| Location | Moonside Inn - Hapes
| Objective | Hostage Rescue
Too many fires to put out, not enough people to see to them. Such was the burden of those who sought to make themselves worthy of their reputation, to embody their vows in all things. Alas, manpower and force projection alike limited their options; as such, some in need of assistance could only be left to fend for themselves. A harsh reality, but one they accepted all the same, pursuing their self-given duty. With the entire Hapan Cluster thrown in disarray, the New Mandalorians would not be found wanting. Besides... this presented something of a golden opportunity for the Duchess. A chance to test out her new military doctrine.
Rather than deploying the entire House into battle as she had done before, the Duchess assembled a small strike team, meant to offer Mandalorian support on a smaller scale - and a chance to test the waters on commando operations, rather than large-scale military campaigns. To this aim, the Alor took with her the best of her Hastati, hand-picked from the most battle-hardened of veterans; those who had followed her since Manaan. Those children of Onderon who looked up to the beskar-clad knights and decided to stand by their side, no matter the odds. Even now, they looked to her in quiet deference, waiting for their orders. Karrys would surely have found something to say about it all, if not for how busy she was flying the small troop transport they'd taken to deploy planetside.
"GADF intelligence says we're up against a rebel cell calling themselves the Crimson Veil", began the Ersansyr, her voice carrying with ease over the roar of the engines thanks to its otherworldly echo. "Not what I'd call a routine operation, but it doesn't matter. We know what we're up against, and we know what has to be done about it. We're planning for a close-quarters fight; at this range, your A257 will tear right through your targets, given all the punch packed into your carbines. Ryk, Rion, the both of you are on breacher duties, so be mindful with your shotguns and explosives. We're here to help the Queen and her forces bring those responsible to justice through overwhelming force, but I won't have us breaking our oath and tarnishing our reputation through collateral damage. So mind. your. shots."
Just as she prepared to ask Karrys to get on the comms and offer their assistance, the bare-bones HUD she used was pinged with... a call for help. One originating from a sender she could only regard as particularly dear to her; a stalwart ally in battle, a reliable friend in life, and a wise voice in all things. The thought of leaving this new mission objective to anyone else was one she refused to consider, the coordinates provided with the SOS were keyed in and sent over the squad comms. Which, all too naturally, elicited an intervention from the chatty Nite Owl piloting the ship.
"Typical Jetii, that Princess. Always getting herself into trouble. Hey, Haliat! That's your second time playing the part of the knight in shining beskar, right? Think she'll knight you if you make a habit of it?"
Jenn rolled her eyes form behind her helm, but did little to rein in the pilot. Let her have her fun, the Alor thought. She's crazy enough to keep flying you around after eating so much flak. Figuratively and literally.
"What's our ETA?"
"Over the target in five- actually, make that four. I'll warn you once we're thirty seconds out, Kryz'alor."
The rest of the trip, the strike team spent performing last-minute check on their weaponry and armor, ever the professional fighting force. If they were to live up to their proud title of the Galaxy's greatest warriors, then they would have to prove themselves worthy. Prove themselves peerless, undaunted, indefatigable. Conquerors of a different kind than their misguided peers, but no less skilled in the art of war.
"Thirty seconds out!"
"Pop the hatch."
The Duchess welcomed the sight of the sky outside, something far more familiar to her than the confined interior of the troop bay of the dropship. Real light and life and not the cold, sterile environment wrought my man. It was beautiful, in so many ways.
Jenn did not look over her shoulder. She had no need to do so, knowing that her Hastati were already out of their seat and getting their jetpacks ready, just as Haliat surely was. A Nite Owl being outdone by a Hastatus would not be something Karrys would let him forget any time soon. She could only hope that Rayia would follow suit; though she would never quite address that fact openly just yet, the Mandalorian cared for the young Felucatian. Not quite as a daughter yet, for there was so much to be done before she could see the Padawan in such a light, but certainly in a similar light to how she treated most other Padawans she had met over the years. The ever-fussing aunt who understood why the young ones were allowed in the area of operations, given her own culture's tendency to send those teenagers who had passed their verd'goten into war, but worried all the same.
"Coordinates locked in; aim for the roof of the Moonside Inn. We'll work our way inside from there. Mandalorians... to the skies!"
With these words, the Ersansyr leapt from the ship, welcoming the embrace of air around her form like an old friend. Such was senaar'sen; the art of birdship. Though she held a great passion for it, she knew in her heart that she would never be quite as passionate in her dedication to it than her daughter.
"Keep an eye on comms and be ready to swing by for fire support, Karrys," ordered the Alor as she calmly readjusted her heading through careful bursts of her jetpack, ensuring that her fall remained a controlled one. Behind her, the Hastati followed her lead, with Ryk and Rion doing their best to help Rayia with the task; though she had been supplied with a jetpack as the rest of them, they knew better than to assume a Mandalorian's ease with such equipment, and so they made sure to fly closely to her in order to correct any mistake on her part. Though her presence here was certainly unexpected, the Hastati were far less insular a people than their Mandalorian counterparts, and so they'd shrugged and accepted that the Felucatian belonged there with them.
"Affirmative. I'm picking up some chatter; looks like the GADF might not play so nice with the Consortium. Advise?"
Pausing to correct her trajectory, the Duchess mulled over that new piece of information. It seemed that even now, the specter of diplomacy and politics would not stop following her. As if she needed that weight on her, on top of everything else! By comparison, the battlefield was so much simpler; there was only victory or defeat, life or death, and none of the intricacies she had learned to navigate around.
"Not our problem. We're here to answer Knight Ascania's distress call and eliminate any Crimson Veil presence in the area; get on short-range comms and see if you can assist Consortium forces while we're busy in the Inn, make those rotaries of yours roar. Sooner we've helped the locals mop up those degenerates, the better."
"You got it. One whole bunch of dead terrorists, coming right up! And they said we never have our fun in the Bes'kyrade!"
A few moments later, Jenn began to make a more active use of her jetpack to slow her descent. Flying gracefully was one thing, but landing without a concussion or broken bones? That was an entirely different matter altogether. Dropping into a combat roll on the roof, she looked up to watch the rest of the formation follow suit, ere turning her gaze to the coordinates in the top-left corner of her HUD. The room the SOS had been sent from was, mercifully, on the topmost floor; they could get there without much hassle, once the team was prepared to make entry.
"Duchess, we've spotted a Consortium troop cordon outside the hotel! Looks like they're holding off on their assault for now, but they clearly must have seen us dropping in. Should we establish comms contact?"
Pondering on Rion's words, the Mandalorian shook her head.
"Negative. Getting on open comms might get the hostile presence within to wise up to our presence; stick to squad-wide communications for now, minimal chatter once we're inside." Turning to Haliat and Rayia, she shot them an upnod whilst the squad of Hastati prepared their entry, Blasters pointed towards the doorway leading to the stairs that would take them down into the hotel's last floor proper.
"Let's keep the element of surprise for now. I trust the both of you can do that?"
Kha'la Daaray
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Jasper Kai'el
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Lady Sylvia Organa
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Nos Voros
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Damian du Couteau
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Amani Serys
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Kassogtha Cthylla
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Caelan Valoren
