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Location: Nickel One hangar --> Central Hub Objective: Figure things out Allies: [member="Commander Lusk"], [member="Dish"] Enemies: [member="Darth Vulkan"], potentially anyone at this point Gear: In signature, Equalizer Pulse Rifle, Sith Killer Rounds
"It's as good a plan as any. If anybody gets in our way that looks to be more than your average soldier, let me handle them. No one's lives are being risked any more than they already have been. This is enough of a mess as it is." They weren't about to add to it. No further orders were put forth, and they began making headway for where the majority of the combat was no doubt taking place, and she didn't expect to step into anything less than an all-out warzone. There had been no diplomacy or quarter offered by the invaders, and so she wouldn't grant any in return to those that challenged them. It was what was fair and what was just. At this point, this war was a bit more personal.
As they neared the Central Hub the noxious aura of the Dark Side bit into her, the individual in possession of that presence manifesting as more than a Dark Jedi or one of a similar path such as herself. No, she recognized it for what it was nearly immediately. Sith. That added an entirely new element to an already all-too-dangerous battle, and she didn't want to endanger her men any more than they already were simply by being here. "There's a Darjetii shabuir up ahead. If you can, I want you all to avoid him and go around. This isn't a suicide mission, and there are more important things to deal with. I'll keep him busy if it comes to that." Or, more aptly, when it did. There were no ifs, this time.
"We didn't bring any Ysalamir sir, didn't think they would be needed. But we'll flank around and take the main corridors. Work our way into the central hub and see if we can apprehend any loyalists, or Ali herself. The remaining Clone companies should be ready to roll in thirty mikes so when that time comes this place will be swarming with us. You should take the service tunnels and that should give you an clear shot to take out the Sith." Lusk said to Keira as he deactivated the map once he was done showing her their route.
"Let's get it done, take the service tunnels and a squad and we'll get moving. Be safe and I'll see you on the other side." Lusk put a reassuring hand on Keira's shoulder then nodded.
Letting go gently the man cocked back his weapon and chambered a round into the weapon. They had a plan and it was pretty simple, find Ali, find out what happened, deal with her, secure and safeguard civilians, then make sure the station was held for the republic. Sometimes that was easier said than done, and right now it was shaping up to be a very long day.
Lusk and the other few hundred clones under his command broke off and started taking the main hallways to find out what was going on leaving the hanger in the process. Clone troopers were ready and capable of fighting off whatever came their way but the one thing that nagged Lusk as they proceeded down the hallways was the fact that a Sith was here. It just didn't add up to the trooper, and while he was certain dish and Keira could handle them he didn't know why exactly the Sith were playing their hand here.
"Scan for civilians, if we find any secure them and try and try to take them to the lower levels of the station for safe keeping. The flak is too heavy out there to risk extraction to the garrison." Lusk made the call and now all he could hope was that it was the right one.
Mandalorian fighters were everywhere and they had to land on the surface of the damn asteroid in order to get inside, and with comms being down they couldn't hail the mandalorians to tell them that they were evacuating civilians. All they could do was hope and pray that could save as many as they could.
Various life signs started popping up on scanners and soon Lusk and other squads of clones were finding workers, families, and other people who had found shelter where they could. Before they could find Ali or whoever was responsible for this tragedy they first had a responsibility to protect the civilians of the republic.
"Come on, it's not safe here. Come with us and we'll take you to the lower level store rooms." A mantis clone said to a few workers huddled up in a supply closet.
Soon clones were escorting people down stairwells and lifts trying their best to do what was right in a world of grey on all sides.
Location: Nickle One
Objective: War
Enemies: [member="Ella Nova"]
Allies: Meh
Ordo kept his weapon leveled as he thought about the civilians that the Republic troops, at the command of Hedrix, vented out into hard vacuum and an extremely painful death. His jaw clenched behind his helmet's visor as he fought the urge to fire his scattergun.
"You've got a lot of nerve talking about honour after what your Republic just pulled." The big man said through his helmet's speakers.
He focused on the force to avoid losing his cool as he watched the girl's eyes for cues. She was at least more sensible than most of her kind.
"A chance Huh?" Ordo said considering whether he really wanted more deaths added to his list of sins. "Alright, kid, turn over your lightsaber and come with me and we'll both leave."
Objective: I guess I'll beat these guys too Location: Central Hub Allies: We can call [member="Sabine Kurtass"] that for now Enemies: [member="Keira Ticon"] [member="Commander Lusk"] [member="Dish"] Gear: Signature
The beast shrugged, the running of the dog man hadn't been fun, it had been frustrating. Why acquire all this power if he couldn't unleash it on someone, but the Dreadlord kept a modicum of control for now. There were more important things than venting all that frustration into nothing. There was the massive build up of energy that drove his temperature to almost forty degrees, made him sweat and his muscles tense. The Dark Side energy echoing out through the surrounding area crackled and pulsed with his presence. But that is what happens when a Sith is given ample time to power up his abilities. The Sith Lord began muttering and ancient and foul language, long dead and long forgotten by most of the galaxy. There were those that might know it or understand their meaning, but not the two presences close to him. "Woyunoks hadzuska koshujontu." The Dark Side crackled around him as he chanted out the words, waiting for his prey to finally approach.
As the words became more harsh and his voice became deeper, the Force ached and cracked, and from the smoke of the fights that had taken place in the large room, a incorporeal being swirled around, eyes like dying coals peered from the beyond and a demon of pure dark side energy and fear emerged from the smoke and ashes. The Sith Lord's power pulsed and he focused his energies for now, still clutching the little crystal in between his fingers, waiting to make use of it, and waiting to burn all the pent up energy he had siphoned from several dozen Republic Soldiers, and what little he could draw off the Fox Man.
