Junction CRISIS ON KUAT II | GA & NIO Junction of Korbin & Anzat

[Rika Hiro]

Asa Yubari|Kuat|The End
C O M P N O R
Tags:// Don Belkora Jordi Massad Hal Vaiken Karissa Saitel Iseri Tanaka CH3 Bernard Ishida Ashina Kolson Vrask

And it seemed the girl would stay and fight; that was an inconvenience but an inconvenience that could be dealt with quickly. The girl was green and not as battle-hardened as it appeared like her peers were. Too hesitant and not firm, nor did they seem aware of Yubaris real nature or being.
​

“You seem familiar.”

At those utterances, the replicant tilted its head and chuckled as she gradually and slowly filled in the gap between her and Ishida. Asa was strolling in an almost taunting and nonchalant manner, slowly and sneakily withdrawing a knife from under her jacket's sleeve, maintaining a distant but relatively close striking range. She looked at the girl's katana, noting its origins and design as true Atrisian steel; not many possessed such an item, many knockoffs existed on the market, and authentic Atrisian katanas sold a fair price. This little creature wasn't just some street vermin plucked out of an Atrisian ghetto, rather she was of nobler origin.

Of course, she was familiar; the agency had kept files on most if not all the Jedi within the New Jedi Order, even down to the Padawans within that little glorified gang of an order. Just as they had done with the now vanquished Sith order, the ever-present Mawite threat and the future issue of the Jedi. Such lists and categorisations defined COMPNOR, even within the Imperial order, for threats coming from both ideological and physical sides. No one was deemed safe from the agencies prying eyes and bloodied hands. Her superiors had contemplated replacing one of the Jedi's own with a replicant infiltrator, but such plans were as ambitious as they were fruitless; such schemes had better success with the Alliances military and intelligence wings. It was better to deal with the Jedi as you would a common pest, extermination and total ruthlessness. It was merely circumstance that Yubari or any of her kind had not killed the little girl prior.


And then, only just then, the fateful silence broke into a thousand shards as the Atrisian Jedi struck first, but Agent Yubari made no such dodge or counter to the girl's attack, letting the katana bury itself in her hip as she caught the girls other wrist mid-swing. Gripping the girls wrist with a cold mechanical robot like strength, maintaining the same eye contact as she had prior, holding Ishida in an almost strange embrace.

"Shame."

She uttered back indifferently, twitching her head and smirking as she pulled Ishida closer gradually, the hip wound from which the katana was embedded grew more profound, and her blood began to stain the ground in a deepening splatter of red. Ishida failed to realise what Yubari was, and just as she pulled Ishida towards her, she let go of Ishida's wrist, slipping out her hidden blade and swiping at the girls chest with her knife before throwing the girl back to gain distance.

 

[Hiram Voss]

The Veteran
NIV Imperatores Pax
Task Force Brutus
Kuat System
Orys Draste | Hal Vaiken
Dracken Pryce | Valery Noble | Sylix | Liedran Kathause

​

"Fighters sir! They're massing their fighters to engage us!" The bridge of the Imperatores Pax was now in full battle mode, as the Alliance sought to engage, and destroy the vessel. Hiram felt his heart pumping. This was an intensity he had not felt in a long time. The man, for all intents and purposes, he felt alive. He felt empowered. But he also felt that pit of despair. If this was to be the start of some new, wide ranging galactic conflict, at the very least they would write in the annals of history that 'Hiram Voss tried to do his best'. But that was later. Voss' panic now came from the swarm of fighters and bombers. They were the target. An ideal one given the five legions of troops within his vessels bowels.

"Move our escorts into defensive position!" Voss barked, "Screen the target, but priority target the bombers!" Voss' plan was simple. The escolta-class frigates were an anti-fighter hitter. Designed to crush movements like this. Thin out the herd. Let the fighters do the rest, "Regroup our TIE's, once they hit us, we'll send out our own." Classic neo-imperial playbook. In the old days of the Empire, fighters were expendable. Sent by the dozen at once to engage the enemy. Now Hiram decided on a new course of action. They would hold back. A reserve force. The frigates immediately moved to the city scape of the gargantuan Rampart-Class vessel, and began firing long range warning shots. As the KriegsGeist took hold, and began to

"Fighters, moving in now!" Hiram winced, shuffling his haggard form over to the holographic display. There were so many of them. Although, it was Alliance home turf. As the Alliance fighters closed into anti-air range, the swarm hit. Dozens, and dozens of TIE fighters moved into the fray. Puppets, pulled by the KreigsGeist's strings. The tactical display almost became useless.

"Get me Dryste, ask if he needs support," Voss commanded with a rasp, "Tell him to get in contact with the special forces aboard the vessel." Voss barked, spitting up. "But make sure he knows to hurry his arse out of there!"

Spoiler: fleet composition

1x Rampart-Class Dreadnought

1x Stalwalt-Class Carriers

2x Cuirassier-Class Cruisers

2x Dragoon-Class Frigates

4x Tirallieur-Class Artillery Frigates

7x Escolta Class Frigates

8x Warrior-II Class Corvettes

4x Gurkha Class Corvettes

3x Cacadore-Class Corvettes

 

[Zav Traros]

Objective 2: Sitrep:Fubar​

Engaging: Volgin Alto
Opposition: Hal Vaiken Lily Stevens Atticus Draco
War Hogs: Mox Murgle Traden Avarice Phaineve Halseigh Keiran Varn

---

Suspended from its sling, the hefty weight of his grenade launcher jostled about behind him as he backpedalled from the threat Volgin had suddenly posed. Zav had the butt of his carbine to his shoulder while he looked over top of the blaster's sights, rapid pulls of the trigger firing bolts at a frenzied pace. As many missed as found purchase against his target, splashing against his heavy armour in flashes of illumination time and time again. And yet the hulk still stood, searching the scene for his aggressor as Zav unleashed bolt after hasty bolt in his direction. The plasma and smoke from impact cleared to reveal pockmarks too shallow to compromise the heavy armour of the juggernaut before him.

