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Invasion Die by The Sword | NIO invasion of BOTM held Csaus

Location: Csaus, Citadel Caelitus Outskirts
Allies: SCAR SCAR | Lurtz Null Lurtz Null
Foes: Shai Maji Shai Maji | Kranak Vizsla Kranak Vizsla

  • Kralmus joins the fray against the Sixteenth
  • He goes hunting for Kranak Vizsla Kranak Vizsla after hearing his shout


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There was a quiet moment, an exchange of pleasantries and of commands. Kralmus Orr didn't care for quiet moments, as a rule. He always wanted to be doing something, to be on the move or, better yet, on the hunt. In the ruined wilds of bombed-out Mandalore, where he'd lived for over a decade, staying still was a mistake punishable by death. Whether it was radiation, flesh-stripping windstorms, or mutant predators, something would get you if you stayed in one place for too long. He had learned to sleep in one-hour increments, snatches of rest between bursts of exertion, so that he was ready for whatever came at him, whenever it came.

Years of that had left him antsy, fidgety, easily bored. Every waking moment ought to be used, not wasted.

So Kralmus was relieved when the sudden NIO assault began, the Sixteens dropping down behind the Mawite defensive line to strike ahead of the main Imperial force. He was even more excited to see who the attackers were: Mandalorians, or so they called themselves. Here they were, lapdogs to another Empire, submitting to some government's authority and following its commands to produce order and stability. The thought made him sick. His people were meant to be conquerors, not some politician's enforcers of stagnation. They had burned Cathar and marched its people into the sea! They had nearly shattered the Republic and brought the Jedi to the brink!

He would teach these pretenders what it truly meant to be a warrior people, and he would do it with his axe.

The tactical focus of the drop troopers in this early stage of the battle was pretty clear: to destroy the Mawite artillery, allowing the NIO troops further down the valley to advance without volleys of thundahvelins raining down onto them from above. But by the fact that some of the Sixteens were taking up positions among the ruins of the old Chiss compound, it clearly went beyond that, too. They must be intending to dig in, becoming a persistent thorn in the side of the Mawite defenders, an irritation that - as the NIO legions advanced - could turn into a flanking force, or even a pincer strike. The Brotherhooded needed to dig out that thorn from its figurative paw.

Of course, Kralmus was no tactician anyway; he was just here to kill, to revel in his bloodsoaked heritage. Battle made him feel alive like nothing else did, and if you didn't take every opportunity to chase that feeling, what was the point of living? And when the battlefield lay strewn with the corpses of the enemy dead, he would walk among them and... sample the carrion delicacies left behind. He salivated within his horned helmet at the thought, running his split tongue along teeth filed down to points. Scarfing down the meat of his foes also made him feel alive, and powerful too. There was no meat so sweet and succulent as the flesh of a slain foe.

The ultimate feast, and the ultimate insult to those warriors who had proven to be lesser.

<”THE SLAVES OF THE SITH SEEK DEATH! DELIVER IT!”>

Kralmus's head snapped up as the shout reached his well-honed ears, and even amid the tumult that signaled the beginning of the fight, he managed to pick out where it was coming from: one of those ruined structures, probably once some Chiss administrator's office in the old compound of the local ruling house. Well, someone was cocky, weren't they? The cannibal Mandalorian grinned, then set off through the snow, twirling his massive axe one-handed. A few of his foes dared to get in his way, and he was glad for it; it'd been a terribly long shuttle ride, and he was more than ready to start the killing. Setting his other hand low on the handle, he went to work.

"You can take the other dropships, Tor'r," he said, grinning beneath his helmet. "I'll hack up these... pretenders."

A blaster bolt clanged off his beskar armor, clipping his right pauldron. He didn't break stride. A mighty two-handed blow buried the blade of his axe, forged of a light but razor-sharp blend of beskar and songsteel, deep in his foe's belly. He planted a boot on the dying man's groin, shoving him off the blade with a grunt of effort, then twirled the weapon over his head. The back of the axe was fashioned into a vibro-mace, and with Kralmus's powerful arms propelling it, the flat hammer fully pulped the helmeted head of the second attacker. The entire exchange, two kills with two blows (and maybe a half, if you counted the boot), took less than six seconds.

He fething loved when he could just let loose! But the novelty was fading. Time to find a challenge.

"Hellooooooooo," Kralmus called out as he rounded the corner of the ruined building, hunting for Kranak Vizsla Kranak Vizsla . His voice was eerily singsong, as if he were an overgrown child rather than a flesh-eating monster. "I heard there's an Imperial lapdog about who wants to talk chit, so please do come on out." He whistled as if calling a pet, idly twirling his axe as he stalked around the ruin, ignoring the larger battle raging around him. "Heeeeere doggy, doggy, doggy," he mocked. "Tell me more about how enslaved we are, won't you, little pet?" He reached out with every well-honed sense, ready to spring into action as soon as he found his foe.
 

Enzo Demici

Guest
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CSAUS | CITADEL CAELITUS
NEW IMPERIAL ORDER | 181st FIGHTER WING
BRAVO SQUADRON | DAGGER-7
ALLIES: NIO | Delilah Jones | Jon Kovacs | DECEASED Erskine Barran DECEASED Erskine Barran
ENEMIES: MAW
ENGAGING: Electra-12 Electra-12
GEAR: In bio | TIE-OTx 'Outlander' | Standard loadout

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Enzo nearly tried to reach for his collar where his aviators usually hung when they emerged from the hangar and all he could see was white all over the place. He had several questions about what the fascination was with the powers in the area and their fascination with snowy planets.

He also got curious about the Mawites. They didn’t have much in the way of anything for their soldiers… were these guys just standing in the middle of a frozen planet with nothing but pants and scraps of armour to keep them warm? It was rather uncomfortable to think about it like that. He even subconsciously tugged at his insulated and temperature-regulated flight suit as he followed in close formation with Kovacs and Jones. If only he could share the wonders of technology and heating with the poor souls of the Maw… luckily he didn’t run a charity.

They angled down and Kovacs ordered them to space out a little. With a gentle tug at his controls he inched right and back, away from Bravo Lead. :: Preferably enough for him and his ego, I’d reckon. :: He chimed in over the comms with a smile in his voice. Angling down to follow Bravo Lead, Enzo’s suspicions were unfortunately confirmed. :: Did the Maw forget to pack winter coats for their men or are they simply that poor? :: He followed up with a curious look behind the visor of his helmet.

At least the mission was simple. Intercept and keep the skies clear. An easy enough task for the day, he was very much looking forward to drinks afterwards. He was even smart enough to pack in extra credits for the first round. :: If all goes well, we’ll be in time for dinner and a warm bath. This frozen wasteland is certainly making me want to offer my condolences to those poor Mawsicles down there. :: Luckily some artillery and blaster bolts do just as good a job of warming the heart as a blanket and fire...

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Post #2
DIE BY THE SWORD
OBJECTIVE 2: SNOW AND STEEL
THE_WOAD
IMPAF-COMMAND

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313TH STORMTROOPER LEGION,"SABRETOOTH LEGION"
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NIO: Jon Kovacs Enzo Demici Delilah Jones Volgin Alto
Julian Qar Julian Qar Vladimir Kovačić Vladimir Kovačić Bex Tarring Bex Tarring Kranak Vizsla Kranak Vizsla

THE LORD-GENERAL'S CHAMPION: Shai Maji Shai Maji


BOTM: The Mongrel The Mongrel Tu'teggacha Tu'teggacha SCAR SCAR Chimera Chimera

ERSKINE'S LOADOUT
Basket-Hilted Vibrosword Claymore

Fragarach Model Heavy Disruptor-Pistol
Sentimental-Value Fairbairn Vibroknife
Beskar Knuckledusters
Erskine's New arm
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TLDR:
Erskine lends his sword to Shai.
Shai accepts.
Erskine worries for Shai's safety.
Erskine and Carwood discuss the Mongrel.
A WOAD'S PLAYGROUND: THE FROZEN FORTRESS - PART 2
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STARGAZER PASS, ASCENDANCY MOUNTAIN RANGE,
CSAUS (870 ABY)


150km South of Citadel Caelitus....


'Glad my name gets around, general.'

Cybernetics, though much more ornate than his own, Lord Erskine couldn't help but wonder if Lord Aron had seen these eyes in the First Battle of Nirauan; finally understanding the extents of the advantages augmentation offered, it wasn't until that very moment that the Stormchaser realised his choice in champion was far more fitting for the task than he ever could have anticipated. Coming to a halt in front of him proper, Shai would accept Erskine's offer to appraise the basket-hilted wonder for herself, seeing clearly that this particular sword design was entirely new to Krayt's seemingly-new eyes in the process, one who stood with a stance that told of training in swordsmanship of a different discipline to his own. 'Interesting design…', the Mandalorian admitted, though not a single hint of irony could be detected in voice or demeanour as she fought left-handed urges to grasp the faded brown-leather grip in a tensile, gripping test of the hidden ergonomic qualities with her right instead, such that could potentially increase the overall torque and impact of each strike and parry alike.

The commander of the well-renowned 16th company would then draw the old Woad's sword, feeling it's weight without the scabbard before turning her cybernetic eyes back to the Lord-General, exhibiting approval before she said,'Doesn't feel too bad. I will admit, though, I ain't used to this kind of blade. But I'll figure it out. Thank you, sir.', accepting Lord Erskine's offer whilst being as honest as she could on her lack of familiarity with the basket-hilted design. However, despite this, Barran knew that Krayt would have less trouble with it than even the Mandalorian herself could understand in that moment, for the Woad-blue silk behind the ethnopatten bars of the basket-hilt, Lord Erskine knew that all the twists, slips and nuances would be hidden from the ultimately-perceptive Mawite commander Krayt was fated to clash with.

'We'll see you on the ground, sir. I'll bring you the dude's head with a bottle of whiskey when I give you back your sword.'

Oh if only there was still a head to reap, mate.... But things like this are to be seen to be believed.

Watching as Krayt sheathed the Basket-Hilted broadsword, then quietly sighing to himself as she turned to walk off with her fully-arrayed subordinates, the Lord-General would be glad of the fact his poorly-concealed look of dread had escaped his chosen champion's notice; as even though the Brotherhood of the Maw were infamous for guarding information and being insular in nature, word had reached Lord Erskine of the fact very little of the Mongrel he remembered remained, that his torso, limbs skull and face had been replaced - damaged beyond repair enough that necessity gave rise to the cybernetics that replaced it all. And despite the fact his Mandalorian champion had been augmented cybernetically herself, there was clearly much and more for Shai to live for, to fight for; the warmth of a wholesome embrace, the taste of good whiskey, and even the sharp, life-affirming hot sting of walking through a punch to the face. Every experience, every noteworthy moment was worth the pain of holding onto humanity, all worth remembering in the heart of war's existential crucible.

I'll be prayin' for ye, Krayt. Make your people proud.

'I want her to win, but I only hope Krayt doesn't lose a part of herself in the process.... Not many out there who can survive the Mongrel, even fewer still are those who can walk out intact.'

Lord-Captain McGechin was heard scoffing behind him, just before the off-ramp of the friendly dropship closed up behind the retinue of his champion, so it was easily noticed; even with the whistling winds and distant rumbles of thrusters working at full intensity in the distance, the ears of Lord-General Barran wouldn't miss a beat, though Lord Carwood had been fortunate that Lord Erskine was sober enough to detect a particular tone to the mild derision he was hearing. Rounding on his Woad-born subordinate, the Stormchaser would find a head-shaking, brow-raised McGechin smirking before being interjected with a simply drawled,'Sir? We both know the Mongrel's a Jedi-killer, no matter what physical state he's in now - that same killer instinct's still there. In 'is brain, the one thing nobody's been able to kill off yet.', holding Barran's gaze with absolute confidence in his assessment of the situation.

