Invasion Darkness Rises; the Battle of Kintan - TSE Invasion of SJO Kintan

[Irveric Tavlar]

Position: Northern Siege Lines ; Sith Artillery Batteries
Objective: New Kalandra - Eliminate The Jedi Ambush
Allies: Darth Voyance - The Sith Empire
Enemies: Wyatt Morga ; Lanik Dawnstar [Coordinated] - Jedi Coalition
Equipment:
Sith-Imperial Airborne Armor Mk. III
'Vishnu' Military Shield[Inactive]
HG-88 'Big Iron' Hand-cannon
------------------------------------------------------------
The precision engineered handcannon to which Tavlar had relied upon as his trusted side arm suddenly shattered in his grip. The Officer sounding out a low groan of pain as searing chunks of metal dug into the armorweave underlayer of his armor. There was no time to mourn the gun however, his attention snapping back to the Jedi with hefted shield and lightsaber at the ready.

He'd caught the last Knight in a rare bind which left him with a rather simple and clean kill. At least as clean as it could be, the Duros corpse all but unidentifiable from the neck up as it sat hunched against the reinforced trench wall. Though there was little time for Tavlar to overthink his actions his deeper subconscious harkened back to his martial training. The Sith Imperial academy held its martial roots in a fluid blend of ancient Sith and Imperial aristocratic traditions however his time honing the craft as well as anything else in the entirety of his existence would ultimately be useless if he was cut down from the Jedi's initial cut.

The Jedi flew at him with alarming height and speed, with an inability to match the Jedi's prowess with a lightsaber the war trophy at his side didn't even register as an option. Even if he lacked the honed muscle memory to reach down and ignite it. Matching his opponent in his means would've only been a suicide with a great deal of plasma lit fanfare accompanying it.

Instead of jumping back, or evading to the side ; yet another means to a very swift end, he turned his head down and dove under the jedi as he surged over and just past him, instantly snapping his gaze back to the jedi he reared his right foot back to plant a kick against his inner ankle, the toe mounted vibro knife of his 'Greitis' combat boot activating on impact. If it didn't stab through the duraplast at the very least it dug in well enough to stop the Jedi in his tracks and send him to the mud beneath. If Tavlar was going to win ; or at the very least, survive this encounter, he needed to get him to ground, shut the lightsaber out of the equation.

Anticipating his strike landing the General forced himself from the mud, the movement alone requiring great physical exertion ; perhaps only able to pull himself swift enough due to the better-than-most articulation his blood and mud covered armor sported. From the ground he surged forward, seeking a means to tackle the jedi from behind and send him face first into the mud beneath them.

----​

All the while Jedi bombing runs sent gun emplacements ablaze, scattered across the line before they were forced to evacuate the airspace from crowded anti-aircraft fire. The armored advance continued as per the operational lay-out structured by the Major General. Set in widely spread out panzerkeils they were able to offset the impact of any mortar and artillery strikes, leaving only one or two armored fighting vehicles in each formation knocked out as the others continued their advance. Letting their instruments of death play loudly as they traded fire with the weapon emplacements set on the city's perimeter, mass drivers, turbo-lasers and heavy laser cannons burning into the enemy positions.

Spoiler: The Spearhead

Left​ 8 x 2 'Glaive' Light Repulsor Tank 8 x 1'Cataphract' Main Repulsor Battle Tank 8 x 2 Claymore II Repulsor Tank [Embarked] 3 x 3 UT-HRT [Embarked]

Center​ 8 x 3 'Glaive' Light Repulsor Tank 8 x 4 'Cataphract' Main Repulsor Battle Tank 8 x 2 Claymore II Repulsor Tank [Embarked] 3 x 3 UT-HRT [Embarked]

Right​ 8 x 2 'Glaive' Light Repulsor Tank 8 x 1'Cataphract' Main Repulsor Battle Tank 8 x 2 Claymore II Repulsor Tank [Embarked] 3 x 3 UT-HRT [Embarked]

Close Air Support 5 x 3 MAAG [Embarked] 8 x 2 LAAT/ie

Artillery Batteries 10 -4 WG-211 'Powerhammer' 25 -8 Claymore II - Art. Config 15 -6 Claymore II - AA Config

 

[Aerarii Tithe]

Location: Northern Siege Lines
Objective: Negotiate with any survivors
Allies: Darth Bellum | Darth Voyance | Ellie Mors | Irveric Tavlar | LT-137 | Karina Lowe | Felix Astermo | Lark
Enemies: SJO - seeking non-combat writing partner
Post: 2


Aerarii’s immediate and belittling dismissal by Major General Tavlar was about what the bureaucrat had been expecting. Neither man was happy that the Sith Treasury official had been deployed to an active war zone. Support or assistance with his mission - buying off local mercenaries or those with questionable loyalties to hasten the invasion - would have been appreciated, but it was clear that the Legion believed they could handle this themselves.

The Treasurer-General returned to the Carnivore-class Heavy Repulsortank that had been assigned to him and clambered up the troop ramp. The four Sith Legionaries assigned to protect him had taken up their customary positions at the weapons and steering consoles, leaving Aerarii the sole inhabitant of the passenger compartment. The tight space, usually reserved for carrying Legionaries into combat, was instead piled high with tightly sealed, unmarked crates.

Enemy artillery rounds began striking the Sith siege lines, and a call came over the commlink net that Jedi had been spotted entering the camp. The repulsortank rocked violently as explosions landed nearby, the vehicles powerful shields and thick armour plating doing little to reassume the frightened official. His eyes darted around nervously, suspecting each second may be his last. Sweat continue to dampen his hair and soak through his uniform. He needed to get off this planet and back to the safety of Sith space.

As he sat awaiting his impending doom, his eyes settled on one of the sealed contained across the compartment from him. While indistinguishable from the outside, the bureaucrat knew what the sealed container held. Grand Treasurer Beltis Kishar had made the contents of the containers Aerarii’s responsibility. Returning without delivery them would bring with it a shame arguably greater than death.

The corporal in-charge of his legionnaire guards stepped into the passenger compartment. “Shall we return to the shuttle sir?” Even behind his marked face, the soldiers sneer of disapproval at the frightened official was clear.

Aerarii stared at the sealed Treasury crate for another moment. Completing the mission would be a major step forward for him in his quest to regain his former glory.

“No, I think not. Monitor the main invading ground force, and once they breach the city walls, bring us in behind them. We have business to attend to.”

 

[Karina Lowe Legacy]

Sergeant Karina Lowe
Location: New Kalandra Northern Siege Lines

Objective: Survive the barrage & rendezvous with armoured detachment.

Enemies: Silver Jedi Order | Reggie Faayare | Aaran Tafo | Wyatt Morga | Jessica Med-Beq | Ryv | Lanik Dawnstar | Beltran Rarr | Taozi Fuyuan | WelshPsych | Erika Garter Sin

Allies: The Sith Empire | Darth Voyance | Irveric Tavlar | Aerarii Tithe | Darth Bellum | Felix Astermo | Ellie Mors | Anden Fancelo | Keva | LT-137 | Lark

Equipment: Autokrator Assault Blaster Rifle | SIF-57s Charric Pistol | Thermal Detonators | Commlink | Scramble Key | Field Slicing Kit | Legion Service Dagger

​

Even as H-Company dug in at a row of shelled apartments, the New Kalandran militias broke through the line a few hundred metres West, enemy soldiers rushing the artillery, aided by the Jedi who commanded them. Almost immediately, the resistance against the Legionnaires holding the Northern line stiffened, with Kintan's remaining defence forces rushing to break through and overwhelm the artillery position behind.

The ensuing firefight was fierce, worse than anything Karina had experienced before. Muzzles flashed deep inside shelled-out buildings, plasmatic bolts impacting their sparse cover and throwing into the air chunks of plaster and concrete dust. From the corner ahead, a barricade of sandbags concealed a blaster cannon, the team of gunners opening up mercilessly on the Legionnaires dug in at the Northern Line. IFF tags blinked out one-by-one. Two, three soldiers shot dead, another handful injured and dying. A handheld rocket strike eliminated the cannon and earned the embattled Legionnaires another hail of small arms fire. Karina winced as another few designations greyed out on her HUD.

