Casus Belli (Tygaran Alliance/Galactic Alliance vs First Order Rebellion of Kaeshana)

[Asharad Graush]

Citadel of Dawn.
[member="Joza Perl"]

Vyrassu was surprised to find that his lightsabre made contact with her arm, what he didn't expect was for it to not cut through it entirely. Within his mind, he meant to keep that in mind, already identifying it as a metal that was capable of resisting a lightsabre. Akin to his own armour, was the connection he had made, but she hadn't made actual contact with his form, not with a lightsabre anyway. What was a surprise however was the fact that in his left palm where his lightsabre had been, it was instead a lightsabre cleaving it in two with a downwards cut. His arm jolted backwards, her lightsabre dragging across the phrik that covered his wrist, and then he did the unthinkable. At least, what he thought, she would imagine to be the unthinkable.

His left hand clamped down around the beam, servos in the crushgaunt whirring violently, though unheard by the Sith as he sought to either wrench the lightsabre out of her hand entirely via its burning plasma blade, or, to pull her and it towards him, specifically towards the phrik helmet that was aimed for her own head in a violent headbutt. The goal? Well, the headbutt was sudden, and he sought to surprise her with the attack.

In regards to A'sharad's own right hand, and his golden lightsabre, that had been parried off to the side, more of a distraction rather than an actual dedicated attack. However, the parry would've sent his blade off to the side, specifically off to the side that [member="Leo Vandermolen"] was wanting to slide past and snatch his lightsabre. Essentially, his options were to abandon the slide altogether, or have a lightsabre burn a diagonal hole through his diaphragm. Regardless, the Sith Knight didn't take note of the second opponent that approached, but his Hydrastaff did. Vyrassu was the sort to instill fear and respect from his underlings. His Hydrastaff, although rarely playing a part in his life other than protecting him, and being an extension of himself, as say, his lightsabre would, his Hydrastaff acted independently of him. As was seen on Zarnathea when the First Order had quelled the uprising there, and on Endor, when he had spearheaded an attack through the Ssi-Ruuvi forces, followed by the very same White Wolves that were on Kaeshana, at the Citadel of Dawn.

The thing about Vyrassu's belts however, were that his Hydrastaff was coiled around his waist, akin to a belt, almost leathery in appearance, though difficult to spot due to the colouring of it, and the armour its master sported. Additionally, there was the belt that actually held the lightsabre. Unfortunately for Mr. Vandermolen, even if he somehow avoided the lightsabre that would've put his shenanigans to a halt, and he decided to continue going after the lightsabre, he would've found himself faced with a mass of acid from three out of the five heads spewing it, while the other two heads intertwined amongst each other, the object between them being Darth Moreth's Lightsabre, and by extension, [member="Dax Fyre"]'s. Even if he did reach the saber, it'd be nigh impossible to get past the venom and fangs.

 

[Tempest]

Allies: [member="Aeron Kreelan"] [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] [member="HK-36"] [member="Nima Tann"] [member="Sed Frieder"] [member="Taryc Ap'Irae"] [member="Six-O"] [member="Michael Sardun"] [member="Draco Vereen"] [member="Audren Sykes"] [member="Joza Perl"] [member="Samuel Quentin"]
Enemies: [member="Asharad Graush"] [member="Ludolf Vaas"] [member="Nils Brenner"] [member="FN-888"] [member="Pierce Fortan III"] [member="Rolf Amsel"]
Location: Take the Citadel!

“This is Abregado Free Droid Army commander at the Dawn Citadel, we were able to secure foothold in the slit trenches at Citadel's approach, we pushed the stormtrooper garrison there into retreat, we are now securing the rest of the trench network and we will be pushing into the Citadel. I repeat, we secured the Citadel approach and we are pushing in to capture it.”

Tempest, who had been thrashing some Stormtroopers coming up the hill. However, at these words she saw the opportunity. Capture the Citadel, command the battlefield, win the day. It was not something she could do alone though.

She heard Elpsis move forward with Nima on the commlink. Good. Rapidly she activated her jetpack and called on the Force to speed forward.

Landing just behind Elpsis and Nima she rushed forward. The dead and wounded of both sides lay thickly strewn over the battlefield. The shattered wrecks of vehicles and tanks lay everywhere. Yet, this was their chance.
“Troops, with me!” she ordered a company of the troopers, along with some of their walkers and a few of the surviving tanks.
“Artillery, drop us down an iron curtain around the defences. Keep them back. Gunships and fighters, move in and keep the enemy back.”

She tapped into the comms for the Galactic Alliance forces. “Master [member="Aeron Kreelan"], [member="Audren Sykes"], [member="Michael Sardun"], [member="Joza Perl"], head for the Citadel. We are moving troops up there. If we take it, we can win this.”

The Citadel of Dawn had been dismantled before the cataclysm, then been badly damaged by looting, decay – not to mention this battle! There would be little left there of organised defences, and with seven masters of the Force attacking in one spearhead there would be little which could withstand them.

Charging forward until she was in line with Elpsis, she set about whatever defenders might be left with her lightsabre, teaming up with her friends wherever needed. Her electrical powers, heavy armour and lightsabre skills worked well to tank for the damage heavy Elpsis and the support strong Nima.
“Come on, we’re almost there!”

XXX

To support this big push the Typhoons reloaded, and 3 dispensed their anti-air missiles for HE. Their volleys were directed onto the largest First Order concentrations of troops, both where Ludolf Vaas and Asharad’s troops were deployed, but mainly to create a cordon around the Citadel of Dawn. Thousands of explosive rockets landed in the already shattered landscape. A single one of these could tear one or several men apart, blast open a vehicle except the heaviest armoured sort, and make the great impossible to traverse.

Meanwhile the Thunderers deployed more Rapier rounds, but this time half used ion rounds. The incredible accuracy of the Rapiers allowed them to create an ion blast just above the First Order infantry and tanks of Asharad’s force. Whilst some of the biggest walkers might be shields, standard infantry would find their electronics shorted out, their commlinks disrupted, the tanks unable to properly move or aim. It would be followed by regular shells from the other half. Their accuracy meant they would not fall back onto the Alliance troops or the Abregado droids.
Panic, disorder. First the First Order troops and vehicles might lose their communications, then the barrage would hit home and disorder them further. It would give the Alliance the time they needed.

Added to the onslaught, the two squadrons of refuelled fighters swept in to add their laser cannons and missiles to the attack on the First Order troops near the Citadel. Combined with this, a dozen of the Cobra gunships moved in to add their firepower, especially against walkers and tanks to the fray.

This was in addition to the bombardment unleashed by Samuel Quentin:

As the medevac team with Samuel took off, the artillery tanks shifted position and began to stutter out munitions towards General Graush's and Ludolf Vaas's forces. 15 artillery tanks were targeting each force.

XXX

The appearance of a company of First Order troops ([member="Rolf Amsel"]) near the artillery was of great concern. The fact they had managed to appear unnoticed by the vigilant anti air was disturbing.
One of the Thunderers was hit by a missile and blew up. Others were damaged but not disabled. This gave Firemane a chance to retaliate. After firing their barrages, the artillery laid down smoke and drove back into more hidden positions.
The enemy was too close to engage with Typhoon or Thunderer, but the Hydras could still be effective. Moving forward their turned their anti-air guns into anti-personnel weapons, the rotary laser cannons spitting forth death.
Moving in also were 4 of the Cobra gunships, ready to empty missiles, laser cannons and bombs into this errant force of Stormtroopers and drive them back.

XXX

The advance of the 214th had been slowed by a certain pair of Fire Order Masters, plus the previous artillery and gunnery, but even in their positions they could not be stopped endlessly.