'Aye, but the Mongrel's never fought an Imperial Mandalorian afore now. Has he? Clans, whether they be Mandalorian, Goidelic or anything of the like - we test the Galaxy's mettle, we were bred to do so.... Have a little faith, Carwood. At this stage o' the war, you're gonna need it. We're all gonna need it.'
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TLDR:
Massoud & Erskine discuss the Mirialan Sabretooth commander.
Erskine urges Massoud to be careful.
Julian finds Erskine.
Erskine starts the briefing.
A WOAD'S PLAYGROUND: THE FROZEN FORTRESS - PART 3
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CITADEL VALLEY ENTRANCE, CITADEL CAELITUS,
CSAUS (870 ABY)

<"Marić to Lance One! All units are in place, sir. Awaiting further orders.">

<Barran to Sabretooth Two! Tell your commander I need everyone to hold for now.">


Calmly checking the BattlNet every now and again, the Stormchaser would have eyes constantly set to seeing who was arriving to play their part in the fight, as curious as any other commander would be in his shoes, understandably in need of clarity as to who would be aiding the Sabretooth majority in storming the main entrance to Citadel Caelitus itself. Whilst the Mandalorians of 16th Company were landing further in and making their moves early on, the Woad's reinforcements would steadily stream in to bolster the Imperium's main offensive line, including a small Enclave platoon to be left in reserve as Dr. Qar's medics readied for the proceedings just to the east of Lord Erskine's command-centre.

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'Captain Shazzeke's been a quiet soul since long before I met him, sir. Mirialans have a certain way about them, but the Captain's much quieter for sure.'

No matter how random, the Lord-General knew that every little tidbit of information was useful in getting to know the men and women serving in the labour of love that was his personal legion, and so far, the young Kandaran warrant-officer was proving very helpful in that regard. Having served with multiple elite Imperial frontier-garrisons, Sergeant-Major Massoud had insight in abundance on many of Lord Erskine's best,"Poachings.", thus possessing enough knowledge on that matter to earn himself a temporary place among among the Woad's IMPAF-bodyguards until all the Kandaran's vital information had been squeezed dry of every hint, credential, rumour and account. At the other end of this temporary spell, despite the fact he would no longer be able to learn from the swordsmen and Lord Erskine personally, a promotion was surely to follow, though young Tariq still wouldn't know that a bought-out commission awaited until the Lord-General had officially ended his advisory tenure to facilitate it.

'Though his record really does speak for itself, can't deny that. You've even said yourself that he's quite formidable in combat, an' from what I saw in his file; perhaps quiet might actually work at that level of command.... Jus' - never known that t'be a gidd trait at officer-level, but that's just the Sandhurst training kicking in there, so jus' take that with a grain o' salt. After all, we're here trying new things as it is, what's one more going to do?'

Tariq had earned it tenfold by then, but in that same regard, the gift was unwittingly insisting that he had plenty left in him to keep on giving for the sake of keeping a reliable commander in the know; nodding agreement with Lord Erskine's assessment of the Mirialan Captain's merit, the Kandaran would pause on the Goidel's words as he thought on how best to offer helpful input into the discussion, understanding that in order to survive - all the worst conventional facets to legionary warfare would need to be left behind them as they evolved with the times. 'The men like that honesty, sir. Don't go changing on us, and certainly not on Captain Shazzeke.', Massoud began, pausing to step closer to the retinue whilst keeping his eyes firmly northwards. Leaning back a little, with posture facing back towards the retinue to be heard a little easier over the noise of the dropships in the air, Tariq concluded,'The good captain has expressed - in his own way - that he respects you, sir. In not so many words of course. I believe the direct quote is,"A dying breed, treat him as such.", if I'm not mistaken.', pushing his posture forward again after seeing Julian Qar in the distance.

'Sir, Dr. Qar wishes to speak with you.... Look to the north, twenty metres.'

'We'll talk more on the Shazzeke matter later, Massoud.', Lord Erskine replied, stepping out ahead of his bodyguards as his eyes scanned the skies above him for any new additions to the siege-assault group. Before stepping out into the open definitively, Barran would pull the young Sergeant-Major to one side and warn him,'Just do us both a favour, will ye? Whatever you do, please keep yer wits about ye.... An' keep checkin' yer six when chit hits the fan. Now go on, back t'yer platoon. We move out in twenty mintues.', letting go and walking off with a wild-eyed glance that illustrated the point even further. As the Stormchaser closed the distance between himself and Dr. Qar, Erskine could see already that his cyberneticist was fatigued, and almost as dishevelled as he was that night also; whatever was happening with Julian, the Woad was determined to keep him close by, hoping that perhaps new leases of life could be found for both of them in the crucible.

'McGechin, gonna need ye t'call in the contingent commanders when I'm done chatting with my cyberneticist. Stand by for my signal.'

Recognising Hazel from the Third Battle of ziost, Erskine saw that both herself and Julian alike had been exchanging heated, irritated words with each other, and in that moment, he realised the existential nature of their arguments in tones hushed both by the wind and by the doctors in question personally. Barran would overhear Qar as he turned to Hazel once more to say,'I'll let you know when to dispatch the first wave of RTs.', turning back to find the old Goidel smirking amiably with a bowing nod of mutual respect. Though the Stormchaser correctly surmised that seeing the good doctor gearing up for frontline duty was worrying Hazel, the Woad still considered this in the realisation he had every intention of keeping Dr. Qar safe and close by throughout the process of the citadel assault, then going on to realise what Julian had achieved with just a knife on Csilla and realising it was looking set to be the other way around, with the cyberneticist keeping his patient safe in stark contrast.

'He'll be fine, Hazel. Dr. Qar's going to be sticking with me like glue the-night, an' ah'm out for a dub this time. Every move we make today is going to be decisive, sharp, and frightening for the Maw t'behold. It's all about the shock an' awe this time, wanty know why? Everybody here is out for blood, Mawite blood.... He'll be fine, Hazel. You'd be surprised o' what this man here can achieve with the right motivation, quite frightening to see in action - an' that's nae joke by the way.'

Shooting a fiery glance his way instinctively, but in seeing the friendly, reassuring face staring back at her, the warning in Hazel's glare lessened considerably, though it was obvious she still wasn't happy with Julian's choice to fight the good fight. Relenting enough to vent her frustrations to the old Woad, Hazel admitted,'I trust you, Erskine, it's this dumb ass I don't. But I'm not the boss here. I just don't want another Ziost….Watch….You know… I'll hold my tongue. I'm not even going to say anything else. I'll just take point.', walking off before Erskine got the chance to offer further reassurance on the matter. Barran would leave the situation be though, understanding the medic's feelings on certain disregards for one's own life, and almost too acutely in that moment; recalling what Julian had told him in the hospital after the Third Battle of Ziost, there was every chance Hazel had been present to hear Lord Erskine's prayer, pleading to Dia for that fight to be Ziost's final battle for the sake of everyone, giving more credence as to why he would need to implement more in the ways of strategic excellence henceforth.

'If you do well today, I'll be making sure you get IMPAF bodyguards of yer own for the foreseeable.', Lord Erskine said after turning to Julian once more, subtly hinting at where he wanted Julian's affiliations to take root, and at what he had in mind for Qar's medical contingent in the long run. Beckoning the doctor to follow as he walked out to a good gathering spot, the Stormchaser concluded,'Haven't fought with pistol an' knife in too long, my friend.... An' yet, I'm willing to get up close an' personal with these fethers if you are, but first - I dare say it's time to start this briefing.', signalling to Lord Carwood to summon the other contingent commanders on the ground to make his grand plan known to all the Imperium's warfighters. One or two wouldn't be present, but when it came to the 501st, it was always best to let them work and to work with or adjacent to the Imperator's finest, especially with the Mandalorians of 16th Company; with a motto like,"We Make The Rules.", there was always going to be complete operational autonomy to contend with as far as Krayt's contingent was concerned.

'There's no room for ifs…', Julian said, quite knowledgably noted in the process, understanding with absolute clarity that it wasn't just the Sith who only dealt in absolutes. He pulled his hands behind his back with a nod, grounding himself into the frozen earth as he let the preamble of his response set deep into the Woad's mind for consideration, for Julian had subtle hints of his own to offer in this conversation. There would be no questions or regrets going forward, for where Dr. Qar wanted to be, in all the gore, blood and the horror - Julian's mind, body and soul wished to be nowhere else but walking the crucible with knife in hand. The Lord-General understood, but saw something entirely new in his friend in that moment, listening and watching intently as the good doctor continued,'Whatever gets us closer to bleeding the machine dry is what I'm after…', with an eerie demeanour of absolute calm, contrasting the stressed, tired behaviours from before.

A small throng of Sabretooth troopers then began to make their way towards the duo from a distance, wandering up with curiosity on their minds, following their commanders to see what would be expected from a Barran-led briefing and battle-speech. Only the likes of Dr. Qar and his own bodyguards knew of General Barran's late (though intensely) blooming gift for warriors' oratory, but had heard recordings, read snippets and told paraphrased retellings of what had been known of the man's inherent ability to rouse all from despair in the face of death and suffering, bringing even the cowardly out from their shells to snatch unlikely victories from the jaws of certain defeat. Looking back to the Krieg-born doctor, the Woad-born General would shrug at how quickly the crowd had gathered, expecting them all to take a while longer to gather in such a fashion, to which Julian offered Erskine another nod, flicking his head towards the front of the crowd.

'Go on then, reckon we'll be seein' each other soon enough.'
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TLDR:
Erskine briefs the gathering of officers and NCOs.
Pre-Battle speech.
Attack Commencement.
A WOAD'S PLAYGROUND: THE FROZEN FORTRESS - PART 4
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CITADEL VALLEY ENTRANCE, CITADEL CAELITUS,
CSAUS (870 ABY)


'Good evening, this will be the first time I've ever addressed everyone here directly, and to some still, perhaps even the first time they've ever even heard my karking voice.... A good thing, for it gives me a definitive starting-point to build on, and it gives me a chance to get to know my legion in every relevant facet of life with the 313th. We'll be implementing tactics that you'll need t'get used to, tactics that will test the learning-curve that every last one o' you has had to endure until this point.'

All had fallen silent, hanging on Lord Erskine's every word as their Lord-General spoke with parade-ground vocal execution, though mild enough for the sake of the ears of those who'd drawn closer to rally around the man who'd brought them all together in such an unconventional manner. This was the man who was resolving to crush everyone who dared tread Imperial soil in anger, the man who was resolving to take chances of his own in response, so even with the credentials and experience considered, there was no doubt their ilk would still find themselves intrigued by the one who dared to lead them so boldly. The words they were hearing were truthful, but there was a confidence in the way the speech was being delivered that hinted at something truly viable being kept up his sleeve. Normally someone would've spoken up with their own concerns, but the Woad was holding all their attention to enrapt extremes, and all bases would be covered one way or another.

'I have plans for that fortress up yonder, and everything behind me - from here to there, will perish by our hands today! The Mongrel stands firm with every last resource which remains to him, and we've seen a conventional battle-line with technical-support also.... I have no plans to bait them, force them off their lines or to frustrate them into acting first! WE TAKE THE FIGHT TO THEM - AND WE PUSH IN OBLIQUE ORDER!!!!'

Drawing his pistol, turning and aiming at the westward rise beside the citadel's southern gateway, letting off three shots that gave disruptor-trail guidance to leave no confusion as to what their Lord-General meant by,"Oblique order", showing that he wanted a hard push for the Maw's right flank, and also revealing that he planned on mirroring the attack-strategy of the 16th Company as much as could be allowed of his (still-stationary) battle-line at the time. As he turned back around, Barran saw that a few Galidraani had joined the gathered crowd, led by Lord Bex of House Tarring, one such individual he wished very much to utilise in Lord Erskine's first move of the battle, one he very much wished to meet in person also. What Bex had achieved against the Rose-Lions of Leith was seen as an act of heavenly purity, a Holy act of the highest order by most, and Erskine was no exception - if a man from a different culture could find it in himself to rid the Heartlands of the Reliquary's heinous presence, then that same man could move mountains with the right motivation.