The report of heavy guns sounded from nearby, and Karina pulled up a battlefield visualiser to confirm that Major General Tavlar's armoured detachment was continuing its advance into the city. They were close by and would relieve her fiercely outgunned Legionnaire vanguard in minutes. She just had to keep it together until their arrival. If they could hold their portion of the Siege Line and block the main road, they would give the Major General's forces the chance to beat back the Jedi assault on the artillery. If they failed to hold, well, they'd be surrounded.

Another burst of blaster fire ripped through their position, showering Karina with heavy clods of plaster. She ducked down low, scanning with bionic eyes for any signs of movement. She locked on to a muzzle flash in a darkened ruin and spied the silhouetted figure as it passed across a shattered window. Hefting her weighty rifle, she squeezed the trigger to send a burst of supercharged red plasma into the apartment. She couldn't tell the effect, but the answering hail of fire forced her to scramble back as blaster shots and heavy bolt projectiles slammed into her position.

She stumbled backwards, back into a nearby doorway, crouching down as the first shell of the mortar strike struck their position.

The explosion immediately overwhelmed her aural sensors, and the scene that followed played out with a backdrop of rumbling static. Rubble smashed into her, glass and rock from the initial blast lacerating her face and neck, the shockwave knocking her to the ground, rattling her teeth. The second shell blew out the walls of the building, and Karina covered herself as best she could as the remains of the room came down on top of her, trapping her in total darkness and choking dust.

Explosions continued to pound the earth; she could feel them shaking the ground beneath her. She laid still as the strikes grew more and more distant, the weight of the rubble pressing down upon her. When finally the trembling ceased, She heaved with her arms, forcing her torso upward and shifting the massive bricks of masonry and twisted sheets of metal until she burst free, rising to her feet uneasily. Instinctively, she reset her sensors, the groans of fallen soldiers greeting her as her hearing returned.

Checking for survivors, Karina saw that 22 designations still showed green on her display, a little yellow triangle blinking next to her name, marking her as the acting commander of not just the 2nd Platoon, but the entirety of H-Company. That meant the Captain, four Lieutenants, and all but two of the Sergeants had perished in the strike. In total, the attack killed 138 soldiers in mere moments.

And it was no wonder, the intersection in which they'd dug in was unrecognisable, with buildings levelled on both sides, bodies scattered throughout the fallen rubble, and pockmarked craters dotted amongst the devastation. Around her, Karina saw shapes emerging from the ruins, shaking off the debris, their armour caked in dust. Karina tapped a few keys on her datapad, thankfully spared from significant damage, and highlighted her silhouette for the remaining Legionnaires. Slowly, they gathered themselves and what little equipment was recoverable, and made their way over to the remains of the structure that had sheltered Karina, staying low and carefully across the open space as they regrouped.

The soldiers looked each other over as they gathered. They looked tired, all of them. A few had lost their helmets, rendered useless or unwearable in the strike. Their faces were haggard, pained. Warm blood trickled from Karina's own face, some unknown piece of rubble having cut into the skin below her faceplate. Still more alarming was a deep rut cut into the metal, the mark of a falling object that would have surely killed her had her head been made of only flesh and bone.

She almost wanted to just sit down and cry. The idea of leading this shattered group of Legionnaires back into the battle terrified her. But they had their orders, and now that their Company had been all but destroyed, they'd have to link up with any remaining Sith-Imperial forces as soon as possible, less the enemy take advantage of the hole they'd blown in the Line. The road ahead, lined with smoking rubble, stayed quiet, giving her a few moments to think.

"OK. We'll hold here for another few minutes until the Major General's group arrives. We'll link up with them and move into Kalandra. For now, let's stay low and not attract any more unwanted attention."

Hopefully, one of Tavlar's groups would arrive shortly, and they would move on without incident. Karina's gaze swept across the ruined intersection, down the main street that stretched into the distance. She bit her lip. What awaited them further down? So many of her brethren had died already, she couldn't help but wonder if any of them would make it out of this mess.

​

 

[Darth Prazutis]

​

Allies:

• Cara Dorniarn
• Joycelyn Zambrano
• Darth Carnifex
• Taeli Raaf
• Tekkio
• Kainan Wolfe
• Kaalia Pavanos
• Fiolette Raaf
• Lirka Ka

Enemies:

• Kyra Perl
• Kat Decoria
• Acaadi
• Jerek Morrows

Equipment:

• Sith Lightsabers
• Sith Commander Armor

---

Down came Death.

Plasma washed over the shields of the Crestfallen II and bursts of flak cannon fire rocked the shuttle, its shields held resolute in the face of concentrated enemy fire. Both of the Zambrano Lords maintained their own shuttles and like all of their transport were built for sustained combat operations. In this particular case however they didn't stay very long over the high ramparts of the desert fortress, it lingered only long enough to allow its passengers to leap from its angular ramp to the ferrocrete structure below. It was a pair of giants that collided with the fortified wall the sheer force of their arrival was enough to crack the stone. Already the world erupted in carnage as many defenders were obliterated from the wrath of the Sith Emperor their bodies contorted, their forms scattered into bits after his destructive roar. The access point used by the now dead squad already sealed, no doubt the quick actions of a soldier to try and keep them out. If they were any other opponent it might've worked to significantly delay their progress it would've been the right call.​

​

They were wrong.​

​

The Mountain broke into a running charge it was startling just how fast someone of his size could be a deep roar tearing from his lips as he collided with the blast doors head on. There was a resounding explosion as the world itself gave way and the door was blown apart in pieces of twisted metal, its chunks gnarled like the deepest roots. A soldier caught too close to the blast doors was hit by the shrapnel and torn into pieces, the first blood slicked the deck as a hall full of defenders turned in complete shock to the behemoth that bent the world to his will. They wouldn't even get the chance to raise their weapons in a futile attempt to bring him down, their lives were forfeit the moment he arrived on Kintan. The Shadow Hand stretched out his hands and roared "BURN!" his words boomed through the hall just before the eruption of dark energy from his hands. It was a wave of azure flame as tall and wide as the hallway itself that blew through it with such fury covering the defenders in fire. The soldiers caught within ten feet of the flame were utterly obliterated their bodies literally turned into ash, but those who were further? Those caught in adjacent rooms too close to the doorways? They were covered from head to toe in dark side hellfire.​

​

The hallway itself was subject to his dark fury as the flame clung to the metal burning hot enough to melt the very structure. The sound of sizzling metal could be heart as liquified drops fell from the walls and ceiling, that took on a distinct orange glow. But even those noises were drowned out from the sounds of the screams. The floors were filled with writhing, rolling bodies as they cut loose with disturbing screams filled with the delirium of agony, pain that only being burned alive could bring. The Dark Titan continued his surge into the halls his booming footfalls drowned out by the screams, he unclipped one of the two great lightsabers from his belt as he moved past the screaming defensers, outwardly apathetic to their struggle as he turned the corner to ignite the blade. It erupted in a long green blade that billowed a green smog. As soon as he rounded the corner he descended on the first living beings he saw and tore them apart. It was a shocking brutality many weren't used to even from the Sith-Imperial Forces. The giant's path of destruction was rooted in an aura of hyper aggression and ultra violence that saw him literally tear them apart with his bare hands, cutting their forms into pieces and throwing fully grown men of all species around like they were paperweights, leaving nothing but death in his wake.​

​

​

 

[Keva]

Location: New Kalandra, landing zone
Objective: Insert and Destroy
Allies: TSE, Anden Fancelo
Enemies: SJO

As per usual for these insertions, Keva was a silent specter that hid within the bowels of the transport: too stuck into her own thoughts to consider the wider world outside of the smallest vestiges, there was much to think about. Allocation of ordinance, basic tactics when working within such a rustic and confined environment, but more than anything she was mulling over vengeance. Staring at the skeletal cybernetic that hissed and whined as she flexed it. The Jedi had taken her arm, and so she would take so much more.

This world would burn. It was just the way of things.

But the Chiss was jostled out of her little fantasy world once the gaggle of soldiers prepared for landing. The bucks and whines of battle did always make it hard to focus on the little things, Keva rose from her seat alongside the others. The black armor of the Legionnaires blending with the robes given her, slight modifications to the standard Legionnaire design so as to allow for the better use of the Lightsaber: she had yet to find her opinion on it proper yet...after she got shot at it the final say could be given.