So the first detachment, the survivors of the original landing, moved back to help reinforce the defence and hold back that legion. Firing from cover, using the high ground and artillery they aimed at their specialities. The infantry aimed bolters at Stormtroopers, the vehicles aimed for surviving enemy tanks and walkers They had to hold whilst the Citadel was seized.
The infantry had many shatterbolters for disabling enemy tanks and piercing walkers.

(Many apologies for the delayed post. First the site downtime, then work and my birthday conspired. I have done my best to read all the posts put forth, but I know I might have missed something so please let me know if this is the case.)

Forces and deployment:
(Forward Firemane contingent – Returned to defend against the 214th’s advance)

• 337 230 infantry armed and equipped Mk2 bolters, Sentinel armour, thermal detonators etc. Mounted in Yazgids of which 10 8 survive and are in action.
• 3 2 heavy and 6 3 light Mag’ladroth walkers.
• 8 4 Reaver assault tanks.
• 1 Firemaw MAVT

(New contingent – Moving to occupy the Citadel.)

• 1,250 950 infantry armed as above – the contingents of 5 Vigilance Frigates from the fleet. Infantry mounted in Yazgids.
• 250 220 detachment originally from the above defending against the 214th Legion’s advance.
• 3 2 Manticore Heavy Support Tanks.
• 18 Typhoon artillery tanks. 3 with AA missiles, 15 with standard cluster munitions.
• 9 8 Thunderer SPA. Deployed rearwards with air support.
• 6 Hydra AA tanks.
• 15 9 Reaver assault tanks.
• 3 2 Firemaw MAVT
• 3 heavy and 6 light Mag’ladroth walkers.
• 24 16 Cobra gunships.
• 48 42 Avenger fighters in 4 squadrons.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

Location: Near Citadel of Dawn.
Objective: Engage [member="Kyrel Ren"]
Allies: Tygaran Alliance, Galactic Alliance [member="Elpsis Elaris"] [member="Elliot Locke"] [member="Charlyra Araano"]
Enemies: [member="Kyrel Ren"]
Equipment: Vanguard Armour, Lightsaber, Blaster Pistol, Sonic Carbine

Trextan felt the attack building in the Force. As he immersed himself in combat he felt his connection to the Force grow. Was that a facet of the Force that should be concerning? There was no time for such idle thoughts now. The Ren made no attempt to hide what was coming. Exhausted, Trextan only made a token effort to resist it and was thrown backwards. He impacted against the rocks, pain flaring through his shoulder. His arms were tired, his joints strained by the constant battering he had been holding off.

Yet with dogged determination he pushed himself back off the rocks. He covered the metres back into battle in two seconds flat, eschewing balance to get back into the fray as quickly as possible. Whilst he wasn’t one for talking during a battle he could not help but respond incredulously to his opponent’s declaration.

“It’s a war you bucket-headed cretin.”

There was little special about this sith, he had come to realise. He had a good knowledge of forms, but he was far removed from some of the Masters back at Sullust who practised their saber work in the great temple. Those like Aela Talith and his own father. His strength had been his greatest asset, but there was no room for the sweeping, heavy blows when the Ren was boxed in on both sides. Trextan came in with a series of quick blows once more, alternating high and low to tax his defence. Bit by bit the pair would attempt to limit his options, try to hem him in and push his defensive sphere back closer and closer to his body until he couldn’t possible meet both of their sabers any longer.

 

[Cyrus Tregessar]

FIV CONTEMPT
CIC
KAESHANA SYSTEM
OBJECTIVE: ELIMINATE ENEMY FORCES
ALLIES: [member="Carlyle Rausgeber"] | [member="Fiolette Yvarro"] | [member="Aran Piett"]
ENEMIES: [member="Kyrana Gould"] | [member="Vilin"] | [member="Cathul Thuku"] | [member="Alexandra Morrow"]

The Contempt ducked and dodge as much as the super-sized maneuvering drives would let, dancing about like a much smaller ship in a seemingly desperate attempt to avoid incoming fire. Sometimes it helped, sometimes it didn't. Most of the time it was matter of picking one particular sort of punishment over the other. Dodging one round from the oversized HVC meant watching another punch through the overstressed shield generators and tear a chunk out the hull. A cascading litany of damage reports flowed in, and yet the entire time Cyrus found himself glancing at the readout for the now distant Firemane fleet.

Admiral Gould had yet to leave a parting remark.

As Cyrus' force approached short range with their Galactic Alliance counterparts, it became much harder to simply avoid damage by maneuvering or being a small target. Two of the Dagger's, overwhelmed by the volume of turbolaser fire headed their way, shared the fate of their Galactic Alliance counterparts. In the midst of swirling debris and the lethal energy storm packs of fighters battled in a furious melee. Even on the advanced displays on the Contempt it became basically impossible to track the course of the strike craft battle. The two sides were basically equal in number, and it came down to tactics, the skill of individual pilots, and the merits of the fighters used. In this, by fielding a variety of types the First Order almost certainly had an advantage. TIE/fo and TIE/sf's utilized their rotating turret to strike X-Wings at angles they couldn't respond from, and the Star Wing's missile magazines gave them incredible lethality against even large groups of fighters.

But overall the effect was mostly that of negation. The Star Wing's were still vulnerable to being ganged up on by X-Wings, and one simply couldn't just rush the bombers with so many intercept craft around, to say nothing of the presence of the capital ships and all their gunnery. if anything the main point in Cyrus' favor was the Contempt itself, with Bastion and the 'long' ranged defensive armament working overtime in an offensive role to pick off as many enemy strike craft and warheads as possible. The rate of fire was tremendous, there were multiple reports of mechanical failure from overuse, and magazines were at 40% almost across the board.

The Stormclouds and corvettes had been an attempt at a one-two punch, and while they'd inflicted some damage it had not been nearly as effective as hoped. The corvettes were paying for it now too, but in targeting them it took a great deal of firepower away from the main fleet. Buccaneer and Charge 1 were left ruined hulks, and all the others damaged but still operational.

"Energy surge on the Barsen'Thor, main cannon firing!"

That was what Cyrus had been waiting for, and there was nothing much he could do but brace for impact and hope that a weapon designed to kill Star Destroyers was having a tough time getting a good hit on a dreadnought that could juke like a cruiser.

A brilliant blue beam sliced through space, flashing out the main display for a moment. Then the ship lurched so hard that Cyrus was pressed into his seat as the inertial compensators struggled to maintain stability. For a moment, he thought the ship had been holed. "Report?" he muttered, his usual iron replaced with a sort of morbid curiosity.

Vayyrel appeared at his side, holding her arm in such a way that it was clear she had fallen and injured it.

"Glancing hit, forward bow. The maneuvering tail is damaged, almost 70% of ventral thrusters are blown."

"From the shot?" Cyrus asked, momentarily confused.

"Over-stressed. We suffered more damage from the Phoenix to the dorsal midsection."

That was... bad. The Darr Itah's lived and died on their mobility. Cyrus' first thought was that it would almost have been better to take a direct hit, but as the damage report flowed in he reconsidered. Dozens of batteries offline or totally destroyed, casualties in the thousands, and fires so out of control there was risk of sections of the well-armored core of the ship being evacuated.

But they were still afloat and still combat-worthy.

The rest of the fleet was in much the same shape. Vanguard had closed to short range with the Trimaran and was engaged in a point-blank fight. Both ships were designed for just this sort of battle, but whereas the IDX was designed for a drawn out fight at range but the Trimaran class had the edge in a close-in battle. With its ACE's to strip shields and Assault Concussion missiles to obliterate the hull in followup the Vanguard was in trouble. Only the efforts of Bastion and fighter escorts had saved the IDX for now. Scylla was in similar shape, as the HVC rounds had inflicted significant damage, but now it was only facing a cruiser and large carrier, and could weather the exchange longer.

