First Contact (Levantine Sanctum Dominion of Tygara)

[Callista Gseran]

[member="Coryth Elaris"] [member="Tarissa Cadalthor"]

As the writer is tired and can't be bothered to recall everything that's happened Callista smiled and moved to help Tarissa to her feet. It... wasn't as simple as it sounded,for the Eldorai was stubborn and was trying to stand all on her own. Shaking her head slightly at her own internal dialogue, Callista looped her arm under Tarissa's as Coryth did so on the other side. Slowly and carefully, they helped Tarissa to her feet, and stayed as she caught her balance. Even when she had, Callista didn't let go.

"Alright, Let's get you to the treaty signing...." Callista told her with a smile as she turned and started guidning the three of them from the medical ward to the room where the treaty was being signed. It wasn't a long walk, really. But she knew for Tarissa, it probably felt three times as long as it actually was.

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
“I’m sorry I woke you, love,” Tegaea said with a smile. She looked back to the map and became more serious. “The Xioquo are moving on Mansura. We have only one ship, the Orion, present. I’ve called for air support but it’ll take time to get there. I’ll send a message that Mansura has to be ready, but there’s at least 5,000 enemy marines ready to land. The Qadiri stand no chance. We can’t back out because otherwise we look weak. I don’t envy Commander Gynt, but she’s one of the best. But still, I’m going to scramble what forces we have and head up there myself to help aid the city…I think I can muster 50 Eldorai and Firemane troops and a few gunships. Want to come?”

Meanwhile, the Orion was doing its job well. By moving backward in circling arcs faster than the Xioquo could match, it was able to keep firing and then moving out of range.
“Firing rear turret!” Ward called.
“Target hit,” the gunner called. “Glancing strike. Enemy damage limited.”
“Damn,” Gynt muttered. After that first devastating volley the Xioquo had gotten smart. They knew they were outgunned, but the Orion couldn’t destroy them all quickly. So they had pushed out their smaller ships ahead to force them as the target. Meanwhile the larger ships pushed ahead, in turn shielding the transports.
So far the Orion had sunk two of the three smaller ships and damaged several of the larger ones, but even turbolasers could not fire forever.

“Sir, we have a problem,” Ward said. She pointed to the map.
Gynt understood at once. They were coming near to the Bay of Mansura. The Orion had a choice; to speed past the trap and let the transports through, or to hold off the Xioquo but be trapped in the bay and finally be in range. If that happened they would prevent the invasion being so immediately devastating, but be much more in risk. Tegaea’s words filled her head ‘Don’t endanger your ship’.
The Commander’s gaze flicked to the distant smudge of land where the city of Mansura lay. If she moved her ship aside the Xioquo could keep her out of the way using the warships and land to loot, pillage and massacre. Reinforcements would arrive to find a burning husk.
“Lieutenant, prepare to block the harbour. It’s time to fight. Ready torpedoes, and tell command to get a wriggle on with reinforcements.”

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Tegaea Alcori"]


Siobhan nodded curtly. "I'll go grab my armour. Contact Taldir and Nantaris and tell them to head to Mansura. I suppose Semiramis' 'new model soldiers' will see action sooner than we thought. And comm Coryth. Last I heard she and Jedi Gseran were tending to Tarissa." She was not sure whether the little redhead would join, but it was best to fill her in on what had been going on.


She briefly glanced at the map before turning away. Firemane and Eldorai forces were spread thin, but they could not afford to show weakness at such a critical moment. However, a part of Siobhan saw beyond the danger and recognised an opportunity. A display of force that saved Mansura would leave a lasting impression, not only on Semiramis and her people, but also on the Xioquo. There was no room for failure or doubt, the attackers would have to be crushed. The moment for a battle might not be the most opportune, but they could make it so.

 

[Coryth Elaris]

Coryth nodded to Tarissa, as she reached out and slid her arm under the Eldorai's shoulder to give her what support she could to help her and Callista get her to the Palace, since that was where the woman wished to be. It was clear to her that Tarissa believed strongly about her, about the vision and about the Goddess. "No, they certainly don't come by accident. Though, I must admit they are more curse than gift. I take no pleasure in the horrors I often see. It seldom happens that I see good futures. Just wars, death and destruction often haunt me." The redhead said quietly as they headed out of the ship and started for the palace. It wouldn't take them too long to get there, with all of them working together.

Coryth smiled shyly, a little unsure how she felt about someone knowing of the horrors she'd already faced in her life. "Thank you, Tarissa that's very kind of you to say." She said softly as they moved onwards. After all, she never really felt particularly brave. Coryth had only done what was required of her to make it through and survive all of those terrible events.She'd been fortunate in the end, and lucky that her training held through save for a single moment of weakness. "Of course, later. Once I have you back in a bed, resting we can talk more." It was one way to get the woman back into bed.