The machinery on her figure whined, the charric built into her cybernetic was primed and ready to fire at any unfortunate Jedi she encountered and the shoulder mounted blaster did the same, the Chiss remained the walking arsenal that had come to dominate her combat philosophy. When the Gravewalkers began their charge, she strode out, an ocean of deceptive calm in the Chaos. She was a volcano, unstable and waiting to burst.

 

[Jerek Morrows]

Location: Kh'aris halls, near meditation chamber
Enemies: Sith, Darth Prazutis
Allies: Jedi

It took no time for him to feel the darkness surge.

He was familiar with it in a way that other Jedi weren't. Because of his unique calling, the Shadow spent more time directly involved with the drudges of society, with people who spent their time in seedy, disreputable places and dealt in shady things. He watched the grotesque side of humanity from a front row seat. He could easily recognize when the driving force reared its head.

That, coupled with the sudden loss of life brought on a searing pain that lanced through his temple. Not all Jedi were Empathic, and Jerek certainly was not; but his senses were highly tuned. He clutched his head as he staggered toward the side of the hallway.

Jerek sucked in a breath through his teeth. He had to keep going. Now more than ever, he had to resist it. The Shadow had to resist it so that no one else would have to.

Those children gathered in this place were still young. They had yet to fully grasp the teachings of the Jedi, or to embrace the lot they had chosen. He recalled the sentiment from the young Zeltron, imploring him to survive.

So pure, innocent, and kind. It was that kind of heart that deserved to be protected. Jerek focused on that feeling and used it to remind himself of his purpose. Slowly, he felt equilibrium returning. He drew the warmth close to himself, wreathing his thoughts and his spirit in a gentle cocoon to ward against the darkness.

Because he now had to descend into the madness, and find the source.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

​

Location: Fortress Assault
Objective: Storm the Castle, Some Light Banter
Allies: Darth Carnifex Fiolette Raaf Darth Prazutis Joycelyn Zambrano BobertEZ Kainan Wolfe Cara Dorniarn Tekkio Kaalia Pavanos Lirka Ka Vandra Zambrano
Enemies: Valkren Calderon Jerek Morrows Kyra Perl Beltran Rarr Niklasz Tassik Jessica Med-Beq Kiff Brayde Kat Decoria Acaadi

Equipment: In signature
Soldiers: 4,998 Sith Legionaries, 502 killed or seriously wounded
Sithspawn: Poisoners, Ravagers, Cobras, 4x Natasizi-tateks, 2x Terentasaurs

"Now there's an idea, I could tie a sleeping spell into the speech," Taeli mused, smirking a little. "Wouldn't be too hard, I think, although there is something to be said of big guns and heavy explosives."

The Poisoners would have reached the trenches occupied by the Silver Jedi by now, their stingers and bites carrying a potent neurotoxin derived and enhanced from their original kouhan species. Even worse they could release that toxin as a mist, so the soldiers of the Silver Jedi would be in for some chaos even before the rest of their forces began advancing.

"General, give the order to begin," she commanded. "Zviera, unleash the Terentasaurs on the walls and have the Ravagers scale."

The Zabrak bowed his head and began issuing the telepathic commands to the other Sith Beastmasters. The massive dinosaur-like monsters roared and began charging towards the enemy fortifications and trenches, while the Ravagers hissed and shrieked as they surged forward, scythes and spines ready to rip and tear.

The Sith Legionaries of the Black Talons began advancing under the cover of the heavy artillery of the Sith and Eternal Empire, weapons primed to fire at any enemy soldier that poked their head up. Until...

"Incoming!"

Mortar strikes began raining down on their forces, bodies and limbs flying through the air and dust kicked up by the explosions. Blood sprayed and watered the rocky ground as the strikes continued. Bits of Sithspawn littered craters, the Terentasaurs absorbed some of the strikes and it only made them angrier. The two monsters picked up speed, trampling feet and tusks and spiked tails ready to smash through the gants that dared bite at them.

High above, Silver Jedi torpedo bombers came in, furthering the carnage as they unleashed strikes on the position. Through it all, Taeli snarled and held a shimmering purple shield of Force energy around herself, Fiolette, and their command staff. Sith fighters blazed down from the skies above, strafing and blasting away at the bombers that apparently had no fighter coverage of their own. Whoever had commanded the airstrike had to be insane to order such an attack when the skies were contested.

"Report!" she yelled, her shield might have prevented physical injury, her ears were still ringing.

"12% casualties, 500 dead or too wounded to continue!" came the call over the comms.

With a flicker of her will, the Cobra Sithspawn in the air began disgorging a black fog over the Sith forces, creating a thick cloud cover to prevent further targeting from enermy air forces if they survived the Sith fighters of Darth Bellum or artillery zeroing in on them from a distance. From the sky came the Emperor and his Shadow Hand, landing on the walls.

"Dramatic as always," she sighed. "General, get our men into those trenches and to the walls."

 

[Beltran Rarr]

Location: LRAD-OR returning to Kh'aris Fortress
Objective: Defend the walls
Callsign: Icarus-1-1
Personal Assets: Icarus Platoon, first squad

Spoiler: Icarus Squad Loadout

12 x Ranger Special Forces

• 12 x Accelerated Infantry Power Suits
  • Including 12 x OS-111 "Firestorm" Heavy Blaster Cannon
  • OS-112 "Valkyrie" Jump Jet
  • OS-101 Retractable Vibrosword
  • OS-108 Energy Shield
  • Enhanced speed and strength (via power-assisted internal frame)
• 12 x OS-115 "Bonesplitter" Heavy Assault Rifle
• 24 x OS-107 "Hermes" Sensor Drones

Allies: SJO, Valkren Calderon , Kyra Perl | Kat Decoria , Niklasz Tassik , Jerek Morrows and any others defending the Fortress
Enemies: Sith, Darth Carnifex , Fiolette Raaf , Taeli Raaf , Joycelyn Zambrano - moving to engage Darth Carnifex 's forces on the walls

Spoiler: Personal Kit:

Armor: Accelerated Infantry Power Suit
Primary Weapon: OS-115 "Bonesplitter" Heavy Assault Rifle (chest rig)
Secondary Weapons:

• OS-111 "Firestorm" Heavy Blaster Cannon (A.I.P.S.)
• OS-101 Retractable Vibrosword (A.I.P.S.)
• Krath Itak Sword (back scabbard) Note to Force Users/Force Sensitives - this blade emanates a strong Dark Side aura
• 8 x frag grenades (chest rig)

Misc Gear:

• OS-112 "Valkyrie" Jump Jet System (A.I.P.S.)
• OS-108 Energy Shield (A.I.P.S.)
• 2 x OS-107 "Hermes" Sensor Drones (chest rig)

Spoiler: Post Soundtrack

"Kh'aris actual, for Icarus-1-1." Came the call that Beltran was expecting on the coms.

The LRAD-OR that now held the twelve heavily armed and armored Rangers of Icarus Platoon's first squad, had been headed in the direction of New Kalandra for the last five minutes. His orders, the as yet unspecified kill mission had remained annoyingly vague, a situation he now hoped that Command would illuminate. He keyed his men on the channel so that they could hear the conversation as it unfolded. Beltran found that it served better in combat situations to have his men hear the orders directly from Command whenever possible. It saved time on briefings.

"Go for Icarus-1-1."

"Icarus 1-1, the situation has changed. The battle at the Fortress is deteriorating rapidly. We're recalling you and your men immediately." The coms officer's voice sounded tight, laden with increasing stress, but professional. "We have hostiles threatening to take a section of the wall, Command is ordering you to perform a combat drop over that section and engage them. Sending the coordinates to you now."

Almost instantly, Beltran's HUD flashed with the new information. It was a section of the wall, somewhat to the centre of the fortress' front section. He quickly designated it "Dropzone Bantha," and transferred the coordinates to his men.

"Transmission received, estimated time to engagement: Fifteen minutes."

"Acknowledged Icarus-1-1, Kh'aris actual out."

