasted off, you are to enter the fortress, fire on opposition and use the thermal detonators on the interior doors. It's not like the enemy is going to open those up for us so we can stroll in with a housewarming present."

She then turned and addressed the tacticians. "Also, I need a forward observer out there to report back what's going on." A trooper from Home Ops jumped up and slipped seamlessly into the line of troopers. Once the observer came back, assuming they did in one piece, she could adjust the strategy if needed.

"NOW MOVE OUT!"

 

[Matsu Xiangu]

OBJECTIVE: Suppress lightside cults.
[member="Sage Bane"] | [member="Vrag"] | [member="Reverance"] | [member="Tmoxin Temi"] | [member="Darell Irani"]

From where Matsu was standing, the cultists were truly trying to save themselves from a rapidly expanding pool of black, necrotic death. Their skin sizzled with its touch and she could even smell it, a scent that permeated the battlefield, curling between enemy and ally alike. In some part of her mind she knew that to the rest of those on the field it would just appear that these cultists had lost their minds, clawing at themselves and falling to the ground as if held still by some invisible force before being cut apart by Sith and Vong and Trooper. But she loved illusion because she got to live every sick, depraved thing she could dream up. And one day Sage would learn to make his real with the same ease Matsu had bled for.

The Sith forces began moving as Vrag galvanized them forward. Matsu would never be far whether fighting or creating and as everyone mobilized she turned to wrap a hand around Sage’s shoulder, attempting to gently break him from his work. “Come now – there’s more to be done.”

Pain. Loss. His final trial.

She watched him through the short ride from their current position to the fortress nestled at the foot of great mountains, though she didn’t say a word to him. She shared her old Master’s sentiments about apprentices, feeling a great deal of pride and investment in those that did extraordinary work. Their partnership had started off under the strangest of circumstances (and Matsu lifted her hand to her throat absently, running her fingers along the path his grip had taken when Sage had choked her) and although she couldn’t be sure of her apprentice’s feelings she’d found it had become something far less stilted. Should the man pass this test, leave Ashera with his life despite his grievous wound, he would open the door to unlimited power and the magic he’d proven himself capable of.

Dropping out of the transport behind the Sith formation, she took up a post again. If the campaign continued far beyond this point she would switch to fighting the enemy alongside her allies, unwilling to exhaust herself with some grand use of her abilities. But she was confident the engagement would end well before that.

Once more entering their shared space, Matsu went back to the tried and true – something possible was always more believable. For those scared enough within the fortress, and there were many, Matsu seized their minds and planted the vision of great sheets of rock sloughing off the mountains overhead. Boulders, entire slabs of the great natural monuments begin tumbling towards the ground, threatening to crush every living creature in the fortress to dust. The sound was deafening, great slow, rending cracks as if the mountains were falling apart from the center, a rumbling beneath the cultists’ feet. As the massive projectiles grew nearer, many of the cultists soon began to forget the duty to keep the Sith out.

 

[Darth Timoris]

Objective: Rid the planet of the local branch of The Cult of Those Who Redeem

The earpiece was alive with chatter now – it seemed her little intervention was not only worthy of discussion but she’d proven she was valuable to the team. And that team was now able to make progress in exactly the direction they needed to as opposed to having to undertake hours and hours of fruitless searching.

She didn’t have an address, but she was able to share the images she’d seen and from those they’d pieced together references to landmarks and from satellite imagery had been able to identify exactly where the headquarters were.

So they’d moved stealthily but quickly from a number of directions to converge on the safe-house they needed to enter. It was an unremarkable apartment in an unremarkable part of town – but then that’s what safe-houses were all about. They were rarely advertised with a neon sign.

Melori shared the pass-code with the squad leader and he punched it in at the precise moment his men detonated explosives around the building – hoping to breach the ground floor building through multiple entrances.

So as the front door swung open, dust and debris was all that could be seen from the entrance hallway. Then the shots started. Melori stood away from the opening to the door. A variety of blaster bolts came out, their different hues indicating the number of combatants. Soon the crescendo of noise abated and the word came through the building was secure.