The dreadlord's eyes remained black voids, the whites of his eyes covered with darkness. Dinu'ul sparked to life, and the axe he held spun as he got the weight for it. Time to beat up one of those Dark Presences that he could feel. Might as well have some fun while he was free and out and about.
Location: The Central Hub, in someone bed room
Objective: Heal, and resist temptaion
Allies: [member="Darth Vulkan"]
Enemy: [member="Commander Lusk"] and [member="Keira Ticon"] also who know may be even [member="Darth Vulkan"]
Sabine was concertinaing all her force energy into her sith amulet, to healer her collar bone. She could sense that dark present always in the back ground, in the corridor full of force breaker gas. Something was wrong with him, or was it something right with him, no she had to resist. She had felt darker minds than his, the emperors whilst she was a member of the one sith. His type of mind was intoxicating to say the least, she wonder what is was like to be [member="ordo"] and trapped with one. These where the thoughts that went through her mind and fuelled her force powers, as she healed. Part of was wondering what it would be like to be with people like them again, no she had resist, just because her body was know young, her mind was not naïve anymore. She knew where that path went, no matter how good it felt, it would lead to the ultimate destruction of the sith again. As death and destruction breeds hate, and as all sith know hate is one most powerful emotions you can use. This was something she was going to try and teach, that the sith code, was universal and not just the belonging to the sith. She would have to find out what was wrong with Draco at some time, but this was not time. She could feel others coming towards them, as she leached of his emotions a bit. Soon the battle would have to be renewed, and philosophy would have to go away for a time.
Location: Nickel One Allies: [member="Elijah Rekali"], [member="Marcus Lok"] Enemies: [member="Cloudburner"], [member="Jaccer Ramirez"] (?) Objective: Don't get in my way Gear: First post
Now this was definitely going full Republic. Vilaz and Elijah weren't the only one shocked and surprised to see of the sudden actions of Cloudburner grabbing an innocent civilian and use her as a shield. The Mandalorians were also shocked to see of what the Republic Ranger doing to an innocent woman that needed medical attention immediately. Before Vilaz could do anything he began recording of what he was seeing by using a function integrated in his helmet that could record what he heard and saw. Forever he would capture a moment that proved the corrupt state of the Republic. It wasn't just Supreme Commander Hadrix using cold tactics that inflicted injuries and death to innocents on a war zone, but the men and women within the ranks of the Republic military too.
They've truly done it now.
"Thanks, vod. Now, I want ya to be the eye in the sky; point out the defensive positions and tactics of the enemy. Inform me if we are heading into a hotzone so I don't end up with bruises and crap," he replied back to Marcus before returning his attention to Cloudburner and his men. Vilaz would not back down to the threats of a scum like Cloudburner, even if there was a civilian in potential harm. "Vode," the Field Marshal began ordering his men, "move out and sweep the area! If any of y'all encounter a Republic soldier don't shoot 'em and give 'em mercy. If he fires, then you have permission to put him down." With that the whole battalion of Mandalorian Warriors began to spread out, searching for civilians and hostile soldiers which would be given quarter and mercy.
Then the commander of Cloudburner and his men spoke out to Vilaz and Elijah with, thankfully, some sense. "Commander, I have no idea what you are talking about. My vode have been doing their best in evacuating civilian bystanders and giving them medical attention. I don't know what fool is giving you this information 'cause if this was true, a firefight would already emerge between my men and yours. But hear me out, Commander: do everyone a favor and retreat. We already have control of Nickel One and we don't wanna spill more blood from anyone; right now, we're trying to give aid to those who are injured despite their affiliation," again, he took a mere moment before speaking again, "So, what's it gonna be, Commander?"
[SIZE=10.5pt]Nickel One – The central Hub
Allies: [member="Laguz Vald"] [member="Rigor"]
Enemies: Nobody in the vicinity
Objective: Finish the party[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10.5pt]Pain blossomed from the small of his back. “Cheeky!” he cried. The soldier in his claw tried to wriggle free, his knife doing nothing but scratching the paint job on his artificial arm. No matter how many fights you were in, getting hit by a blaster bolt was an exquisite pain that you never got over. Even if his armour had taken the brunt of the blast, all those nerve endings crying out before they were incinerated was deeply unpleasant. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=10.5pt]He swung his hapless captive at a wall. There was a dull thud as his head collided with the rocky surface. The helmet did nothing to prevent the impact from bouncing his brain around the inside of his skull until it simply switched off. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=10.5pt]One backwards step and he flung the body at the bastard who’d snuck up behind him and shot him in the back. Both went down together and Thrukk followed after shortly. A foot on the chest, a metallic claw around the head. One quick twist. Done.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10.5pt]Gathering some explosives from the fallen he made his way to the next set of blast doors and blew the mechanism. Such doors were made to fail safe to prevent ingress. It also made it quite easy to tamper with the things and seal them shut. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=10.5pt]He wondered back down the corridor, patting down his pockets to ensure his cigarras were still intact. The silence was deafening now. Not a moan from the fallen. Coming to a halt beneath xir grate, he shot the silhouette of the shapeshifter a quizzical expression.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10.5pt]“Reit in th' back cheeky dobber!” he exclaimed, showing xir the hole in his armour. “What ur ye daein' up in thaur anyway? Th' fun's doon haur mucker!”[/SIZE]
Location: The Central Hub, Messhall. Objective:Survival, find out what is even karking goin' on? Allies: Saber Team, Republic security forces. Enemies: [member="Katalyn"] (NEARBY)--> [member="Rigor"] | [member="Laguz Vald"] | [member="Thrukk Gulpdar"] Gear:Done posting it over again, check the signature please!