To the pilots of the LRAD, Beltran called out over the intercom. "We have new orders," He informed them. "We need to return to Kh'aris, maximum speed. When we arrive you need to fly us over these coordinates. We will be jumping." A quick flick of Beltran's tongue activated his HUD's transceiver and sent them the coordinates of Dropzone Bantha.

"Uhhh, did you just say you're going to perform a combat jump while the LRAD is as max speed?" The pilot came back a second later.

"That's correct. Our combat suits and their jump jet systems will be able to handle the forces at play." Beltran was making that up, even as he spoke. The new combat suits that he and his men wore had barely been tested and there was no way to know if the systems would hold up to such a maneuver. Regardless, his voice remained calm and professional, carrying the weight of belief in it that he knew both the pilot and his men would need to hear. "We don't have a choice. The direct path to the Fortress is certain to be full of advancing Sith troops. If you fly any slower, we'll be shot down before we can get there."

"Understood," The pilot responded, his tone now set in steel. "Hold on, this is going to get bumpy."

Beltran turned to look at his armored soldiers, using the power-assisted grip of his armored hand to hold on to the drop-strap that hung overhead while the LRAD banked sharply and then accelerated hard-its engines burning at maximum power as they made for the Fortress.

The rest of his men were looking back at him from behind their helmets. None of them said a word, but the weight of what was about to happen had settled on all of them. "I'm not a man for speeches," He told them. "Those of you who have worked with me before know that. So I'm not going to give you one. I'm not going to tell you that we're going to survive this because I don't know that. What I am going to tell you is this: The Sith are on the verge of breaching the Fortress. We need to meet them with as much carnage as possible. We cannot fight like men. We must fight like wolves, ripping and tearing the Sith apart by pieces. We need to be so terrifying that even they falter with fear. There can be no surrender. There will be no mercy."

His men stayed quiet. They weren't the types to shout combat slogans like "Oo-rah," and the like. These were quiet, deadly, killers. Despite this, Beltran was able to see a sudden renewal of resolve in their body language. Now was the time, the moment when they could make the difference.

"Icarus-1-1, how copy?" A voice he recognized sounded in his ear, though it came from a callsign that he didn't. For all the time Beltran had known him, Valkren Calderon had gone by the moniker Raider-1-1. But now the words Hades-1-1, flashed over his HUD. Beltran was familiar with Hades Platoon. They were a scout-recon unit of growing renown. It was a good unit for a man like Valkren to lead in a battle such as this.

"Hades-1-1, Icarus-1-1 has good copy." Beltran told the Commander. "We're inbound to Kh'aris, ETA ten minutes. We're going to perform a combat drop over the section of the wall currently being overrun. I have designated that section Dropzone Bantha. What is your situation?"

Beltran knew there wasn't much he could do for Calderon right at that moment if the man was in trouble, but he wanted to know what was happening with him regardless. Beltran hadn't trusted many people in his life, and had called even fewer than that friend. But Commander Calderon had gone to bat for the Lorrdian more times than he could count and Beltran was coming to think of him that way.

---------------------------------------------------------------

The LRAD continued it's journey, taking fire as it passed over the Sith advance. "Two minutes until drop," The pilot called over the intercom. "Lowering ramp now."

As promised, the boarding ramp at the rear of the ship began to lower. Dust and smoke filled the air with the acrid smell of burnt carbon. Beltran could see dozens and dozens of red flashes of light pass by them, incoming fire from the Sith troops below. Turning to his men, he called out. "Alright, everybody up. You know the coordinates. You know the job. Get down there and kill every fething Sith you can find. Give your lives it comes to it, but not before you've taken at least two dozen of them with you."

His men stood, and formed up in a line behind their Lieutenant. Beltran stood closest to the rear of the ship, looking down at the battlefield, watching the Sith forces advance and feeling a slight sense of pity for them. Many of them were about to meet whatever it was that came after this life in some of the most gruesome ways possible.

"We're over the coordinates!" The pilot shouted a moment later. "Go! Go! Go!"

And with that the twelve soldiers, each approximately eight feet tall with their armor on and weighing more than five-hundred pounds, carrying instruments of death all over their bodies, exited the craft and jumped into a free fall over the Fortress walls.

A time of reckoning for the Sith was about to begin.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

​

Allies:

• Cara Dorniarn
• Joycelyn Zambrano
• BobertEZ
• Darth Prazutis
• Taeli Raaf
• Tekkio
• Kainan Wolfe
• Kaalia Pavanos
• Fiolette Raaf
• Lirka Ka

Enemies:

• Valkren Calderon
• Jerek Morrows
• Kyra Perl
• Niklasz Tassik
• Kiff Brayde
• Kat Decoria
• Beltran Rarr

Equipment:

• Sith Lightsabers​
• Sith Commander Armor (Visually Similar)​

---

​

The Emperor and the Shadow Hand moved like wraiths, their speed enhanced by the power of the Dark Side despite their massive bulks. Carnifex slammed his elbow into the chest plate of a nearby enemy soldier, the metal collapsing inward from the blow and snapping nearby every rib the man possessed. Gore bled out from the seams in the armor, staining the surrounding environment a deep scarlet. It wasn't the first that the Dark Lord had pasted against the ferrocrete, his path was littered with the dead and the fatally wounded; their moans of agony a sweet siren song to lure their comrades into the kill zone. The Dark Lord had only used his lightsaber for killing or debilitating blows, the enemy's obsession with slugthrower weaponry made the weapon irrelevant in deflecting their ranged attacks; he instead used the Force to create a barrier around his person to counter those.​

​

The shimmering barrier not only stopped the airborne slugs dead in their tracks but also absorbed the spent kinetic energy and momentum, building and building and building with every round levied against the Dark Lord. The air in front of the Sith was obscured by dozens of levitating slugs, their metal bodies crushed to near disc shape from the violence of their impediment. Suddenly the metal liquidized and pooled together into a single sphere of molten slag, which was broken down further into meter-long shards of smooth solid metal. Without moving a muscle, the Dark Lord shredded the defenders ahead of him with telekinetically propelled shards of metal, killing all of them slowly by shearing apart their limbs before delivering the coup de grâce at their chests or heads. ​

​

All except one.​

​

The Dark Lord singled him out for a far more cruel fate. Striding forward, unperturbed by the lad's vain attempts to gun him down, he yanked the soldier's weapon away from him with the Force and crushed it into a compact ball. A callous hand reached out to grab him by the cusp of his armor, lifting him up into the air before slamming him down onto the ground. A nudge by the Emperor's boot flipped him onto his stomach, and another pull of the Force tore away the armor and fabric covering the soldier's back. Pinning him with the Force, the Dark Lord crouched down on his haunches and removed the gauntlet covering his right hand. Each of the Emperor's digits ended with a clawed nail, which he now used to carve a thin red line from the nap of the soldier's neck to the middle of his back. ​

​

"We're looking for the Command Center," explained the Dark Lord in his booming baritone, "And you're going to help us locate it."​

​

He reached down at his hip, retrieving a small cylindrical carrier that he then placed on the ferrocrete floor beside him, disengaged the locks, and opened. Steam billowed out from the open case, obscuring the writhing creature that now tentatively began to emerge on spindly arachnoid limbs. Its body greatly resembled that of arachnids found throughout the galaxy, but in lieu of a thorax, it instead ended in a long whip-like tail that balanced itself up in the air like that of a scorpion's. The creature scuttled along the floor, clambering up the soldier's inert body and positioned itself above the incision made by the Emperor.​

​

All the while the soldier could hear a faint voice reverberating in the depths of his mind, something primal and hungry; Flesh, Chew, Gnaw, Brain, Gorge, Gnaw, Chew.​

​

Thin legs pulled apart the skin, exposing muscle and the faint hint of bone protruding from between the meat. Ravenous, the creature began to force itself through the thin gap, limps pushing deep into the muscle while the chittering mandibles found purchase in the stem of the soldier's brain, the tail ultimately wrapping around his spinal cord. The soldier convulsed violently, now free of the Emperor's hold, before falling still and silent several moments later. Then he began to move, his limbs contorting unnaturally as he shambled up onto his feet. His mouth opened and closed, eyes rolled into the back of his skull, as the creature now sharing his body overrode control of his nervous system and fed on the gray meat of his brain. Soon the memories hidden within the soft flesh would belong to the creature, and whatever consciousness existed would be subsumed by ravenous hunger. ​