“Let’s see who’s left alive to talk then, shall we?” Melori asked as she walked into the apartment, slowing only to step over the prone bodies of dead locals. No soldiers were amongst the casualties. They were good…

 

[Reverance]

Objective: Suppress Lightside cults 2.0
Allies: [member="Matsu Xiangu"] | [member="Sage Bane"] | [member="Vrag"] | [member="Tmoxin Temi"] | [member="Darell Irani"]

He followed behind the Hand of the Dark Lord, their presence preceding the carnage that would follow. He had no time for her commands, though he did enjoy the prospect of watching her tell people what to do. No, today he was sating and distracting himself from the distance that now separated him and [member="Matsu Xiangu"] and that pain and that comfort that followed, like the crack of an avalanche before the slide of the sheets and scree. He shook the feeling of longing from the very bones that resided beneath his crab armor. He raced before the Vong charge, circling the fortress to find an access point where he could commandeer the mission unabated and unimpaired by the defiance of the vong culture and their selfish desire for pain. He loved them for that particular trait but would have none of it today. So he found his way around the back, waving his hand at the concept that such things would be easily guarded. They had obviously planted their defenses at the front, not prepared for a Sith Lord in crab armor.

A kick planted against the door, deftly placing foot at door tongue level, sent wooden debris flinging inward and echoing down the hall. The hinges exploded in a snap as he stepped in, the person guarding the door beneath and gasping from the impact. He walked slowly, gaze looking down as he continually plied pressure, before hopping from the door and down into the hallway.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIvSXocE6YY&list=RDMMHj2vU2nr5Jw&index=5​

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The Hallway was long and made of stone compressed atop stone, the smell of mildew reeked through the structure. Figures stood narrowly against one another, bracing their weapons against their unequipped hands, smacking them hard in threatening gesture. Gabriel tilted his head as he gripped his fists in low guard, clenching knuckles in the folds of the armorweave. No time for words, no need for their utterance. This was business and business was good.

Running forward, he punched as his fist met with a board mid swing. The object exploded into the debris as he leaned forward, his free hand dragging the man down as he drove his right knee into the now broken face. The body reciprocated in inertia as he clutched the broken cultists head by the hair and slammed him hard hard, face first, into the wall. The force cracked the stone, bleeding trickles as the body dropped and the Lord blocked the incoming swing of a blade with an erect foreeam, kicking out to the groin. With a twist of his body, the incapacitated man would feel the same foot smack into his chest before sending him scuttling from the fray. A duck, an uppercut that rocketed a combatant into the ceiling, Gabriel watched as the man plummeted before looking at the next man. He held a sickle, spinning upon a chain. Poor choice of weaponry in such a small room.

The lord ran and dropped, spinning mid slide on his back, as he kicked out with both feet, back and upwards, to send the figure flying, now removed from his weapon. Force pulling the weapon, Gabriel hopped up and sent the weapon flying towards the man, snagging him across the back of the neck and tugging. The head rolled, like dishes toppling with the pull of the sheet, as the body convulsed against the ground in violent shakes and spurts. Tossing the weapon to the ground, he gazed at another two individuals who suddenly became more, men filtering in from the door down the hall. Gabriel leaned down, keeping his focus on the figures, as he lifted up the first object he could find. A hammer. He smacked it against his free hand, feeling the tremors of fear run rampant across the room.

Running, he took the first hit of the melee object against his side as he lunged forward, delivering a head blow to the man on the left. His friend on the right swung at the Lord, who evaded the attack to watch it persevere against ally, and delivery a hammered smack against open chest. He felt the crack of the chest as he swung around, nearly knocking the figures head off with a downward swing that sent him to the ground in a plum of dust. Spinning the headbutted man, he craned his arm around the neck and held the hammer low. He stared at the next five, who would become 10 and 15 soon enough. He laughed and pressed his helmet against the shivering and dazed man he held on to. "Such fear...such life in desperate throes..." He looked back to the newcomers of the fight, the eyes of his helmet glowing red. "You are all going to die down here."