It didn't take the long and they arrived in the palace, within the room where the treaty was to be signed. Though by the looks of it, it had already happened without them. Coryth glanced for a moment to Tarissa, and then Callista, unsure of what to do now. With her powers in the Force, Coryth reached out and drug a chair over to them with telekinesis. "Please Tarissa, you really should sit."

[member="Callista Gseran"] | [member="Tarissa Cadalthor"]

 

[Vaena Askari]

[member="Coryth Elaris"], [member="Callista Gseran"]


Tarissa was not in a good mood when they arrived. Well, that obviously had something to do with the fact that she was not in a good shape. Moreover, the treaty had been signed already, which rankled her a good deal. However, there was an Angelii Wing Leader there to greet them, apparently a messenger sent by Siobhan. This also rankled her because the Countess ought to have shown up herself. Needless to say she was as imperious as ever.


"Status report, Wing Leader. What's the situation?" she spoke commandingly. This seemed to be her normal tone most of the time. Whilst walking through the palace she had noticed the massive commotion, so she figured something was up.


"Treaty's been signed, Lady, but a Xioquo battle fleet is en route to Mansura, a Qadiri city. Without support it will fall. A Firemane corvette has engaged them and we are directing reinforcements to hold the city. Lady Alcori and Lady Kerrigan have taken command," the soldier responded professionally, throwing in the traditional Eldorai salute.


Tarissa's eyes narrowed slightly. "I see. Nice to hear they are taking action." And probably using Eldorai troops without telling her! She could not fault them for that, but it was the principle of the thing. "Is Seraph Taldir mobilising the Angelii? How many troops do we have available?" Saying that she asked would be wrong, more like demanded.


"Yes, Lady. Our forces are stretched thin, about a dozen Angelii are being directed to Mansura. The natives are mobilising their warriors, but they are very resistant to taking orders from mon...humans," the Wing Leader corrected herself. After all, the two humans might not appreciate being called 'monkeighs'.


"Take me to their officers. I shall take command over our...allies. Get me a map. How far is it to the city?" The Angelii quickly produced a map and Tarissa studied it before shaking her head. "Fifty miles. With their primitive craft the Qadiri will not reach it in time. What about that island there?" She pointed to an island that had been highlighted, looking grumpy.


"A Xioquo fortress, Lady. Their main naval base, where they have herded slaves captured on raids. It's where they launched their attack from. We were planning an attack on it before we heard about the Mansura situation. If we make haste, we can reach it while the enemy is distracted."



"Then there we shall go. I suppose Kerrigan will defend Mansura just fine. I want a message sent to the Blade. All bombers that can be spared are to be sent to Mansura. I want the invaders to be smote and crushed. We shall take the fortress," she spoke, then glanced over to Coryth and Callista. "These Yedai are our friends, make sure they get whatever they desire and if one of the natives offers them food or drink, check for poison first." Her tone implied that she would be very cross if this happened. That said the Eldorai aristo addressed the two Jedi. "Once again I thank you for your aid. I shall be going to Mansura. You may stay at the palace if you like."

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] [member="Coryth Elaris"]

The thought briefly occurred to Commander Gynt that this battle, her first and possibly last, would be watched by the natives of Tygara who would have no idea what they were seeing. She pushed away that view, she could only hope they’d come and help out when they saw that she was fighting their ancient enemies.

The Orion had shot ahead, easily reaching the harbour before the enemy, firing its rear weapon all the time. One of the larger enemy ships had peeled off, badly damaged and burning. It was good, but four of the large enemy vessels remained, and they would get a chance to finally fight back against the lone corvette.

“Bring us about, keep us moving to distract their aim, fire when targets are locked.”
Twin turrets opened fire on their enemies, but now the Xioquo were finally close to open fire, and flashes of smoke and flame could be seen. Plumes of water erupted around the Orion, but no hits…until a heavy impact struck the hull.
“Impact, ma’am, hull holding!” an officer called.
More impacts, mainly from smaller guns were similarly deflected, but then there was a deafening crash and flames jetted near the bridge.
“Heavy impact, Bolter 3 is disabled, two crew down!”
First blood for the Xioquo.
“Bring the crew in for now. Bring us to face the enemy. Prepare and load torpedoes!”

Into the open harbour the Xioquo charged, their four remaining big ships hoping to break in and surround their tormentor. One ship, the largest of all, slipped through, dragging itself over sand. However, the Orion had turned and now was ready.
“Fire torpedoes!”
Twin bursts slammed into the Xioquo ship, causing jets of water and flame to explode upward. In minutes the Xioquo ship was sinking, but their captain managed to beach it on the sand so it was able to keep firing.
Reloading, the Orion fired its next torpedoes at the next Xioquo ship, hitting this one too and making it go down. The two remaining large ships were prevented from following by the wreck, but were able to keep firing.

With one turret blasting the Xioquo flagship, the other was left to hammer the ships stuck outside the harbour. However, now forced to be almost immobile, the Orion started to take hits. Solid and explosive shot rocked it, and a round from the flagship disabled the rear gun.
“Sir, boats!”
“Man the bolters!” Gynt cried. Small boats were being rowed eagerly towards them, each one filled with fanatical warriors. “Open fire!”