A logic that only seemed to apply to one like the Stormchaser, for that seemingly-magic trait was rare enough that only the true leaders in the Galaxy could utilise such power, and with ease. Individuals like Rurik Fel, Irveric Tavlar, and Noel Strasza.

'We force them to move, but only in response to THE WEIGHT OF IMPERIAL PRESSURE!!!! THIS IS HOW WE WIN TODAY, LADIES AN' GENTLEMEN!!! THIS IS HOW IT SHOULD'VE BEEN ALL ALONG!!!'

<"All units, this is Barran! Stand by for attack-commencement! WE'RE TAKING THE FIGHT T'THE MAW THIS TIME!!!! Good luck out there, ladies an' gentlemen.... We may be fierce, but we're not stupid with it. I want to win this one, damnit! Lance One out!">

'Tarring, Shazzeke -follow me!'
 
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The revenge that he had dreamed about for so long was finally close at hand. The New Sith Order, the Lords of the Brotherhood of the Maw, had cracked the defense of the New Imperial Order in the Galactic North. They had besieged and broken down the fortifications of the old Crownworld, rallied their hordes, and brutalized the defense of the world. For the first time since the Crusade Against the Sith had begun, the New Imperial Order had stumbled. The defeat at Nirauan was unlike similar instances against the Sith Empire that his father had battled against. Nirauan was a symbol of the New Imperial Order.

It was a symbol of the New Imperial Order before the rule of Emperor Fel, it was a symbol of the nation that Ravraa Vyshraal had fought and died for

They would never give him any sense of peace.

Within the quiet of his mind, he screamed. He raged and battered against the edges of his skull. Eyes straining against the blank, featureless door of the gunship in front of him as he attempted his best to internalize and subdue the monster of emotions welling within him.

They killed him.

They disgraced him.

They destroyed his history.

Atsá took a breath and looked up, his eyes glancing up and down from the ceiling to the empty space in front of him again. Pressure settled in his muscles. He wanted to start swinging. To rip the gunship apart around him, to force it to the ground faster, to get to the Sith that much faster. Desperation pumped through him like a shallow drug. He wanted to chase that high. There was no other purpose to his actions. No other reason to be here, part of the Knights of the Empire, part of this gang of jackbooted thugs enforcing the will of a despot.

He would surrender himself to even the heart of darkness if it meant he was given a chance to face the Sith.

In his hate, in his despair, the dark had become a familiar and welcomed friend to the Togruta. It was one thing for a Knight of the Empire to embrace the darkside as a momentary sign of weakness, it was one thing for a knight to be corrupted and fall from their path, it was one thing to walk the path of the Crestfallen.

Atsá was something else. All he had known for the past two years was the Twilight. The sun shined away from him. The Light made promises of forgiveness and self-improvement. The Light offered him a path to redemption. The Light offered him peace, time and time again. Peace was nothing more than ending the conversation on the pain and suffering. If he wanted to make peace with what happened to his father, he would have sought therapy, he would have found proper friends and new people to call family, he would have found a program to get him back on his feet.

That was what his father would have done.

But he was not his father’s son.

He wanted to brutalize the Sith in the same way they had done to his own father’s legacy. He wanted to desecrate all that they held sacred, bleed them until the last, and flay what remains. Atsá wanted to forge a weapon out of their own Sin, and upon the throne of bodies he would build himself, and with that Hellborn implement, he would bring upon the end of evil itself. There was nothing else that would allow Atsá to sleep through the night, nothing that gave him a purpose, nothing that felt quite as right as this endless quest he threw himself in. The Blackguard, the various gangs of the Outer Rim, even the Imperial Knights, all of them were just tools to the young Vyshraal. Each and everyone of them existed only to move him further along the board. To get him closer to the Nightmare Given Flesh. Now he stood in a gunship, jettisoning to a world he had no knowledge of, a lightsaber on his belt and armor on his chest.

Soon, he would taste carbon in the air, feel his saber plunge into the flesh of a raider, he would finally show them what a true user of the darkside looks like.

You could trust a Sith to be honest to their Code, but someone like Atsá? Unhinged, desperate, and fighting for nothing but himself and a corrupted sense of morals?

That was the closest to Hell you could get.

<”Boy-”> Sybila’s digits dug in, shaking the younger xeno. Her words backed by a warmth and promise, pressing gently through the Force but her physical words were distorted by the layers of tenebrae-<”I know your father..come find me after all this is said and done.”>

A voice called out to him, a hand on his shoulder, and he turned.

He was instantly alone.

Atsá stood in the bleak void. His boots settled in a thick, black ichor as his boots attempted to splodge through it. The voice rebounded it’s request all around him. Echoing off of the ebony all around. Each of the syllables a claw, reaching through this corrupted elysium and rending through his body, sending his soul reeling back.

For whatever reason, as the new encounter sundered through his senses like an anxiety born force-storm, he saw the outline of a set of stormtrooper armor in the distance. Silhouetted in the blackness, markings of the 501st stormtrooper legion making out the detail work. The face of the wearer was obscured by darkness, faded into the recesses of his memory.

But the voice? It rang clear and true. Telling a story that he had heard time and time again since his adoption.

He didn’t speak of her much late into the war, but whenever he did, he would only even refer to her as “the Captain.”

Peace was a lie.

Atsá blinked, snapping back to reality once more. His eyes strained to focus back in the material world of flesh and metal. He nodded. He wasn’t able to do much more in response to Sybila.

He wanted to scream again.

There were a thousand and one questions he wanted to ask. He wanted to peel her history back and examine it, performing surgery for every last detail he could extract from her about his father. He was more than willing to throw her to the wayside for whatever information she could give him. He wanted to decimate all that she was, in that one brief second, to render her down to what remained. Chip away at the rock until all that remained were tales of Ravraa Vyshraal, the standard-bearer.

Well, I never got to tellin’ her thanks. She went and did me a mess of good, son.

She’s a good person, I reckon, anyways.


But she meant too much to him for Atsá to do that.

“Right.”

The gunship doors screamed open, the wave of Knights emptying out of the vessel, the fist of the Emperor slamming into the hordes of chaos. There were vibroswords, cludgels, and blasters calling out as the sea of white armor faded into the dingy mess of browns, greys, and reds. Atsá snapped his saber to life, it hummed loud. It demanded it’s thirst to be quenched. He flung himself off of the edge of the gunship, bringing the weapon down onto the crowd like a man possessed, the blade and rage hissing as both were drenched in blood and combat.

He fought like his father, slinging the saber around more like a knife than a proper sword.

 

Colton Renfro

Guest
C





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Location: Mountains And forest surrounding the Fortress

Allies: Michael Barran Michael Barran , Nuruodo'kal'brast Nuruodo'kal'brast , Rika Hiro Rika Hiro , Annor E-059

Enemies:
Brotherhood of the Maw Kralmus Orr Kralmus Orr , SCAR SCAR , Khamul Kryze Khamul Kryze

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After about 20 minutes Colton to his rally point and set up his hide and downed his ghillie suit, <C> Crosshair to Hunter you in position yet?<C>

<C> Affirmative Crosshair, hunter out.<C>

<C> Crosshair to Viper how about you?<C>

<C>Viper here in position sarge, out.<C>

<C> Crosshair to Epsilon1 overwatch is position how about you?<C>

<C> Epsilon 1 to Crosshair were 30 seconds out, over <C>

<Crosshair copy Epsilon 1, you are clear to start to infiltrate when ready, over. <C>

<Epsilon 1 copy, we will begin approach in approximately 1 minute, Epsilon 1 out.<C>

Colton took to gather ranges of various points in his area of responsibility, and review data from the monitor probe on atmospheric conditions, wind speed, and direction, humidity, air resistance, planetary gravy, rotation direction, and speed so he could make accurate adjustments for his shots should the need arise.

As the infiltration team started making their stealthy approach to the fortress all seemed tobe going well for about the first half-hour then suddenly <C> Epsilon 1 hold fast hosties at 3 o’clock 80 meters and closing I count 6 looks like a Maw patrol standby,<C> Colton side over the comms as watched the patrol through his KXM-OS-1A 'Electric Eye' scope of his IL-25X Sniper Rifle with safety and finger in firing position he quickly made his windage, angle, rang adjustment he was on target, as the Maw patrol moved closer to the Infiltration team’s location Colton sighted on the marauder in front waiting for the natural pause in breathing timing his trigger squeeze to coincide with it the silence invisible blaster blot left the barrel the riffle, the kickback was manageable and Colton was quickly on target again. A few seconds later the marauders head had a burning hole through it as he dropped the ground dead, the west of the marauders look around dumbfounded at what had just seen, and quickly started running back to fortress Colton expertly pick the rest of 4 man patrol off as they ran 5 to 7 seconds between shots to allow the blaster's dampeners to cooldown. <C> Epsilon 1 you are all clear for now, what don’t see if friends were carrying anything interesting on your way in, Crosshair out.<C>

<Epsilon 1 , copy crosshair, thanks for the assist, Epsilon out.<C> with that they resumed their route to the fortress checking the bodies of the patrol as they went.
 

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BROKEN ANGEL
ORDER OF THE IMPERIAL KNIGHTS
CHAPTER 'ANGELS OF DEFIANCE'
Jedi Armor | Lightsaber

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SELF DESTRUCTOR

"Vengeance, brother. I...understand the feeling, much greater than ever."

After the reclamation of Nirauan had been underway, Lucien knew what it meant, to feel the desire to enact his wrath upon his enemies to the fullest. What little regard he held for the chattel who followed the Sith, was no longer there. He felt rage for what they did, and much like Rurik made mandate, he desired nothing less than the destruction of those who followed their creed.

A hand latched onto one of the support rails, holding the Knight in place as their descent entered the more volatile stage of their insertion. They were delivering themselves right into the heart of the enemy, poised to strike them with the same cruelty that they'd delivered in the battles prior. Unbeknownst to the Sith, the Knights of the Empire had come to deliver justice to all who dared to stand in their way. Those who fled who face a similar fate all the same, as their diversion would trigger the elements of the Lord General to spring into action, leaving the momentum in the Imperial's favor, for the time being at least.

Lucien shifted to his feet as the loading ramp lowered itself to the ground, exposing the Knights to the darkness that tainted their surroundings. Their ranks spread out after Rurik took the lead, teams dispersing throughout, and the fighting already in an upswing among his Knight-Brethren and the enemy. He veered off from the group after the initial engagement came to an end, trusting in his fellow Knights to handle the chaff who foolishly threw their lives to their blades.

Though his feet moved with purpose, separating from the others with slow yet deliberate steps, Lucien seemed unphased by the taint around them, his body being drawn elsewhere when the others seemed focused upon the deaths of their foes. The master of this fortress called to him; Luc couldn't say if it was deliberate, much like the attempts of Darth Solipsis in their prior engagements, but nonetheless, he could feel the lingering presence of yet another Dark Lord. He was a man Luc once called a friend, and perhaps his closest ally in those burgeoning years of the New Imperial identity.

The former Warlord of Carlac had left a stain on his soul, setting the stage for the death of the man he respected the most, and this supposedly Great War he now participated in. There was nothing great about it; war was war, is what he learned, and had been his life. It was almost ironic to think about, given the same man had once engaged in conversations of peace, and times where fighting would no longer be their future.

Yet from the ashes of the Imperator's corpse, Darth Caelitus now reigned.

He stopped in his tracks, his breath coming to a slow halt as the force weaved itself around him, projecting outwards through the fortress until it latched onto the individual who stood out like a glowing beacon.

"You die today, Lord Halketh."

Words transcended through the connection, from one mind to another. Lucien's mind split focus within an instant, one side maintaining the connection, whilst the other allowed him to press onwards down his path. The corridor he found himself guided down had been empty, left barren of the enemy who assailed the New Imperials elsewhere. But the sickening aura of the dark side grew stronger with each step he took, weighing down upon him as he progressed further inside the fortress.