The Stormclouds were suffering the attention of enemy strike craft and secondary batteries, and though hard pressed had managed to survive with only limited damage. Until the Excubitor targeted CG-1, that is. At max range and with now limited support Bastion only managed to knock down one of the super heavy warheads, and the other two released their payloads into the cruiser. When the dust settled it drifted, crippled but not quite sunk, and in last glorious display emptied its Baradium launchers at all the frigates in range. CG-2, still mostly functional, picked the Inyush as its target and supported by the surviving corvettes closed to short-range to make things messy.

VD-1 and VD-2 weren't out of the battle either, and now with time to recharge their shields they launched back into the fray with a vengeance, joining the last Stormcloud in targeting the enemy cruisers. And of course there was the awesome firepower of the Contempt itself, which now turned all its great guns and most of its secondary armaments on its battlecruiser counterpart.

So far only the Predator had gone basically untouched, and thus unmolested it was practically free to pick its target. The Vanguard would have support after all, and the hundreds of turbolasers, ion cannons, and missiles from the Wyyrlok-class Star Destroyer turned their attention to the Trimaran.

It was still a fight.

Fleet:

Spoiler

1 x Darr Itah – (Contempt, moderate damage)
1 x Wyyrlok – (Predator, light damage)
1 x IDX – (Vanguard, heavy damage) (Relentless Crippled)
1 x Executrix-class (Scylla, heavy damage)
2 x Victory-X (VD1 and VD2, both with moderate damage)
2 x Vindicator Carrier – (Carrier 1 and Carrier 2, light damage)
1 x Dagger Frigate – (FF1, 2, 4) (3 Crippled, 2 and 4 destroyed, 1 light damage)
2 x Stormcloud Assault Cruiser – (CG 1 and CG 2, 1 destroyed, 2 moderate damage)
3 x Corsair Gunships –(Raider, Bandit, Buccaneer, Brigand, Buc destroyed, 3 with moderate damage)
1 x Charger Corvettes (Charge 1 and Charge 2, 1 destroyed, 2 with damage)

33 Squadrons - LESS NOW
7 'Elite' Squadrons [x] [x]
16 Fighter Squadrons [x] [x]
10 Bomber Squadrons [x]

Non-combat ships

1 x Shadow-class corvette
4 x FIPV-9 Keraunos
some transports and auxiliaries and stuff that was intended to resupply the 'Exclusion Zone' and are now doing whatever the hell merchant marine do when caught in unexpected HUGE FIREFIGHTS

 

[Zmej Ren]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1h8qPDA2KE​

[SIZE=10pt]Somewhere near Santaissa[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]Allies: FO[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]Enemies: [member="Judah Lesan Jr."][/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]Gear: Armour, baton, gun, pike[/SIZE]


[SIZE=10pt]Anger filled battle cries of the soldiers, muffle moans escaping the dying, explosions, heavy blaster fire. It was overwhelming, coming from all directions, deafening even to the most battle-hardened of men. Nobody could escape it, silence the terrible orchestra of war, and yet one distinct sound cut through every other. First came a distinct hiss, followed by melodic humming - telltale signs of a trained Force user wielding a lightsaber. Instinctively, the black helmet turned in the sound’s general direction, immediately spotting a green beacon of light beckoning her to approach. The armoured enemy’s presence served as another proof of his true allegiance, and while the knight of Ren had never sensed the presence of a Jedi before, the sheer difference between the signatures of her brethren and this man could not be denied. Adrenaline started to pump furiously, heart beating fast and hard.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Zmej accepted his invitation – this was her purpose and so much more. A real test of her skills, a chance to kill a Jedi and have her name eternally carved into the First Order’s annals. Her father had never killed a Jedi, and so the opportunity to prove her skills were more than cheap tricks fuelled Zmej’s desire to crush her opponent. As most soldiers rushed past the duo, knowing the two would rip each other into pieces like bloodthirsty dogs, Zmej Ren holstered her pistol, gripping the pike’s long silver shaft in both hands. Yes, the teenager stood ready to serve her purpose and fulfil her duty to the Supreme Leader, eager to put the years of rigid, unforgiving training and education to use.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]The song of fame and glory sang to her and she listened, marching forward and menacingly raising the pike’s tip to point at the lightsaber wielding Force user. Her thumb fiddled with the weapon’s power setting, dialling it to the max. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]“I don’t know what you hoped to accomplish by coming here, Jedi,“[/SIZE][SIZE=10pt] Zmej’s voice stated flatly, [/SIZE][SIZE=10pt]“But you’re not returning to the Alliance.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]One long stride and the pike turned into a viper lunging at its prey, a downwards jab going for the man’s legs – but before the attack could connect or be parried, the shaft stopped in its tracks and swiftly retreated. The feint served only as a distraction, followed by another stab that was radically altered merely by Zmej lifting the weapon’s front slightly, which aimed the swooping attack directly at the man’s abdomen. [/SIZE]

 

[H3xle]

Location: Citadel of Dawn
Allies: [member="Nima Tann"], [member="Draco Vereen"], [member="Tempest"], [member="Joza Perl"], [member="Michael Sardun"], [member="Aeron Kreelan"], [member="HK-36"], [member="Audren Sykes"] [member="elpsis elaris"]
Enemies: [member="Asharad Graush"], [member="Ludolf Vaas"], [member="Rolf Amsel"], [member="jaron lesan"]

Forces:

Spoiler

At Comm Tower
-1 Company of Soldiers (250 Soldiers)
-Gear:
-Armor
-Rifle
-Sidearm
-SAW (Squad Assault Weapon, 2 per squad=8 per platoon=32 per company)
En-Route to Comm Tower
-2 Companies of Soldiers (500 Soldiers)
-Gear:
-Armor
-Rifle
-Sidearm
-SAW (Squad Assault Weapon, 2 per squad=8 per platoon=32 per company)

Running at the ground eating lope, Taryc quickly passed the 500 troops heading towards the Communications Tower, and the Estate where she had landed shortly thereafter. After a few more minutes of the pace, she heard the sounds of the massive ground battle for the Citadel, and slowed. Running like that was great in open country, or on roads, but not when you are about to near a battle zone.

As she closed, she felt the presences of many force users, most of them quite powerful, but also mostly ones that didn't feel like Sith or the Primeval type of users she had been raised with. At the distant touch of so much power, her heart sang, and the fire deep within her, the core of her connection to the Force, deepened and brightened. Taryc took a turn off the road, feeling the approach of troopers, and not wanting to get bogged down with a protracted battle should they be First Order troops. She cut up a small goat path that lead towards a copse of woods. As she reached a generally open stretch, she began to move faster.

She cut through some trees to a point below the apex of a ridge and turned to run up it. Alone, she was able to cut through the trees until she reached the point where the trees began to peter off. At that point, she turned and crested the ridge. On the other side it was a steep escarpment of scree before a sharp cliff that fell hundreds of meters to the fortress. Taryc took the scree with a slide, then leapt off the cliff into the air.

For a few moments, she was weightless, freefalling. After a few moments, she tucked and rolled in midair, and ended up rolling onto a medevac transport coming in for a landing. Her momentum spent itself into the top of the ship, and she was off of it as it neared the ground. Ahead of her she saw [member="draco vereen"] and a fire haired woman throwing lances of coherent fire.

She drew her sword as she ran up, and slid between Draco's legs as he was striding forth to engage the foe. As she came out the other side, she lit her sword and struck out at the legs of the stormtroopers around her. After a moment, she regained her feet, and took a step back to join the line with Draco. If he could see through her helmet, he'd see her smiling.