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Location: Enroute to further rebelling cities
Objective: Establish One Sith dominance
Allies: [member="Darth Ferus"] [member="Tain Organa"]

The gunship rumbled as anti-aircraft fire from the remaining rebels erupted around it, shaking it slightly. Taeli kept herself rooted in place with the Force, watching the puffs of black smoke that could easily shred through any of them. There was something . . . exhilarating about the sounds of the explosions around the gunships, even as the enemy positions came under attack from fighters and bombers. Spiraling wreckage slamming into the ground, or if the pilot was coherent enough in their final moments, crashing into the fortified AA positions.

Taeli was letting her Mando side show a little bit as the gunships landed on the outskirts, depositing her forces to reinforce the attacking forces already present. Or they would be, if those attacking forces had done much. Walkers and tanks were strewn about the place, flames billowing from within them. Bodies littered the area, both Sith trooper and rebel, and she could see volleys of blaster fire being exchanged back and forth from soldiers in covered positions.

Igniting her lightsaber again, she hopped down onto the ground and immediately had to bat away a blaster bolt aimed at her. These were the hardened rebels, the ones who weren't going to surrender unless crushed under their might. Her reinforcements, combined with the original attack force here, numbered around 25,000 troops. That had to be enough to take them out.

"Status report?" she yelled, ducking down next to a commander.

"Our forces are scattered throughout this attack corridor and barricaded themselves in a position within the downtown area," he explained, ducking as a slug pinged off the armor. "The rebels didn't attack until half the force was inside the city, so we got cut off and ambushed."

"Then it's time we dealt with them and rescued our stranded units," she said, gesturing at two men to fire rockets into a nearby turret nest. The explosion knocked out several of the remaining windows but the enemy fire eased up enough that Taeli could order the assault forward now.

 

[Darth Timoris]

Objective: Rid the planet of the local branch of The Cult of Those Who Redeem

Body upon body was dead - it was effective but hardly useful. They needed information and more than one source was always useful.

As if reading her mind, the staff sergeant spoke quietly in her ear. "There will be survivors, don't worry." Was that a hint of desperation in his voice? Or perhaps fear?

"Sergeant...?"

"Staff sergeant Burnip," he offered.

"Sergeant Burnip," she refused to be corrected, "I hope so, less you end the day as a Corporal." She had no idea if she had the authority to demote him, but she figured he didn't know either, so she dangled the threat lazily.

Finally they found a wounded man. She knelt beside him. His pain was simple to pin-point and she followed it back to his brain easily enough. His mind was wandering, he was badly hurt. And she had no time for games, so she simply plunged in, elbow deep in her efforts to find what she was looking for. She saw images of a man - their leader. And he was...well known, albeit his association to the cult was a secret.

She left his mind abruptly, clearly doing significant damage. She unclipped her saber and igniting it with a snap-hiss and turning him over, she severed his spine with a simple cut. Allowing him to suffer served no purpose, so a swift death seemed appropriate. "Right, we need to find the local town hall. A certain government official needs a visit, and now feels like a good time to me."

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Saffron"]

The massive ship hovered over their landing site, a huge clear plateau settled within the middle of the mountain.

This was where the heaviest deposits of the Minerals could be found. The odd ore that would do so much for Titan and ATC. Shil shook slightly, patting the young woman lightly on the head, petting her. He smiled and then spoke.

“It will be alright. The vessel is designed for this sort of thing.”

For a second the MCH hovered in place, then it began its descent.

Slowly, the massive vertical ship began to drop towards the earth. Shil received a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, pushing at him and making him feel as though he had to go to the bathroom. The vessel shook again, then began to rock back and forth as it touched down onto the ground.

 

[Saffron]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

Well that is a relief.

True to Shil's word, the vessel would make it to ground -- thankfully in one piece. With an appreciative smile, Saffron would pull back from the Selonian.

"Thank you. You are too kind." she would say warmly, honestly. A quick rise on tippy toes would bring the Companion closer, and Saffron's lips would meet Shil's fluffy furry cheek. She gave him a quick grateful kiss.

Rocking back on her heels, her hand would sweep over her gown, smoothing the wrinkles. Her shoulders would set, then she would shine him a wider smile.

"Well then.. guess it is time to find out more about Ashara and this curious metal, no?"