Interacting with: Aron Gowrie
Eina L'lerim-Vandiir
Sayuri Hatoko
878, Donnager II-Class Star Destroyer 'Le Bourlingueur', Exegol's Space
Reaching the surrounding space of the battle, the 'Bourlingueur' was now near the chaos happening on Exegol. «
Back in Realspace in five minutes!» an ensign told the Captain and the Lt. Colonel as each officer on the deck busied themself for the arrival that would happen in only a couple of minutes. Nukth turned his gaze towards Space, readying himself for the battle. After seven days of travel, with five days spent trying to make their way within the Unknown Regions, the last cruisers from the Yinchorri Garrison were now able to make contact with their fellow Imperial vessels in Exegol's near space. Having deployed the major part of the Zeta Dropships' squadrons so the first Yinchorri-Anaxsi wave could have reached the rendezvous point on the ground, High Command had informed Captain Kelga'an that he and his Banshees, alongside the Kawas from the Fifth, would be forced to use starfighters as dropships. Nukth had been surprised by the fact that his superiors, such as Vourc'h, had decided to make them use this sort of ship, instead of the classic Imperial drop pods. But it wasn't a first for the now old Captain; almost three decades ago, fighting on Anaxes in his black-painted Imperial gear, the Sieur had faced situations like this one and had learned his job of Hussars by using stolen fighters so Haskler's protégés could drop themselves over their objectives.
But now this time was over for all of them. «
Delmas, I want you t'keep the ship goin' as long as possible. The battle for Exegol's gonna be murderous on the ground, but I wanna keep aerial support while I'll be with my Sons within the Citadel. An' several vessels from the Reptiles' fleet have probably been taken down by Alliance's ships, so they'll need somewhere to come back.» the Sieur said, clearly stating who was giving orders to who, even if Delmas was one rank stripe higher than him. His conversation partner couldn't help but nod, accordingly to what the Captain had just said. Showing a clean pair of heels, Kelga'an got back to the deck's door.
«
Back in Realspace!
–
Commence descent in the atmosphere; ready defence squadrons!»
Stopping himself for a moment before going into the ship's turbolift, the Sieur took a moment to let a quick smirk appear on his face. Reaching the door, putting on his helmet, he let the Lt. Colonel with this last thought,
Well done Delmas.
878, Building No. 730, Near Bridge 9-4-Titan, Exegol
Lieutenant Chaban wasn't the most Anaxsi officer of his rank within the Corps. Born on Ord Lithone, in one of the many systems under Julius Haskler's jurisdiction within the Imperial Territories, his family had reached Yinchorr when he was ten. Joining the TodHusars through the course of the Imperial Academy, he got out at nineteen, as a young 2nd Lieutenant within the Second Regiment of TodHusars, he was now wearing the classic two-striped rank as the designed XO of Fleuret Company. Sent to Exegol so he could lay the groundwork before the second wave's arrival on-site, Chaban's Sappers had dug a wide trench so the Company would get cover if needed. Now one of his squad led an expedition to the nearest bridge in order to plant explosives on it and to cut the Alliance from one of its best ways to evacuate people from the District. Really convinced of the Imperial behaviours, Chaban knew that what they were doing was probably wrong; but something else was at stake right now, and their enemy would understand. Not to mention the fact that there were other bridges on this side of the city.
While everything was going on as usual, the confident Lieutenant received communication through his radio, <:
Imperial commanders responsible for Bridge nine-four-titan, please respond, this is Padawan Hatoko of the New Jedi Order.:> His HUD didn't show anything about his interlocutor. But, with the coms down in the region, this was predictable. Understanding by her manners and words that the Padawan was on the other side of the bridge, the Lieutenant liked the idea of discussing but wanted to be sure that he held all the cards.
<:
First Squad, this is Chaban speakin' -- make sure that all your explosives are planted on the bridge an' proceed to RTB as soon as possible. Snipers, acquisition on this Padawan. I want data an' images displayed on my HUD within a minute. Over.:>
Receiving
Roger that. in reply, Chaban waited thirty seconds before having a triple view of the battlefield from the helmets of his snipers located on the high floors of the building. The Padawan seemed to be alone, so she wasn't actually a danger, but she could become it quickly with all the tricks she knew. Unlike his brothers and sisters from the Order, the woman wore yellow combat armour that the officer hadn't seen on any holodisplay at the Academy. Without notice, the Jedi tried to make contact again, <:
Imperial commanders responsible for Bridge nine-four-titan, please respond, this is Padawan Hatoko of the New Jedi Order.:> Receiving confirmations from his Sappers on-site that devices were ready to be fired.
<:
Commander Hatoko, this is Lieutenant Chaban speakin', from the TodHusars Corps of Yinchorr -- your so-called Imperial commanders. This bridge is under our jurisdiction right now, an' I've got orders to destroy it. Sorry, ma'am, but you'll have to walk over us if you wanna keep this bridge. I understand th-...:> Suddenly, statics appeared on the radio, probably due to the battle raging all over them. Knowing that the Jedi would take this as a
Casus Belli, Chaban turned to his second-in-command, «
Make sure everyone's locked an' ready fo' battle. We gonna have t'fight those scumbags. Merde!»