It was in that moment that Lucien's attention returned back into the real, severing the connection that guided him onwards as a pair of orange orbs flickered to his right. She was an inquisitor, powerful enough in the force that he could trust the woman to hold her own, and a native of his homeworld's great nobility.

He focused inwards with the thought of her safety in mind, welling the force within him until it expanded outwards from his body, saturating the area with the manifestation of his will, the Light he carried within. It was a small gesture, accompanied by a nod before he once more slipped through the veil of his mind, panning the fortress until the beacon was once more alight.


"I'm hunting Caelitus, miss Raina." He finally spoke up, addressing the Inquisitor with a momentary gaze before he stepped down the right in the fork. "The path ahead of us will be dangerous. For the sake of Serenno, do not falter."

 

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2nd post
SECOND_SON
DIE BY THE SWORD
OBJECTIVE 3: BE QUICK OR BE DEAD

THE FREE-STATE OF GALIDRAAN

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THE HIGHLAND BROTHERHOOD

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MICHAEL'S LOADOUT
PALE-BLUE LIGHTSABRE

FRAGARACH MODEL DISRUPTOR PISTOL
VIBROSWORD CAVALRY-SABRE
FAIRBAIRN VIBROKNIFE DAGGER

NEW IMPERIAL ORDER: Noel Strasza Noel Strasza Kolson Vrask Kolson Vrask Sephi Karneh Sephi Karneh Lachlan Sinclair Lachlan Sinclair
Lyra 'Sybila' Voikryt Lyra 'Sybila' Voikryt Amadeus Blackwood Amadeus Blackwood Djorn Bline Djorn Bline Nuruodo'kal'brast Nuruodo'kal'brast
Atsá Vyshraal Atsá Vyshraal Keilara Kala'myr Keilara Kala'myr Colton Renfro


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BROTHERHOOD OF THE MAW: Ozma Olumivius Ozma Olumivius Khamul Kryze Khamul Kryze
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THE WOAD-BORN HUNTSMEN: THE SECOND SALVO - PART 2
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PASSING SOUTH ROOK MOUNTAIN, LOWER-ASCENDANCY MOUNTAINS,
CSAUS (870 ABY)

15 miles outside Castle Caelitus....

'We know we're being watched by the scopes I'm sensing, but d'ye ever get the feeling that something else is watching us? Something we can't see, perhaps?'

Lord Michael would settle into (what would become his usual spot henceforth) the passenger seat next to the driver, who, in this instance would be none other than Yorunarr for as long as he took an active role as the Druidic duo's,"Stim-Babysitter.", something that had been a point of contention between the Woad and the Novanian in particular. Much to the relief of everyone working in the areas behind them, any and all likelihood of loud arguments flaring up could be stifled easily enough, just by simply shutting the armoured door to the vehicle's cockpit if any such events hypothetically occurred; however, despite the distrust Barran had for Ahan-Yan'Sharlim's possession of so many potent stims and psychedelics for operations as volatile as Citadel Caelitus was expected to be, the Druid and the Shaman had reached an accord of sorts, relying solely on the competence and temperament of the small collective under fire - and whether they were left with any choice on the matter or not.

'Yes, and though I haven't got your Force-powers to make a similar assessment, its safe to say we're all feeling it at the moment.'

Lachlan would make full use of the fact he had the top-turret to himself, enjoying the silence as the winds beats against the outer hull of their IFV, though the eeriness of the quiet in the valley all around them wasn't lost on the Beast. With the clear night-time weather making everything in sight beyond the shielded-viewport seem completely devoid of life, it wasn't just Sinclair and Barran who could feel it, as all the other riflemen of Fang Platoon were beginning to raise eyebrows and pass concerns down the line in the hopes explanations could be offered, but whether the answers would put the Highlanders' hearts at ease was an entirely different matter - an issue that would need to be addressed sooner rather than later. Smoking away to himself before passing to Yorunarr on his way out, Michael opened the door and made his way to the top-turret, to Lachlan, one who might have had a better-attuned sense for what was going on around them.

'Heh! Thank you. We're roughly ten miles out now, so try not to be too long back there.'

'Sinclair, free moment by chance?', Lord Michael asked from the foot of the turret-ladder, already sensing the shrug without even seeing or hearing it for himself, but asking in the spirit of amiable politeness regardless of knowing the answer. Barran understood the trueborn Sinclair enough to know that good courtesy still went a long way with his Lycanthropic friend, despite the quiet behaviours that would suggest otherwise to the untrained eye, for the alternative would always incur the very real risk of a pre-transformation mauling by an individual who, like the Druid and the Shaman, (but even more so, and by leaps and bounds in comparison) was marginally stronger than most of the Highlanders there. The Wanderer never wanted know whether he could hold his own against the Beast or not, and thus remained blissfully ignorant for the sake of his own life-expectancy, and happy to remain safely inconsiderate of potential competitive outcomes for the fact the sparring, extra-sensory tactical advantages and the unquestioning loyalty were all much more valuable than horrid duelling matchups ever could be.

'I know you can see what we can't, Sinclair. Nae sweat biht! Just the way it is; shadduhs hide oor heids well, but the night hours are your realm of expertise.... Let the creatures lurk, mate. We're fewer than ten miles out fae Citadel Caelitus, so here's mah solution - if they haven't jumped us yet, they won't have anywhere near enough bottle t'jump us at the the deployment zone either. They're clearly hanging back with a specific function guiding their caution, so we let them. Simple as that.'

Half a cigarette would be dropped down the hatch in silence, falling filter first as the Wanderer plotted it's trajectory and anticipated the best place to snatch it out of the air, achieving his goal as the cigarette itself, to which Lord Michael would respond by throwing his cigarettes up the hatch with a simple,'Here, sur! He's tapped enough o' these fae me for one day, but enough o' that.... Quiet time.', before proceeding to smoke his last cigarette of the operation. Yet another meditative silence, one of the likes that everyone else was all too happy to partake in with what little serenity they had left to enjoy, but when Barran stood to flick the stubbed remnants out into the frozen wilderness beyond, everyone knew it was time to use these creeping last minutes to attain vigilant states of fighting flow - finding that perfect mutuality in mind and soul before the mayhem erupted around them.

'Time t'get the lay o' the land ahead, lads. Just be sure t'have yer chit readied an' squared away, hopin' we can poise t'jump oot by the time we reach in past the 5-mile mark.... Ah'll keep yees right, jus' get aw yer gear in order - we're close enough to know we're in for a rough-yin, are we no?'

'Well, obviously! We can see the sky lighting up in the north fae here for feth's sake!', McBain retorted in kindly jest, the sort that always picked everyone's spirits up, the sort that gave Barran all the reassurance he needed to know that his stalwart second-in-command was mentally in a good place. Effective enough to be the glue of cohesion and camaraderie that held his kinsmen's static line in place, keeping feet and postures firmly facing to the front through the thick and thin, this was the kind of resource Lord Michael knew his father had been renowned for using to deadly effect; thinking on this as he set his backside on the stool by the map-holographic plinth, the Druid would look to all the blips on the display as he loaded up to the BattleNet on his datapad, readying himself to get to work using his own means of extra-sensory perception. Closing his eyelids and inhaling slow, deep breaths through his nostrils in measured attempts to clear everything from his own mind, Lord-Captain Barran would try to find friend and foe alike as the pineal facets of his focus kicked into play.

'Quite right, Leftenant! Good use o' patter, good timin' - but ah'm gawnty need ye t'keep it quiet for the moment.... Gettin' inti focus here, but ah won't be long.'

More chuckling would ensue, with McBain retorting,'Aye, aw'right then. We'll leave ye ti that Space-Wizard stuff.', unleashing more laughter on the Highland Brotherhood's Grandmaster before relenting and giving off a demeanour of acquiescence so he could let Lord Michael get on with it. The technique itself had become easier to achieve since he first learned it, but there was still plenty difficulty in the process, difficulty that the Wanderer would find himself drawn to throughout his journey from beginning to the power he possessed then, seemingly a lifelong need for challenges of all sorts that showed no sign of relenting. Costly though it had been, the drawbacks to attaining Force-Adeptitude to such a degree were still far outweighed by the long-term benefits, with the added resistance and power over the pain and momentary debilitation factored heavily into the aforementioned long-term benefits Lord Michael was working so devotedly to reap someday.
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THE WOAD-BORN HUNTSMEN: THE SECOND SALVO - PART 3
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SOUTH ROOK VALLEY, LOWER-ASCENDANCY MOUNTAINS,
CSAUS (870 ABY)

9 miles outside Citadel Caelitus....

Dropping deeper into his state of flow, emptying his mind of any and all useless thoughts and keeping only those that spurred him further into this far-reaching state of seers' meditation. It was the only Force-Sensitive ability from the Jedi's light he knew, yet still, it would take more time to kick into action than any of the others that Barran had learned since his Force-Wielding journey first began.

Who struggles for survival in the dark? Who stabs at the heart of the Maw here?

Fortunately for the Druidic Laird of the Highlanders, the son of clans Barran and Thrast had a natural knack for the more-nuanced processes, owing more to his mother's side of the family in moments like this, one of the many secretive origins of Lady Helen's clan that Lord Michael was still to ask her about. The wanderer always did ask himself the right questions about the Highlander part of his ancestry, questions like,"Was there a reason he wanted the Goidels t'reach the stars above?", and,"How was it that Lord Harold I came to know so much about the nature of man and war alike, in the Highlands of all places?", and many more - but the answers still remained as obscure as they were when Michael was still a youth in exile with his father. All this and more would serve as the keys that would unlock the Wanderer's real potential, but he wouldn't know of this for some time yet, for the wars around him always required the Barrans to take to the field of battle; glory, prestige and power by other means awaited none in the Galaxy's modern era, for if time itself wouldn't, how could one expect one's own excellence to be any different?

Many, many new presences - and some that I know.... Fel, Dooku, but there has to be others out here.

Such was life for the Barran part of Lord Michael's ancestry, for the ruling clan of the Goidels would always be thrust into greatness, a ruling clan that otherwise wished for prosperity, and serene quiet enough to enjoy the fruits of it. From Brian to Aleck, and from Charles to his own father, the Wanderer's Sinn'searann would always be subject to the whims and wills of their people - a small price to pay for governing a tough breed justly. Small prices would always add up to something costly for his kin, but the young Laird, like many before him, resolved to break the mould that bound the Barrans to fate in such a callous, heartless fashion; and the Thrast in his blood was very much looking set to be the long-expected solution to this issue, especially since it was paying dividends in the process of sharpening his mind, and helping him greatly in locating the Force-signatures of his Imperial comrades as a result. One of those resonating souls in particular was just moments away from detection, but Barran had to keep looking, reaching deep into his mind for any presence that could be of help in their attempt to infiltrate the citadel.

I know there's more of us out here - I can feel it in the depths of my soul, for feth's- wait, wait.... I know that presence.

And just like that, the crowd of souls became background lighting to the Force-signature Barran could feel resonating from another place within Citadel Caelitus entirely, one he knew, but one that Lord Michael also knew was one he hadn't known for long. Seeing the power that allured him on a previous outing, feeling it drawing him in just like it had on the night he first felt it, emanating from the maintenance tunnels beneath Ursa's Redoubt. Just as clueless as he was back then - as to how this bright, nuanced power held such sway with his own, as to who this presence had been before his little rise to warfighting prominence, but all the Druid knew in that moment was the fact he was magnetised to this individual whether he liked it or not. Deny it for a time he would, but the truth, and all the weight it would carry on his mind, would resonate in perpetuity with that same shockingly distinctive hue.

Major-General Voi'Kryt.

In an elevated, near-celestial state of combative transformation - on Csaus of all places.