​

Carnifex reached out to gently caress the soldier's cheek, blood pooling in the jelly of the soldier's eyes as the union was finalized. "Now then," cooed the Dark Lord of the Sith, "Lead me to the Control Center." Unfortunately, before the Emperor could continue through with his vile scheme, more of the Silver Jedi's soldiers arrived on the scene. Tossing the shambler into a nook that sheltered it from gunfire, the Emperor re-ignited his weapon and made to advance on the intruding soldiers, the Dark Lord swirling about his body like a typhoon as dark lightning burst forth from the air around him to strike at all those that stood against him. ​

 

[Cara Dorniarn]

Location: Underground on route to Fenn's Cavern
Tags: Joycelyn Zambrano Darth Prazutis Darth Carnifex BobertEZ Taeli Raaf Tekkio Lirka Ka

__________________________________________________
​

The ground shivered from the explosions of artillery fire... and the steadfast progression of the subterranean transports. The order from the Sith Lord had been executed in immediate fashion and Cara tracked the surface and subterranean forces as they both carved their paths. The rumblers weren't quick about their work, yet nothing was too dense an obstacle for their swirling maws as they chewed through sand, soil, and then bedrock. It seemed those above were making quick work of their own obstacles, setting their sights on the fortress above and taking it with great violence.

Violence. The word stuck for a moment in Cara's mind. It was nothing foreign and nothing she took much offense to. It was a tool, just like any wrench or screwdriver. On the surface it was used to dismantle the city, to remove the pieces which caused damage to the whole and make room for strength and efficiency. On the fortress walls it was used to chip away at the rot which had overrun Kintan, the promises of peace which the Jedi clung to in blind devotion. Only dead machines ran in peace. Those that thrived worked in a constant state of stress and decay to produce progress. Even the most quiet of technologies burn energy to function. The Sith-Imperials were performing maintenance; maintenance on a galactic machine to keep it moving and producing better than before. How much longer were the Jedi going to stall the progress of the galaxy?

"Sedimentary rock layer. Sandstone. Like cuttin' through chalk with a vibroknife." The pilot of the transport made more of a comment than report, the judgement giving his mechanic a smile. Cara sat behind them, a smirk hidden behind the black dome of her helmet while looking down at the datapad in hand.

The Rumblers lead the way for the the Sithspawn which followed, those monstrous machinations of alchemy and Sith innovation. Cara understood their biology, but their creation originating in the mystery of alchemical arts crouched as something even she did not wish to prod. Such matters were best left in the hands of those more attuned with the Dark Side of meta-biophysics.

Cara tapped the side of the datapad, having kept her eye on all the red-dotted Rumblers and their progress as they slid ever closer to their target. Soon.

 

[Joycelyn Zambrano]

Objective: Assault Fortress Kh’aris from beneath.
Location: Underground. Advancing on Fenn’s Cavern.
Tags: Cara Dorniarn Darth Carnifex BobertEZ Darth Prazutis Taeli Raaf Tekkio Lirka Ka | Kiff Brayde Kyra Perl Jerek Morrows Kat Decoria Acaadi Valkren Calderon

Spoiler

Troops: Varanin Legion.
Burrowers:Rupturer, Festerer,Blighter, Rumbler.
Fighters: Ravagers, Natasizi-tatek.
Equipment: Imperator’s Raiment, Zaudraka, SIF-7 Minos, Grenades.

Above, on the surface, artillery of Sith Empire and Silver Jedi Order alike pounded the ground to fine dust, breaking man, woman and every structure in which they would seek to hide. The incessant drumming of shell against shell, rocket against rocket, blaster against blaster could be felt all the way down in the earth, where Joycelyn and her monster-laden troops tunnelled steadily toward the caves under the fortress.

Enclosed in the rumbler, Joycelyn sat uncomfortably cramped amidst legionnaires, sharing an equally uncomfortable silence. The din of the battle above made the legionnaires uneasy, some more than others. She looked at one of the more experienced in her section: A rodian named Twanst Joste. He had been enlisted after the Sith Empire took Lola Sayu and, given a new chance at freedom, had found his calling in the Legion. She remembered well how he was injured in the battle of Thyferra by the same kind of ordinance as hammered the ground above. She could see the memory reflected in his eyes, but it did not shake his will.

Another legionnaire was a human, a private simply referred to as Vey, Joycelyn did not know what planet this one had come from, but she had the glint of vengeance in her eye. A rumour had reached her that Vey had a lover who died in the Rimcee rebellion. Vey was fierce, ill tempered, but highly effective. Had she possessed aptitude in the Force, then Vey would have made a worthy apprentice. The zabraki, Vexa and Aese, were usually louder and more rambunctious, making wagers and jokes. Now, they were grim-faced and quiet, clutching their blasters and staring down into the metal floor. Aese appeared to be holding back against the urge to retch.

There were more who strummed with anticipation bordering on terror.

“The artillery is our ally in this case; it masks our approach.” She looked at the two zabraki, then to Rwanst, “We can stand the pressure. By strength of arm. strength of will.” -Then to Vey “And they will never know what hit them.” A smile curled over Joycelyn’s lips as her voice lowered into a growl at the tail end of her sentence.

These were but some of the legionnaires under her command, and she did not know all equally well, but they all had stories like these. Joycelyn knew that this war would not be won by fear and awe alone. Soldiers would fight for loyalty to their Empire, but, when inspired by devotion, they would lay down their lives for victory, for her.

They rode on in silence, but she felt their spirits lifting and focus sharpening.

Then, the signals started trickling in. The beastmasters contacted her telepathically first: the sithspawn had detected air pockets ahead and halted at the perimeter. The rumblers detected the same, giving one of their sparse signals to count down.

“We breach in T-minus two minutes” She commanded. ‘Fan out with the blighters and scout our surroundings’ she replied to the beastmasters

Joycelyn shifted her legs under her to better be able to move out of the confined space, and gripped firmly the hilt of Zaudraka. It near vibrated with excitement, eager, hungry, and full of hatred for its intended fores. With her other hand, she closed the visor of her black armour. The red eyes of her helm glowed as the HUD activated.

 

[Kat Decoria]

Objective: Keep friends safe and alive.
Allies: Kyra Perl Acaadi Jerek Morrows Niklasz Tassik + SJO
Enemies: TSE + Allies
​

Kat tilted her head at Kyra, she didn't have organic legs, how could she walk heavier? Her legs were metal and quite heavy so while she didn't stand out in terms of walking around other races, she wasn't as elegant as other Echani. Raising an eyebrow to Kyra, Kat looked over to her "So you think I need to put on weight?" Kat asked in a teasing sad tone, "legs are heavy enough!" She protested as she pouted to her friend before giving her a wink then looked over to the hallway as they hurried to find their friend. "So, how have you been? Not really caught up much after the Life Day party," it might not be the best timing but Kat missed her friend and wasn't sure what was going to happen today so didn't want to make any regrets. Lifting her rifle up, Kat breathed slowly as she looked around for the Sith. They could already be in the fortress and Kat was worried that they could get surrounded by the Sith while looking for Acaadi.​

Moving forward, Kat called out to Acaadi as they walked, hoping to find him soon as she was worried that the seriously bad Dark Side presence she could feel would only intensify. "Acaadi!" Kat called as she wandered through the hall, "so what's the plan after we find Acaadi? Should we head to the evacuation ships? Just things are super dangerous here and the Dark Side feels like super bad and I think that means there are some dangerous Sith people are attacking here..." Kat mumbled, unsure what to do, she wasn't a leader and she hated war. Every time there was war someone close to her died and she didn't want to lose anyone else, couldn't lose anyone else.​

 

[Tekkio]

Objective: Assault beneath the fortress.
Location: Underground advancing in the direction of Fenn's Cavern
Troops: Ten Legionairs armed with Autokractor rifles and sith battle armor. There is a few that has thermal detonators on hand [
Equipment: A small blaster pistol outfitted for his size, and an officer's combat uniform with a comm, datapad and one normal size thermal detonator.
Tags: Joycelyn Zambrano Darth Carnifex BobertEZ Darth Prazutis Taeli Raaf

Tekkio awkwardly hooked comm around his ear. "Mic check." He said. There was a collective roger from the troops he was leading, save for the newer one, who was rather late to the response. "Single column from the left!" Tekkio ordered out. "Forward!" order another female voice and the ten troops raced ahead of Tekkio. The small Kushiban jogged behind them. It did not take long before they came back together. Tekkio put his hand on his comm receiving a small order. "In two minutes, the General's forces will begin their breach. We will be behind them, remember our target and our orders. We are not trying to be heroes, and we are not trying to kill as many as we can."