The heavy bolters were lethal weapons, and against rowboats it quickly became a slaughter. However, the sheer number of enemy was a problem, as was the exposed position of the crews. Soon the bolter positions had become death-traps from the amount of bolts and bullets flying at them. Many of the marines on deck, come to join in with blaster and bolter, had also fallen, and the survivors took cover in doorways.

On the bridge Commander Gynt knew the final moments had come. The Xioquo transports had landed outside the harbour and were marching on Mansura, five thousand strong. The Xioquo flagship, crippled and immobile, still had a couple of guns functioning. The two outside the harbour, both damaged, still fired, and dozens of Xioquo warriors were trying to board.

“If the boss doesn’t come through now…” she didn’t finish. “Prepare to abandon ship, set reactors to self-destruct on my mark.”

Before she could give the order though she heard a sound. Engines, wings in the air…the faint specks of gunships and aircraft.

“Hold on, we need to keep them back just a few moments longer!” she called.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Tegaea Alcori"], [member="Coryth Elaris"]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCU0_QHUO-M​

Here be slaughter. Death, bloodshed and carnage. Siobhan Kerrigan felt right at home as the small flotilla of gunships and aircraft swept through the air, like birds of prey who had smelt blood and were now swooping down upon their victims.


Further ahead of them lay the Orion, battered and damaged but stll fighting, though it was a losing battle as it was under strong fire from what was left of the Xioquo fleet. Outside of the harbour of Mansura thousands Xioquo warrios had landed and were marching upon the city. They were too distant for her to get a clear picture of how the battle was going, but she knew enough to figure that the Qadiri, who at best had musquets at their disposal, stood little chance.


Well, that had changed now. Fifty miles lay between Mansura and Zeheb, so the new model troops of Semiramis would not arrive in time to influence the outcome of the battle. Instead, after some brief discussion it had been decided to split the forces at their disposal. Tarissa and some Angelii officers would hit the Xioquo island using the Shahbânu's new troops. With the dark elves having committed such a large force towards taking Mansura, it should be an easier target. Emphasis on should be. In war, things were seldom like that.


But that was fine. She did not need to ponder such things now and so she did not. Instead she barked out commands. "Have Sergeant Solveig land her unit in the city and reinforce the Qadiri. Deploy our walker. No prisoners until the battle is over. Nova Squadron destroys the enemy battleships outside the harbour, then performs a strafing run on the Xioquo troops," she commanded, with her commands quickly being passed on to the responsible officers in the small group. "I want the entire sea cleared of Xioquo."


They had only been able to muster a very small force given how much their troops had been spread thin. So the strategy hinged upon a shock and awe deployment of absurdly brutal firepower and the sheer psychological terror inflicted upon an enemy forced to confront a force they had never dealt with before.


"Aye, ma'am. Passed on. Bombers moving into position to engage," the pilot said. "Orders for the flagship?"


Instead of directly responding to the question Siobhan suddenly produced a...disc and handed it to the co-pilot. "Play this. Seriously, do it. It'll freak them the hell out. And open the door, I'm heading out. I'll fly out and deal with the flagship myself."


"Ma'am, you don't have a jetpack...," the pilot, who was a young Zabrak and still new to Firemane, called out to her. Evidently she did not yet know that her boss was insane - or awesome, depending on your perspective - to fly by using the Force. Whilst wearing full armour. Siobhan had not taken her beskar'gam with her, since it needed repairs, and so she only wore the standard Firemane armour. But that should suffice as well since it was made of duraplast, which was strong enough to resist a laser cannon.


However, Siobhan paid the pilot's words no heed and then one of the soldiers, a heavily scarred, muscular fellow called Thane, who was an Omega Pyre veteran, patted the confused woman on the back with his cybernetic hand. "Don't worry your pretty head, lass. Just focus on blowing crap up...and enjoy the show."


The door opened and Siobhan took a step into the open air. The Force wrapped itself around her and pulled her through the winds, which seemed to suddenly intensify around her. Letting her power flow she swept through the air at great speed. In the same moment chaos erupted all across the battlefield. For one, the music disc that she had given the pilot started playing and she began humming it, which happened to be this Galaxy's equivalent of Ride of the Valkyries. The confused Xioquo suddenly found themselves under fire when the Gunships descended upon them, unleashing loads of missiles and laserfire upon them.


The dropship, bearing soldiers, swept towards the city, guns blazing as it put the Xioquo soldiers under fire in the process. It is often forgotten how nasty lasers are, for they can burn living tissue and the natives had no defence against them. Nor did their transports. As the bombers surged towards the Xioquo battleships Siobhan moved with them. She could feel the confusion, fear and rage resonate from the dark elves through the Force and they soon opened up a furious barrage of anti-air fire. Some of the Xioquo were Sciians and so they drew upon their elemental power to try and keep her at bay, tossing in fireballs and bolts of lightning.