​

 

[Hansen]

FN-888 "Helden"
Kaeshana Southern Hemisphere, IM-455 Modular Garrison "Fenrik".

"And just like this, a Jedi appears in front of me. I turn Leia onto him, the knife ear thinks he is clever and turns the stream back onto me while I'm trying to Torch him!" Hotshot pauses with a wide grin in sight of the silent platoon. "The Jedi just has this stunned look and I run off laughing, I look over my shoulder and he's just there! Staring at me like a Mandalorian stares longingly at his sister!" Everybody within earshot burst out into hysterical laughter at the Flametrooper's antics, the swarthy man juts a leg out and rubs hands along armour weave covered thigh suggestively to the heightened entertainment. "Oh Vod! Come back here and take me!" He mocks with an effeminate voice. "Charge my loading ramp like you're Han Solo!" The cacophony of laughter earns the Stormtrooper platoon glares from the more conservative enlisted personnel into the Mess.

Joan shakes her lowered head in outward disagreement although it doubled to conceal a massive grin that pulls over glistening white and perfectly straight teeth. "Fun time's over Hotshot! Cut it out! Sit-down and stuff it!" Joan calls forward to the obedient flametrooper who throws up a prompt salute and then performs a brief cutesy for the NCOs and Enlisted Troops and then finds his seat beside Sev who gives Hotshot a most hearty and firm pat on the back. "Jokes are getting better though, you make for a better blaster magnet than a comedian." This solicits some 'oohs' from the Stormtroopers with the lash of Joan's dry albeit stinging tongue wounding the Pyromaniac roastie.

"But only the best blaster magnets are allowed into the Ironhounds! Isn't that right lads?" Their spirits renewed Sev leads the platoon in raising their milk filled plastoid mugs towards the ceiling in a toast. "To Lightning! And the blasted combat engineers and their mines!" Joan gives an approving nod, and with milk filled mug in right-hand bashes it against Sev's. "To Lightning!" Joan announces before taking but a sip of milk, her thoughts turn sad for a moment. And only imagines the pain he had to endure. Sev watches that wave of sadness albeit doesn't say anything with the Stormtroopers drinking.

Joan stands above the seated platoon and looks over them silently, their eyes look to her with a hint of concern while Hotshot continues to loudly slurp up Numian cream off of his plate. "I'm sorry to interrupt the hot meals but I need to let you guys know that Company wants us to run a humanitarian convoy North to a camp that has been swamped with refugees and hit by GA fire." Joan pauses for a long moment and gauges the reaction from her Stormtroopers. They are receptive albeit obviously weary of going out beyond the Deathbfence of the Fenrik garrison. "We're going to drop off supplies for the Army personnel there and bring back the Eldorai in the worst shape back with us." Joan pauses and looks around, searching for hesitation or weakness. "Understood?"

"Ma'am!" The Stormtoopers chant in frightening unison. With that Joan gives a simple nod, and takes her plate towards the washing area before walking towards Khan who walks into the mess with the armoured vehicle crews of their platoon behind him. "Ma'am! We've got a prisoner down in detention I think you'll want to deal with?" Khan doesn't both greeting the Lieutenant and it forces Joan to pause in step. "What kind of prisoner?" Joan snaps angrily at the tank commander. "The kind you ordered to be executed, I believe he was taken into custody by Deadeye in a roving picket along the Death fence." Deadeye feels the weight of his friends gaze fall upon him like an obese Rancor. And raises his hands up with extended fingers in a submissive gesture. "My report is on the cell terminal along with the prisoner's belongings."

"Good. Machine, Greaser. Come with me!" Joan slides past the entering vehicle crews and the two nominated Stormtroopers hurry behind the Lieutenant with F-11Ds in hand and helmets sitting on heads. Deadeye rolls his eyes towards Khan. "Kark it Khan, the Lieutenant was in a good mood until you came along!" Khan offers a simple shrug of pauldrons in his tank driver armour to Deadeye and offers up a smug retort. "I seem to have that effect on people." Khan's metallic prosthetic of an arm finds a perch on Deadeye's shoulder and massages it gently before whispering down into the Squad Commander's ear. "Did you actually finish the report or not?" The tank commander's grin could be felt by everyone at the table. "Yes! Vader's arms Khan! Unlike you! My paperwork doesn't conviniently get disintegrated by a laser cannon!" Khan grins with his departure from his comrade. "Well, atleast I can actually hit my targets Deadeye." Hotshot ducks down towards his plate snickering uncontrollably in an attempt to avoid Deadeye's fury. "Yes except I do all the work" Freeze objects to his tank commander's comment, following closely in Khan's step.

 

[Dish]

Location: Trenches
Objective: Fight
Status: A-okay
Enemies: [member="BE-183"]
Allies: GA

The strikes of the vibroblade that cascaded across his armor actually stung a bit, but the Confederate Marine Armor held fast as Dish advanced towards BE in the mud, twisting to avoid her strikes before simply punching directly at her chest, he hadn't wound up or given any obvious tells, he simply fired off the punch at inhuman speeds with strength well capable of breaking through the armor. As he threw the punch his knife hand stayed back, ready to swipe away any strike with a sharp counter.

He could care less how things looked, a shot had gotten his stomach but otherwise he was fine and had sustained far far worse, if the fight took time, it took time, he wasn't concerned. As for the GA troops, some advanced, and their comrades could only look on in horror as theywere enveloped in flame and shrapnel, in retaliation, a tro of rockets were loosed at the troopers from the troop's launchers.

 

[H3xle]

LOCATION: Forward Operating Base Aurek
OBJECTIVES: Bring Medevac back in
ALLIES: [member="dax fyre"], [member="tempest"], [member="siobhan kerrigan"], [member="Michael Sardun"], [member="Aeron Kreelan"], [member="joza perl"], GA/TA Forces
ENEMIES: [member="asharad graush"], [member="ludolf vaas"]

It was a disconcerting feeling, watching artillery rounds fly past the medevac shuttles. Precision targeting and intelligent algorithms guiding the pilots allowed for such close fly-bys, though, without much danger. The flight path of the high explosive munitions also made an excellent ceiling for the crafts, as enemy fighters would have to be fairly suicidal to try to fly through the path without being tied into the tac net like the medevac shuttles were.

Sammie watched out the window, his armor had some mild burns, and his shields had taken some hits, but all in all they had gotten the Kathol Marines and other allied forces pulled out without a great deal of fuss. Medical transports flying around from both sides were operating near the battlefield, and so far neither side was jeopardizing their own flights by targeting enemy medevac flights. He'd even seen an Alliance medic, one with an Omega Pyre tag in Sammie's HUD, stabilize a First Order soldier and assist a First Order medic in getting her to their shuttle which had landed relatively near their shuttle. It was a scene that burned into his mind, as the medics of both sides seemed almost like a third party, participating in the conflict only so much as they had to to do their job.

Once back in the air, the medics worked hard to stabilize their patients en route to the FOB. 12 kilometers didn't take a long flight time, and they were soon at the hospital section. Sammie slung his rifle over his shoulder and assisted the medics in carrying their stretcher laden patients into the hospital tents, past engineers setting up further defenses around the hospital portion, and some vehicles beginning to set up bunkers behind the hospital tents. Sammie assumed these would be for the hospital to move into if the conflict lasted longer, the foundations were going deep, and it looks like the engineers were trying to build as much into the ground as possible.

Once the patients were in the hands of the medical personnel, Sammie moved back to the command post. Waiting a few moments as he watched it work.

Actions:
1) Just pulled wounded TKO and other Allied forces back to the FOB. if [member="dax fyre"] or any other wounded people wanted to be on this flight, feel free.

