--- --- ---
Location: Landing Zone Zulu, Santaissa, Kaeshana
In Vicinity:
[member="Samka Derith"] | [member="Asharad Graush"] | [member="Isla Ashen"] | [member="Kyrel Ren"]
[member="Kaalia Voldaren"] | [member="Kato"] | [member="Pharazon Draken"] | [member="Carlyle Rausgeber"]
[member="BE-183"] | [member="Project X-2"] | [member="Max Fel"]
Objective: Assess the Crash Site, Search for Survivors
Enemies: Those Resisting the First Order
--- --- ---
Rolf thrived off of the adrenaline streaking through his veins. From low orbit he'd seen the Star Destroyer unleash a withering barrage of accurate turbolaser fire into a position above the city - double checking his HUD he noted
that'swhere the estate was. As he watched and heard the thundering buzz of the lasers arc towards the estate and begin to rain down the Major noted that the artillery fire slowly began to peter off. Catching the tail end of an incoming transmission over the chaos of the battlefield his eyes were drawn to the sky where
something uncouth was happening. It started slowly, rolling clouds forming and a flash of lightning - and then it burst out into a freak storm. The sky churned, flashes of bright light had illuminated the world beneath the clouds casting an ominous shadow across the terrain.
That had been almost ten minutes ago.
Now the Major and his men had relocated, pushing into the city where the rest of their forces had seemed to congregate. According to the comm, there were several resistance cells operating within the ruined city, actively ambushing and attacking First Order troops. This picnic had really gone to hell in a handbag. Not even a day previous Rolf had been preparing his men once more for humanitarian aid to the ravaged planet of Kaeshana, just as he'd done for Zarnathea. That
too had gotten worse before it had gotten better.
As they'd moved through the rubble and ruin Rolf was reminded of that conflict, his eyes always moving, looking from shattered building to pile of crumbled duracrete and rebar. In every window there was a sniper waiting for the right moment to take their shot, beneath each crumbled chunk of duracrete a homemade explosive - and there was a
lot of rubble. There was reasonable, and then there was paranoid. To the benefit of himself and his men, Rolf was the former, but it didn't stop him from thinking it.
Forcefully slapping another charge cartridge into his blaster rifle, Rolf did a quick once over of the troops around him, back solidly against a eight foot tall chunk of broken duracrete. Already they'd hit some resistance, a flurry of blaster fire from an alleyway, an unguided rocket from inside a shattered husk of a building, but they'd emerged the victor, now taking a much needed breath as they rechecked their ammo and gear. Despite the loss of several troopers to those attacks, morale was at an all time high. Scattered amidst the ruins lay the broken bodies of those brazen enough to think they could stand up to the power of the First Order - The Galactic Alliance had yet to breach the blockade on the planet, soon enough they would be weeded out.
With a sneer of distaste, Major Amsel seethed beneath the impassive front of his helmet. The Galactic Alliance. A conglomeration of planets stretching from the edges of First Order space all the way to the core. The First Order had come in good faith. Scientists, engineers, medical staff - all for the benefit of the native Eldorai. They were resistant to aid, their distrust of outsiders evident but even so, there had been a hope for peace and collaboration. A hope that was crushed, no,
obliterated, the moment the Galactic Alliance had shown up, things had started to go south. Perhaps emboldened by the move, the resistant pockets of fighters had gathered together and undone everything they'd been working towards. Thankfully the scientists and engineers along with their defacto leader [member="Nathaniel Barrett"] had made it safely aboard the Concordia as soon as the resistance broke out.
He heard a loud roar from above, his eyes searching for the source. When his eyes found it he felt his breath catch in his chest. From the sky came the massive gray hulk of a massive Star Destroyer.
*Imperial-X* Rolf mused. It had been slagging metal and crete alike until just now, a heavy list to one side. There was no explanation for
why but... it almost looked as if it was falling. Falling? It was a sight to behold, the full length of the 1600m vessel tilting precariously to one side and then descending, but it wasn't a linear fall.
*What devilry is this?* thought Rolf to himself. As he saw it began to move, quickly Rolf calculated its course.
*Feth*. Raising comms on all encrypted First Order channels at his disposal he sent a message out.
"Eyes to the sky! Incoming, brace yourselves. As soon as that thing hits, I want all able bodies back on your feet and ready to respond!"
With a thunderous clap and a concussion wave Rolf could feel through his armor, the ship slammed into the earth, rattling his teeth. A few troopers began poking their heads up from behind their hiding places before Rolf barked a command.
"Keep your heads do..."
An explosion larger than he'd ever experienced before shattered the normal sounds of the battlefield. First, a giant flash - blinding even with the aid of their reactive helmets. Then came the crack. The loud crack of something breaking the sound barrier. Even through his auditory dampeners he heard and felt the concussion. If he'd thought he'd felt the initial contact this was something else. His head exploded into a thousand tiny pinpricks of light, an instantaneous headache gripping his mind as the explosion rocked the earth. Accompanying the main orchestra was an incessant high pitched whine, slowly fading.
Blinking, coughing, trying to take stock of his body, Rolf shifted in his armor. First testing one arm, then the other and repeating the process with his legs. He was still functional, but his lungs burned. He'd been jolted from where he'd rested against the rubble, his blaster held only to his person by the strap he'd secured to it. Scrambling up from his prostrate position on the ground, he once more put himself behind the rubble, keying up his mic between bits of coughing.
"Fortan One, Status check."
As the calls came in, he noted several more casualties. Some of the rubble had shifted, pinning a few troopers and injuring a few more - even one fatality from one of the other squads. A quick curse uttered under his breath, the Major dared to assess the situation, eyes locking onto the barren landscape where the vessel had slammed into the earth.
*Gods this is a mess...*