Valkren lowered his shoulder into the table that was blocking off the messhall. He'd push most of his forces at this time, making a last push to get rid of [member="Katalyn"] and her few allies. The table toppled over, himself and the few marines he had followed down the middle corridor, all with rifles raised. "Michaels, take up two of the thermal detonators from the right corridor. Refit them for handgrenades. I want it done yesterday!" He'd state after stumbling from a grenade shot from their enemy, slowing them down slightly.
O'Connor and his team of marines rounded the corner as the mando's they were facing fell into a 'tactical' retreat, his thumb and index finger on the triggers that permitted his cannon to spin up and let loose a hellstorm of bolts toward them. A stray round hit the bend in his elbow, searing into the white plating that was his heavy assault armor. The burn went down to the thermal 'armor' that ran thin underneath the plating. The assault specialist would bite down and grind his teeth as he felt the burning sensation, yet he continued to fire, simply compensating for the pain and exhaustion by dropping to a knee. Two of the marines advanced slightly infront of him to take the agro away from their team lead. "Let's force 'em out boys!"
The grenades went off in O'Riley's corridor, causing him to back up with his team in a scramble. "Taking five, sir. We're regrouping and will be ready to move against the enemy soon."
Valkren simply nodded to himself as he rolled into a piece of obliterated cover, dodging a shot just barely. He'd yell down the hallway with a deep and commanding tone, watching as Michaels came back to hand him the two thermal detonators he salvaged. "You've still got the chance to run! We'll let you back all the way out of the corridor! Take the offer or face the full force of the republic!!" He'd yell out, watching as two marines advanced down the other side of the corridor, moving into cover. Two of his teams had advanced further toward the 'chokehold' that the mando's had supposidly advanced back into. If they denied his request, he'd put his last two detonators to use. It was only a one corridor defensive area they had retreated to, so there was only a few places his explosives could land. If they landed ontop or infront of them, it'd force them back..If it landed behind them, they'd either have to be fast enough to retreat behind it again, or run out directly into their fire.
And if for some reasons his explosives didn't work, Young still had two thermal's of his own back in the messhall with him, and there was also still two thermal detonators planted along the left corridor they could retrieve. Things were coming together simply in his section of the station. He couldn't say the same for the server room of the Central hub.
"Commodore Selonna, I am glad to hear from you. You had us worried here. I am moving in but will be a few more minutes before I get into long range weapons range to assist, MY Sloops will be moving in to assist you and draw some fire. Keep your head down and stay in the belt as much as you can." Said Reshmar to the woman now seeming occupied with something off screen. "Commodore, I will let you go I know you have your hands full. Help is on the way."
"Thank you, Admiral." Was all Abigail was able to return as the frequencies filled with white noise and dancing hutts. Abigail was not amused.
"Ma'am, sensors are showing a Republic relief force en route to us, but we will be unable to contact them." The sensor officer told her. She nodded and thought for a minute.
"Can we talk to our ships?" She asked in return.
"We can talk to them fairly clearly because our reactor gives us power to spare and they are near, any return messages would be garbled unless they were tight on bandwidth. Limited to text or audio, but no visual. The Republic pickets would be able to pick us up, but might not even be able to get text through the interference back to us." The sensor officer replied.
"Send the Republic pickets orders to stick to us in a defensive formation and wait for further orders. If they can't talk to us, they won't be able to talk to Reshmar." She paused for a minute as those orders were sent off. "Do our sensors show any civilian or allied ships between us and the Mandalorian fleet?" The sensor tech checked, actively pinging between the three alliance ships and Nickel One. He then shook his head in answer. "Have our ships direct their tractor beams at the large asteroid off our port. Turn ships thirty-five degrees to port and push the asteroid directly away on a bead directly between us and the Mandalorian fleet."
Ponderously, the ships turned, then pushed with the combined might of their tractor beams, aiming the asteroid at the Mandalorian ships on a slow course. Easily avoidable, but it would likely make the Mandalorian ships scatter.
"All ships, up bubble twelve degrees, all reverse full. Charge main guns." She said, causing the small fleet of ships to turn up, aiming their main weapons above the asteroid, one of the possibilities of where the Mandalorian ships will show, then reversed away to eventually get below the level of the asteroid field.
Actions
Turned to face where the Mandalorian fleet is centered
Pushed Asteroid towards the Mandalorians with tractor beams
Elevated ships noses twelve degrees
Went into full reverse
Charged Main guns
Epic Pinball
Location: Modified Champion-class Star Destroyer Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Roche System
Allies: [member="Reshmar"] | [member="James Justice"] | [member="Abigail Selonna"] | [member="Faith Balor-Organa"]
Enemies: [member="Captain Larraq"] | [member="Ali Hadrix"]
"Our communication's are being jammed," noted Captain Lod.
I suppose we shouldn't be too surprised...Communications jamming wasn't a new technology, and one the Republic Fleet as an organization had prepared for in battle drills, but not one he had ever actually faced in such a large scale battle. It all goes back to battle drills, standing orders, and the experience of officers working together...Still, it was not a thought that he relished dealing with. He flipped through his sensor readout screens to view EPR footage from the ship's fleet. While sensor jamming could accomplish many wonders, rarely could they could they block visual observation; especially if it was observation of friendly ships. He watched as [member="Abigail Selonna"] moved an asteroid to as a shield. Gir guessed that such a maneuver would not only provide some physical cover, but it would also block the focused sensor jamming devices aimed at her vessels. A tactic we may well do to emulate. The man from Hast opted to issue similar orders to the Obi-Wan's gunners to snag an uninhabitated asteroid if the ship ended up coming under either sensor jamming or heavy enemy fire. It seemed to Gir that this might be the first engagement he'd been in where both sides would be employing heavy sensor jamming. He tapped a button on his console, bringing up his tactical map. We'll be there soon...then the fun can really begin.