Seemingly unhindered, the brute began to make his way towards Zav; approaching at a plodding pace that still far outdid his own backwards motion. The final flashing tick stole the brute's attention however, and Zav covered his eyes with the crook of his arm just before the device burst in a violent explosion, launching the shelves to which it was attached airborne in a twisted heap. Volgin was knocked to the ground in the opposite direction, smoke wafting around him with what fragments of his armour the blast had shaken loose bouncing off the ferroconcrete floor. His plan had worked, and Zav now held the opportunity he needed. Pulling the butt of the carbine back against his shoulder, Zav placed the sight square on Volgin's head and pulled the trigger in attempt to finish his felled foe.

As ready to capitalize on the outcome of his hasty plan as he was, his weapon was not. The carbine's trigger depressed with a telling click, and without a blaster bolt erupting from the barrel pointed directly at Volgin. Another instantaneous click of the trigger resulted in nothing from the carbine, and an irritated curse from Zav at the discovery.

Zav could not allow this opportunity to escape; Volgin would be on his feet again soon, and far less vulnerable. Without time to either reload or switch to another weapon; he would have to either attack or suffer one from Volgin himself.

Wielding his carbine from the barrel, he lunged forward and swung the blaster wildly like a club. The butt of the weapon arced through the air as Zav swung with all his might, aiming the strike square at Volgin's head with a baleful glare and clenched teeth.

 

[Ishida Ashina]

LIGHT MUST COME FROM THE INSIDE
KUAT | KUAT CITY | CROWDS
YOU CANNOT ASK THE DARKNESS TO LEAVE
YOU MUST TURN ON THE LIGHT

​

Her initial plunging motion made purchase and stuck. The katana’s blade pierced through skin, drew blood, but it held more than the soft tissues of human composition. Like the body had clamped back against the blade and made it impossible to go further. Her first reaction was to yank backward, but at the same time, her other strike was caught midway.

It was like a broken dance, intimate with proximity, but the steps were for survival, not entertainment. And the grip was mutilating, not beautiful. And the eyes of the woman holding Ishida were devoid of emotion, not the passion of a partner.

A gasp filled the hollow of her throat before it whooshed out. Immense pressure pounded behind her eyes. The strength clamped around her wrist was inhuman and bruising. Stunned and breathless, Ishida’s instincts took over. The Force’s warning, a prickling chill, demanded action and imbued her muscles. The hand around the hilt of her katana snapped up to eye level, meeting Asa’s swing with a flat-palmed block. The blade had just begun to scratch against Ishida’s collar before Asa’s forearm was caught and pushed away. Ishida was about to close the loop of her defence, to where the blade would end up in her ownership in lieu of her katana’s hilt, when an unseen connection gripped her, temporarily, and she was flung backward.

At the same time, something banged to the left of the plaza’s perimeter. Bright yellow, orange and red flashed into the space in a blossom that burgeoned into an eruption of flame. What had once been a stable storefront crumbled forward in shards of glass, duracrete and melting metal.

Ishida had landed a few meters from the assassin but rolled to her side to protect herself from the flare of fire that rolled out from the building that created a ripple effect of combustion. Heat raced over her and stretched toward the sky.

The explosion along the perimeter was the perfect advantage for rabble-rousers within the crowd that saw the opportunity in civil unrest. The crowd hadn’t been made entirely of Kuat’s well-intentioned. Loghain supporters had caught wind of the rally, and were using the fortunate interruption to their advantage, sewing further panic amidst innocent fence-sitters that had attended just because of curiosity.

Elane’s getaway cars, whichever one she was in, was the next target. And, distantly, Ishida was aware of the sound of collision. The Force sent through no immediate indication of loss, however, and there was some relief in that token of knowledge.

With a flare of pain from her wrist when she pushed herself back up to her feet, she oriented herself amidst the roll of silt, dust, debris, and smoke.But when she made a phantom gesture to prepare to defend after Elane once again, she was quickly reminded that she’d lost her katana to the body of the assassin.

---

NIO: Rika Hiro | Jordi Massad | Karissa Saitel | Kolson Vrask
RA: CH3 | LADY OF IRON
GA: Bernard

 

[Volgin Alto]

M A U L E R
NEW IMPERIAL ORDER
501st STORMTROOPER LEGION
SCAR SQUADRON
Armor [Modified] | Heavy Repeater | Pistol
NIO | Hal Vaiken | Atticus Draco | Lily Stevens
GA | Traden Avarice | Mox Murgle | Phaineve Halseigh | Zav Traros | Keiran Varn

SWAMP SONG​

He admired the tenacity, the rebel spirit of the man who could've taken his chances turning and running. He would've only died tired. He turned to fire another round toward Volgin. Only a click from the trigger. Nothing. Then he began to swing the weapon by the buttstock, waving the blunt carbine like a mace against Volgin's broken armor.

The buttstock smashed against his head, only serving to job his senses once more, cracking another harsh blow into the already shattered helm, revealing Volgin's frigid gaze from beneath the visor as he then went to snatch the carbine away from Zav's grasp upon his next swing before twisting his body to wrench it away in one hand the vault back to slam his opposite elbow into the rebel's stomach to knock him down.

He swung the weapon against the metal wall in the hopes of destroying it before letting it fall from his grip , with the space now between them again, he sought to close the gap with a long step forward before bringing up his foot in an attempt to slam a kick into the rebel's abdomen and send him down and out of commission. But with the power armor servos in his armor damaged, the swiftness of his actions were a shadow of what they were moments ago in his unfettered armor, now relying on his mortal strength to bear the weight of the heavy composite metal shell instead of the armor enhancing it.