 

[Kuzo]

Kaeshana
FLEEING Crashed Transport
​South of Santaissa
Allies: FO
​Enemies: Creators of the Force Storm
[member="Vexen"] [member="Micah Talith"]

Especially without being able to see his face through the mask, even with the raised voice, Irajah only caught about half of what he was saying. Fortunately, it was enough to keep her from being terribly alarmed (being concussed helped too) or slapping him when he came in with both hands.

She did, however, give him a funny look.

It faded a moment later when she felt the traces of the Force. The panic that came with that was subdued, helpless. She couldn't have stopped his probing if she'd tried- she had no idea how. She could only hope that the walls she kept around the virus were enough to baffle his searching- or that her injuries were enough that he'd get distracted.

Yeah, great thing to hope for Raj.

It was no surprise that she had a mild concussion, nothing serious and likely to resolve on it's own, but bearing watching nonetheless. Three of her ribs were broken however, and there was some internal bleeding- serious if left untreated. Considering that she'd been thrown from the crashing transport, she was incredibly lucky.

Beneath all of that were older hurts. But they were subdued and not nearly as problematic (on surface inspection) as the ones caused by the crash.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Objective: Capture, Control, Rescue
Ship: Orar'uliik (Away)
Allies: GA | [member="Elpsis Elaris"]
Enemies: FO | Citadel of Dawn | [member="Ludolf Vaas"]
Music

Draco and his men walked through the edges of the trenches following up the Firemane forces commanded by Elpsis Elaris. Now that they had reached the earthworks, the Mandalorians had spread out using grenades and flame projectors on enemy resistance. For now the Solus Nek were hanging back, moving slowly behind the Firemane forces looking for their goal, the great act that could push them to redemption. This being their second deployment real deployment they were not easily recognizable, nor were they really known to outsiders.

Draco moved straight for the Firemane Commander, a woman in red beskar armor, which as insulting as it could be to have non-Mandalorians wear beskar, it was also often a sign of a vod, a close friend or ally with the clans. And this one didn't look very insulting from the back view.

"Oya, ner vod." He approached the woman from behind, for the most part ignoring the fires of war around him while she and her troops did the heavy lifting. His jump pack activated and with a burst of speed he darted for the legs of the closest AT-FA to him and his new companion, channeling his strength with the Force to lift the thing and dump it over on its back. No easy feat, but not the most difficult thing for the Mandalorian. Draco was no rancor-wrestling monster like Rekali, or a bulkhead puncturing inhuman like Cavill. But these weren't blast doors or rancors. These were just AT-ST's fitted with flamethrowers and a path needed to be cleared.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Objective: Pew Pew all the Things
Ship: Modded Rekali-class
Call Sign: Rakehell One
NPC's: Gold Squadron (9 Y-Wings)
Engaging: Moving to Engage
Allies: [member="Roth Tillian"] [member="Arix Askrima"] [member="Tempest"] [member="Djacen Koyne"]
Enemies: [member="Sara Lee Jones"] [member="Nils Brenner"] [member="Ishana Pavanos"] [member="Face"]
Music

Completing her interceptor run, Laira banked back for the cloud cover the remnants of Gold Squadron following her path away from the Shaadlar ships they had just lit up at point blank with numerous rockets and missiles. Gold Squadron had taken some casualties during their assault run from defensive fire and had used about half their ordnance into the transports, one of their squadron having been severely damaged angled himself on a kamikaze run dumping ordnance at a transport as he went down.

Laira in the Rakehell however simply continued on her path after having unleashed torrents of firepower into parajumping infantry swarms. She shuddered at the thought of what explosive anti-tank rounds really did to bodies, even if they were all Yinchorii. The turtle people weren't that tough. Her comlink buzzed on the open channel, telling local air support about incoming reinforcements.




The Droid was a friendly and they needed air cover. "Gold Squadron, regroup and ramble on. New target, clear out ordnance on this run and make a move back towards command ship after this." Gold Leader new what he was doing and even with their limited remaining rockets and missiles they were capable of devastating trenches. Double clicks of confirmation came across the com-channel while Laira turned to follow the squadron through.

The Citadel of Dawn had been the hellscape of fire and destruction since the beginning of the fight, the three armies clashing against one another for some time. "Ee eight. Get back on that gun. Shields are climbing again." Barely. They sat about twenty and fifty percent, which was enough to ward off some enemy fire, but was far from ideal. Last time she had flown through the First Order had sent an entire squadron against her.

The redhead's feet played with the pedals on the floor, rocking the vessel into a downward spin and turn, diving through the cloud cover at a screaming pace. Gold squadron was filing through moving on a run, but she was pulling off on her own.

"Targets."

 

[Vexen]

[member="Irajah Ven"] [member="Micah Talith"]

Pushing aside the mental annoyance had having a patch of singed fur, Vexen backed away from her protective posture. Vexen didn't like to hurt people. Barely ever did her claws or teeth get used in anger, despite the fact that such instincts had surged forth on more than a few occasions.

"You'll be alrigh'," she said as she backed away. Almost immediately she undermined her assertion by turning to Micah and asking: "Is she gonna be alrigh'?"

She scuttled back up the side of the divot. It was fortunate for them that the storm had brought down a tree with a good system of roots to yank so much earth up with it. A pair of ears appeared above the lip, turning in each direction. Then came a pair of goggles and finally Vexen's maw. She sniffed the air. Burning foliage and my hair. There were a number of fires now, but they seemed relatively confined. There had been some heavy rain recently.

Her sensitive eyes almost immediately picked out several airborne vessels above them.

"We've gotta head back to the FOB and get her treated," she whispered as she clambered back down.

 

[HK-36]

Character: Adventures of NPC Greycloak "Iron-Borne"
Location: Battle for the Citadel of the Dawn, foothills by Vaas
Objective: Neutralize Vaas
Allies: [member="Joza Perl"] (Ivan and snipers)
Enemies: [member="Ludolf Vaas"]
Forces: 1 Greycloak, clad in Protectorate Power Armor, 2x Electro-Cestus, and chameleon cloaks, armed with Magnetic Revolvers, heavy Magnetic Repeater, generic blue-crystal lightsabers, and Spear of Rae.

((Sorry for the pause, my college just started its classes this week))

Ludolf spoke to the machine across the distance, words to which droid retorted with,

"What?! Vaas, are you talking to me right now?! Could you repeat that please?!"

For he was a bit too far to hear his words, especially in the chaos of battle, in fact he did not hear the man murmur before about his scorn towards the droid's lack of bleeding, and he did not expect Ludolf to hear his own musing. It were two independent yet similar murmurs to illustrate that although the two beings are on different sides, and looking at each other through perspective of propaganda and socialization from their respective factions, they were not that different. Especially since the machine came from Abregado, a militaristic dictatorship headed by one supreme leader backed by a council of magistrates and counsels and legions of faceless soldier-drones.

Either way, back to fighting,

Another burst of blaster shots came flying towards the droid, his sensors and trackers picked up on their trajectory, without the protection of his deflector shield the droid did not want to risk injury into one of the more useful systems so decided to dedicate his full focus into protecting himself from the attack rather than sneaking a cheeky shot at Ludolf in between the barrage.

The machine side-stepped, quickly dodging two shots that came flying towards its head and shoulder, the droid brought his rifle up, using his blaster bolt deflection maneuvers to place the firearm between himself and the projectiles.

PEW-PEW-PEW,

Three shots that came barrelling across the distance between Vaas and the Greycloak splashed against the magnetic repeater, two into its stock, one into the firing mechanism as the rifle was spun and twirled quickly in the machine's nimble grasp. The magnetic propulsion mechanisms of the gun whined and trilled sadly as their charge left them as result of the damage from Vaas, disabling the gun and turning it into a smoking wreck from the plasma-based damage.