Yet another omnipresence, but unlike that of King Lucien, Lord Michael had been both fortunate and unfortunate to stand face to face with the making of the other one before. Dooku's presence would appear in the distance, only to disappear again to the realm of obscurity, much like it was with Michael's father, but instead of a fleeting presence, it was little more than a voice on Lord Erskine's comm-link during the battle for Generis. However, at that point of the battle, the Wanderer began to suspect his superiors of putting him on an objective where he could be more-easily monitored; and knowing that it meant the autonomy wasn't quite his to enjoy yet, the Goidelic traits in him began to take exception to this, gritting his teeth and cracking his neck on both sides in an attempt to make his peace with the fact he had a while to go yet. Chuckling ruefully to himself, Barran drew gazes from the riflemen at the viewports before dismissing their worries with a cursory, shooing wave of his hand, opting for more time to himself as Lord Michael made his peace with the career-mountain he still had to climb.

An' what exactly brings you t'this frozen wonderland of sorts? Thought mine was the only unit jumping from Serenno, then I sense King Lucien, an' now the Major-General's here too.... I was quite happy thinking I'd have the peace to work without the bloody overseers being on site this time, so what gives?

Easier for some than others, it would seem. However, the Wanderer's tone was certainly erring on the safe side of acquiescent, as even despite the great irritation of his closely-supervised predicament making his efforts on Csaus feel like something of a disappointment, Michael couldn't help but admit the arrivals of Lucien and Lyra made the experience far more interesting than it had been before that moment. Perhaps, and in short time at that, the Woad would grow enough within the confines of the king's court that he could flock the guilded cage without complaint or disdain for doing so; despite the sheer volume of knowledge he was accumulating in the wide-casting shadow of Castle Dooku, and all the friends he was making there, everyone around Barran knew he was destined to return to Galidraan III at some point. Whatever fate awaited Lord Erskine, the Goidels and Galidraan in general, the inherent urge to return would be stronger than that which his father felt in exile, but time, and the guesswork of his new superiors, would ultimately be the judge of the when and how of that.

'Five miles out, Milord. Time t'snap oot an' get back ti the job at hand, wouldn't you say?'
 

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LIFE
"V"
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// CARLAC - UNKNOWN HOLDING FACILITY
// 0629 LOCAL TIME



Only the erratic buzzing of the overhead lights served as his company, the haggard doctor in the isolated room, cut off from the outside world by reflective glass and soundproofed walls. His head hung low on his shoulders, his eyes screwed tightly shut against the sight he would have been tormented by; the dark crimson stains covering his shirt and ruining his coat. Had he organic arms, they would have started to ache unbearably by now, he figured, given just how long his wrists had been restrained tightly behind his back. Even now, sequestered from the holding cell trapping him previously, he had not been trusted so far as to bind his hands to the socketed shackles on the tabletop before him. These soldiers, these monsters, were afraid of the strength he had demonstrated. They were wary of his enhanced prowess, and it showed in the uncertainty many of them had handled him with. It was far easier to crank his neck and torque him into unconsciousness than it was to deal with an escape. He should have known, as he did now, that compassion was something left on the editing room floor when it came to their conditioning. It was what The Boss had told him from an early age. It was what their gang preached, day in and day out, tirelessly; the New Imperials were monsters. They did not care for their citizens. They did not care for life.

They did not care for anything beyond the war they forced good men and women to die in for them.

It played over and over in his mind, he could still hear it, the rapid beeping shift to flatline behind him as he desperately pleaded for them to let him finish the operation they had interrupted. He still felt the heat of the blood boiling in his veins as the barbs of a taser had struck his stomach. Non-lethal, the cruel luxury he was afforded while many of his patients waiting in the lobby hadn't been. It was enough to overclock the tired gears in his mind, their grating grind accelerating as he considered just what it was they could possibly want from him. Who it was that had given the order to bring him in alive. What sort of perverse justice they would enact upon him, or what sort of example he'd become even, to demonstrate what happened to those who defied Order.

Behind him, the door slid open, and too apathetic at this point, he did not pick his head up to scrutinize the person who joined him, nor did he bother to open his eyes at all. "Vladimir, ain't it?" The metal feet of the chair opposite screeched against the floor as it was drawn backward, and a heavy body sat down across from him. Metal tapped against the table's top. "That is your name, isn't it?" A strange voice it was, one most unexpected given the snarky vocoded voices of the troopers or the uppity Imperial accents he had heard far too often as of late. Wildly different. So much so he finally lifted his head and peered through his oily bangs, his bloodshot gaze fixing on the obviously augmented man across from him. "Y-yeah, it's Vladimir." The street surgeon muttered his response curtly, his tone lacking both the energy and enthusiasm asked of him.

At last, he appraised the doctor in full, his eyes darting from augment to augment, from scar to scar, struggling to piece together just who this man was and why he was here. Try as he might, however, that droning tone haunting him would not let his thoughts wander for too long. "I'm Doctor Julian Qar," the cyborg spoke up, his metal fingers folding into each other on the table, "Ya might've heard of me." He was right about that, Vlad had heard of him, a number of times, and always from the same source. Yet his knowledge of this forced his brows upward in surprise, and the rest of his battered face followed suit. "Yeah, 'm Hazel's boss." Julian punctuated this revelation by tucking a cigarette between his lips and sparking a light, nursing it in silence as he watched the street doctor with interest. It was all Vlad could do then to finally voice the thoughts swirling around in his mind endlessly, "You ever lost someone on the table, doc?" The cyborg's sudden tension and stiffness spoke loudly enough. "They coulda just let me finish fixing her up, but they didn't," Vlad continued, "she was pregnant. I lost two people on the table."

Julian leaned back in his chair, tipping his chin to suck in a deep breath from the vice clenched tighter than before.

"Why do you serve an Order who lets something like that happen just because she was too broke to afford your clinic, and in too deep with addiction to work?" The mismatched eyes of the doctor were all but alight with an emotion Vladimir couldn't decipher then, the glower as biting as any physical wound that could have been dealt him. And yet, he remained silent, and simply resolved to chew on the end of his cigarette. "I don't get it, doctor." The younger man finished his thought, shaking his head slowly, the wild light in his eyes subduing as the end of his high drew near. Soon he wouldn't be able to speak at all. "Now there's all these people who aren't gonna get the help they need because I'm in here, and that's all my fault."

He swore for a moment he heard a thud from beyond the mirrored glass on his left side.

"You can still treat 'em, would rather you do it someplace safe instead of the underground," Julian spoke up, at last, the metal tips of his fingers tapping in sequence against the table. That sort of response was enough to rouse up defensiveness in Vladimir's tone, but his words did not reflect it, not overtly, at least. "I'm goin' to prison doc, I'm not treating anybody anymore." Suspicion framed his features, the surgeon's eyes narrowed intensely. "Unless you had other ideas." The final words drew the doctor's lips into a smirk, his hand had already been revealed. The kid had street smarts and the insight to put them to use, as much he had to candidly admit. "As a matter of fact, I do. A special request from the kid on the other side of the glass there." He jerked his head to the right, Vlad's left, indicating the mirror. Two and two made four. "Hazels' here?" Vlad asked quickly, his attention darting to the glass, "Is she okay?"

"She's fine," Julian waved his hand in partial dismissal, "shaken up as all hell, but she's scrappy, ain't nothin' she hasn't seen before." His fingers curled into his fist and he swiftly rapped against the table to draw Vladimir's attention back to where it belonged currently, "So I got an offer for ya, ain't the best, but I reckon it beats prison." Sure enough, the bait was enough for Vlad to bite, "Okay, I'm interested." A special favor from Hazel wasn't something he could afford to miss out on, even if it was something simple, he knew the woman well enough to know she was far more clever than she often looked. "Come work with me and Haze at the hospital. You'll start at the bottom, but ya can ask her, you won't stay there, so long's your work is good." That. That was a bold move, one that caught the surgeon off-guard so much his nose crinkled and his head tipped back, the shift of his body recoiling away from the words left to hang in the air between them. But he wasn't reeling for long, this did beat life in prison, even if he would have to kneel to the so-called Iron that he had been raised to despise. "I'm better behind the scenes and in a lab, than on a clinic floor. You give me some space and the tools I need, and there isn't anything I can't do. No problem I can't solve."

Perhaps his eagerness was amusing, as Julian snorted vaguely. "First, we gotta go through the usual bullshit, but I'll see what I can make work. Give me time... there's one thing though, kid. One condition I got. You gotta work with me on getting clean. We can figure this chit out together but you gotta at least give me your word that you'll try." That was a helluva condition. One that Vlad, well, frankly he didn't think was very practical. "My mom, yeah, she was an addict when I was cooking," he explained with an itch in his voice, "I can't function without it. Literally. I'll go into ana-"

"Yeah, yeah," Julian interrupted him, "we'll figure that out then. But you still gotta give me your word, or else I'll walk out of here right now, and you'll never see me again." The surgeon's nostrils flared, he wasn't done. "And my patients?"

"We'll work that out, too. I can't make any promises, but I can tell you I'll try."

He chewed the inside of his cheek and turned away, furrowing his brow toward the glass. If he focused hard enough, he could almost swear he saw her standing on the other side, wringing her hands, shifting from foot to foot, all those little tics she often showed when she was anxious. She had done this for him. Little did he know, it was guilt that had driven her to this point. She had led the sting team to him, and she hadn't even known it. Even if he knew that much, he wouldn't have held it against her. At last, he looked back to Julian. "Okay, I accept. Now get me out of these cuffs."




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RED IN MY BLOOD
SAWBONES
OBJ II | SNOW & STEEL

MEDICAL NARRATIVE
DECEASED Erskine Barran DECEASED Erskine Barran Julian Qar Julian Qar
OPEN TO OPPOSITION
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"It'll be fine Hazel, it's not like he's the only one deploying on the field." Vladimir smugly interjected, as though his presence on the field would make any sort of difference in her mind. What she didn't know, of course, is that Nirauan had steeled him. And this ignorance showed in the scoffing sneer she offered back in his direction and the shove to his shoulder before she stormed off, seething at the news. It left Vlad standing there next to Julian, fully kitted save for the helmet retracted from his tired face, watching the neon-haired woman shove her way through the crowd to vanish into the field hospital's command tent. He hummed a warbled note of indifference, it was all he could do, and looked back to the doctor with a wiry, tight-lipped smile. "It'll be like something outta one of those holomovies, yeah? Gunning down hordes of undead, except I've learned, y'know, this type can still shoot back. If I was particularly depraved, I'm sure I'd find that thrilling. Ain't that right, Barnes?" He lashed out, punching the sergeant's arm, who returned the gesture in kind- only to recoil back and curse, having forgotten both of the medic's arms had long since been replaced with cybernetic variants. "I almost felt it that time," he assured the man, flashing a thumbs up, "keep at it, you'll get it eventually."

Slithering backward to avoid another swing, the medic took a deep breath and glanced downward to count the magazines tucked into his chest sling, ensuring he had more than he hoped he would need. It raised a question in his mind, almost the same one from Nirauan: how would he fare shooting another man if the man was undead? These weren't people, after all, they had been once, but that humanity had been taken from them. Killing them was merciful, wasn't it? And though he abhorred the act of it, so too did he abhor the acts which had twisted these people into cannibalistic monsters. New responsibilities had been thrust upon him and already, he felt their weight bearing down on his shoulders. He wasn't stuck to Julian this time, no, he was to lead his own team into the mix and recover the injured to extract back to the field hospital. A hand patted the sleeve pocket housing the number of colored tags. The other found the injectors on his forearm. And at last, both gripped his rifle casually, squeezing the grip as though doing so would soothe the knot even having a rifle twisted into his stomach. It wasn't just his duty to mend wounds and care anymore, no, it was to protect, also.

Do no harm, but take no chit.