 

[Bernard]

KUAT | KUAT CITY | CROWDS
Objective III
NIO: Rika Hiro Kolson Vrask Jordi Massad Karissa Saitel
GA: Ishida Ashina
REBELS: CH3

The crowd began to disperse while other, more violent, attendees rushed the plaza with the intent to purge Elane and her supporters for their crime of returning to her homeworld. They clashed with Elane's most ardent supporters. Blaster fire erupted in the chaos below. Ishida Ashina had jumped into that crowd and now faced off against the initial attacker. Bernard considered a moment, whether he should jump down to help pacify the crowd, but decided against it. Two Jedi were more capable than one, but being in the same position limited their tactical options.

Lady Elane moved toward the back of the square, chaperoned by her supporters, to a pair of speeder cars. Most of her supporters remained behind as she entered, covering her exit as the speeder cars whirred to life and lifted off from the ground. Bernard dashed over rooftops towards them. He'd be better able to assist if he stayed close. There was no telling what the Secessionists had up their sleeves.

The speeders rose above the crowd, hovering in place as they turned. They had just begun moving when an energy bolt impacted one of the speeder's sides with a small explosion powerful enough to knock its stabilization systems out and cause it to veer sideways. The hit speeder spun out of control, crashing into the other as it began to lose altitude. Sparks flew as their collision forced the second speeder to begin evasive manoeuvres to keep afloat, but a second energy bolt pierced the windshield, instantly killing the driver.

Both speeders began to descend. Bernard slid to a halt on the rooftops, looking around for the shooter, but with the chaos on the square it was impossible to tell where the shots had come from. Too many secessionists had already flooded the square and the fighting had grown too violent. Instead, he cast his attention back to the speeders. The first spun violently towards a building, plumes of smoke billowing from its passenger compartment. Within moments it crashed upside down into one of the buildings, lodging itself like a knife into its side. The second speeder fared better. The pilot had managed to stabilize the speeder car before his death. Someone inside was trying to reach for the steering console, but it seemed to have taken damage from the energy blast. It would careen into an alleyway within moments.

Bernard focused on the speeder car, reaching out towards it through the Force. It jerked suddenly, its speed slowing as it descended towards the ground. He wasn't powerful enough to halt its momentum, much less hold it in place, so the best he could manage would be to cushion its impact and to slow it down. With luck, the passengers would be saved.

Kuat's citizens fled from the alley as they saw the speeder car crashing towards them, their screams drowned out by the whine of its engines. Bernard raised his arms slightly, adjusting its path so it cut just above their heads as it impacted the ground. It hit the corner of a building, the driver's side cleaved off as it sheared along the wall. Another plume of smoke rose from it as people ran for cover. Nobody inside moved.

Bernard began to rush towards the roof just above, while, below, several of the Lady's supporters rushed toward the car, to secure and check for survivors. Another detachment broke into the building where the second speeder had crashed.

 

[Rurik Fel]

E M P E R O R
NEW IMPERIAL ORDER
THE IRONCLAD
Caarlyle Rausgeber
Aerarii Tithe | Auteme | The Arbiter | Madelyn Lowe​

​

"You are not a public servant, Tithe. You are a crony, a thief of your adopted nation as much as the worms who sit beside you are, feasting on the fat and fruits of the Alliance's toil. No dot pretend as if the Empire was no where to be seen when Coruscant was in its darkest hour. And do not heave accusations and insults without the backing of any modicum of truth. No one caring to align themselves with the Empire would dare infringe on our assets, this terrorist act has the fingerprints of the Rebel Alliance or meddling of your people written all over it. I do not parlay over political deals, Tithe. I made due what is right and what is just. You might care more for what the slobbering propagandists of your 'free media' believe you to be, I care only for doing what needs to be done." Rurik iterates.

"Spin it however you care to for I know that the Empire lingers forever in the heads of those who once served the House of Zambrano but this is failing of your government, your defense force and your ability to abide by the basic duty of rulership- to see that needs of your people are met. Clearly, Kuat crys out in anguish and yet you seek to blame the Empire for the failures of your Republic. Pathetic. If you wish not to appear as the entire circus, Chancellor...then you will at the very least command a cease fire and command your Navy to relinquish control of the docks to the Empire until our assets have been accounted for and removed from the Kuat system." Rurik said, looking between all of the Alliance delegation before looking back to Tithe.

"Until then, I can not trust the discipline of the Alliance's armed forces or its criminal allies not to do further damage. The matter of conflict should not be left to the whims of the likes of any of you." Rurik states.

 

[Kolson Vrask]

G R U N G E
NEW IMPERIAL ORDER
IMPERIAL ARMY SPECIAL FORCES 'STORM COMMANDOS'
1st GROUP | OPERATIONAL DETACHMENT ALPHA 'VANDAL'
ODA ATTACHED TO | IMPMAG in support of KPF
Armor | Rifle | Pistol | Grenades
NIO | Jordi Massad | Don Belkora | Rika Hiro | Karissa Saitel | Iseri Tanaka
RA | CH3 | IVI | Sol Stazi | Bernard | Ishida Ashina

HUNT
COMPNOR-IMPAF JOINT OPERATION 'RIGHTEOUS CLAIM'
KUAT '74
​

They were hot on the heels of the protection retinue of Elane Kuat when the two speeders began to rise up and speed off from the crowded area. Grunge immediately snapped his gaze in the direction of one of the fleeing speeders, turning to Salvo who immediately took up a firing position with his sniper rifle, took aim and slammed a shot into the right side repulsorift of the speeder, sending it careening down into the city streets beneath.

As soon as it was hit, its nav signature blinked out of their HUD but once it made impact on the ground, a locator ping was dropped on its location by Grunge and the three made their way across the street, two covering the next before they advanced down a back alley.