Summary of Actions
-Standing Orders issued for Obi-Wan Kenobi
-Task Force Obi-wan Kenobi near GA ships (will be in same range as GA forces in next post)
James couldn't believe what he was seeing--then again, he could in a way. The spacer had taken the forward advance for the enemy as his others were still moving into position. Was it a fool's move? Probably, but if it got them time and distraction they needed to get into position then he would do it in a heartbeat. A wiser man or one more motivated by money would have held back. But James was neither--or so many would think.
He didn't believe for a Nar Shaddaar minute that what was going down was right, and he felt that the Mandalorians were on the right side. If he could, he wouldn't fire a shot at them--and to be frank he had no intention of doing so. It was a pointless fight. They were clearly right, Danger was even on their side in some ways it seemed. They represented comercial interested, one that he had a part in.
But he held no loyalty to any name but his own. He had no king, no sovereign, no Clan Lord, no Prime Minister or whatever guise the dark lords and dicators wanted to call themselves. He was the man of the people, the People's criminal. And that was all that mattered.
The enemy was flanking them, the sensors were jammed with some pathetic excuse for entertainment that kids these days listened to, and he could quickly say that his chances of success were dwindling to none if maneuvers were not taken--and fast. He grit his teeth angrily. He was glad his captains were old-school smugglers and pirates he had run with more than a few missions with in his old days.
"Take a hard bearing of 30-Mark-90, full power to engines and shields, we need to get out of here fast, flank on the reverse position," He shouted, "And turn that fething racket off."
"Should we attempt alert the others, sir?" asked the communications officer.
James shook his head, "This be why we give the practiced order to follow the Flag, gentlemen. Those drills were not in vain."
"Sir, shouldn't we be engaging the enemy?" Asked one of the weapons officers.
"No, lad, do not engage, I repeat, do not engage," James ordered. "We don't have to beat them, we just have to out run them."
True to his training, the others began pushing their way out, following the leader. The enemy was closing in and fast.
"Put the gorramn yoke into it, boy!" James roared, almost ready to go over there and do it himself.
The engines onboard gave a groan and lit their after burners in a brillant haze of blue ions as they pushed harder, giving the ship a shudder. A few tense moments later they were clear of the enemy for the moment. James pointed ahead, "There, 30-Mark-000, go for those asteroid clusters, we will use them for cover."
"Yes commander."
After a few tense moments the ships slid into the cluster, ducking for cover. Relieved, the spacer flicked ashes off his cigarette and gave the next order, "Prepare to defend from this point," he muttered, "please, by the Force, dun't chase me, dun't make me shoot...."
Summary of Events:
-Get out of the surrounding
-Move to cover in a surrounding asteroid pocket, prep to defend there.
Location: Bridge of Skira-class Battleship "Skira" / Heart of Mandalorian Fleet / Objective: Engage and Destroy Republic Navy; Overwhelm Privateer Forces; Allies: [member="Ember Rekali"],[member="Arrbi Betna"], [member="Anija Betna"], [member="Jack Raxis"], Mandalorians and allies, Enemies: [member="Gir Quee"], [member="Abigail Selonna"], [member=Reshmar], [member="James Justice"], Republic and allies, Neutral:
Larraq watched the events unfolding on the holomap of the Skira. He watched as the young BioShip and his escorts chased ghosts through the belt, he watched as the Republic Fleet moved closer to his own and to the Galactic Alliance formation, and he watched as the mystery fleet dove under the approaching swarm on Mandalorian ships and fighters and ran until their back was against a wall. "They're pirates..." Larraq said aloud as he mused to himself. More accurately, they were likely Privateers. They probably thought themselves brave and dashing. Rushing in to defend the civilian station of Nickel One... Only, they fled. That was the difference between Mercenaries and Privateers. One accepted money to fight and die for their employer. The other accepted money to fight for their employer until the gain no longer exceeded the expenses. At the core of it all... one was a soldier, opportunistic or not. The other... was a criminal.
If there was one thing that Rygel Larraq had learned from his dealings in the corporate world, pirate fleets, and Hutt cartels, is was that criminals could be bought.
"Set up a tight-beam transmission to the Osi'kyr!." Larraq said as he rushed to a control console and began typing in commands. "Order the jamming halted for five seconds and a burst transmission sent on all realspace frequencies. Once transmitted, resume jamming." He explained to the comms officer as he typed a series of text messages into the console. "First message is encrypted, second is not. Send package to the Osi'kyr! and begin jamming pause now."
For five seconds, the white noise silenced itself, only to be replaced by a simple text transmission. Part of the transmission was encrypted, the rest... was not.
The encrypted transmission read as follows; Hold position and observe. Squadron 42; encircle and prepare to break the mountains.
The unencrypted transmission read as follows; 10 million credits to engage the Republic Navy.
5 million credits to flee to the bottom of the belt and leave system as soon as able.
As the five seconds after the white noise ended, it began again. Larraq watched as the swarm of frigates and fighters paused their pursuit of the Privateer fleet and took up defensive position around Nickel One. Among the swarm of fighters, a single squadron disappeared from the holodisplay as they activated their cloaking mechanisms and moved to follow through with their special assignment. They would maneuver close to the Privateer fleet, encircling it from as many sides as able, keeping a large asteroids between themselves and the Privateer fleet.