It was...inadequate. Those shots that hit her bounced off her armour, were reflected by her telekinetic shield or simply missed her because she was too fast. Even those that impacted only seemed to spur her on and provide fuel for the insane battle goddess All the while she was humming to the music. In her mind she was calm and focused, even as chaos raged all around her, and pulled at the strands of power that were the infinite energy field known as the Force. In her mind she envisioned the flagship, battered but still firing, and focused on the weak spots as she homed in on it.


The cannons roared and the musquets fired, but they could not hit her. First gunners were suddenly gripped by her mind and flung through the air like ragdolls. Their struggle was futile...they just did not know it yet. She was so filled with energy that it felt like she was about to burst, and so she unleashed it in a powerful blast of pure, unadulterated telekinetic energy.


Her use of the Force was unsubtle, brutal and at times crude. In her grasp it became a bludgeon she used to beat her enemies with until they were either broken or fled. In this case the best analogy would be an invisible torpedo that she drove into the ship. The air itself twisted into strange shapes as she unleashed her power, likewise the seas themselves seemed to bend to her will as massive waves crashed into the ship when she brought down her might upon it.


The flagship broke as a massive explosion erupted when her telekinetic torpedo impacted. Fires spread across the wrecked ship as it was ripped apart and began to sink. The screams of the Xioquo filled the air and were music to her ears. In the same moment the Firemane bombers had moved into range and unleashed their payload upon the remaining Xioquo ships. Soon they were likewise ablaze as beautiful fireballs blossomed into the sky and taking a dive into the seas. Flames and dense smoke boiled from the destroyed ships. Those Xioquo lucky enough to survive were leaping into the water to escape. Her power made her glide through the air as Siobhan swept towards the harbour of Mansura, seeking to unleash even more carnage, with bolts of lightning surging from her fingertips as she got closer...It was a torrent of lightning that hit the Xioquo like a thunderstorm.

 

[Callista Gseran]

[member="Tarissa Cadalthor"] [member="Coryth Elaris"]

Well that was a marked change. Callista shared a startled look with Coryth as Tarissa suddenly took charge of the situation. She was a stubborn one, that was certain. Shrugging slightly at Coryth, Callista sighed. There wasn't much they could really do to stop her if she wanted to jump back into things. That being said, she took a step forward after a moment and pressed and injector to Tarissa's arm. "Don't worry." she whispered. "It's more painkiller, and also a mild stimulant. Should help you focus." She glanced at Coryth. "And, if you don't mind... I think we'll come with you..."

 

[Coryth Elaris]

Coryth sighed, feeling the shift in Tarissa's mood. Her empathy picking up much more of it than she planned for. It was something that the redhead had to take a small moment to strengthen her mental barriers to press out the unwanted emotions wafting off Tarissa.

The tiny woman then gave a glance to her armor, almost grateful for having it now as it seemed she just might need it for a change, with what Tarissa was saying, and Callista .... There was no way in hell that she was going to let Tarissa go on her own. And Coryth herself could be quite the force to be reckoned with when she so chose. So there was a possible benefit in her joining the other two.

She managed a nervous smile as she met Callista's look. "Yes, we will." Coryth confirmed. The nerves came from Coryth's empathic gifts. In any sort of battle things tended to get rough for her, if she wasn't absolutely on her toes at all moments. She couldn't let a single barrier slip in the midst of a situation like that, or terror, pain, fear and the agony of death could quickly overwhelm the small woman forcing her into unconsciousness.

"I'm more than just a healer, and can help in other ways. So, if you'll let us join you, I know we can help. And keep you on your game while we are at it." Coryth was also glad she had grabbed a small medkit before they left the ship. Just something she always had in these situations.

[member="Callista Gseran"] | [member="Tarissa Cadalthor"]

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] [member="Coryth Elaris"] [member="Callista Gseran"]

The impact was immediate, sudden and devastating. As the Xioquo closed in for the kill suddenly everything changed. Twenty millennia of warfare hit them head on.
The Orion had been a powerful ship, but it was still broadly in their area of understanding. It was simply another warship which was faster and better armed.
Now though they faced things utterly alien to them; strikes from the air, war machines, and a flying goddess of war.

In swept Nova Squadron, unleashing proton bombs which could destroy a permacrete bunker. With utterly no defences aside from small arms and weak elemental attacks, they bombers took their time and unleashed. They did not miss.
The two Xioquo ships outside the harbour shattered into fragments, torn to pieces and rapidly sinking.

The city of Mansura had not been blind to what was going on. They knew not who these strange allies were – only garbled rumours had come from Zeheb – but they were prepared to defend themselves.
Outside the city ditches and bastions had been dug, crewed by regular soldiers and strengthened with cannons. However, they were outnumbered, and the initial push of the Xioquo had strained the outer line.
Then came deliverance.