As everyone else veered away from the crash site, the Storm Commandos only stuck out further in their overt approach. They crept up unto the scene in the shadow of the Queen's supporters who clammored toward the wrecked speeder car.

Grunge immediately signalled for the other Commandos at his flank to move for cover before taking aim and firing the first burst into the back of one of the Queen's Royal Guards. Salvo joined him with a thunderous round from his heavy caliber sniper and Priest offered up another burst from his battle rifle. Fire was returned seconds after, but the Storm Commandos utilizing the chaos and advantage of surprise managed to clear the scene. Then came confirming the kill.

<"Clear the area."> Grunge commanded as the three made sure their barrels swept all the surrounding buildings before Priest eventually made his way toward the passenger side door of the speeder, planting a low payload breaching charge on the durasteel as the other two established covering archs of fire. Waiting for any more 'heroes' to come and try and save their sovereign.

 

[Liedran Kathause]

​

SITREP: FUBAR
[3rd Expeditionary Carrier Line]
[ANV Cadence - Internalized C.I.C]
[Alliance Friendlies: Dracken Pryce , Kathryn Foster , Valery Noble , Sylix ]
[SJO Allies: Sol'yan]
[Imperial Baddies: Hiram Voss , Melvain Braxis ]
[Ashlan Friendly(?): Isla Draellix-Kobitana ]​

A frightened metal creature clawed desperately at the air around it. Its furious swipes of flame burned bright blue as they outstretched from the Cadence's gun batteries, split between the encroaching forces on either flank. Its durasteel skin, meanwhile, felt the stinging bites of thousands upon thousands of furious turbolaser shells. Its blood shook, ran hot with motion and excited plasma that sprayed in the faces of its crewmen.

There were shouts, panicked cries clambering down from the depths of every corridor. Scampering footsteps were heard as mechanics and damage control teams sped through the hallways.

Liedran found herself lost in the sound of clicking, picking up the taps dotting every console in the CIC as the officers drew up streams of data from the flagship's sensor arrays. The compilation of the individual segments was presented on the map before her. The command and control table displayed a warping situation map, indicating everything from the Crimson Command just off her port flank, to the formation of Alliance strike craft she'd sent to assemble on the route to the Imperatores Pax. On either side of the screen, the battle raging outside the Cadence's hull plating was made crystal clear through the disappearing signatures in Air Wings One and Three, through the fading shield bubbles drawn around the 3rd Expeditionary's support ships; the bubble around the Dauntless had already vanished, and the shielding of the lesser-armed Chorale was falling into a rapid plummet even as it spun and swerved around the barrage of Imperial fire.

The unrelenting magnitude of chaos on the battlegrounds translated to a rush of raw emotion amidst the commodore's thoughts. A sickening blend of fear and- and confusion danced like the fires that scorched the battling fleets. The provisions of the Bastion Accords, the product of sacrifice after sacrifice, were crumbling before her very eyes, turning to ash in the flame that burned between the NIO and Galactic Alliance. An unceremonious cremation of the friendship between the factions, set alight by that initial explosion. The explosion... From where? From who? Had it truly been the Imperials who planted the bomb on the ring, who'd sparked the firefight over Kuat? They couldn't had been so careless as to risk an all-out war, couldn't they?

Dammit. She couldn't afford to doubt herself, not in the heat of battle, not with fire raining on the 3rd Expeditionary from every side. "Spin Sonata and Ranger. Get their mass drivers locked on that star destroyer. Bearing 280," the commodore ordered, indicating the Crimson Command's blazing flagship. But at that moment, before the frames of the two Sacheen frigates could be reoriented and aimed down the center of the Crimson Command, a set of short warning klaxons rang out from the walls. The flattened wedges at the head of Melvain Braxis 's formation jolted forward; the velocity digits displayed a centimeter from their contours erupted into a furious climb.

"Ma'am! They're head right for us. Intensifying bombardment!" "Our shields are failing to fifty percent!" "Sonata's reporting a critical hull breach! She's venting-!" There was a deafening scream, a shattering of metal and the release of crackling sparks. A conduit embedded in the ceiling ruptured and sent hot metal raining down on the situation map, in turn spawning more sparks when they hit the circuitry below. Liedran recoiled with an agonized wince, blood now pooling from select spots on her hands and cheek.

"Intensify portside fire! Shunt whatever power you can to our ion cannon batteries! Notify the rest of the fleet to do the same! Now Now!" It hurt like hell when her hand swept across the shrapnel-laden glass in a fury, but Liedran hardly flinched. "Order the crew to brace for impact! Get everything secured!" she growled, wiping a patch of blood from reddened cheeks and wincing again. "Engines-- Full power! Helm, find us a clear path out of their line of movement. Posthaste." They couldn't possibly be willing to- No. Regardless of if the attempted ramming attack were but a bluff, she couldn't afford to test her luck.

Fortune had already failed her . . . many times before.

 

[The Arbiter]

OBJECTIVE 1: A THIN LINE
Aerarii Tithe Madelyn Lowe Auteme Jaeger Harrsk Carlyle Rausgeber

As the Emperor finished spewing his distasteful rhetoric, The Arbiter had heard enough. She made a cutting motion towards the technician, signaling she desired for the audio feed to be muted. Once he had obliged, she leaned in towards The Chancellor,

"These talks are fruitless. They have no intention of bending, Chancellor. I fear we are in a difficult position... If we remain rigid and hold onto the docks, then we will surely be at war by the end of the day. But if we bend and allow for them to take hold of the docks, I fear that they will never relinquish them back to us and we will be perceived as weak on the global scene."

The Arbiter paused, letting an annoyed sigh escape her lips before continuing, "While neither scenario is ideal, I wonder if perhaps we could relinquish some of the docks to the Imperials, not the entire ring. Hopefully this would postpone open war and allow for us to better prepare for it without igniting the entire Eastern front this very moment. However, It all depends on whether or not they will allow for any compromise... they seem set on letting it all go to chit... so maybe there is no avoiding the inevitable."