Trusting his officers to deal with whatever choice the Privateers made in an appropriate fashion, Larraq turned his attention to the main threat against him. The Republic Navy.
He watched their ships move. He watched a single Star Destroyer and a handful of Cruisers and escorts move to reinforce the damaged Alliance ships. He watched as a second Star Destroyer and her handful of flanking Cruisers and Heavy Cruisers moved slowly forward, inching ever closer to engagement ranges. And he watched as a freaking mountain range sized asteroid began drifting directly towards his position. <Clever girl.> Larraq thought to himself as he focused his attention on the massive rock and the Alliance ships that continued to skirt their way towards their Republic allies. The Alliance ships had been at extended ranges when they had engaged his fleet, and they had only increased the distance between he and they in the minutes that had past. It would take the rock a while before it became a direct threat to his formation (ooc to Abigail: maybe... two turns?), but when it finally arrived, it would do so as a tidal wave of debris and kinetic force. There were plenty of asteroids between his fleet and the approaching mountain. One would strike the next, shatter both, and send most of the shrapnel heading in his direction... where it would strike the next asteroid and continue to transmit kinetic force and debris towards him. True, the speed of the approaching debris would slow as well... but the total mass and the size of the debris zone would only grow.
He had to move his formation. Including the jamming UIur'uur Frigate.
It was... sooner than he desired. But he could still make this work to his advantage.
"Move the entire formation up on maneuvering thrusters. Dorsal. Get out from behind these rocks and advance on the Republic Fleet until the Concordia are in weapons' range." He said as he turned and snapped at a young woman at the back of the room. A few moments later, she had brought him a fresh mug of coffee. "Begin jamming valid targets once we're in range." Larraq said before taking a sip of his coffee. (ooc: the Jahaatir hadn't been actively jamming while hiding behind the asteroids)"And open fire as soon as we have 80% accuracy on the Republic ships."
Larraq sipped his coffee as he watched events unfold on the holomap. His ships rose up above the disk of the asteroid belt, then advanced at the fastest speeds the Concordia were able to achieve. They plodded their way forward in a line of battle. Eventually, a thin line on the holodisplay was crossed, the Republic ships blinked bright red and yellow on the map, and his ships opened fire. First the Jahaatir began spreading Ewar as evenly as they could, then the Concordia opened fire on a few of the Republic Cruisers at a time, then the Skira joined in with her own barrage of Heavy, Long Range Turbolasers, and lastly... after the other ships had ranged in, each of the Keldabe Battleships would join the fray by opening fire with their Mass-Driver Missile Launchers (ooc: counts-as HLR Mass Drivers). The first salvo or two from the Concordia and Skira would be... not entirely accurate. But as the formation slowed to a stop and the Mandalorian ships' targeting systems zeroed in on their desired targets... more and more shots would begin landing on each target.
(ooc to Gir: next post will have Larraq wondering why the Concordia are missing far more shots than they should be, due to Republic's Ewar.)
TLDR
Everything but the "Primary Formation" has paused and taken up position near Nickle One while waiting to see what James Justice will do.
"Primary Formation" has broken cover and is advancing on the Republic Navy (Reshmar's formation + SD)
A single squadron of Cabur MkII's (stealthed) are moving into position to get a first-strike against James Justice's fleet should he choose to not take one of the two options Larraq offered him.
Location: Bridge of one of the Shadows Objective: Engage and Destroy Republic Navy; Overwhelm Privateer Forces; Allies: Me band of merry savages Enemies: Probably everyone now...... Neutral: [member="Gir Quee"], [member="Abigail Selonna"], [member="Reshmar"], Republic and allies, [member="Ember Rekali"], [member="Arrbi Betna"], [member="Anija Betna"], Mandalorians and allies, Ships:
James Justice sat as he heard the news and saw the fleet draw back. This was a defining moment in his career, in his life. On one hand he could take the ten million and bite the very hand that had fed him. It was a lot of money, and the amount would be equal to most of the cost of his ships he had on hand. It would serve as vengeance for their attack to take over his shipping operation. After all, he had been with Danger in the group that had been assaulted, done wrong, and had assets seized. He had fought the clones for Danger and retrieved some of the free-market goods that had been wrongfully seized. He hated where the Republic was going—the only reason he was here was because [member="Lady Kay"] had asked him to as a personal favor.
He sighed and shook his head, when would doing favors for his adoptive younger sister cease to cause him trouble? He could have stuck his head in the sand like he wanted to and waited it out. He could have worked on the fringe of things, waiting until it was all over and taking the broken hulls for his own when the main fighting was gone. But no, he had to do a favor and stand by his friends. Curses on his unconventional ethics. Curses on it all.
Yes he had come to help the Common people, but then again—this wasn’t exactly a populated zone. Sure there were several small colonies here and there. Sure there was a mining station on the fringe. But their shields would most likely hold up against any stray turbolaser or blaster fire. And he wasn’t sure that these people would be the type to shell out on cities when they were too busy bombarding each other. This wasn’t the type of decision he had signed up for.
He looked across his bridge. His men had families too—families to go home to. He wasn’t about to be the one to tell them that they had died on his account in a battle they had no stake in. Besides, he hadn’t seen the Republic fleets exactly moving in to assist him in the assault. A bridge burnt, that was not his to burn or be burnt. Even if it was a personal favor, James was finding more reasons to leave than stay. There was too much to lose here and too little to gain, taking either side. So he did what he should have done in the first place.
“Move out, take the bottom route,” James ordered.
“Yes, sir.”