A newfound mantra, and something he considered often. Fingers compressed the button nestled over his temple and at once, the rest of his helmet lurched forward to connect and seal over his features, shielding them away from the outside world while his HUD synchronized and came online.​

<"SAWBONES, checking in, by your orders, Lance One, over." >


 
Ziare Dyarron | Keilara Kala'myr (Mercy)
COMPNOR (ISB) Junior Agent, Nite agent | Marauder and Agent of the Maw
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Objective III: BE QUICK OR BE DEAD
Location: The Necropolis, Citadel Caelitus, Csaus
Equipment: FS-18-UP2 Omega Phase Assault Rifle | 2x PV-16 "Sunfury" Pulse Pistol | Light Armour | Viper Mk. I Skinsuit | 2x Vibrodagger || Stealth field generator || OPBC-01m
Allies: Michael Barran Michael Barran | Nuruodo'kal'brast Nuruodo'kal'brast | Colton Renfro | Rika Hiro Rika Hiro | Annor E-059 | Colton Renfro | Open (Allies to Ziare, enemies to Mercy)
Enemies: Open
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[ Planet Hell ]
"Galactic Basic" | ~"Telepathic" communication ~ | << comm. channel >>

~ Mercy? ~ I asked in a trembling voice.

~ You won! ~ she answered.

Did I have a second personality? How? When and why? And how was I able to pass all kinds of psychological tests at COMPNOR? I think if I get out of here, I have to look for another psychologist, a normal one, a better one! How come no one noticed? And how long has it been? No, it may be better if I don't even know the answer to that question. I wanted to cry, I wanted to go home! I just want a calm and peaceful life. Or maybe I didn't have the right to do that?

The mawite members with me were still quite embarrassed and didn’t know what to do. Honestly? Me neither! After his previous words, Mercy remained silent. Did the voice really come from my own head, or was that "tentacled" crazy man playing with my mind again? To tell the truth, as far as I knew about this situation, or my own condition, either option could have been true. But I think I wanted them to be the only ones playing with my mind and I don't want the second personality.

Then suddenly those who were about to take me stopped because there were noises outside. I tried to listen to whether it was my own people or the enemy. That's a good question. I mean, who's friends and who's enemies. Oh, my head hurts too much for that. The easiest and best thing would really be for me to pass out. But then I certainly wouldn't get out of here alive. I really didn’t know where I had ruined my life so much that fate would punish me that way, but it would have been so good to rest or possibly die.

But then all of a sudden something came into my mind. Lost memories or times that have been too confusing recently. Because I couldn’t do too much. I mean, something that wasn’t the same as suicide, since in vain did I have weapons, if I attacked them, I would surely die. That is worse; they will definitely not allowed me to try commit suicide again. So let’s ask the only thing that can answer that.

~ MANIAC, what data do you have about the times when I had memory problems? Or when and what command did I get from the NIO to be here? ~ I asked him, and I hoped he'll have some answers.

~ Access to data is denied. ~ I got the answer.

~ At whose command? ~ I want to know the answer.

~ At your command. ~ he said.

Wait, what?!

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DARK LORD OF THE SITH | VOICE OF THE MAW
Citadel Caelitus
Rurik Fel Rurik Fel



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As the Imperial Knights spilled into the Heart of Darkness, the dread abode of the Dark Lord Halketh Halketh himself, the scattered ranks New Sith Order responded in kind. They had been caught wholesomely unprepared, ambushed and yet would meet them with brutality in kind. They were the strong, they were the victorious, they were the New Sith. There would be no quarter.

The Dark Voice glided through the dark corridors of the Sith castle from the confines of the isolated Qabbrat. A long tattered cloak hung over his black armor, dragging dust against the stonework floor. He had felt the presence of the Man of Iron, the Iron Emperor Rurik Fel Rurik Fel who’s tenacity had become a consistent thorn in the Sith’ari’s side. Their fates had intertwined, battle after battle they would oppose another in lynchpin conflicts, events of such caliber that entire planets held in the balance between the Brotherhood and the Imperial. Yet each time, death forsook both of them, each robbed of their respective kill, for the Dark Lord the final hammer blow deserving to the Fel Dynasty.

The Dark Lord once stated aloud to his sworn enemy of his potential should he ever had swayed from the righteous path, should he ever had turned to the Dark Side of the Force. He believed it then, as he believed it now. If he could be turned he would be a most powerful ally, a most powerful Sith. But what did it take to mold unbending iron? What would it take to break him? Could it be done?

The Sith’ari intended to discover the secret, kill the Emperor, or die trying. This was his will.

As the Dark Voice broke off from the corridor, the large stone doors into the throne room opened. A massive creak signaled his entry, suddenly finding his person flanked by the standing Sith Sovereign Protectors that now marched in tune to the other side of the doorway as he strode toward the center of the chamber where the massive projection of the Dark Lord Caelitus would often appear before his followers. The sentinels sealed the doors behind the Dark Lord and moved as a vanguard, doing their due diligence to their dark master.

Reaching the center podium the Dark Lord spun about and turned, now standing at the ready as he waited for his quarry to come to him. His faces swelled with dark grimace, a haunting glare filled with anticipation for the battle to come. The Elder stepped back into the shadows and spoke out to the light ambient around his self-contained oubliette.

“It is your destiny.”

The Sovereign Protectors immediately leapt into action as the doors parted before the approaching Emperor. Raising their weapons they moved to intercept and were brought down as Rurik's saber carved through both of them with steady, precise movements. He came to him as was foreseen, marching forth with the same fire burning, the same unbending will.

Entering the confines of the darkened chamber his unbending foe halted his advance pressing both knees against the metallic flooring in idle meditation. The Dark Lord’s face peered out from the darkness, stained eyes glowing in it’s malevolent umbra.

"Many have come before you...claiming to be a god, more powerful, more intelligent, and more clever than the others who precede you. Many had thought themselves impervious to the hubris and shortcomings of the bloody lineage you've chained yourself to...but I can assure you, you are no different. No different than Palpatine, Krayt, Zambrano...you will have the same look of panic and existential woe that they did when the stroke of death crossed their mortal form. Your existence is not prevailing this fate...only evading it."

Rurik rose, the Dark Lord’s eyes followed him and in the moments to come more of his earthy features were revealed from the dark shroud. A serpent in the dark waiting to strike.

"And I promise you Sith, I will be there...when that moment comes."

The argent blade of his enemy ignited again parting the rays of shadow that beheld their surroundings in it’s venomous snare. A roaring crackle purged forth from the crossguard hilt of the Dark Voice, it spewed forth it’s crimson blade deep from the metallic recess as it’s master bellowed forth and roared. The Dark Lord lifted himself into the fray, violently twirling into a corkscrew lunge. He took the initiative and lashed out with hateful thrusts and powerful blows.





 
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Objective 1: Defend and hold off enemies
Location: Citadel Caelitus
Weather Snowing heavily
Tags: Marus Saretti Marus Saretti | open

The shaking intensified and there was activity as defenders swarmed towards what is believed to be a breach in the Citadel defences, Superious had to give a credit where credit is due. The NIO were gutsy, and they were intelligent.

Frustratingly, he could sense many individuals in the force, some more outward than others, it almost gave him a headache, right between his eyes. The solution was to just pick at a loose thread in the tapestry of the force and follow it. It's a less stressful approach to the incoming storm. With a brief moment of clarity he reached out to the threads before him and one of these threads caught his attention. A Lightsider and he is here, or hereabouts. Superious did not hide his presence, he had no reason to. In a fight, you take what you can find and use it.

Abruptly Superious is brought back to the real world by a piece of masonry nearly slamming onto his head, then he would be dead or at least comatose. He held it aloft for a few seconds, the force keeping it suspended, then he chucked it to one side, missing a few others that had milled around nearby. The ceilings had large cracks in its stonework, top to the floor. Keeping pace, he stalked towards the location he had been drawn to. He'll be the first thing that the Lightsider confronts.

But then he paused, gears working in his head as a new idea formed, an ambush may be a far better idea. There are many areas to lie in wait and strike. So he did just that he got close enough to his destination to slip into a strategical position and waited for his moment.

<"Come to my parlour little fly."> He says quietly, a ghost of a grin forming on his lips.
 

Kerstan Blackmoore

Guest
K
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ALLIES: BotM | ENEMIES: NIO
Another war, another banner. As long there were governments in the Galaxy, there would be conflict, soldiers would be needed. Kerstan had made it his purpose to craft the perfect soldier. Centuries had been spent with the sole purpose of creating perfection. He had created her once. He could do it again. Perhaps he had allowed the distraction of his precious success to cloud his resolve, but no more. Where the Eternal Empire and the Confederacy had lost their way, the Brotherhood of the Maw had not. They would usher in the cleanse which the Galaxy needed, and destroy all which stood in their way.

Kerstan would be there to see it. He would be there to contribute.

The alchemist needed to know how they fought. He wanted to know the enemy. While he was usually one to avoid the unpleasantries of the battlefield, Kerstan was not shy about bloodshed. He simply preferred the subtle beauty of a well executed assassination. It was one way in which he was like his father.

His breathing slowed as he took in the scene. Imperial Knights would advance and meet the forces of the New Sith Order. For now the Sith Lord remained in the shadows, watching as the stage was set. Whether he would interfere or not had yet to be determined.

A slow smile pulled at the corners of his mouth as the dark side filled his veins. Drawing on the hatred directed at the Maw by those who would come to kill them would only fuel the power which the Blackmoore heir could wield. His resolve was not weak like his father’s. He had not been seduced and swayed by a Jedi like the man who sat on Indupar’s throne. The Crown Worlds were only a small trophy compared to the Galaxy itself. Kerstan would have it all, but first, he had to ensure the Maw would succeed.
 


Amateurs.

They dared stand in the way of order. And they payed dearly for it. Chaff that they are, they were disposed of quickly. Husks of men and women falling to the full, unbridled fury that were the Imperial Knights.

But there were more pressing targets.

Those that cowered behind pawns. Those that preferred the cover of skirts that belonged to those so eager to prove their unworth to a duo of deranged lunatics fancying themselves the embodiment of Darkness.

Time to let that duo see their noses.

Raina moved ahead with those more focused in nature. For some damn reason, she split up with the man that belonged to the House that her family had very little love for. Her dad would have ten aneurysms if he saw her at this moment. Life Day dinner will be fun. But first, she had to get out of this alive.

No pressure.

"I'm hunting Caelitus, miss Raina." He finally spoke up, addressing the Inquisitor with a momentary gaze before he stepped down the right in the fork. "The path ahead of us will be dangerous. For the sake of Serenno, do not falter."
A smirk spread on Raina's face as they headed down the fork.
"Well someone has to pick up your slack, Mister Lucien. So count on it." she quipped with a wink in her fellow Serennian's direction.

They had just rounded a bend, when the cursed hand of Halketh Halketh attempted to assault their minds.

The Inquisitor's steps faltered slightly as her hands went to her hips, the blade still ignited in her hand, angling away from her body.
"Really, Halketh?" she spoke to the walls. "Be a little bit more original for a change, would you? As if we'd come unprepared." Yeah, she was shooting big with her fortressed mind. She could very well weather it until the traitor-lord doubled down on his mental attacks upon the Knights. But he would really need to show up this time in order to do it.

Just then, another stood in their way, red blade ignited already.

Raina let out an irritated huff before she squared her stance.
"I'll throw this one out a window. You go kill that Wannabe Drama Queen, Lucien. If not for all the other reasons, then do it for our home." she told the one she was supposed to be feuding with, but screw centuries old family gripes where the original transgressors were all long since decomposed to ash. Fat lot of good that feud did them.

Her violet eyes narrowed at Darth Saevius Darth Saevius where he stood in the way.

He just had a creepy look to him. What was it with Sith and their creepiness? Was it like a requirement on your resumé when you apply for a position in the Ranks of Emo?
"Stereotypical edge lord much?" she asked right before a blinding light erupted from her hand in the Dark Sider's direction in order for Lucien to get past unhindered to do what needs to be done.

In the spooky hallway, the resplendent blade shone like a star as it was held at the ready.

With the Force drawn close around her, Raina regarded the tall man standing in her way.
"Now, do you all slave away blindly under two senile men to serve their ragtag will? Or do you actually have some kind of greater purpose in the Galaxy that doesn't involve you chitting all over it like a pigeon on a chess board?" she asked him, ready to react should he try to throw an edgy hissy fit.