878, Donnager II-Class Star Destroyer 'Le Bourlingueur', Exegol's Space
«
Listen up everyone, time's the essence an' we cannot waste it as if it had no importance. Our objective is the Citadel,» the Sieur declared while showing the holotable in front of him, while Banshees' and Kawas' officers were looking at the hologram, «
Remember that the coms seem to be cut with the ground forces right now so it'll likely be the case when it will be our turn to drop in the mud. Proximity radio will probably be usable on-site in a half-a-klick maximum range so keep close to your tactical group. Elements from Kawa Company, First Platoon, will be tasked to establish a long-range relay mast that'll be operational at three hours after landin' at least -- so don't count on it, Hussars. Reptile Brigade and Sappers from the Corps have been managing to make a breach in the doors of the Citadel but we don't have any piece of news from 'em. Anyway, assuming the many units engaged in combats over Exegol, the doors will be broken, Reptiles or not. Their designations have been added to your HUD so if contact is made with 'em, please report it to the highest officer in your zone, and make sure information will reach myself or Captain Zann as soon as possible, got it?... Oh, I almost forgot -- no Zetas t'day. We'll drop from TIE Vectors. G'luck Hussars.»
As officers were taking their last orders, and a quick meal by eating a handful of Warra nuts before putting on their helmets before this ultimate battle for the fate of the whole Galaxy. Usually, Banshees looked somehow different compared to the actual Anaxsi TodHusars; but today they were more hearty with their brothers from Kawa Company than normal. Kelga'an was pretty sure it had to do with the fact that his Sons were now allowed to bear their actual names and not just nicknames found on a battlefield. The major part of the Banshees was still trying to make this become a habit within the troops. With his officers on the case, the Captain knew that it was just a matter of time.
An' they'll be their names a last time. Anaxes, welcome your Sons to your Azure Paradise...!
878, District of the Titan, Sith Citadel, Exegol
«Oui, but of course! Lucky the Tuaths are wild enough to keep this scumbag alive at least, huh?»
«
Salopard,» Mar'ann muttered while seeing Marchal running to reach their location, «
Lucky you they wanted to keep you alive. They could have made a meat bag o' you!» No one could have thought the Sergeant would have survived this type of explosion, such as no one would have imagined the man would have survived his first battle -- Nirauan's. And now he was there. In the flesh. Ready to be back again into battle, in better form than each and every Sapper under her command. That was the so-unknown Great Tragedy of Marchal the Anaxsi, one that no one would have been talking about because no one wanted to show that this man would overcome all those obstacles on the path he went through.
«
Vous vous débarrasserez pas d'moi aussi facilement, bande d'abrutis! (...)
I'm leaving with the Major-General.... Helping fortification efforts everywhere I go, it's an urban battle now after all, so it matters little as to how small said fortifications are wherever I end up - I'll fix whatever I find and offer instruction regardless.» Somehow -- and Mar'ann didn't know the 'how' -- the Sergeant had become friends with one of the highest-ranking officers within IMPAF. It seemed that war had the power to bring brothers in arms closer, and even the most unpredictable friendships could be born this way. Twenty knew the man was well-skilled and that all he did was a success after all, but even she had thought that this huge explosion was the last one the Sergeant would have ever seen. Finally, he went out of this one in a blaze of glory.
«
And besides, someone needs to build a solid command-centre for them while I put work in elsewhere.... Do I have your permission to proceed, Lieutenant?» Truly amazed, the Lieutenant took a second to think before replying, «
Well, you did a good job at Nirauan an' from then on, I don't see why you couldn't help the Major-General with his troops an' barricades. Join him, I've got enough Sappers to hit the road as I want us to for the followin' hours.»
With a little grin behind the mask of his helmet, Twenty let the Sergeant join Gowrie by running, accompanying him for an important mission in order to make the second wave as useful as possible within the battle for the Citadel. Looking at her second-in-command, Mar'ann nodded and then spoke to all her platoon in those words, «
Gear you up Saaaappeeeers!» she declared, «
Time's the essence now, an' we still have a mission t'do before the Captain's on-site, don't we? So pack your things, an' especially this machine gun 'cause we'll need it! Don't forget your shoes, too.» As she ended her tirade, TIE Fighters passed over their head; but those ones weren't usual starfighters: there were troops on them, Hussars as Twenty could tell. «
Saaaaappeeeeeers! KELGA'AN'S ON THE WAY!!!»
878, Approaching Drop Zone, Exegol's Atmosphere
«
Was that Veersov over here?» Milo Holt asked while looking at the ground. Harnessed on the Vector Starfighter's solar panels, the squad of TodHusars that Nukth had followed so he could drop as during the good old days, the Captain turned his gaze to check if his second-in-command wasn't right or not. But he couldn't see a thing in the madness that Exegol had become within the battle's first hours. Fog and mud were here, where ruins and buildings should have been. Of course, it wasn't the first time the Sieur saw how war could shortly ravage a land, but, this time, nothing could be done after the attack would end. Exegol would remain in that state for decades and maybe centuries, unable to support life. In the end, that wasn't a huge case: many planets were remaining in the Galaxy and Exegolians would find another world to live on. For a man who had lost his homeworld thirty years ago, this seemed like he felt during the final fight for the control of Anaxes. Now, Galactic Alliance paid him back in its own coin. More than three decades after Anaxes's events.
«
'Can't see a thin'!» the Sieur finally answered, «
But it wouldn't shock me if it was the case, actually! Mar'ann loves this place's mood, doesn't she?» Milo allowed himself to giggle quickly as an answer, but the Lieutenant returned to his state of control as fastly as he could. In fact, time was at stake and if the Reptiles weren't able to open the gates, Hussars wouldn't be able to drop into the Citadel. The following minutes would be key for members of the Corps.