The massive ships began to turn on their heads, making their steady exit. Did the Mandalorian mean business or was it all a ruse, a ploy? James didn’t know, he kept his finger on the trigger just in case. At last they broke through the asteroid belt. Communications opened up and James was able to finally give the order that he knew everyone in the ships had been wanting to hear all day, “Set course for home, lads, make the jump immediately.”
As the streaks of hyperspace flew by, James made his way down to his captain’s quarters. It was quite small for a captain’s quarters. But truth be told he was by far more comfortable on his Lost Angel than he ever was on this bulking hulker.
Sitting down at his desk, the spacer began typing up a letter to send to whomever was running the dictatorship called the Republic now;
To the head of the Republic; I regret to announce that I was unable to privateer for ye fleet in the battle of Roche. During a forward advance, ye men gave no support for me fleet. I felt it were in me men’s best interest to withdraw rather than take heavy casualties. Please dun’t take it too personally. As I understand it the same thing happened when me and me men made the move to help stop the clones who seized me assets during the recent fiasco that incurred all of this. Moreover, it be caming into me mind as we advanced that the conflict of interests here be too great for me. The number of clients I be having who be Mando’a and the number of me crew who be Mando’a are too high for me to risk an all-out war with the clans. Or even a partial war.
Next time ye be needing someone for a foot-battle please contact the Brethren Court, the Black Tie Syndicate, or other like operations. If need be I can direct ye to one who is not as tied down as meself. We will be glad to help deal with pirates, One Sith, relief efforts, building orphanages, or anything else that be making the common people better but no more of this team-work nonsense. I won’t be putting me men on the line again when there be no one to help back us up. They got families too, they be counting on me to give em better lives. If that what ye be expecting, then ye need to find a patriot. I ain’t one of them.
As a token of my goodwill and to show a lack of hostility, please accept these gifts. I hope ye understand. I am and always will be;
The People’s Criminal.
Attached: two tons of Blastos, a unique alloy developed by me own tech crew at SocMin Fed Four tons of durasteel, mined by SocMinFed Three hundred K1-units for the Republic fleet Four hundred Y1-Series Utility droids One ton of medical relief (Ignore the labels that say “Hutt Cartel”; they work just fine. However I recommend not holding the bacta too close to ye nose) Two crates of Soceras’ finest wines Three complementary passes to the Angel’s Den, me personal club in Dal’Bor A 75% off discount coupon for use of Justice Shipping’s cloning Facilities. Max order at once: 500. The contact info to me business associates who can help ye rebuild more: - @Matreya : Merr-Sonn Munitions - [member="Nicademus Blith"] : Blith Tech - [member="Miss Blonde"] : Criminal at large, business associate - [member="Nyx"] : Crime lord, Associate - [member="Alicia Drey"] : Foodstuffs producer, one of the finest in the galaxy - [member="Sor-Jan Xantha"]: Technology - [member="Triter Zone"] : Gun for hire/pilot, well-meaning Fox-fella - @Julius Valentine : Bounty Hunter, damn good. One of the best
James saved it and decided he would send it the moment they were back at Soceras, with the desired goodies. For now, he needed a drink.... (EXIT)
Summary:
1) Exit the area
2) Accept funds to not kill Mandos--or Pubbies
3) Send reconciliation gifts to try and show that its not personal
4) Spoiler a lot of stuff. @_@
Location: The Central Hub
Objective: hold my gorund
Allies: 2 other npc mandalorians
Enemy: [member="Valkren Calderon"]
Gear: same as last for the time
As fire came down, she felt sudden jolts against her skin. Then she hit the deck and started to past out, she could see blood seeping out of her, on to deck of the corridor. It was very very red, and she was very very cold. Arkrad look at her, and gave the order to pull back. He would be back with more men, the fight was not over, but she was quite tired know and starting to get sleepy. She heard a shout from down the corridor "You've still got the chance to run! We'll let you back all the way out of the corridor! Take the offer or face the full force of the republic!!"
She replied in all but a whisper, I think I sleep here if you don`t mind.
Location: On approach to Republic Fleet
Allies: Galactic Republic | Verpine Government | Republic Citizens
Enemies: [member=Naast'ika Laaran] | [member=Lisette Kuhn] | [member=Keira Ticon] | Mandalorians
Objectives:
1) Return to Nickel One to combat Mandalorian threat
2) Locate and arrest Keira Ticon
3) Deliver Verpine delegation to trustworthy Republic authorities
4) Negate current threat
Equipment: Full duranium beskar'gam, EM protected helmet and weapons. Verpine Assault Carbine, 2 x DL-44 blaster pistols, wrist rocket, wrist-cable, various grenades (lethal and non-lethal), beskad, stun gauntlet, small-jetpack, bacta injection system.
NPC's (for narrative): None. On her own now.
The Republic fleet was near at long last. The large vessels of the Republic hung in the black as their engines churned, driving them toward the growing battle. Ali gripped the seats in front of her with both hands, narrowing her eyes and searching the Void for the escort she had called for. "Still nothing." She cursed quietly. "Do you think the Admiral received the message?" The Human pilot asked. Ali shook her head, "I have no way of knowing, either that escort will show up or it--" The transport rocked suddenly as it was peppered by a cloud of asteroid debris. "Active scanning, something sees us!" Ali barked as the Sullustan's fingers worked the console. The stealth systems remained on for the time being, providing them as much cover as possible as they continued through the asteroid field. A line of mass driver rounds stitched their way through the space ahead, striking the durasteel hull and rocking the vessel forward. The Human pilot banked right and dove around the curvature of a large, pitted asteroid, forcing their pursuer to close against it as well. With their active sensors now running, Ali could see there were four smaller vessels total and what looked like a large frigate analogue somewhere behind them. "That thing must be what's blowing up all those asteroids." The Human exclaimed, dipping left and cutting through the rapidly closing space between two large asteroids. The massive rocks collided behind them, scattering debris in the path of their follower. Some distance back, as the enemy fighter passed by the transport's previous location, the quad of concussion missiles picked up on its signature and shot off toward their nearby target.