 

[Melvain Braxis]

SITREP: FUBAR

Objective 2 [Space & Shipyards]

Crimson Command
Attacking: Liedran Kathause
Enemies: Isla Draellix-Kobitana | Valery Noble | Iris Arani | Kathryn Foster | Briana Sal-Soren
Allies: Orys Draste | Hiram Voss

STRIKING IRON

​

Bridge
Crimson Command
NPC - Robert Dris

"Sir, we're taking heavy hits from their Ion Cannons!"

"Shields gone!"

Robert cursed loudly in the command chair. The status light for Melvain's unit was green but still...

"Pull up! Pull up! Marg Sable! Now!" As the fleet's position shifted the other vessels slowed and the Crimson Command barreled forward. As the star destroyer's ventral hull pivoted up to take the ion blasts the lights went dim. The ion weapons disabled the vessel but it kept its momentum and the ship passed harmlessly over the Cadence.

"Godspeed young Braxis," Robert said in the darkness of the bridge. All around him the crew were struggling to get power online. The Crimson Command was out of the fight but its manuever had saved the battlegroup's other ships from the bulk of ion fire, and that was all he could ask for.

"Get a command out on tight beam to the other ships. Cease all fire on the lead Alliance vessel. Keep the others on their toes but no more damage than we have to."

​

The Crimson Command shuddered beneath his boots. The maneuver had nearly cost him his lunch. He knew that it had cost at least one trooper theirs and now they were back inside the Crimson Command. They were already down one trooper before the mission even began. As the Crimson Command passed over the Cadance he ignited his lightsaber and waved it forward. Calling on the Force he leaped and landed on the hull of the Alliance star destroyer.

"For the Empire!" he shouted over coms. With his lightsaber and the Force, he sliced a hole large enough for his squad and swiped it away with the Force. Two unfortunate souls flew out as he and his squad fell in. In other parts of the ship, crews worked with laser torches much slower than his lightsaber.

As soon as they were in the ship the hull breach closed with a containment field.

"Where's the bridge Private?" The Jetrooper opened his palm and displayed a blueprint of the vessel. The telemetry of the vessel was complete but one could only glean so much from telemetry and scans. "Interesting...Let's take this corridoor. There should be a lift we can get to this deck and from there we should be clear to the bridge. Let's get a move on. Hopefully, the other teams can secure their sectors."

Spoiler: Crimson Command

• Crimson Command​
• Anagonye​
• Libertalia​
• Whetstone​
• Defiance​
• Vandal-Class Corvettes​

 

[Rika Hiro]

Asa Yubari|Kuat|The End
COMPNOR
Tags:// Don Belkora Jordi Massad Hal Vaiken Karissa Saitel Iseri Tanaka CH3 Bernard Ishida Ashina Kolson Vrask

Having freed herself of the Jedi for the time being, the replicants attention turned to the blade embedded in her hip, using both her hands to slowly and methodically pull it out as it'd wedged itself deep in her dursasteel frame. Asa looked around her, watchful of the girl's position; she couldn't see her, nor could she detect her heartbeat with the fog and smoke interfering significantly with her systems. White ash settled on the ground around her blissfully, sprinkling her raven dark hair with light flecks. Just like Helgard, so many years ago, she put a high ranking official of the Sith empire out of action. On the blood-streaked snow of Helgard, that was where the replicant made its first mark, one of many to follow as her superiors realised project ERIS was not simply another hair-brained scheme concocted by egotists and madmen in lab coats. The truth was, despite Yubari's longevity in the field and in service to the Empire, her kind was never meant to live beyond a year or two of service, but she had and in doing so outlived the same commissioners she served diligently.

The reality of it all was so very ironic.

She felt a shudder spread throughout her body. Asa looked down and saw the sparks flickering out of her hip wound, it seemed the girl did do some damage after all albeit minor at best. She pulled on the katana again with more force this time around, the sound of the blade scraping against her metal and flesh, squelching and spluttering blood out onto the now ashen ground as she entirely freed the sword from its flesh prison. Asa stood to and took the blade in both her hands, taking time to admire the craftsmanship and design of an actual Atrisian blade. But like anything crafted by man's own hand, it could be broken entirely again; the replicant lifted the blade up and then forcibly brought it crashing down on her knee, cracking the blade in two before she threw it aside and moved for the enveloping fog where the distant burning sight of the speeder cade lay. ​

 

[Bernard]

KUAT | KUAT CITY | CROWDS
Objective III
NIO: Rika Hiro Kolson Vrask Jordi Massad Karissa Saitel
GA: Ishida Ashina
REBELS: CH3

Bernard slid to a halt on the roof just above the crashed speeder car. The plume of smoke obscured the plaza partially, though sensing the mayhem occurring below didn't prove difficult.

The speeder cars had both been heavily damaged and crashed, possibly with survivors inside, but security teams were already underway, and far greater chaos still engulfed the plaza. Loyalists to the Iron Lady and Secessionists exchanged fire while innocent bystanders attempted to flee the scene. Protecting those civilians was the more pressing duty.

He took a step back to make a Force assisted jump when the sound of repeating energy blasts came from below. Far from the common weapon an insurrection could usually get their hands on, even on the black market. They'd been warned to look out for unusual resistance, but this bordered on military-grade. Loghain had sent a hit squad to assassinate his sister, and the soldiers, clad in distinctive black armour, were in the process of clearing out Elane's supporters as they tried to help any survivors of the crash.

That would be his new target then.

As one of the secessionists approached the door and attached some sort of device, Bernard plunged from the rooftop into the plume of smoke. His robes fluttered behind him and, right before he touched down, he ignited his sabre as he emerged from the obscuring smoke, coming to an abrupt halt with a Force-assisted landing atop the car. The roof bent beneath him with a loud crack.