When the gunships came in they unleashed missiles and laser fire to clear the landing zone. Xioquo and Qadiri alike fled in terror from these monstrous aircraft.
From the gunships came a different loudspeaker tone. A voice (Chesna’s actually) calling in Qadiri that they were friends and would only fight the Xioquo. It seemed to work…or at least none of the Qadiri fired on them, but they hung back fearfully.
The Firemane and Eldorai troops didn’t care. They were less than a hundred against nearly 5000 but they knew what could be done. Numbers mattered not in this battle.

Leading the attack was Tegaea herself in a Mag’ladroth heavy walker. One arm ended in a flamethrower, the other in a heavy bolter. The machine itself could crush and stomp anything in its path and was armoured and shielded enough to take on modern weapons.

It was over the moment the attack started, though the Xioquo did not know it. The Confederation troops took cover in the largest of the redoubts, mainly using blasters because of the ammunition efficiency. In the centre of the redoubt stood the walker, waiting for the enemy.
Of course, primitives could not be underestimated. Endor had shown an Imperial force humbled by teddy bears with spears. However, this battle had many differences. First, the Confederation stood on the defensive with heavy air support and clear fields of fire. Second, the numbers of the Xioquo were actually a disadvantage as it made them bunch up to attack, leaving them easily vulnerable to attack.

The first charge came quickly. A battalion sized phalanx of Xioquo charged forward with a great cry. The blasters opened fire, and the effect was terrible and instant. Not one Xioquo got within fifty feet of the defences before being cut down. The survivors fled. Learning their lesson they moved forward from several directions in loose formation. The redoubt from above seemed to flare like the corona of a star, spitting blaster bolts and flame in all directions.
From the air came ruin as bombs and missiles tore into the mass of attackers. It was time.

Tegaea checked her suit and amplified a roar through the walker’s speakers. Leaping ponderously over the defences, the walker landed, steadied, and charged. The Confederation troops followed, occasionally stopping to pick off an enemy.
The Xioquo, reduced by almost half, broke. Their last defence, a battery of artillery, fired uselessly at the walker before Tegaea charged them and crushed the cannons under her walker’s feet. Flames set off a gunpowder explosion which she shook off, but which killed or disabled the remaining crew.
Panicked, the survivors fled to the seashore where they found their transports burning or sunk. Throwing down their weapons the majority fell to their knees and submitted. A few, mainly the leaders, tried to fight and were gunned down in the shallows.

“Sio, the battle’s over,” Tegs called through her commlink. Popping the canopy on her walker she dropped the ground and let another trooper take over.
She looked over the horrid expanse. Thousands of dead Xioquo, nineteen of the twenty ships had been destroyed or taken. Only 200 Xioquo from over 10,000 warriors and crew would return to their island base to spread the terror of their defeat. That this ship had been spared had been done deliberately, for eyewitness accounts would spur the less zealous into possibly giving up.

 

[Vaena Askari]

[member="Tegaea Alcori"], [member="Callista Gseran"], [member="Coryth Elaris"]


Tarissa looked from one Yedai to the other, before nodding. "Then you are welcome to come. We must make haste. I have little trust in the fighting ability of the natives and their officers' competence," she said bluntly. No, she was not really a nice person! Desertion, disobedience and all that would not be tolerated. And so we shall perform a time skip and within a short span of time a grand Qadiri war fleet had been assembled. Well, by modern standards it was not 'grand' at all since it consisted of what would be considered 18th century frigates and men of war.

Clearly the Qadiri military still had a long way to go before primitive slugthrowers would no longer be considered the height of modernity. Still, it would do. For her part Tarissa requisitioned the second Triton-class surface corvette the Eldorai had brought with them, though using it in combination with antiquated sailships looked a bit absurd. Within a comfortably span of time, after she had thrown her weight around a bit, the Qadiri had literally set sails and was making its way across the massive seas.


Hopefully neither of the Yedai would get sea sick! Normally the small flotilla would have been impeded and relentlessly harassed by more modern Xioquo ships, but almost their entire fleet in this sector had been deployed to attack Mansura...and then been destroyed in the process. And so it came to pass that very soon the island was in view. As it had been described by the Qadiri, it was a fortress. The Xioquo had been smart enough to erect what would be considered bunkers, fortify the caves and the mountains.



Tarissa looked through her macrobinoculars, scanning the heavy fortress guns that were levelled against the fleet, then her gaze fell upon the light ships that were left in the harbour and now hastily being manned by the Xioquo. Evidently they had not been expecting an attack so soon. As the Qadiri fleet moved into range and the Xioquo got their first sight of the Firemane surface corvette, surprisingly enough one of the dark elf ships broke formation and...fled, sailing away from the fortress as fast as its primitive engines could move it.


"Don't fire on it, let them escape and spread word," these words had just left Tarissa's lips when suddenly the fortress' heavy guns opened up a volley against the deserting ship. Flames and dense smoke boiled from the light surface corvette before it was enveloped in a fireball.