Not yet. Soon. "You might say, we're in the process of elections at the moment," the Gen'Dai replied from behind the mask. She had cut the power to her lightsaber, the ensuing questions allowing him time in which to shift more of his internal structure around. Alter the blood flow to stop the bleeding from where the shrapnel had struck him. "I'm the candidate of the Kyr'tsad Party,"
Republic. They thought of everything in terms of bureaucracy.
Seizing hold of his besk'ar maul, the man was up in a blur of motion as he rushed toward her. "You are unwise to lower your defenses!" the warrior offered. After all, what was some constructive advice between warriors. The hammer was thrust out like a lance, aimed for the center of her chest.
If there was any candle of humour flickering within him, it would have expressed some internal wryness at the monologuing of this jetii, drawing comparison to fiction - wasn't it always the evil mastermind that did this? - but like Ember, Falcon was taking the same opportunity with this continued lip-flapping, gathering power to a degree he hadn't done since breaking his handler's 'chains' as a boy on the cusp of pubescence, but with a heavier, more fearsome draw.
The death of his wife at the hands of this jetii's people was a strong fuel for his darkness, his hatred, but the blindness of this Mantic, how he continued to extol the so-called virtues of that rotten Republic made that fuel more incredibly potent than it would have been if the jetii had kept his trap shut. Though he'd drawn one of the three hilts he now carried, it remained unlit; the widower went for the mind, seeking to alter the jetii's perceptions. All one or two steps onward from the simplest concept of sleight of mind, and a thing he had plenty of time in, since he was a small child.
When Ember moved, Falcon's intentions were simple in concept, exacting a pull on the jetii's mind to skew what he saw, heard, smelled, felt - making his father-in-law the stuff of nightmares, something akin to a starweird, somewhat incorporeal yet writhing with the sickening pulse of darkness; thick, oppressive fear choking the air, and putrid, burnt flesh teasing the nostrils, all in the psyche-warping absence of sound that drove most to madness - a torture, if anything, pulled from the former educator's own memories of all that he had been subjected to, in the formative years.
After all, memories were the best basis for this sort of thing.
Location: Roche, Near Nickel One, Chasing Ali's shuttle, Objective: Search and Destroy all Republic Assets in the Roche System, Fetch Ali Hadrix Allies: Mandalorians and Allies Enemies: [member="Ali Hadrix"], Republic and Allies Neutral:
Lieutenant Daemona Demona banked right and pushed the throttle forward, keeping on the Republic Shuttle's tail as it navigated the asteroid field. Four rockets activated, seemingly from nowhere, before racing past Demona's starfighter. "The frell?" Demona said aloud before shooting a comm laser to the other three starfighters of her flight. "Who got locked?" She asked.
"Negative on target lock." Replied Junior Lieutenant Fiora. "Negative." Called out Lieutenant Armande "Negative." Called out Junior Lieutenant Talus as well. "I think they were dump-fired. I hit them with the jamming system just in case. They hit an asteroid and blew up as I passed."
<The frell are these people playing at?> Demona thought to herself as she pulled her Beskad as close to the shuttle's ion drive wake as she could without damaging her fighter. She pulled back on the throttle and matched speed with the significantly slower craft. Behind her, a pair of asteroids collided with one another. The rest of her flight pulled up to avoid the debris before rolling and diving back down to catch up with her. Demona watched the other three fighters pull up beside her, the two Cabur MkII starfighters taking up dual positions on the shuttle's 6 before each opened fire with four light mass-drivers firing ionite-tipped ammunition at the shuttle's wings. Demona and Fiora banked left and right respectively, accelerating until they were on the shuttle's flanks. Each fighter's automated Ion Cannon equipped turret firing bolt after bolt at the Republic Shuttle.
As a unit, the four starfighters kept pace and formation around the significantly slower shuttle.
------
Lieutenant James Holden kept one eye on his sensor display and the other on his approach vector. Figuratively anyway. In actuality, his eyes darted back and forth from the forward view offered him by his cockpit to the display given to him by his ship's sensors. His Rekali-class Fighter was moving through the asteroids as quickly as it could. He was constantly activating and deactivating his overdrive engines and maneuvering thrusters in order to keep from slamming into the mountain-sized asteroids that drifted all around him. On his sensors, he saw that the flight of ships launched from the Naast'ika Laaran were moving in close formation with one another. His sensors also told him that they were firing at something.
<I'll never live this down.> James Holden thought to himself. <The most advanced starfighter in the Mandalorian Fleet, and I got out-matched by the B team.>
As one more massive asteroid slid out of his view, Holden pushed the yoke forward and brought the nose of his fighter down. Appearing in his view, Holden saw four Mandalorian Starfighters moving in close formation around an off-colored shadow, the outline of which clearly marking it as the shuttle that they had been chasing. The four ships were firing a barrage of weapons at the shuttle, but appeared to be holding back on "lethal force."
"Alright guys." Holden said to the other three pilots of his squadron as he deactivated his overdrive engines and activated additional maneuvering thrusters. "Move into formation around that shuttle, weapons-free with non-lethals."