He didn't waste any time on theatrics. The windows cracked. A heartbeat after his landing, he began to summon a telekinetic wave to release it into the troopers in front of him.

Opposite him, on the other side of the soldiers, some of Elane's supporters noticed the death of their comrades and turned their attention to the site. What remained of their force in the square took cover behind some of the carts and debris left behind from the second speeder's crash and began to lay down fire on the squad of troops.

 

[Phaineve Halseigh]

[Rebel Alliance]
[Aboard the Shipyards]
[Warhogs: Traden Avarice , Mox Murgle , Keiran Varn , Zav Traros ]
[Imperial Opposition: Hal Vaiken , Volgin Alto , Lily Stevens , Atticus Draco ]
​

---

There was a quiet, relieved sigh as the final firewall burned to a crisp. Phaineve could expend little more energy facilitating a stronger reaction when the doors guarding the docked Historian finally parted and slid into their housings, leaving the vessel ripe for the taking. A pair of careful deep breaths were sounded, and a brief prayer made, before the Corellian set foot in the frigate's airlock. Her pistol kept close to the side of her thigh, fingers locked around the weapon's grip with her blood frozen by anticipation.

The corridors looked empty enough, aside from a set of hastily discarded tools. She'd have to scan for life signs when she made it to the bridge.

"Warhogs- Ladybird. I'm aboard. Approaching CIC. Start pressing toward my position at earliest opportunity," Phaineve whispered into her comm link, despite the desolation of the surrounding compartment. Her eyes darted down the empty hall.

She crept further down the corridor, ear pressed against the the metal of the hull plating, listening for the soothing hum of machinery, listening for the sounds of footsteps echoing from down the hall. Nothing but the monotonous note. Phaineve nodded carefully and stopped in her tracks, consulting the display on her wrist for the floor plans of the frigate. Bridge was two decks up. She hoped the turbolifts could be persuaded to work.

The doors to the lift car were quick to part ways, with Phaineve quick to enter the lonely box and jot in the level of the command deck. The feeling of the cart pushing against her feet came soon after, the lift hastily climbing its shaft until a set of pistons arrested its momentum and locked it into place. The pilot's heart pounded in her chest as she thought about the battle raging just outside-- the starships of the Galactic Alliance and New Imperial Order being engulfed in flame; the trapped souls locked behind the walls of the ring falling by the dozen. While she was tucked safely in the hull of desolate frigate, they were fighting and dying- and for what?! They weren't fighting a war over Kuat. They weren't fighting the Sith, nor the Brotherhood. They were fighting Imperials-- former friends!

The mechanical hiss stopped her in her tracks, the image of the Historian's bridge drawing into view and shining its red and blue glints against her eyes. In that moment, she resigned herself once more to the completion of her mission and the extraction of the War Hogs. She resigned herself to a position over a console, to negotiating with the onboard subsystems for control of the frigate. "Please... Work..." Phaineve begged to the computer as her fingers rushed across its display. "Please..." she said a slight bit more relieved when an interface was opened to the frigate's security systems.

There was a beep. A short chime emanated from the console and brought up a diagram of the Historian's floor plans. Plopped in the center of the CIC, her marker. And approaching from the shipyard's open airlock... another.

"Warhogs- Ladybird. I've got company..."

 

[Zav Traros]

Objective 2: Sitrep:Fubar​

Engaging: Volgin Alto
Opposition: Hal Vaiken Lily Stevens Atticus Draco
War Hogs: Mox Murgle Traden Avarice Phaineve Halseigh Keiran Varn

---

He'd brought a gun to a brawl, but could only wield it like a cudgel. Far from ideal, but to flinch in battle was to die in it. His opponent still had plenty of fight to him; encased in armour that had been worn by battle and marred by blaster bolts, what might came from muscle and what might was powered by his armour remained unknown. The sheer size of him hinted that the former supplied a far from insignificant portion.

The butt of his carbine slammed against the trooper's helmet with a loud crack. The violent strike sent the weapon bouncing back against his grasp, but before he could regain control of it, Volgin managed to do so. Zav tightened his grasp with determination to keep the carbine from his opponent only to be pulled forward, the weapon wrested free with the sizable strength he had rightly feared. It had progressed into a present problem once Volgin slammed his elbow into Zav's gut, stunning the rebel.

A stoppage had rendered the blaster immediately useless, and the damage of being forcefully swung against a nearby wall kept it that way. Zav found himself on the ground, reeling from the recent strike while his opponent had returned to his feet, albeit some distance away. Volgin was rapidly closing that distance, seizing his opportunity to gain advantage in the fight.

Zav had seen what the mechanical might of Volgin had done to that Marine. Now it was barrelling towards him. Kriff if he knew what he could do about it; but he was a warrior, not a coward! If he was going to die, he was going to die fighting. Few things were more glorious than to die in combat.

But one of them happened to be killing in combat.

What to do, became suddenly clear.

He pulled another sticky grenade from its pouch, and held it in hand while Volgin rushed forth – If this would kill him, let kill them both. Zav let out a shout of war as he pushed off the ground with his feet towards his charging foe, aiming his charge low and square into to slam his shoulder against the knee of Volgin's leg still on the ground. Bracing himself for the sickening crunch of his own broken ribs beneath the Mauler's boot, all that came was pain from the welt it left.

Both tumbled to the ground once more, with Zav still holding both the grenade and unexpectedly, his own life. At a loss for what to do, something was best done immediately. He pushed past the pain to scramble atop his tackled foe, attempting to regain control with a haymaker punch towards his head with his free right hand. The grenade remained held in his other; primed but not set. Only when it had left his hand and landed would it become armed, and the six second fuse tick again. Whenever and wherever that might be.