PEW

As the droid tossed his wrecked rifle aside, letting it fall to the battered soil of scarred battlefield a final shot came flying through, hitting him in the chest plate. The plasma blade seared a molten crater within the armored plates of his Power Armor, sizzling away with a wisp of smoke. The machine was pushed back slightly from the impact, as if punched in the chest, but it was left still standing, as opposed to Ivan who was now knocked unconscious by the sonic grenade.


While Vaas was back under cover the machine grabbed the edge of his titular grey cloak, spinning quickly as he wrapped the chameleon cloak around himself, pulling the hood down like a mask, before engaging its stealth systems to seemingly dematerialize and phase out from existence, rendering him invisible. The machine had enough of fire exchange and the back-and-forth between himself and the target, it was time to close the distance and go into melee.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Soil the Stillborn

Their combined anger flared like a supernova, twin beacons of hate struggling against one another in a dance both ghastly yet entrancing. Decades of combat experience bolstered the Dark Lord's ferocious multi-angular assault, years of hard fighting in the Core had sharpened his reflexes and honed his precision to within the smallest margin of error. He gave Siobhan no quarter with his attack, each strike coming in mere seconds after the other, again and again and again as he battered against her defenses ruthlessly. He faintly remembered, among the whirl of blades and the clash of plasma, of a time long ago where he found himself face-to-face with a man named Dranok Lussk in the once vibrant jungles of Dromund Kaas during the golden age of the Old Sith Empire. Lussk had been Emperor for a time, and his reforms had brought much prosperity to the Empire, but there had always been the shadow of illegitimacy that hung over him the headsman's blade.

His ascension to the Imperial throne had not been through rightful succession as he never challenged the throne directly to prove his own merit, but instead he allowed himself to be appointed to the position by the rogue Mikhail Shorn after the previous Emperor, Emperor Ardik, had been bested by his hand and cast down in disgrace. Suffice to say the Lords of the Sith tolerated him for a time, but he could not continue to lead them indefinitely. That was when he, then just known by his birthname, had risen up to the challenge and fought Lussk in a pitched lightsaber duel in the throneroom of the citadel where he prevailed over the other Lord's supreme mastery of Soresu and cast his broken body down.

Now he fought an opponent of similar skill, although he noticed aspects of her form that were less than up to snuff with that of the late Lussk's, but then again she held many other skills that more than certainly made up for her lessened skills with a lightsaber. One of which he felt immediately after raking his blade across her forearm, searing the flesh beneath with the heat alone in an attempt to cleave through the hilt of her blade. An invisible battering ram of energy collided into him square in the chest, the armor heaving as the impact sent him careening back like he had been hit by a repulsorcraft. While he did not topple head over heels, he did find himself repulsed several good meters away, the ground ripped up and scattered as sabatons dug into the soiled earth to steel himself against the impact.

He shook the loose dirt and debris that had clung to his armor and with a quick flourish of his lightsabers he sought to approach the Grandmistress once again, but this time he sought out a different avenue of attack in conjunction with martial might. He reached out with his empyrean eye, attempting to peer deep into Siobhan's mind and summon forth her worse fears and portray them as abstract reality. To rip deep and let the deluge of horror take over her mind would be beneficial to the Dark Lord, but for now it was a battle of wills between himself and the Grandmistress.

​

Dark energies swelled around the four Crownsguard as they summoned forth the eldritch arcane powers of the Dark Side of the Force, their individual might pooling together at the nexus of their conjuncture as the air around them crackled and pulsated with latent darkness. Incantations were sung from guttural throats as the first visages of Odojinya began to materialize in the air around the Angelii, thick cords of unbreakable energy whipping out to coil around their limbs to restrict their movements while simultaneously strip them of the Force with their leeching grasp. However; before the ritual could fully take root against the enemies of the God-King the rounds from HK's magnetic revolver rang out through the air, piercing the bodies of two ritualists and they fell to ground to stain the sullen earth crimson as their consciousnesses were torn asunder by the sudden disconnection from the ritual nexus.

Despite the weakening of the ritual, the other unfettered Crownguard sought to capitalize on the momentary hindrance to the enemy forces by advancing to cut those Angelii who had been ensnared by the magic to ribbons with their saberstaffs. Yet before the last two ritualists could complete the spell they were beset by a Force-Breaker grenade which not only shattered their concentration to the unfinished ritual, stripping away their identities, but also caused the volatile magic to burn out of control now that the conduits which held it together were removed. The air shimmered with energy, sparks of electricity spiking the sky as the oxygen in the air was funneled towards the ritual's epicenter, before the magic erupted in a fantastical explosion that would encompass the surrounding area in billowing flames and arcane destruction.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] | [member="HK-36"]​

 

[HK-36]

Character: Adventures of NPC Greycloak "Blade-Knight"
Location: Battle for the Citadel of the Dawn, Protecting Siobhan, Pushing against the Stormtroopers
Objective: Take over control of the NPC forces inside the trenches, clear up the trenches, push through to capture the Citadel
Allies: [member="Elpsis Elaris"], [member="Audren Sykes"], [member="Laira Vereen"], [member="Nima Tann"]
Enemies: [member="BE-183"], [member="Rexus Wenck"]
Forces: Inside the Trenches- 49 Iron Legionnaire Drones 15 armed with Abregado Blast-Staves, 34 armed with Abregado Light Magnetic Repeaters
Outside the Trenches- 2 medium Spider-Droid Mobile Weapon Platforms, one equipped with RC-1 rotary cannons, one equipped with MD-1 mass drivers
1 heavy Spider-Droid Mobile Weapon Platform, equipped with one RC-1 rotary cannons mounted on the left side, one main MD-1 mass driver gun
1 Mobile Weapon Platform Spider Droids, Light Model, armed with RC-1 Rotary cannon
1 Greycloak, clad in Protectorate Power Armor, 2x Electro-Cestus and chameleon cloaks, armed with Magnetic Revolvers, heavy Magnetic Repeater, generic blue-crystal lightsabers, and Spear of Rae.
light Mag'Ladroth Personal Walker, right arm CBRW Flamethrower, left arm Magnetic Minigun
60 Iron Legionnaire Drones armed with light Magnetic Repeaters, moving in a 6x10 phalanx
4 medium Mobile Weapon Platform Spider Droids, 2 armed with RC-1 rotary cannons, 2 armed with MD-1 mass drivers
1 heavy Spider-Droid Mobile Weapon Platform, equipped with two RC-1 rotary cannons mounted on the sides, one main MD-1 mass driver gun
3 (30 troops) squads from the Iron Company, 10 troops per squad, organics and intelligent, emancipated Iron Legionnaire Droids alike, armored in the Protectorate Power Armor, and Electro-Cestus, armed with Magnetic Repeaters, mk2 and mk3 bolt guns, CBRW flamers, RC-2 magnetic miniguns, MD-1 mass drivers, depending on the role, and Magnetic Revolvers and Spears of Rae as side-arms, and carrying one Firemane Aspis shield generator

Elpsis, Audren, Tempest, Nima, Laira, Others,

The machines within the trenches kept up their momentum as more stormtoopers pulled out, almost completely disappearing by then from their section, their tanks were quickly set upon by the E-Webs, Mass Drivers, and finally air support from the GA forces led by Laira and her heavy Y-Wing Gold Squadron, launching their payload against the tank units to help the machines in clearing out the slit-trenches.

The droid infantry within the network made a strong push towards the Citadel of Dawn, securing a way towards it through the network away from the almost non-existing resistance of stormtroopers led by FN-888 who now finished their retreat, with the lack of their enemy claiming land was easy, and more importantly, opened up a way for Elpsis, Tempest, and others to simply bypass the trenches and go right for the Citadel in their final approach against the fortress.