In response Tarissa shrugged. "How uncivilised. Our enemy is exposed. I want our turbolasers and bombers to turn the fortification into rubble. The Qadiri can deal with the Xioquo ships. Landing operation commences once our air force has done its task. Kaeshana expects every Eldorai to her duty."


Smoke billowed up into the sky and there was a thunderous roar when the Qadiri battleships opened fire with their cannons upon the few Xioquo ships, belching out shells. In a flash one of the Xioquo light ships caught fire. Through the sky swept Eldorai bombers, carrying proton bombs that could level a permacrete bunker.


Furious anti-air fire and elemental attacks came their way, but they pushed through and unleashed as they reached the island. They did not miss. Xioquo ships outside the harbour were turned into fragments, torn to pieces and rapidly sinking. As bombs were dropped upon the fortifications, bunkers were levelled and the agonised pain of wounded and dying Xioquo resonated through the Force. "Initiatie bombardment. Targeting coordinates Alpha 184-35," Tarissa spoke coldly to her gunner, then suddenly her mood turned to anger. "Wait...what is that Qadiri ship doing? Enemy artillery is not yet taken out. Tell that idiot to return to formation. They'll be shredded."


"The captain is not responding, Lady. I believe she resents being commanded by 'outsiders'. We cannot make contact with the protocol aboard their ship. It was probably destroyed," the Eldorai comms officer unhelpfully informed her, whereupon Tarissa glowered at her. There seemed to be no holding the Qadiri battleship as it put honour before reason and advanced upon the fortress, unloading its heavy cannons. Boom.


The entire artillery of the enemy forces had not been taken out. The Qadiri battleship was a man of war that would have been considered modern at Trafalgar. However, the Xioquo had cannons that would have been employed at the turn to the 20th century. The result? In a beautiful explosion the ship's hull was ripped through and it began to sink. "Shall we send life boats to help evacuate, Lady?"


"Not while those guns are still active. We cannot take the risk. If that idiot Captain shows up, I want her flogged. Publicly. Turbolasers ready?" Upon an affirmation from the chief gunner she gave the signal. The cannons of a Triton-class surface corvette were not strong enough to stand up to modern battleships, but against what was arrayed against them here, they were ideal.


Moreover, they had a far greater range than the fortress guns. The cannons had been primed up and now spat twin bolts of green, fiery death. With a flash like a miniature sun they impacted upon the Xioquo artillery. In a sense the foolish Qadiri captain had done them a favour because it had revealed hidden enemy artillery. Then the turbolasers fired again, bringing forth orange clouds of fire that blossomed into the sky as they blasted aside the hidden Xioquo defences. To the dark elves it must seem like the wrath of a goddess had been unleashed upon them as their defences were set ablaze. It was like a supernova had been unleashed, one born out of technology and firepower.


"Instruct Yedai Nantaris and Seraph Taldir to begin landing operations. Take the caves, put the Xioquo to the sword, free any slaves you find." Very soon boats were being filled with Qadiri and Eldorai soldiers. They would be speeding across the seas towards the island beach, braving what defences remained before pushing through the caves, where undoubtedly fierce fighting awaited them as they would have to clear them of well-dug in Xioquo.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Tegaea Alcori"]


Nothing except a battle lost can be half so melancholy as a battle won. Thousands of dead Xioquo littered the harbour, nineteen out of twenty of their ships destroyed. The scent of death had filled the air, so strong that it was all too palpable. The invasion force had been decimated. Firemane and the Eldorai had shown that they meant business when it came to protecting the Qadiri.


For good or ill they were allied now. Another step towards securing a new home for the Eldorai. Siobhan had descended down to the ground during the battle and slaughtered her way through the Xioquo. Those not broken by her telekinesis or tossed into the harbour had been fried by lightning. The enemy had never stood a chance and so it was that she stepped over bodies upon bodies when she made her way towards Tegaea. Her duraplast armour was splattered with blood, though not her own, the same applied to her face, which made her look like a fury, for she had foregone a helmet in battle. Let the enemy look upon her face and see a daemon.


As for Tegaea mowing down Xioquo whilst piloting a walker, that was fething hot. "Good work, love," Siobhan said, giving her wife a quick hug and a kiss. She glanced over towards one of her officers. "See to our wounded and load up the prisoners. Get me whoever's in charge of the Qadiri here." Some of the Xioquo had surrendered when they saw how futile the struggle, throwing down their weapons and falling on their knees. Looking upon them now at close distance, Siobhan could not help pity them. She was not letting them be forced into slavery. If the Qadiri leaders did not like that, that was their problem.

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
From on high Nantaris watched the bombardment. He did feel a little sorry for the Xioquo. They might be a bunch of fanatical dark side slavers, but it wasn’t really fair to smash them like this. But then war wasn’t fair, and the Xioquo would do the same if their situations reversed.
“Why don’t we just block up the caves and not even bother?” Nantaris asked.
“They’ve got a lot of slaves down there we’d kill if we did,” Myr called from the pilot’s seat.
“Eh,” Nantaris said, but conceded the point.