 

[Kolson Vrask]

G R U N G E
NEW IMPERIAL ORDER
IMPERIAL ARMY SPECIAL FORCES 'STORM COMMANDOS'
1st GROUP | OPERATIONAL DETACHMENT ALPHA 'VANDAL'
ODA ATTACHED TO | IMPMAG in support of KPF
Armor | Rifle | Pistol | Grenades
NIO | Jordi Massad | Don Belkora | Rika Hiro | Karissa Saitel | Iseri Tanaka
RA | CH3 | IVI | Sol Stazi | Bernard | Ishida Ashina

DUEL
COMPNOR-IMPAF JOINT OPERATION 'RIGHTEOUS CLAIM'
KUAT '74
​

So here it was. Jedi. Now was a moment of 'do or die', Kolson thought. Priest was jolted back from the Arkanian's vault unto the top of the car before eventually leaning up from his back and drawing the hybrid pistol from its holster, flicking the fire setting to 'sonic' as he sought to blast the Jedi in the abdomen to at least create some space between them. Not long after, the loyalists began to circle back around to lay fire on Vandal's position.

They went from a frying pan into a baking oven. Grunge immediately, motioned a hand for Priest to cover the alleyway opposite of Salvo who was already well at work taking up a firing position and peering down the scope of his sniper to pound away at the approaching Queen loyalists. The glimpse was caught of one of the militiamen, peeking his head around a corner to fire a burst toward the Commando before a flechette round 'popped' his skull to a bloody pulp and another round was loaded into the chamber with the turning bolt.

Grunge set himself between the Jedi and the rest of his unit, quickly moving up to allow Priest his chance to back out of the encounter as he began to fire controlled bursts from his particle beam carbine toward the Jedi as he slowly approached with controlled footfalls, seeking to pull Bernard's attention out and toward him. He trusted his ability to get close and personal with a Jedi, all Storm Commandos did- being trained in Mandalorian martial arts they had the disciplined ability to disarm and take down a Jedi Knight approaching combat with any traditional lightsaber form. It hadn't been since Nirauan that Kolson had to utilize it, but with three 'Ravenous' grenades strewn to the webbing over his combat vest, he was confident in his ability to snuff out the Jedi's weaknesses...and make the kill.

 

[Volgin Alto]

M A U L E R
NEW IMPERIAL ORDER
501st STORMTROOPER LEGION
SCAR SQUADRON
Armor [Modified] | Heavy Repeater | Pistol
NIO | Hal Vaiken | Atticus Draco | Lily Stevens
GA | Traden Avarice | Mox Murgle | Phaineve Halseigh | Zav Traros | Keiran Varn

The unstoppable force and an immovable object. The vicious crunch sounded off from the impact of Volgin's foot into the rebel's abdomen, the vicious crack of flesh and bone one of many notes that often played to Volgin's savage symphony in the midst of battle. What he didn't anticipate was his own leg giving out from under him, the weight of unpowered armor compounded with the impact of the foot into his knee sent him down and back with a loud crash and thud of metal against metal.

He screwed his eyes shut as his back slammed against the metal floor. The rebel quickly carried that advantage, slamming his fist into Volgin's helmet which only served to offer a bright and violent flash of the heads up display to his eyes as it faultered once more. Luckily, or it wouldn't have made it this far, it was technology meant to be carried into the worst conditions of war and endured the impact, not that that a heads up display meant to aid with tracking mission objectives and blaster fire was any help in a battle such as this, but it was a reassurance.

As he sought to establish ground control, Volgin's martial arts instincts led him to plant both hands against one of Zav's hips before jolting him off to allow Volgin the space to regain leverage over the rebel at which pointed he'd slide back and press forward to wrap his arms around the man's abdomen to bring his back against the ground behind him. He raised a fist to slam into Zav's head, the weighty gauntlet and cybernetically enhanced strength no doubt meaning less than a death sentence for the rebel before he relented and began to hear the ticking fuse of the sticky grenade, the distinctive noise demanding all of his attention he sought to snatch the rebel's wrist holding the grenade before splaying his arm away from his body and pressing his body over the clutched grenade.

If he wasn't going to throw the grenade, then his hand would be going with it, along with Volgin's breastplate in the process. He was confident in the armor's ability to take the blow and save enough clearance in warping the backplate enough to save him from death. Volgin, laying over the stretched arm holding the grenade, shifted his gaze back toward the rebel as those last few seconds approached.

 

[CH3]

REBEL RISING
ELANE OF KUAT RALLY - KUAT CITY

Feat. Spirit of Judgement as ‘Elane of Kuat’ | Ishida Ashina | Sol Stazi | Harson Thaddeus | Bernard | RA-GA
Karissa Saitel | Kolson Vrask | Rika Hiro | Jordi Massad | Don Belkora | Nuruodo'kal'brast | Douge Johnson | NIO

The blastdoor to the suspected sniper nest shot upward and CH3 strode across the threshold, its blaster carbine tracking to the most likely enemy positions based on the room schematics. Pneumatic arms held the rifle in place as the droids central processor unit completed its analysis - the room was empty, the enemy had left. An open window shutter the most likely means of exfil.

“Building clear,” CH3 announced over its internal comlink to the Rebel Alliance network. Bringing in an enemy sniper team was the ideal outcome, but in the absence of that, the mission could be salvaged. The modified worker droids moved to the middle of the room and began to slowly turn as its optical sensors created a recording of the scene for reproduction and analysis. Onboard sensors gathered scent readings of cooked rations, remnant heat signatures from where equipment had sat, and biological samples from where the snipers had relieved themselves. While the enemy was long gone, the layout of their hide, and rations they had consumed and the number and species of soldiers could be matched to known militaries. While not a smoking blaster, it would help the Rebel Alliance plan their next move.