Two of the heavy fighters in Holden's squadron moved into position above and below the Republic Shuttle, both rotated so that their dorsal turret could engage the target with their light repeating ion cannon equipped turret. A third heavy fighter moved into position between the two Cabur MkII starfighters and prepared to fire repeating ion cannon rounds at the shuttle's ion drive. The two Cabur MkII starfighters spread out and stopped firing at the shuttle. Holden himself moved his Rekali Fighter in front of the shuttle before performing a flip, using his fighter's powerful retrothrusters to maintain speed and distance in front of the Republic Shuttle. He noted that the two Beskad starfighters had stopped firing their ion cannons at the shuttle and were instead maintaining the box formation around the Republic ship.
Close enough to see inside the Republic Shuttle's cockpit, had their optical cloak been deactivated, James Holden resisted the urge to wave at the other pilot and instead raised his chin at the other ship. Surely they could see the body movement. Just like they could see him adjust the convergence point of his weapons so that each weapon barrel on his Rekali was pointed at them.
He kept an eye glanced at his sensors, making sure the Republic pilot didn't get smart and try to make him fly into an asteroid backwards. Which... is something Holden would have attempted. Sure that he wasn't about to collide with a rock, Holden pointed a comm laser at the shuttle and opened up an unencrypted line. "I think it's time for you to surrender." James Holden said to the Republic Shuttle. Absently, he noted that the four Cabur Patrol Ships had finally caught up as well.
------
Talia Naast could not help but to notice as her allies maneuvered around the Republic Shuttle. On one hand... she was disappointed that she would not need to engage the shuttle herself. On the other... she was happy. She felt like they had won.
All she had to do now was maneuver herself next to the shuttle and force it into her hanger.
Talia's laughter echoed through the bridge of Naast'ika Laaran as she rose above the last asteroids between herself and her prey, each of her three primary cannons pointed at the small shuttle. She tried to lock onto the shuttle's signal with her munitions guidance system. She wanted to be able to fire proton torpedoes at the shuttle as well... if it tried to resist her anyway.
But something about the shuttle kept her from acquiring the lock she needed.
Talia Naast huffed her displeasure at not being able to threaten the small shuttle with her full arsenal... But knew that her cannons alone were more than enough to deal with the little ship.
------
Captain Tupu watched the holodisplay as the Republic Shuttle finally came into view. They still had a little ways to go before they could engage the ship directly... But if what he saw was any indication, they may not have to.
Location: Service tunnels nearing the Central Hub Objective: Get this party started Allies: [member="Commander Lusk"], [member="Dish"] Enemies: [member="Darth Vulkan"], possibly [member="Sabine Kurtass"] Gear: In signature, Equalizer Pulse Rifle, Sith Killer Rounds
To take an indirect approach was a rarity for Keira, but she much preferred it to facing a Sith Lord head-on. It ensured the lives of her men were at less risk, and that was all she really cared about. The squad accompanied her at nothing more than Lusk's behest, but it was nice to not have to go into a warzone alone. For a few moments she studied the floor of the Central Hub above their heads, able to sense where the Sith stood. There was no entrance directly below him, much to her disappointment, and it would take too much time to make one. So she motioned for her men to follow to the hatch that did allow them access, looking over those that accompanied her and nodding. Her stomach knotted with anticipation, and instinctively she knew it was time.
Drawing on a breath she let the Dark Side energy she could feel above mingle with her own, the high it presented much more fulfilling than any drug, and far more dangerous. A predatory gaze lingered within the volatile amber of her eyes, and she raised a gloved and lightly armored hand, counting downwards silently from three. Once her hand became a closed fist a burst of pure telekinetic energy burst upwards and outwards, blowing the service hatch off its hinges. She and her men weren't far behind, firing in short bursts downrange towards the Sith, providing what was nothing more than covering fire while they made their own foothold. Within seconds she slung her rifle across her back once more, instead palming her lightsaber, orange plasma blade thrumming into existence.
Taking a few steps forward she let the tip of the saber drift lazily towards the Sith, helmeted gaze noting another sensitive nearby. So they had two to deal with. Great. Just like any other time, it was out of the fire rather than the frying pan, and into an even bigger inferno.
Objective: I guess I'll beat these guys too Location: Central Hub Allies: We can call [member="Sabine Kurtass"] that for now Enemies: [member="Keira Ticon"] [member="Commander Lusk"] [member="Dish"] Gear: Signature | Smoke Demon
The hatch blew open, and the Sith Lord grunted the Smoke Demon forward towards the oncoming warriors, intending to have it draw the fire of the weaker willed soldiers with the Dark Jedi, and batter down their mental defenses. It would make mind controlling them much easier in a moment if they were terrified. And they would be.
The Sith dropped to down, letting his left knee hit the durasteel floor resting the edge of the Dinu'ul almost touch the floor as he hid behind the meter wide circular energy shield. The shock of high velocity rounds against and energy shield left his left arm numb, taking the brunt of the force delivered into it. The Sith smiled wickedly behind the helm, his presence coiling around him as he reacted to the end of the storm of bullets.
In a flash he was on his feet, stepping into melee range with the Dark Jedi woman. Were he sane at the moment, he would probably have been flirting instead of trying to kill her, but alas he was broken, pure rage and fear at the moment, black eyes filled with murderous intent. He kept the shield between himself and the woman, axe held low as he approached her. The sith lashed out, his arm swinging for the outside of her knee with the flash-freezing blade, the intent to hobble her and slow her movement. As he struck, he crafted the illusions of two other arms from his shoulder, one coming over the top aiming a heavy strike for her collar bone, the other held in a mid guard. These were imperfect and didn't match his body movement perfectly, but they were only meant to disorient her and keep her from being able to react to his real attack.
In the back, the demon roared, manifesting into the soldiers most terrible fears and lashing out at them, seeking to fade them out of reality while its master did battle with the Dark Jedi woman.