The soldiers gave a unsynchronized copies. The officer pointed at one of his soldiers. "Stay near to me! The rest of you advance with the General for now. The moment we get a chance, we will find our way to that shield generator and destroy it." He gave a pause looking down at his hand paw. The bright red fur being clearly visible even in this darkness. Thinking for a moment, he reasoned that, for now, his color would have to change. He took a long breath in and slowly exhaled. The strands went from red, to maroon, and then finally to black. His eyes went from amber to a deep orange and slowly went to black as well.

The sounds of machinery close by made his ears flick. There was a rumble in the gave causing some dirt to fall on his shoulder, and back, and along his tail. With a elegant motion, though more unceremoniously, Tekkio brushed off the dirt from his shoulder and shook out his tail. The soldier that had stayed with him gave a chuckle. "You sure you didn't want to bring the exosuit, sir?" He said through the comes. it would be the only way for the officer to hear him. The noise around them would drown out most non-comm chatter. Tekkio looked up at him and started walking. There was many soldiers down here, many creatures. Tekkio was about to reply when there was something that interrupted him.

"Lieutenant, sir, there's the breach! The troops are advancing further!" A female voice said. Tekkio looked back up at the soldier, "Get to the rest!" He gave him the order without the comms. The legionair barely heard him but understood. "The moment we see an opportunity, split off and ehad for the primary objective, take the long way if we need to!" He ordered and then ran on all fours into the crowd of troopers. He was heading for the General. Upon Zambrano's orders to breach, that would be his team's cue to advance to their own direction.

 

[WelshPsych]

​

Objective: Find Tacitus and stop him
Allies: SJO and allies
Enemies: Kainan Wolfe | TSE and allies
Equipment: Ranger Armour, Bow, Force Resistant Arrows, Explosive Arrows
Forces: 5x Elite Rescue Rangers, 30x Rescue Rangers, 10x Jedi NPCs

Things were not going well for Yuroic, the Sith were moving in hard, raining down fire on them. Explosions were firing everywhere as Yuroic swiftly moved through the Sith forces that dared to face him. His energy bow slicing throw the Sith soldiers as they stepped closer to him, gripping a soldier with the Force and crush his armour to kill him. They were attacking his people, they were killing his people, Yuroic let his rage, his anger fuel his strength in the Force as he fought. Sith blasted Yuroic back, landing hard, Yuroic grunted as he cursed himself for not noticing that Sith approaching him, thankful that his armour protected him from the worst of the damage.

As he landed, he placed his hand on the ground and felt something. His connection to the Force was strong at the moment, from the Force he could feel a ripple, a tremor from the earth, deeper down something that wasn't the artillery strikes. There was something burrowing through the ground and Yuroic knew that this world didn't naturally have giant worms. Standing, only way to find out what is going on was to reach the sewers, there he could find out what is attacking and if it was heading to the fortress like he feared. Hailing soldiers to him and some fellow Jedi to him. They needed to find this burrowing machine and stop it.

Jumping down the hole to the sewers, Yuroic ignited a Lightsaber to light his way as he cautiously walked forward. "Keep your eyes peeled, I sensed something moving down here, we need to stop it." He raised his fist as he heard the whirling noise of a machine. Turning his Lightsaber off and clipped it to his belt. Yuroic nocked an explosive arrow and allowed the Force to guide him, firing it, the explosion lit up the mechanical worm. The soldiers got to work and fired upon the vessel to stop it, weaken it.

 

[Kyra Perl]

Objective: Find Acaadi ... preserve a life?
Allies: Kat Decoria Acaadi Jerek Morrows Judah Lesan Jr.
Enemies: Darth Prazutis Vandra Zambrano

"So, how have you been? Not really caught up much after the Life Day party."

Kyra grimaced, her thoughts flickering towards the direction of Kat's tone.

Not really the time... She nearly uttered. As inappropriate of a moment as it was for Kat's crush to shine through, Kyra knew any sign of rejection would only make things worse. In some ways she couldn't blame the poor girl. She had led her on. ...And she had been avoiding her ever since. Oi. For another time!

"Fine. Busy training."

Kyra took a deep breath, shaking our her jitters as they walked briskly down the hall. Something stirred above her. She frowned, glancing at the ceiling. Something ...on the floor above? ( Vandra Zambrano ). The clouded presence concerned her for a flickering second. She discarded it, the whole fort ripe with the presence of sith.

"Acaadi!" She called out, joining Kat in their attempt to locate their friend.

"Acaadi!" Kat called as she wandered through the hall, "so what's the plan after we find Acaadi? Should we head to the evacuation ships? Just things are super dangerous here and the Dark Side feels like super bad and I think that means there are some dangerous Sith people are attacking here..."

"I'm not going anywhere," Kyra retorted almost immediately. Screams echoed to them, muffled from the hallways that stood between them and the source. The walls did nothing to dull the psychic flash that ripped through Kyra. Countless died in Darth Prazutis 's hellfire. Kyra cried out, the voices of the dead echoing in a cacophony through her mind.



Her heart beat in her ears, the taste of blood coated her tongue as the screams echoed again. Kyra uncurled from the crouch she had unconsciously fallen into. Kat's fingers coaxed her hands out of her hair. She could see the girl speaking to her, but the words failed to reach her through the chaos assaulting her mind. The sith were here.

Above them. Below them. Around them. Her ears rang as a distant rumble reach the building. Bombs falling in the distance? That would be more death. More pain.

And she thought she was ready to face that?

In an instant she cursed herself as foolish.

But none of that mattered, not when at the cusp of the turmoil, she suddenly sensed him-- Acaadi . Her friend. Alone and about to face a very dark presence all on his own? Yeah, bad juju that. Krya tossed off Kat and ran towards him. The world fell away, his light burning brightly inside her mind's eye. The hallway around her blurred.

The true meaning of tunnel vision struck her as she ran. She nearly laughed at the revelation. Funny the things that roll through your mind when your life is on the line.

She spilled into a new hall to find Acaadi's green face already running towards her. She didn't need to be an empath to read the fear he carried, she had seen him nearly die before. For a moment she felt a burst of joyful relief, the padawan's steps faltering in excitement.

Then Darth Prazutis turned his final corner. He found himself between the two padawans, both on opposite ends of the long hallway and both clearly running to each other's aid. Kyra slid to a halt, her eyes wide and reflecting torch light as she stood there. Frozen.

 

[Kiso]

Location: Planets Orbit Defensive U formation
Objectives: Protect evacuation/civilian ships
Allies: SJO TBA
Opposition: Darth Athora​

Spoiler

Tatsuta: Chernobog-class artillery carrier 100/60

Kuma: Adjudicator Class Star Destroyer 100/50
Nagato: Adjudicator Class Star Destroyer 100/50

Fubaki: Ardan II Class Flak Frigate 100/100
Hibiki: Ardan II Class Flak Frigate 100/100

The ship and in turn her own sensors went ballistic as the slowly approaching enemy fleet opened up on her two main battle ships, "deflectors shields full forwards, have they Rubaki and Hibiki stay behind our flanks, I have a feeling they may send bombers at us if thy notice our shield deployment". As her orders were received the Tatsuta rocked as the long range cannons from the incoming ships impacted against their shields, she was glad Tcitus put a good amount of deference into his star destroyer designs but they would not hold forever.

"Have our dorsal and lower hyper velocity cannons target each of those sniper ships in back, I have a feeling they are the lest shielded, certainly more so that their battle cruiser, if we can cripple them we can last a bit longer until help arrives". The fact the other craft hadn't fired yet either meant her fleet was out of range or they had something else in mind, regardless the current threat were those long bows. "Have the Kuma and Nagato do the same with their own hyper velocity cannons, but don't go over kill, if we manage to knock them out change targets to their main flagship".