That would sure be comical.


 
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Location: Citadel Caelitus - Csaus Lower Atmosphere
Call Sign: Nacheria Seven
Objective: II - Snow and Steel
Equipment: TIE Pilot Flight Suit │ Hekler’Kok FP-01
Allies: BotM
Enemies: NIO
Direct Engagement: Jon Kovacs Delilah Jones Enzo Demici

Why were all these worlds so frigid?

While the clone didn’t need to worry about the weather within the climate-controlled, environmentally-sealed cockpit of her TIE, its ubiquity within this region of space was a subject of mild curiosity to her. Her people were adapted to the cold, and so they had settled on frozen planets, where dirt had quickly mixed into the once-pure snow as the Chiss became mired in their own corruption and degradation. Fortunately, the Final Dawn had cleansed many of the ex-Ascendancy territories, giving rise to a new, uncorrupted stock of Chiss in the process. Before long, other decaying civilizations and species would be purified, and eventually, the galaxy itself.

Then, paradise.

Features tensed in indignation beneath the Stygian mask of her helmet, Electra-12 gave a sharp huff as her TIE punched through the layer of clouds, unveiling a pristine white landscape before her eyes, yet blemished by drab stains of NIMP tanks, TIEs, and yet more, swarming the Citadel with the desperation of rats fleeing a flood. Only instead of seeking relief from the putrid waters, they sought to destroy the very bulwark of purity they were moving towards, thereby causing them all to drown in the mire.

It disgusted her.

Without delay, the newly-minted ace pulled her TIE into level flight at a high altitude, eyes poring over her sensor readout as she quickly assessed the increasingly-crowded airspace. Then, quickly identifying her targets, she pushed her control sticks down to bring her machine down into a shallow dive, lining up a lag pursuit with the trio of TIEs on her scope from above.

However, before initiating her assault, she decided to entertain herself.

“Feast your impure eyes upon the walls of paradise.” The ace said unbidden, over an open, short-range broadcast directed at the trio, her tone laced with fanatical arrogance as the words left her lips. “It normally looks better this time of year, when there aren’t rats crawling all over it, but we’re taking care of our pest problem.” She continued, with a feminine giggle. “I just have...one question.” The ace hissed, a wicked smile forming on her lips as she did, while simultaneously flipping a switch to shunt power to weapons and lining her nose up with the trio in a pure pursuit, still from above.


“Peanut butter or soft cheese?”

Then, without further warning, she locked onto the two TIEs on the wings of the lead craft and squeezed the triggers on her control sticks, unleashing a salvo of homing laser fire intended to lance two of the bandits from the sky.

 
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Volgin Alto

Guest
V


That ever symphonic music. The low rumble of the repulsorlifts as they neared the lines of battle. As the Sabretooth Legion was establishing the bulk of the offensive in siege and assault formation of Citadel Caelitus- the 501st would make true on its promise. To be the Fist of the Empire, to strike truer than all the others and inflict death on the enemy. His will be done, Citadel Caelitus would be buried today. But first, they had to conquer the trenches, they had to bleed in the snow.

Carrying up the left flank of the main offensive with the stringent cover of TIE interceptors, Gladius's formation of three gunships carried themselves into the snowy chaos. They would jump into hell once more.

<"You all know our objective. We lead the way, punch a hole in their lines and feast on them. Prepare to jump.">


Standing up at the head of the troop cabin, Volgin would motion his troopers up with a motion of his thumb as the troop bay lights flashed a deep crimson across the interior of the vehicle. It was time to prepare to drop. The front door of the troop bay pried itself open to let in the gust of blistering cold from the violent winds of the air around them as the section lined up in two rows of five on either side, mostly concealed from the elements as they lined up in next to the open section of the troop bay.

Volgin walked forward, motioning the point man of the first fire team, clutching ahold of the webbing along his back as he leaned forward to run his hand along the edge of the open section, signifying it was good to go before Volgin turned to mirror the action on the other side.

He slammed a closed fist twice against his plasteel chest plate.

Equipment check. Every man patted down himself, ensured his weapon was loaded, his grav chute was prime and nothing was out of place before the man behind them confirmed the grav chute and all within view, offering a closed fist pat on the shoulder plate in reassurance.

The light flashed green, on either side of the gunship the stormtroopers began to flow out of the vessel as it continued on its break neck course before eventually, within seconds, the troop bay was empty. Volgin was the last, his repeater slung along his abdomen as they dropped into hell, eventually pulsing his grav chute to break the impact of his fall as he locked his knees and heels together, bending them for the impact into the rigid ice and snow, eventually rising up to consolidate the platoon of helljumpers in his motion sensors. All accounted for.

<"We'll set up a fighting position in these ruins and cover the movement of Sabretooth up to us and then continue forward until we hit the walls. Move!"> Volgin commanded in his characteristic accent as the three squads rallied in movement forward. In spite of any duress, they would carry their mission. They had full cohesion now, but no plan survived contact. With his repeater and hammer, Alto was ready for anything. Ready for hell.
 


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Eclipse Actual

Engaging: OPEN

Loadout: Double-bladed lightsaber, blaster pistol, vibroknife, Imperial Mk. I "Dooku-Pattern" Jedi Armor

Allies: Michael Barran Michael Barran , Rika Hiro Rika Hiro Colton Renfro, Nuruodo'kal'brast Nuruodo'kal'brast , Keilara Kala'myr Keilara Kala'myr

Enemies: BotM

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Prelude

A few days ago...

Eclipse Company had been kept busy in recent months, constantly moving from planet to planet, attempting to keep the Mawite incursions in check. They had been able to kill their fair share of the fanatic marauders, but just like any other vermin, they seemed to spread faster than they could be killed. The Second Great Hyperspace War had been one of attrition, forcing the galactic powers to face a simple fact...

It would be a long time before the threat of the Maw would be truly eradicated.

Nevertheless, Amadeus had continued his duty, and would continue to do so as long as the infestation of chaos remained. The past few days, however, had been a slight moment of reprieve for Eclipse Company. They had been allowed some time away from the terrors of war. Despite the time given for well-earned R&R, they weren't very good at standing still. Thus, they spent most of their time training, running drills, and keeping their minds sharp. There would be no telling when the next fight would come, and they planned to be ready.

Amadeus stood next to his old friend Roland Thorne, surveying the unit's drills at the firing range. They hadn't said much to each other, until a familiar, slippery voice broke the silence.

"Commander Blackwood, I have news."

The duo turned to find the mysterious intelligence officer, the snake of a man simply known as Zed. Amadeus had only dealt with the man directly a few times, and in his opinion, that was a few times too many. There weren't many that trusted the man, or at least, not those that knew him. He was a shadowy individual, always keeping his distance when it came to revealing his agenda. One day, Amadeus would seek answers as to what that agenda may be, but for now, he would settle for putting up with the man's unwanted presence.

"We're on leave, Zed. Whatever you want from us, it isn't going to happen. Go find someone else to do your dirty work."

Zed met the comment with his usual chit-eating grin. Somehow, that smile was even more infuriating than the man himself.

"You know as well as I that it isn't my work, but the work of the Empire."

On second thought, it was his tone that was the truly aggravating factor. Roland stepped forward, ready to chew the man out, only to get stopped by Amadeus.

"And what could be so important for you to interrupt our first R&R in months?"

The man produced a small holo projector, activating it to reveal the layout of a fortress.

"This is the location of the traitor that killed our beloved Tavlar."

Damn him, Amadeus would think to himself. Ever since the assassination of the Imperator, Amadeus had placed the man once known as Halketh at the top of his kill list. The assassination wasn't the only reason, either. The man made things even more difficult to navigate as a darksider within the NIO, and Amadeus resented him for that. Many wanted him dead, but when he forsook the NIO, Amadeus took it rather personally. Zed knew how to use this to manipulate Amadeus, and he had to admit... it was working.

Zed turned off the projection, handing the holo to Amadeus.

"I'll just leave this with you, and let you decide what to do with the information. Call it a professional courtesy, from one Imperial to another."

Amadeus took the holo in hand, turning away from Zed as he pondered on what he would do.

"I'd say it was good to see you Zed, but it would be a lie."

No reply came from the man, and he slinked back off into whatever shadow he had emerged from. The duo stood in silence once again, until the silence was once again broken. This time, it was Roland that had decided to speak.

"So, when do we ship out?"

"Not this time, Roland. You'll be staying here. The men have earned this time, and so have you."

"But sir, would that be wise? I know what killing the traitor means to you, but he can't be alone in that fortress. Sith, Mawites, and those damned undead of his... you're going to have your hands full."

Amadeus simply gave the man a pat on the shoulder before making his own exit in silence.

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New Cold War

The cold air may have brought a bitter chill to others, but lately, Amadeus had been becoming rather accustomed to it. There was something strangely calming about the cold, providing him with focus, as well as a strange level of comfort. Perhaps that's why the traitor always gravitated toward such places. He had arrived shortly before the rest of the NIO forces, taking care to land his shuttle far away from the prying eyes of the Maw. It was no simple task, but Amadeus was no stranger to keeping his head down. When the time came, he began his trek toward the nearest entry point to the citadel, taking care to remain unseen. He would have to move fast. The rest of the New Imperial forces would be arriving at any moment, and he would have to be in position before the doors got kicked down.

Pressing further into the frozen landscape of Csaus, Amadeus eventually began to sense something in the distance. It seemed that he was getting close, as there were signs of life nearby. He reached for his lightsaber before taking cover behind a large boulder, only peeking around it just enough to get eyes on his new targets. A group of three Mawites were patrolling the area, if you could truly call it that. They seemed more concerned with their conversation than with attending to their duty. Taking them out would be simple enough, but Amadeus wasn't going to complain about having the element of surprise.

As the trio got within killing distance, Amadeus reached out to the Force, calling upon its energy and sending himself over the boulder. Igniting both crimson blades mid-air, he landed right in the middle of the scouts, cleaving one of the Mawites in two. A second strike immediately followed, beheading the second man before they knew what was happening. The third looked raised his blaster, only to be met with a Force choke from Amadeus' free hand. He approached the suffocating man, running him through as he held him in the air.

Today, there would be no quarter.

Moments after all three scouts were dead, the sounds of battle could be heard in the distance. The NIO had come to Csaus, bringing the fury of order and vengeance with them. Not only that, but the sounds seemed to be getting closer. Amadeus turned toward the approaching vehicle, lightsaber still in hand.

It looked like he wouldn't be alone in his mission after all.

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CSAUS | CITADEL CAELITUS
501st LEGION | 16th COMPANY
40 TROOPS TOTAL | 4 BASILISK WAR DROIDS
GEAR IN WRITE UP | REPEATERS | MISSILE LAUNCHERS
ALLIES: New Imperial Order | DECEASED Erskine Barran DECEASED Erskine Barran | Kranak Vizsla Kranak Vizsla | Bex Tarring Bex Tarring | Volgin Alto
ENEMIES: Maw | Lurtz Null Lurtz Null | SCAR SCAR | Kralmus Orr Kralmus Orr | Khamul Kryze Khamul Kryze
ENGAGING: The Mongrel The Mongrel (I'm here, dawg!)
GEAR: In bio | Standard loadout | shield

  • Sixteens overstretch and get overrun
  • Mandos fall back to broken building on left flank
  • Defensive perimeter is set up to hold off against Mawite swarm
  • Sixteens make fun of Mawites
  • Shai doesn't recognize the person she's supposed to fight and acts childish.

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I'll be prayin' for ye, Krayt. Make your people proud.

The Sixteens came in full force at the surprised Mawites. Flak burst around them and left black clouds dotting the air as they deployed from the gunships, leaving their air support to regroup and receive new orders. The Basilisks weren’t necessary yet, too much of a valuable resource to risk getting shot down by the Maw’s ludicrous weapons of destruction.