There really wasn't that much other to stay about it, the droids did their job in securing corridor for more units to move through the trenches and push for the fortress, still more of their reinforcements were coming in as another phalanx, spider droids, commando squads from the Iron Company, and even droid tanks begun to make their way up the hill, heading towards the trenches to help with securing the defensive positions and begin folding against other stormtrooper positions that still held to flank and push them away as well.


Raxus,


Raxus and his troops still held a valiant defense against the GA units keeping up pressure against them, but it will soon begin clear that not all of his allies were as stalwart in protecting the trench network in front of the Citadel. As the droid army spread their influence and its troops ran amock the trench network, clearing out and securing more of its canals from enemy troops, it would not take long before the last of the stormtroopers within that semi-circular slit trench fell either dead, unconscious, or managed to retreat, and the Abregado fully controlled the network.

Perhaps he received a call about it earlier, perhaps this was the moment when he realized what happened, but as Raxus held his position, the South-Eastern trenches under command of FN-888 folded and gave in into the enemy assault, the stormtroopers retreating to apparently go rest in a mess hall on a different hemisphere, leaving Raxus and the rest of stormtrooper forces on their own to defend the Citadel with one of its entrances now under enemy control. After all, FN build the slit trenches very close to the fortress, landing on its battlements and only walking down a ramp before digging the network.

As Laira and her Y-Wing squadron bombed the tanks left behind by FN, still bombarded by Abregado mass-driver units, the armored units now most likely all dead or abandoning their vehicles, the spider droids that were moved in alongside other Abregado forces were given new orders. They beeped and chirped, four of their medium models trotting out of the slit trench to make their way along the Citadel's walls, to wrap around and reinforce the forces pushing back against Rexus. Behind them lumbered the heavy droid tank, moving in slower steps, it would probably take it a while to skitter along the Citadel.

Meanwhile, a squad of infantry drones was sent to the outlying gun pit set up by FN-888, they ran swiftly through the no-man's land, falling into the strong point position to begin disassembling the E-Web housed there. Other infantry drone units begun to move out from their slit-trench into the Citadel to help the Firemane and GA forces moving in now to capture the fortress, most of them stayed behind to hold down the trenches though.

As to the Blade-Knight, the Greycloak who took command of the forces, he was still en-route, it would take him some more time to make his way to the trenches from his last position.

 

[Progflaw99]

--- --- ---​

In Vicinity:​

[member="Samka Derith"] | [member="Asharad Graush"] | [member="Torian Pierce"]​

[member="Pharazon Draken"] | [member="BE-183"] | [member="Lydia Finn-Camden"]​

​

Objective: Assault the Flank, Relieve Stress on Forces at Citadel of Dawn​

​

Enemies: Those Resisting the First Order​

[member="Tempest"] | [member="Joza Perl"] | [member="Elliot Locke"] | @GA/Firemane Troops​

--- --- ---​

An incoming transmission was hastily replied to as the first missile was fired, a response to 6th platoon.​

​

::Bring everything yuo've got. Reinforce the Citadel, push them back! ::​

​

After firing the first round from his PLX-1 Missile launcher, he rapidly set his sights on another of the artillery pieces below. Firing off a second round as soon as a lock was achieved, he watched with excitement as over the span of several seconds, 40 missiles were unleashed on the machinery below. He didn't have long to admire the scenery. Out of the corner of his vision he caught movement, just enough to draw his attention away from the results of his attack - and just long enough for him to frantically realize the ground had begun to rumble and shake with blaster fire. From where they were on the mountainous terrain, they'd had an excellent shot at the enemy armor below but in turn, he'd missed the presence of AA tanks, focusing almost exclusively on the artillery pieces. A mistake he soon recognized.​

​

Chunks of rock and earth erupted near the outcropping the Major had been nestled behind as he'd fired his missiles, the sound of angry rotary laser cannons below filling the hard environment with an unnatural screech. Rotary cannons in any sense of the word were deadly, typically able to spit out lasers or projectiles at an extremely fast rate, their effect on infantry above them wouldn't be lost. As a particularly large chunk of rock was rocked from its mooring, Rolf caught the tail end of a surprisingly feminine voice breaking through the fog of war that had begun to descend upon them. With a frantic lunge he threw his armored form towards the body as a high concentration of fire began walking its way directly towards their position, calling out in an attempt to warn those who weren't already moving.​

​

"Get down!"​

​

What happened next seemed to slow in the Major's memory, as oft the actions taken in mili-seconds during combat tended to do. The first thing that stuck out in his memory was the woman's voice. What was a woman doing on the battlefield, here amidst the dirt and blood? He wasn't talking about genders, troopers weren't selective when it came to gender, rather they were judged by merit, whether or not they could do the job. No, the Major's eyes caught just a flash - this wasn't just another trooper, this was a civilian. The second thing that he noticed was one that would cause a wry smile to tug at the corners of his lips, even years later. The woman had thrust a datapad and camera at him. Many thoughts had gone through his head at that instant but the first was definitely a questioning of the lass' sanity. Thirdly, he recalled the ease with which he'd bowled her over. The contact was a soft brush to him beneath his plastoid and duraplast armor as his shoulder slammed into the woman, carrying them both away from the rapidly approaching stream of gatling fire. It seemed terribly out of place, and maybe that's what caused him a flash of anger as he picked himself up from the small divot they found themselves in. Here they were out of sight of the rapid cannon fire from below, at least temporarily.​

​

"What the kark do you think you're doing?!" He picked up the launcher from where it lay in the bottom of the small pit they had fallen into. Doing a cursory check, it looked like it was still in functioning order. "Lady, you realize this is a warzone right?"​

​

Turning back to the shattered hulk of rock that had been the outcropping, Rolf crawled his way to the edge. Glancing below and keeping a low profile he could see the Hydra tanks located at the base of the terrain, unloading all hell at the soldiers under his command. A quick twitch of his eye alerted him to initial casualty counts, which were less than optimal. In that one barrage they'd caught several of the First Imperial Shock Troopers standing tall as they'd launched rockets at the artillery pieces below. Bringing the launcher once more to bear, he quickly popped up to a knee and fired a round in manual, aimed at the base of the turret of the nearest AA tank. Without waiting for a result, he dropped low, scrambling back down the embankment to where the woman still sat. He couldn't believe he was doing it, but he had seen it all today - an Imperial X Class vessel, cast into the earth by magical space wizards, carpet bombing runs that were largely ineffective, a reporter asking him for his thoughts on the combat unfolding around him was strange, but for today it certainly seemed to fit the bill.​

​

Quickly the Major began reloading the missile launcher, they would need them to fend off the gunships he'd seen out of the corner of his eye as he'd fired at the Hydras. "What am I trying to accomplish? I think it's bloody well evident, we're trying to survive." Slamming the mechanism home, he managed to get the next rounds situated. "We're just trying to pick up the pieces, this wasn't supposed to be a war, well - these chumps picked the wrong fight."​

​

Taking a knee where he was, he aimed the launcher upwards towards the sky, turning back to the reporter briefly. "What's your name dear? It doesn't matter, but you might want to cover your ears." Lining up a shot with an incoming gunship, Rolf waited patiently for the lock to sound, and then a few seconds past. If the pilot wasn't a veteran it was likely they'd fire their countermeasures early, allowing the Major the ability to fire after they'd been wasted - an almost sure kill.​

​

​

Spoiler

1 x FO-01 Stormtrooper Armor

1 x KD-30 "Dissuader" Slugthrower
1 x F-11 D Blaster Rifle
1 x SWE/2 Sonic Rifle

3 x CryoBan Grenade
2 x G-20 Glop Grenades
2 x Thermal Detonators
2 x Electromagnetic Pulse Grenade
1 trooper in each squad carries a PLX-1 Portable Missile Launcher instead of Blaster and Sonic Rifles, leaving them with a KD-30 and their launcher.