If the Sith were going to try and whittle her down from long range with attrition she'd do the opposite, focused firing on the current main threats, try to cause as many casulties as possible.

Actions

Spoiler

Tastsuta Kuma and Nagato put all power to shields forward, Frigates remain in rear to protect flanks against fighters
Tatsuta uses upper and lower cannon to fire upon both longbows along with support from Kum and Nagato

 

[Fiolette Fortan]

Location: Kh'Aris, Trenches.
Objective: Storming the Castle
Allies: Taeli Raaf | Darth Carnifex | Joycelyn Zambrano | BobertEZ | Cara Dorniarn | Kainan Wolfe | The Sith Empire+ Allies
Opponents: Valkren Calderon | Silver Jedi Order+ Allies
Fleet: via Vice Admiral Imara Sentongo, Battlegroup Elidibus

​

"Mhmmm," Fiolette replied in a low guttural sound, the skies overhead were overcast at best and if they weren't then her helmet betrayed her. She watched as the troops gathered into their companies. By now the beasts that Taeli had unleashed upon the Silver Jedi's forces had begun to take effect. Taeli spoke again and this time it was to let General Tarkin do his job, "c'mon boys." The Lord Admiral turned to the Galidraani eight. A mix of dirt and duracrete beneath their feet as the sounds of the dead and dying surrounded them. Artillery fire became the bass of an orchestra of death, the sound of TIE Bombers were merely instruments of destructions. ​

​

Hell rained down from above the percussion to the orchestra, and then the whistle of devastation. "INCOMING!"​

​

Artillery hellfire made contact and spewed forth shrapnel into the air, bodies torn into pieces and blood sprayed across the staging ground. Fiolette had taken cover on instinct, and even though she could see the Force projected orb of protection around her. Her body still felt the effects, torpedo bombers swung their heretical drums that created a cacophony of violence. Fiolette's ears rang and as she shook her head and felt the ground tremble underfoot. "Mhmmm." She began her hands placed against the bloodstained duracrete sludge beneath her. "Kark" Fiolette got to her feet and felt the pain in her knee from PL-40112 strike her, a phantom pain she swore. It was then that she looked to see the two gigantic creatures rush forward in anger, and Fiolette smirked. They trampled anything and everything in their way. ​

​

Slowly Fiolette and Tarkin rose to their feet just as the reports were made. A twelve percent loss, she gritted her teeth and exchanged a set of looks with General Tarkin. The man turned toward the Fortress, "BLACK TALONS!" Tarkin's distorted voice bellowed beyond the comm units within their helmets. ​

​

Fiolette and the Galidraani eight rushed forward, shields forward as they jumped into the trenches. Vibro-bayonets were fixed to their rifles, pointed forward toward the enemy - toward the forces of the Silver Jedi. Behind them the rest of the Black Talon Legionnaires, veterans of Dubrillion, Asation, and Mandalore. Plastoid armor the color of the void itself with trims of crimson flooded into the trenches, and the sound of a Galidraani scattergun followed by the upward swing of her bayonet right into the chest of an enemy soldier. ​

​

Beside Fiolette was General Ranulph Tarkin himself, a man who started as a First Order Stormtrooper. A man who had seen the hell of Kaeshana, fought in the bloodbath Skor II and rushed to defend Bespin from the Galactic Alliance. He stood now beside the Lord Admiral, his vibrosword found purchase in the enemy's forces. Blaster rifle ripped through the air vibrant hues of red that painted death in the trenches. Death, destruction and pain were commonplace now and the bond that Fiolette shared with her wife enabled her to feel these in a way she hadn't felt in quite some time.​

​

Not since, Csilla.​

​

A rush of energy coursed through her body, a high that not even adrenaline could dare touch. It was like having a sixth sense that allowed her to truly touch and feel the emotions that surrounded the battlefield. Although concealed by her mask, the touch of corruption from the dark side became visible. Sulphuric eyes, erased the azure main that once occupied her gaze. Fiolette felt the Force wrap around her as her bayonet found another soldier to slay. ​

 

[Taozi Fuyuan]

Objective: Evacuate civilians
Tags: Felix Astermo​

"Don't look behind you, keep moving! Grab your chi- oh for the love of-!"

Taozi let out a frustrated groan as the most irresponsible father she'd ever seen left his son stranded in the middle of the chaos. She sprinted over to the poor boy, picked him up, and shoved him into the arms of the nearest civilian.

"Take this boy and run. Don't ask questions, now go!"

The woman Taozi had handed the boy to nodded nervously, before sprinting off with the now crying child towards the nearest evac ship. Taozi continued to direct civilians, until she noticed an Empire soldier running along the roof tops. She knew she'd miss, but she had to try. Raising her trayc'kad, she shot at the soldier, spurring the citizens to clear out even faster.

"Demagolka."

From behind the blacked visor of her buy'ce, Taozi glared at the soldier on the rooftops from her place in the middle of the near- empty street. She prayed the soldier could feel her death glare, even as she got into a fighting stance.

She'd send this insolent child home in pieces.

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

Location: New Kalandra
Allies: SJO WelshPsych Beltran Rarr Wyatt Morga Lanik Dawnstar Aaran Tafo Reggie Faayare Taozi Fuyuan Ryv Erika Garter Sin Kiff Brayde
Enemies: Sith Darth Voyance Ellie Mors Felix Astermo
Engaging: Kainan Wolfe Karina Lowe Taeli Raaf Darth Prazutis Darth Bellum Irveric Tavlar

"We're taking fire!" one of the Nikto gunners to the northern outskirts shouted, before an airburst detonated a few meters above the rooftop, releasing a blue mist, intoxicating the surviving gunners.

"General, we have spotted some... blue mists appearing over some of those mortar emplacements! That was before we lost contact with some mortars to the northern edge of the city" a horrifying image of the Nikto gunners arrived on the camera feeds, being intoxicated almost instantly.

"New priority areas for medvac! We are facing a chemical attack! We need to protect the people to the best of our ability!" Jessica broadcasted it over all known military frequencies known to be used in the region.

The first two waves of counter-battery fire caught some units in flames and even destroying some units in the process, either with high explosives or with incendiaries. Proton rocket launchers, and smaller MLRS units, and even a handful of the 220mm mortar carriers were lost. The canisters of blue mist coming out of chemical weapon shells seemed to target what the initial volley of counter-battery fire didn't fire at. However, the brunt of the artillery losses were sustained by the fixed rooftop emplacements in the outer city, and even anti-some anti-aircraft quad-lasers were hit in addition to the rooftop mortars. Yet, it also meant some of the machinegun and sniper nests' occupants whose helmets were rendered unusable by earlier fighting would be suffocating as well. And chemical weapons were indiscriminate also: that would likely become an issue especially with the gas mixing in with the duracrete being turned into dust as a result of the battle. Devastation was everywhere, and much of the outer city was turned into rubble by now. Hopefully they would be able to get at least some civilians to safety before the enemy would be able to enter deeper into the city. Medvac's priority, however, was to extract the civilians requiring medical attention. Given that, attention was required to be given to whether the civilians could survive the extraction, though.

What some among the enemy believed there was no fighter cover for the attack run was, in fact, a confusion caused by having several configurations of the same airframe aloft, one of these being a fighter and the other was used for attack runs with plasma bomblets. Especially with the city still being screened by fighters and the fortress being just one area covered by the fighter screen. And it had some anti-aircraft cover as well, which, while not quite the same as a fighter cover, was still better than no support at all. And then came enemy airpower. With anti-aircraft emplacements being all over the city roaring both quad-lasers and missiles, roaring as they operated in a much more target-rich environment than before, with the priority being nonetheless given to the hostiles nearest to the spaceports, since they posed more of a threat to the evacuation efforts as the first wave of refugees that departed the planet. And even some main battle tanks deeper in the city firing homing concussion missiles with triple-stage tandem charges at these StarFortresses threatening the spaceports. Fighters began to engage airborne threats that were harrowing the first wave of civilians being extracted in the meantime.