A flash update downloaded from the Rebel shadownet - Elane of Kuat had been forced to evacuate her rally only to have her speeder shot down. Galactic Alliance forces were converging on the area to protect the claimant to Kuat. While the droid's programming was to protect Elane and install her as the leader of Kuat, its higher directive of avoiding capture overrode that.

__ UPDATED MISSION PARAMETERS: RETURN TO BASE FOR DEBRIEFING __

CH3’s aural sensors detected a faint creaking sound behind it. The droids analysis processor quickly returned a result rated with a high degree of certainty - someone was out in the corridor, attempting to avoid detection.

Possible parties who would seek to sneak up on the droid - local law enforcement, a scared resident, a bounty hunter - were compared to known situational variables and quickly dismissed, leaving one possibility statistically higher than all others.

An Imperial operative.

The droids battle processor returned an alarming finding - CH3 was at a significant tactical disadvantage. It needed to buy time to escape.

“Excuse me,” the droid announced, turning its photoreceptor a quarter turn to get sight of the assailant while keeping its blaster carbine blocked from sight by its chassis. “Are you the owner of the domicile? I have a package to deliver which requires proof of identification.”

 

[Ishida Ashina]

LIGHT MUST COME FROM THE INSIDE
KUAT | KUAT CITY | CROWDS
YOU CANNOT ASK THE DARKNESS TO LEAVE
YOU MUST TURN ON THE LIGHT

​

Steel travelling through other metals was an unmistakable sound. Ishida had grown up on it. From dawn to dusk, known the sound of metal against other metal, wood, stone skin, bone, muscle. Even through the chaos of the eruptions, shouts, and white noise, Ishida could hear it.

Ashina steel’s cutting power was legendary — five hundred times the average blade — but it was an imperfect material. Brittle. Its durability dependent on the cortosis used during the forging process, and the structural integrity’s robustness had yet to be solved after centuries of legacy.

But it wasn’t a problem that necessarily needed solving. It wasn’t often anyone got the chance to examine the blade, for it was usually so swift, fast, deadly, that nobody got the opportunity to trial its toughness.

The sound of shattering steel was a far less common sound. And through the smoke, Ishida could only spot the vague silhouette’s machinations and she gasped hoarsely at the loss. That blade meant more to her than her sabre. It was far more an extension of self than anything else had proven to be, and with her katana rendered shattered and cast away, Ishida’s gut tightened.

That steel had always been what kept her close to her family. Using her katana alongside her blade was like a duality of existence she could wield, and it only took a second for it to break.

With just a soundless buzzing of her vocal cords in belated protest, the Ashina wilted. Her mind twisting from rationale to irrational thoughts. The world around them bled and reconstructed in and out of focus until she took a step forward, thumbing her saber off. The smoke could work as a cloak, and she could use it as an advantage as much as it was a hindrance. At least the draw of the Force would help with navigation.

She could feel the assassin’s eerie presence cutting through the discord, en route to the crashsite. After all, her job was not complete. For several seconds, Ishida was on her tail, running, running, running and just not catching up in time. She grit her teeth, and leaned into the chase.

Imbued with The Force, Ishida’s legs pumped to accelerate her speed and intercept the devil that had destroyed her sword. If that wasn’t enough, she stretched out. An invisible hand reached through the smoke to crush around the assassin and knock her off course.

---

NIO: Rika Hiro | Jordi Massad | Karissa Saitel | Kolson Vrask
RA: CH3 | LADY OF IRON
GA: Bernard

 

[Seto Du Couteau]

Seto Du Couteau, Senator of Empress Teta
Objective One: A Thin Line
Action: Listen and Work on Reports
Attire

Seto eyed his data-slate, the numbers streaming in were rather good signs to the situation. The market might be reeling from the threat of war with the Imperial Order, but credits leaving one sector tended to find itself in another sector. After all, credits don’t just magically disappear. Seto knew more than anyone that there were credits to be made in losses just like with any gains with stocks. Supply and demand, that is all this trends to after all. . . like with most things in life.

The young Du Couteau heir was already prepared for the declaration of war; that was a foregone conclusion when dealing with the Imperial Order. Run from it, hide from it, the inevitable will always arrive at war Seto mused drearily to himself.

Optics and perception-wise, the Alliance being a defender in this war would be a rather large boon. The efforts against the Maw were proving to be successful; but a betrayal from the East, regardless how expected the knife to the back to be, would certainly bring a sense of dread among the population. But not to the extent if we declared a way upon the Imperials. Seto continued to muse before his attention was snapped back to the current reality.

Chancellor Tithe began the call with the Imperial delegation and almost immediately the arguments were made by both sides that the others were to blame for the situation. The grand finger pointing game. Seto held his own laughter, as the situation was after all a serious one. This finger pointing game also involved fleets of warships and their weaponry would point in the same direction of these leader’s fingers.

The young Du Couteau’s fingers continued to work on his data-slate. No doubt there would be leaks of this conversation into the public, so he needed to position himself within the markets in the coming days. He had a few things to say but ultimately the die had already been cast the moment Kuat threatened to leave the Alliance. Or rather when Loghain struck a deal with the Imperials. Seto continued to muse silently and worked on his data-slate.

The back and forth between the Emperor and Chancellor was entertaining to say the least, Seto even began to scribble a few things down. Keeping score of got a rhetoric win in with each rebuttal. Oh how the news will eat all of this up. Seto suppressed a sigh as he checked another point down.

"The Arbiter has a fair point about a chance of postponing war," Seto spoke, his eyes barely raising above his data-slate as he continued to work through a few reports. "-But it is clear what the future holds with the Imperials Chancellor. Best we do not become the bag holder and cut our losses. Besides it's about the time of year again when the Shipyard Rings crash back onto the surface of Kuat." He added, a bit of black humour to ease the tension.
​

|| Aerarii Tithe | The Arbiter | Auteme | Madelyn Lowe ||
|| Rurik Fel | Caarlyle Rausgeber ||​