Troop Complement: 1 Company, 180/200 First Imperial Shock Troopers (See Loadout Above)

OOC: As always, if I missed something or failed to respond to something - please feel free to PM me!

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Darth Carnifex"], [member="HK-36"]


Now it was a contest of wills. A broken, confused mind could not fight. This was a painful lesson Siobhan had learned over the many battles she'd fought. The evil Darth Shadow had possessed when she was but a young Jedi Knight, using her as his meat puppet to further his schemes. A Sith Lord called Carach had assaulted her mind during the Battle of Alderaan, giving her partial amnesia by stealing several years of memories. On Lujo, she'd been exposed to Spencer Varanin's power when the mentalist unleashed the full force of the Phobis Device after Ashin Varanin's death.


She'd faced the dreaded necromancer [member="Matsu Xiangu"] twice, on Dromund Kaas and Shador. On both occasions, the Sorceress had sought to crush her opponent's mind by drawing upon her mental prowess. She, alongside a band of fighters from across the stars, had fought Lotek'k the Terror from Beyond.


Each of these and many other confrontations had left scars. Each of them had been a lesson that made her stronger. In that regard, there was some truth to the Sith Code, for adversity bred strength and empowered you.


Her mind was everything. She must protect it. The Countess imagined a mighty fortress of stone and steel. Within it stood a keep, itself walled. Carnifex reached out with his empyrean eye, seeking to peer inside her mind and bring her deepest fears to life, so that a flood of horrors would overtake and drown her.


Siobhan winced slightly and grimaced, feeling the pressure build up as she felt her mental fortress come under assault, while invisible tendrils tried to snake through her defences and gain purchase upon her mind so that her fears could be brought to light and become a reality. She felt the start of a painful headache.


What was her greatest fear? Something happening to her family. They were both her greatest strength and her greatest weakness. Probably what kept her from losing herself in the darkest abyss. Rage rose inside her and Siobhan pushed back against. She could not effectively go on the offence against Kaine. Firstly because he was an Epicanthix and secondly because she was not a good offensive mentalist.


But she was very proficient in shielding her mind. Her mental walls shook under the painful pressure. Voices whispered inside her mind. As the Sith tried to warp her perception, she saw a gory image as Tegaea Alcori was suddenly cut down by a crimson blade, when Kaine managed to find a weak spot in her defences. An agonised wail escaped the illusionary Tegaea's lips, then her eyes were shut forever.


Still, Siobhan stood her ground, despite the pain. You could drown in fear or face it and let it incentivise you. I've walked the realms of the dead. I've slain elder horrors. Nothing you say. Or do. Could possibly frighten me. Illusions were only as real as you allowed them to be. The Dark Side slithered and coiled around her like a serpent and she violently pushed back, to thrust the Sith Lord out as she closed the metaphorical hole in the wall and dissipated the illusion.


Attempts to violate her mind brought out a burning rage inside Siobhan. Sweat dripped down her face and back, concentration was etched across her features as she called upon the Force. The fingers of her free hand curled into a fist as she, once again, pit her telekinetic willpower against Carnifex, and poured her strength into an attempt to crush his lung.

 

[RIP Carlyle Rausgeber]

Objective: Finish the Beast
Location: In front of Therapy Command

"Commodore, we're still taking fire!" Comms reported, "What are we going to do about those ships sir?" The officer asked. Carlyle began to rub his chin, he couldn't have them destroyed.

"Move them further into the fleet, power to engines, we're going to try and get as far away from them as possible!" Carlyle ordered, "I want those ships to the fore, and return to firing at the upcoming fleet."

"Understood Commodore!" The officer replied.

The fleet continued to move forward. The rear elements of the fleet, the two Victory-X class destroyers and the Empire peeled away from the engagement, and began to move towards the upcoming target. They took some fire upon the turning, and the Empire received engine damage as she turned away to engage the oncoming Therapy Command. The trio continued taking fire, but from this range, it wasn't overly accurate.

All ships were now in range of Therapy Command, and began to batter the Hero Of Coruscant and the Excubitor. The smaller dagger corvettes began to open fire upon any fighters launched by the fleet.

"All TIE's are to remain in reserve, until they launch fighters. We're going to let them waste their fighter capability in the assault, before pressing our own attack." Carlyle commanded, this was how the First Order would win. Unity, and strength. Something none of these anarchists had.

"Incoming hypervelocity weaponry!" Scanning called. Carlyle braced for impact, but it didn't come. Instead, it hit two ships, the imperial-x star destroyer from before, and a dagger class escort. The escort drew in most of the energy torpedoes, but the star destroyer took the hypervelocity rounds. The ship creaked, and began to fall apart.

"Sir, the Imperator, she's going down!" Comms called.

"Order an evacuation!" Carlyle barked, "We're not losing anyone else."

Summary of Actions:

All ships sans the daggers are engaged with Therapy Command, aiming at the Hero Of Coruscant and Excubitor.
Dagger corvettes are aiming at any fighters launched. And if that's not the case, then at the hangar bays.
The ships engaged with Alexandra Morrow, have pulled away, but are still taking fire from the engines.
Imperial-x is down.
Dagger-class has taken moderate damage.

[member="Alexandra Morrow"] | [member="Vilin"] | [member="Kyrana Gould"] | [member="Aran Piett"] | [member="Fiolette Yvarro"] | [member="Cyrus Tregessar"]

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

Location: Citadel of Dawn
Allies: [member="HK-36"], [member="Joza Perl"], [member="Tempest"], [member="Nima Tann"], [member="Draco Vereen"], [member="Elliot Locke"], [member="Taryc Ap'Irae"]
Enemies: [member="Asharad Graush"], [member="Ludolf Vaas"], [member="BE-183"]


The red beskar armour in question might be familiar to the Alor of Clan Vereen, since it was Siobhan Kerrigan's old suit. She'd passed it on to her pyromaniacal niece after getting a newer, more powerful suit. As for the back view, it was amazing!


Anyhow, on with the actual plot. "Oya, ner vod!" Elpsis exclaimed cheerfully. Her Mando'a was accented and she probably mangled the pronounciation, but she was less at it than Siobhan!


"Auntie Sio says her regards. Come on, there's bucketheads to beat up." Were you supposed to be this cheerful on a battlefield? Probably not. Regardless, the Citadel of Dawn loomed before them. Between the curtain of artillery fire, air cover and the phalanx of droids, they could move onward, especially since it seemed most stormtroopers had vacated the trenches they'd been fighting in over the last couple posts.


Elpsis advanced onward with Tempest, who could soak up a lot of damage and unleash torrents of lightning as they made their way through the trenches. ARGH had secured a corridor for them and were now deploying spider droids and even droid tanks.


Using her lightsabre, Elpsis deflected bolts that might be coming her way, drawing upon her pyromancy to explode the fuel tank of one of the tanks that FN-888 had left behind in order to take the mechanical behemoth out of commission.


However, as they made their way through the trenches, the pyromancer felt a flash of precognition. Similar to during the march across the road. "Careful! There's mines."


"I can sense them. Men, stay back!" Tempest declared. Elpsis had trouble perceiving inanimate objects, but the Dahomian was an electromancer and could perceive the signatures of the explosive devices. Both entered into a link and joined their powers, with Elpsis heating up the explosive devices with a flood of pyromancy, before Tempest unleashed a massive surge of telekinetic energy to blow them up. Here and there, a mine might remain, but they had a path now.


Finally, they were inside the ruins of Dawn. "Secure positions. Alert command that we're inside."