Yes, some losses were inevitable, with several fighters, torpedo bombers being destroyed in that pass. And one of those strategic bombers was hit, even got a wing clipped off from the new fighters coming in as enemy reinforcements in the airspace. It still had a complement of proton bombs remaining that would all detonate upon the bomber's impact and, with ERA fitted on the bomber's hull, any unexploded tile at the moment of impact would detonate moments after the primary payload does. At the speed the doomed bomber was spiraling out of control, the impact came mere moments before a black smoke screen would begin forming over the enemy besieging force, maybe a few seconds at most. The downed bomber crashed at the "rear" of the anti-aircraft/artillery lines, bursting in a very large explosion. Also, smoke screens aren't the most effective means to deal with counter-battery fire or airstrikes: with targeting computers and other sensor-based fire control devices, with even a standard sensor suite including infrared displays and IFF tag overlays, helping in bracketing targets, even in target-rich environments, the screen would perhaps help in bracketing the enemy on a sensor array. The enemy assumed that our use of targeting computers was made only as a last resort, if that; while the smokescreen could have an effect if sensors were inoperative, she thought, while new forces arrived. Therefore, she just couldn't order repeat since additional targets were acquired.

"Is there no end to what the Sith could muster here? We need to engage every single force we can target within reason; all of them are threats to the civilians! Just make sure to keep collateral damage to a minimum!"

Both the enemy armor vanguard came within range of as well as Darth Bellum arrived from another direction. Sure the volume of fire that Kainan Wolfe and Taeli Raaf would face would be less than before, but counter-battery fire, aided by IR sensor-based targeting, would still be directed at them. Even in the wake of a bomber having crashed onto their position with a partial payload of bombs that detonated upon impact. Yet, under the cover of the fighter screen all over the city, several of the major enemy positions were coming under airborne attack with what remained, with proton bombs, proton rockets and energy torpedoes, with the only changes being that the formation designated the "Spearhead" (the armor vanguard) and the landing zones of the new arrivals were targeted by artillery and airstrikes also. At best all could Jessica could hope for, is to contain the enemy for the time being. Even with the swoop-mounted artillery continuing to conduct hit-and-run, surgical strikes using either light missiles or light mortars, on the enemy all over the city, especially infantry or light vehicles. Just that the risk of collateral damage affecting friendlies was still too great, as far as Irveric's artillery is concerned, and so it wasn't fired at.

"Open a channel to the commanders of the Fortress!"

"Channel open!"

"Fortress Actual, start evacuating the city! We need to protect the city's civilians at any cost!" Jessica shouted in a channel to Kiff Brayde in the fortress' command tower.

Location: Northern Siege Lines
Viewpoint: Nikto soldiers (and armor units)
Engaging: Karina Lowe LT-137

While the surroundings around the mortar emplacement were cleared of hostiles, the landscape was unrecognizeable from what it was when the last volley was fired. The smoke just cleared from said volley, revealing large numbers of dead bodies, friendlies and hostiles alike, and, of course, the telltale signs of battle damage under the form of rubble. However, that clarity was not to last: the enemy fired another volley, from a much longer range, resulting in the loss of that mortar emplacement. Yet that mortar emplacement's loss was also coming with a new horror coming under the form of a blue mist, releasing a poison that would make life much harder for any survivor in the vicinity, friendly or hostile. It intoxicated the Nikto gunners much as it had other Niktos elsewhere in the city. For now, the nearest armored units were getting into position to intercept what would likely be an enemy column advancing on the main roads, approaching it from different directions, supported by swoop-mounted field artillery, and the armored units would hide behind piles of rubble left behind from the continued Sith barrages, with the result being that they took "hull-down" levels of cover from the perspective of a unit traversing the main road, or more.

Spoiler: Summary of actions

• A downed bomber spiraled out of control, crashing with ordnance remaining onto the enemy closing in on the fortress
• Had anti-aircraft fire at the enemy landing craft and fighters
• Had fighters engage airborne threats
• Had tanks deeper in the city fire at the StarFortresses
• Fired mortars and proton rockets at nearly all enemy positions including but not limited to, anti-aircraft (both at the fortress and on the outer perimeter, except for Irveric's artillery)
• Had field artillery conduct hit-and-run attacks on enemy infantry (all)
• Had some infantry units cover the civilians' retreat
• Dropped plasma bomblets, large bombs as well as energy torpedoes on the besieging forces (except for Irveric's artillery)
• Had armored units deploy in several directions along the main roads and taking hull-down levels of cover

Spoiler: Forces

Infantry:

• Silver Jedi Snipers
• Silver Jedi Regulars
• Silver Jedi heavy weapons infantry

Artillery:

• Silver Jedi field artillery
• Barataria main battle tanks
• Sabre heavy mortar carriers (mortar configuration)
• Hwacha MLRS (anti-aircraft/rocket artillery)
• Hailfire-X-2 artillery droid (rocket artillery)
• Rosalina surface-to-orbit missiles
• Quad-lasers (anti-infantry/anti-aircraft)

Aircraft:

• Chiloon-IV fighter/bombers (both configurations)
• Telepath-III strategic bombers
• Tsubame torpedo bombers

 

[Niklasz Tassik]

​

"Same to you," he muttered quietly to the adage Jerek had given him for strength. It did mean something to him...but he felt his focus drifting within the moments he had stood overlooking the battle.

For all of his determination and resolve, feeling people die up close was something he'd never truly experienced in this magnitude, or this suffering. His missions were for smaller-scale engagements, rarely if at all with the Sith due to his "chaperones" trying to keep him away from all-out war at all costs, afraid of his anger. But though he came to the fight with it, it was soon being superceded by sheer anguish. Through even his relatively dull senses with the Force, cries of anguish and flames of life painfully ebbing away tore themselves into the Jedi's consciousness on a massive scale. He took a knee, breathing heavily as he struggled to retain the determination he'd come outside with.

He couldn't lose his nerve like this. Not now.

Like everything else...he would fight through it, perhaps just barely this time around, and leave from his position, retreating further back into the fortress to return to command...hopefully they had something in mind.

But in his hesitation, the Sith had already breached the walls of the fortress. He could hear the sound of breaking bones, lightning searing flesh, and the screams of the dying. But even above that...he could feel a presence. Something that radiated evil, a being with liquid malice coursing through their veins. Death flowed outwards from their wake like ripples in toxic sludge...it was a Sith Lord, it had to be. Multiple even, to have such a powerful impact on the young Jedi.

He was paralyzed but for a moment...but he was soon doing what every sensible sentient in this situation would do.

Run straight towards it.

He soon found himself among the remaining guards of the corridor this presence was currently haunting. He wanted nothing more but to stop and get them to safety, but he knew this being he had sensed would be upon them soon enough if he didn't place himself in the way.

"Get everyone to safety. I'll buy you some time," he said to what he hoped was the person in charge; he wasn't concerned about rank, just that he got these people the hell out of these halls of death.

"But our orders-"

"There's Sith Lords running around here, there's nothing you can do! Leave and help the civilians evacuate!"

He didn't wait any further to see if they would listen, only igniting his lightsaber as he prepared to face what a part of him could only assume was certain death.

He took a deep breath. His teeth were clenched as he exhaled forcefully. His survival instinct was telling him to do anything but what he was about to. The magnitude of dark energies and the sound of death combined were swirling in his brain...he almost felt helpless.

But he wasn't. He was a Jedi. All his life training in the Order he sought to put a stop to the anguish the Sith wrought throughout the galaxy. He dreamed at night of clashes won and lost with monsters that were once imaginary, now made flesh just beyond the corner. Now was his chance. This was his duty. And if he died...then so be it.

He rounded the corner silently, only meters away from the imperious Darth Carnifex in the midst of electrocuting soldiers in a whirlwind of corrupt lightning and horrid grace.

Niklasz stood resolutely, his lightsaber held fast between his claws, standing his ground should the Sith choose to advance, despite his fear compelling him to flee and his anger impelling him forward. His yellow blade bisected the image of his figure to the Sith, held straight up in a defensive guard should he decide to attempt to fry the Trandoshan the same way he did his comrades.

His voice boomed down the corridor.

"You go no further."