With a final volley of rockets the bombardment ceased.
“Right, our job is to drop in via air whilst Kaida moves in by water with the main force. We seize the high ground and the entrances to the caves and allow the Eldorai to move up their main strength. Watch your flanks, people, work in pairs or threes. Just because these guys are using crossbows doesn’t mean they can’t kill you. Shoot first, take prisoners when it’s over. Secure the prisoners, watch out for Forcies too. Leave the bosses to Scindia and I. Go,” he ordered, hanging up the commlink.

Diving in brazenly, for there was little resistance left standing, and none of it capable of hurting a modern gunship. As the gunships dropped their cargo of troops to the ground the Freespace Rangers engaged or neutralised Xioquo survivors. Soon the rocky heights where the gun batteries had stood were under their command.

“Kaida, this is Nantaris. You are go to land on Aleph and Besh beaches. Enemy has retreated to the caves.”

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Valiens Nantaris"]


Smashing primitive natives with firepower sufficient to level permacrete bunkers was not very noble. However, in her admittedly quite short life - well, short by Eldorai standards due to the weird way their aging worked, even though their creator has retconned it - Kaida had long concluded that honour was a fancy word to excuse stupidity. None of this was glorious or honourable, but then war never was. Alas, since the Xioquo had plenty of slaves locked in the caves they could not simply bomb them as well.


So she had watched impassively whilst the bombardment caused epic devastation and the Free Rangers' Gunship cleared the hills. At her side were about half a dozen Angelii and a few regular Eldorai soldiers. The great mass of the elf contingent consisted of Qadiri soldiers, many of whom now carried the 'modern weapons' their new 'allies' had equipped them with. Of course, after only having been trained in their use for a day they could not be expected to be particularly precise in their marksmanship, but it would do.


She could see and feel through the Force that the bombardment had had an effect on them. Some seemed awed by the spectacle, others might be experiencing a feeling of dread. This was no surprise because fortifications that had given them no ends of trouble and been impregnable to their guns had now been blasted to smithereens in less than an hour. Maybe some of them were wondering whether some day their allies might turn this firepower against them. Either way it did not matter right now.


"Understood," she said tersely, never one for words, and passed on the signal. Now that the guns had fallen silent landing boats and transports brazenly crossed the seas in what seemed like a flood. Probably not the most 'glorious' campaign she had been on, but then that was not the reason she was in it for. Here and there scattered gun fire came their way. The cannons had been silenced, but some brave Xioquo still bombarded them with hail and shot.


Some Qadiri soldiers went down from a musquet rounds but the rest pressed on, seemingly spurred on by the onslaught they had witnessed before. Kaida wielded her lightsabre deftly, deflecting those shots that came her way and the Angelii with her followed her lead with their sarixi and Taegis shields.


Soon the elf soldiers were upon the beaches and pushing towards the caves from whence the fire came. The tunnels inside there were long and narrow, but little resistance was encountered as they advanced, as many Xioquo soldiers seemed to be fleeing or throwing down their weapons. To flush out resistance the Angelii unleashed their elemental powers, bringing forth blasts of scalding, telekinetic fire, lightning and the numbing cold of ice. Many Qadiri were not inclined to show mercy and instead brutally cut down surrendering or fleeing Xioquo. Ghastly business, but understandable. Prisoners would be taken when the mess was over. There were not enough Angelii for a phalanx and it would have been impractical in the caves. Inside the caverns the Qadiri soldiers split up in small groups, those armed with traditional weapons guarding shooters who had breech-loading rifles. This left the Priestesses, officers and their war beasts to be dealt with. Within the inner sanctum of the fortress, they were assembling for a last stand against the invaders.

 

[Callista Gseran]

[member="Coryth Elaris"] [member="Tarissa Cadalthor"]

As the Eldorai forces swept in towards the fortress, Callista watched. And her shoulders slumped. She knew that if they didn't take the Xioquo down with force, the Qadiri would, or the Xioquo would only turn on them later. A frown crossed her face, and she looked between Tarissa and Coryth. "How can we help, Tarissa?" Honestly, though she was a decent fighter, she felt hugely out of her element here. Maybe that had something to do with the long talk she'd had with Connor Harrison months ago. She didn't really know.

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

[member="Kaida Taldir"]
It was over quickly enough. Nantaris’ troops pressed into the caves, with the two Jedi at their head. Shock and awe had worked wonders here and the Xioquo surrendered to the aliens in groups rather than be massacred by the Qadiri. Soon Nantaris had to leave all his support troops behind and push on with just Myr and Scindia as the rest of his men handled prisoners.

In the caves a few muskets belched smoke and lead but lightsabres easily deflected the slugs. Those who fought found their weapons cut in two, or if they were unlucky they found their bodies cleaved asunder.
Most of the troopers gave up. They were experienced raiders, but they knew an unfair fight when they saw it and threw down their arms.