But the element of surprise was quickly lost when one of their leaders stepped up to rally his troops. Blaster fire and the occasional rocket or grenade was tossed down at the Maw’s lines as the Sixteens pushed up with their jetpacks, intending to seemingly jump right down their throats. Far on the left flank, ahead of an old, blown out building, some touched down while others stayed in the air. Unfortunately they wouldn’t be able to hold their position for long as the Maw forces pushed up to meet them in savage barbarism.

:: Move back, move back! ::

:: On the right, grenade out! ::

:: WE NEED TO MO- :: A shot from a plasma cannon tore the man’s head from his body as the Sixteens faltered in the aggressive counter attack. Quickly they pushed back to the broken building while repeater gunners let loose with their hellfire, heavy particle bolts streaming at the enemy with explosions following every hit. Steadily rotating their troops, they set up a perimeter at the old building with repeaters and rifles letting loose on the masses.

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The risk was very much evident to the Mandalorians. They couldn’t afford to be overrun. Luckily the one place where they excelled was in close quarters. As Mawites approached, they were met with flamethrowers and plasmacasters melting their flesh from their bodies. Repulsors rang to drive back those too close while whistling birds shaped the visage of their enemies simply dropping dead before them in droves. The closer their enemy drew, the more dangerous the Sixteenth Company became.

:: You know what would tick them off? :: Gira muttered as she drew her pistol to blast away at one drawing far too close. :: The Galidraani thing? :: Helin snickered, followed by a bunch of others snickering along as the collective hive mind took hold.

”MAW - DELENDA - EST!”

The war chant erupted from their position over the cacophony of the fighting. As the Scar Hounds pushed up with their horrid weapons and savagery, as the Aspirants piled against the white armour and golden bolts of the Mandalorians, the battle cry matched the Maw’s chants in blatant mockery, even accompanied by condescending laughs and cussing.

”MAW - DELENDA - EST!”

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"Let the greatest among you face me!"

"Let the greatest among you face WAR'S ANOINTED!"

Huddled behind cover, Shai blinked in surprise as one of the Maw’s generals roared out. ”Who the kriff is that guy?” Shai grumbled at Kranak and her troops. They didn’t have time to ponder as a trooper on the left completely freaked out.

:: OH KRIFF THERE’S A HORNY MANDO OVER HERE! :: He scattered as one of his teammates received a massive axe in his gut. ”Kranak, push him back!” She ordered her friend as she looked at her troopers. :: Hold the line! Wait for the signal! :: She ordered over the comms before she turned her attention to the banshee over on the Maw’s side.

”IT’S EITHER ‘SHAI’ OR ‘WARDOG’, KARK YOU VERY MUCH!” She barked back at the man as she peeked over the wall to get a look at him. She was honestly at a loss over who the guy was. Looked like a creep, with the brain floating in a jar like some wacky science scene in a movie.

”And who the kriff are you, anyway?! I’m here for the Mongrel, not a lapdog or some crap! And I ain’t seein’ that hulkin’ schutta anywhere so why don’t you kark off and go get him for me!” She continued to berate the cyborg over the wall. ”Hell, ain’t you a little short to be a Mawite anyway?!” She cackled, deciding to send a few bolts his way before she retreated back to only letting her visor peek over the wall.

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Ziare Dyarron | Keilara Kala'myr (Mercy)
COMPNOR (ISB) Junior Agent, Nite agent | Marauder and Agent of the Maw
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Objective III: BE QUICK OR BE DEAD
Location: The Necropolis, Citadel Caelitus, Csaus
Equipment: FS-18-UP2 Omega Phase Assault Rifle | 2x PV-16 "Sunfury" Pulse Pistol | Light Armour | Viper Mk. I Skinsuit | 2x Vibrodagger || Stealth field generator || OPBC-01m
Allies: Michael Barran Michael Barran | Nuruodo'kal'brast Nuruodo'kal'brast | Colton Renfro | Rika Hiro Rika Hiro | Annor E-059 | Colton Renfro | Amadeus Blackwood Amadeus Blackwood | Open (Allies to Ziare, enemies to Mercy)
Enemies: Open
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[ Planet Hell ]
"Galactic Basic" | ~"Telepathic" communication ~ | << comm. channel >>

Okay, I think I was starting to get completely confused and didn’t know what was going on here. What is it that forbids me to get information about something? Why would I deny myself access to any information that concerns me? Unless… it really had to mean that Mercy existed in my head. I really had to talk to someone about this, but I was afraid I would lose my job at COMPNOR because of it. I just wanted to serve my country and repay the debt for rescuing Serenno. Somehow I had to defeat it, somehow I had to find a solution to it.

I was stronger than that, not in vain did I become an agent; I led the uprising on Serenno for years, at least our own cell. Maybe I should try to pretend I'm Mercy? But I didn't know what he might be like. Without this, unfortunately, it would have been a very difficult task. Tu'teggacha Tu'teggacha has done this with me when he tortured me personally? He couldn’t break me, instead creating a second personality to serve the Maw? What kind of monsters are these?! I could feel the tears starting to burn my eyes. What did these do to me? Why didn't Silent let me die at Lao-Mon?

~ Why did I block this data from myself? And is there any way I can override my own command? ~ I asked, however I thought Mercy was thorough and there is no way to get those data.

~ Not enough data is available and there is no way to override the previous command with only the appropriate codes. ~ he replied.

Yes, as I thought, she was thorough enough. She didn’t give an extra explanation as to why it encrypts data in my mind and can’t be accessed without codes. And the codes are impossible to guess because I knew nothing about it. I didn’t know what her traits were, who she was, what her motivations were. I didn’t even know how and why she existed at all! Maybe, maybe… maybe there’s a way; however, if she resembles me, she also thought so and denied this possibility. I had a feeling she knew about me; it is confusing that I don't know anything about her.

~ Tell me data and information about Mercy! ~ I told him.

~ Request denied! ~ he replied.

Feth! But that was really what I was thinking and expecting. However, this confirmed my suspicion that she knew she was living in my mind, but I didn’t know anything about it. Feth! Why? I really didn’t know any answer to that question. I had to figure something out very, very quickly to get out of here. I also heard the noise of the battle from outside. It was true the last time I heard the noise of battle, the allies were nearby and yet they were not able to free me. What else would it have been like now? No! I must not think so, I was still alive and had the opportunity to escape.

I had to have a chance, otherwise I could have shot myself in the head right now. I had to believe that the problem could be solved and one day I could really have a normal life. It really didn't make sense to live without hope. I had to hope and believe until the last minute. It used to work, I got free, I killed my brother too and I got my freedom.

I had to believe and hope that hope existed and I could be free too one day…

I had to believe and hope…

"NO!"

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Delilah Jones

Guest
D

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DAGGER-6
LIEUTENANT
NEW IMPERIAL ORDER
THE SKIES | CSAUS
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ALLIES: Jon Kovacs | Enzo Demici | DECEASED Erskine Barran DECEASED Erskine Barran (Hawk down, bruddah) | Volgin Alto | Bex Tarring Bex Tarring | Shai Maji Shai Maji | Kranak Vizsla Kranak Vizsla | Julian Qar Julian Qar | Vladimir Kovačić Vladimir Kovačić | NIO | Enclave
ENEMIES: The Mongrel The Mongrel | SCAR SCAR | Lurtz Null Lurtz Null | Kralmus Orr Kralmus Orr | Khamul Kryze Khamul Kryze | Chimera Chimera | Electra-12 Electra-12 | BOTM | NSO
ENGAGING: Electra-12 Electra-12 (Soonᵀᴹ)
GEAR: Armour | Pistol | Vibroblade | 2x Vibroknives
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SUPERNOVA


:: Preferably enough for him and his ego, I'd reckon. ::
Del rolled her eyes.
<I'll move up for both your egos then and leave you two to duke it out over space.> she quipped, angling her Fighter for an even wider berth. Her stomach clenched, however. She had a very shrewd idea that Demici didn't know the details as to how he was inducted into the flight. None of them actually spoke about it. Ever. And the top brass wouldn't have given much either, the emotionless fools. If Demici did know, he wouldn't be this chipper about the mission.

It sucked. A lot.

:: If all goes well, we'll be in time for dinner and a warm bath. This frozen wasteland is certainly making me want to offer my condolences to those poor Mawsicles down there. ::

Del had just opened her mouth to give him some kind of quip again when her scans pinged with a red dot.
<You just had to open your big mouth, didn't you Demici? Bandit on our six.> she said and was just about to take evasive action when a feminine voice broke through the open comms.

Great. They were dealing with a vixen on top of everything.
<You always this chatty?> Del asked just before she flicked open the control to be able to release a Mag Pulse to get the Mawite off their tail.

But the chance to push that button was ripped from her.

The Tempest AI complained of the lock on. Del tried to do the only thing she could in that split second moment - she yanked the controls to the left, attempting to roll the TIE.

But it happened in slow motion.

The homing bolt clipped her wing on the turn.

And then time fast forwarded.

The Outlander spun out of control, the g-force smashing Del against her seat and taking the wind right out of lungs as the Fighter whirled through the air towards the battle lines at an alarming rate. There was no time to say anything, the air all but gone from her. But thoughts, memories and regrets flashed in ultra speed through her mind. And then only one thought...

Mom...

The TIE crashed into the ground not far from the Citadel, S-foils splintering as the Fighter plowed through snow and dirt in smoke and sparks. It slid across the melted snow before finally coming to rest in shards of Transparisteel and Faraday components, ending up halfway on its face.

Snow and smoke and steam engulfing its broken body.

 

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E M P E R O R
NEW IMPERIAL ORDER
KNIGHTS OF THE EMPIRE
Iron Skin | Lightsaber

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THIRD EYE
The violent, chaotic whirlwind that Solipsis sprung forth unto Rurik with told a tale shades too similar to their encounter on Coruscant. In those moments of meditation, of serene contemplation, he was lying in wait for that very maneuver. That very violent spring into the action at his hand. Throwing all his rage, all his anger and every fiber of his being thrust into this attack, striking in vitriol to begin this bout of destiny. To say he was precognitive would be a delusional claim, but to say he was expecting this sudden lurch- he immediately erected a barrier through the force in reprisal to shield himself from the strike, once Solipsis would meet it he lifted his left hand up in a close fist before splaying his fingers and thrusting his arm forward in a thunderous burst to send Solipsis flailing back from whence he came.

"No...no no no..." Rurik stated, his voice ever placid, ever frigid in its strained, darkened inflection. The darkness marred his voice, his mortal form, all of his being.

Rurik, battling his instinct to swing the pendulum back against Solipsis...relented. And retreated into the darkness, his presence all but fading from view seamlessly.

"You are well and truly alone now, Sith. There is no Jedi, no emotional insecurities to feast upon, none of your cattle to come to your aid." Rurik iterated, maintaining the frozen steel of his voice carrying from various points within the throne room with each passing phrase.

"How confident are you truly, Sith? Alone." He would be prey no longer to the darkness, he would be the hunter. And as any predator did, he sprung for the kill.

The slash of Rurik's movement emerged from behind Solipsis as Rurik launched himself toward the Sith, bringing his blade down in a violent cut toward the Sith'ari in the hopes of making purchase in his armor and form, utilizing the hopefully gained element of surprise.

"I will suffer the darkness no longer!"

He said, yelling for what seemed to be one of the choice moments in their many bouts of death. This would not be any passing encounter. This would be a decisive one. Rurik would make it so that Solipsis was brought low, to the end...or very...very close.

KNIGHTS OF THE EMPIRE
Atticus Draco Atticus Draco | Lucien Dooku Lucien Dooku | Dorian Sicarrio Dorian Sicarrio | Tish Cowen Tish Cowen | Varus the Sigillite | Larro Paeb | Ihsan Varad Ihsan Varad | Lyra 'Sybila' Voikryt Lyra 'Sybila' Voikryt | Marus Saretti Marus Saretti

 

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