When some of the Qadiri arrived he ordered them to take prisoners, not kill or enslave. He had no idea if they would or not, but it was a start.

At the bottom of the deep caves they found the captives. Dozens, hundreds even, of huddling Qadiri, already branded and collared for their nightmarish voyage into darkness.
Terrified eyes watched the two Jedi and the Twi’lek as they entered.
“We are here to free you, we are enemies of the Xioquo,” Nantaris said into his translation device.

A whisper, a premonition of the Force, suddenly his green blade moved to deflect the poisoned dart aimed at his neck. From the shadows a dark figure appeared, her power in the Dark Side was great, but Nantaris felt much fear.
Even if he had the mind to use the translator though, he didn’t get the chance. Suddenly scalding fire erupted from the Xioquo’s hands and speared at him. Nantaris stood his ground, calling on the Force, and his lightsabre. He was most used to dealing with lightning, but other elements were not unknown to him. It hurt, his hands began to burn as he channelled the power into the lightsabre.
Finally he moved, leaping forward and slicing just once. The flaming blade tore through the Xioquo, the contained energy burning the body to ashes in seconds.
The prisoners were silent for a moment, then cheered.

Deactivating the faintly glowing blade, Nantaris set it down and looked at his hands, winced.
“Myr, get Kaida down here and free the prisoners. Scindia, get me some kolto…and brandy…lots of brandy….”

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Valiens Nantaris"]


The battle had not lasted long. Shock and awe had worked wonders as the Qadiri soldiers were led on a spirited charge by their Eldorai officers along with the Free Rangers. Xioquo soldiers had surrendered in droves to the outsiders, hoping that they would spare them rather than murder or sell them into slavery. Musquets might belch smoke and lead, but that was little good against sarixi and lightsabres. Or decent armour. Those who put up a fight were put to the sword.


The most fanatical fighters were the priestesses and officers of the Xioquo, who used elemental powers similar to their Eldorai cousins. But badly outnumbered and outgunned, their struggle was futile. As was typical in warfare, particularly in those conflicts that take on religious overtones, the Qadiri took their vengeance upon their defeated enemies. The Eldorai did their best to restore order and ensure that the prisoners were orderly processed out into captivity, but even so incidents could not be avoided. Same applied to a prisoner here and there being 'shot while attempting to flee'. War had never been nice or civilised. Nor would it ever be.


Order had been given to take prisoners alive, not kill or enslave. In principle at least. One could only hope that incidents were kept to a minimum. Kaida was heading down to the caves where Nantaris had just liberated the poor captives, when she came to a halt upon hearing agonised, pained screams and the sound of beatings. Quickly she took a turn and headed into the direction of the noise.


What she beheld was two Qadiri soldiers beating a captured Xioquo who had thrown down her weapons, along with a number of her comrades. Ironically enough the Qadiri were using their new rifles, which the 'sky people' had just given them earlier. Their prisoner looked badly beaten and bloodied, she was trying to cover her blood-stained face with her hands as they kept beating upon her.


"Stop that right now and let her go," Kaida said frostily, voice turning ice-cold. War was not nice, but being Lawful Neutral she had some standards. "Or I will break you," she added, speaking into the translation device when it seemed the soldiers were not paying attention.


One of them temporarily stopped hitting her captive and got up, glowering at her. "She's a Dark One. Not like us. They attack, murder and pillage, take our children. You outsiders have nothing to say here. Now she and the others belong to us," she snapped. The Xioquo muttered something, it sounded like begging for mercy, then the soldier kicked her in the face.


Then the soldier would feel immense pain when Kaida clubbed her over the head with her bolt pistol. Ouch. It left a gaping wound in her forehead, out of which blood seeped out. The other Qadiri soldier, evidently a Sciian of some sort, immediately drew upon her elemental power to send a massive ripple through the stone beneath Kaida. The elemental blast had the effect of knocking the Eldorai off her feet and pain surged through her legs, though she was able to ground herself enough.


As she got to her feet she felt a ripple through the Force as her opponent tried to split open the earth beneath her, but Kaida acted as fast she drew upon her power to manfiest a layer of ice that spread across the opening, a cold chill enveloping the section they were in. Seeing this the Qadiri tried to turn tail and run as Kaida crossed the distance towards them, blazing lightsabre in hand. But the soldier did not get far for she would suddenly feel an elemental power claim purchase upon her when she felt the heat being drained from her body as if it was being leeched.


Her limbs turned sluggish and weak, feeling as if they were being paralysed and she felt like she was hermorrhaging. The last thing she felt before everything went dark was a powerful burn when Kaida's lightsabre slashed across her neck. Deactivating the yellow glowing blade, Kaida turned her gaze towards the frightened prisoners. One of her Eldorai soldiers had heard the commotion and just arrived, so Kaida gestured to her. "Get medics down here, take the prisoners to our ship. Make sure they're treated decently. I'm heading down."