Ghosts and Glass [Commonwealth Dominion of Cerea]

[Other Space Kaiden]

Objectives: Engage & Board Enemy Vessels
Tags: [member="Zee"] | [member="Eli Brooks"] | [member="Dean Letham"] | [member="Sasha Starkos"] | @Rayce Tharlle

Theme​

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Closing in on Vagaari & Commonwealth Ships​

Engaging Vagaari Command Ship​

Deploying Boarding Parties to CRS Surprise​

Assimilating​

__________________________________________________​

​

The darkness swept across the void, bearing down upon the ignorant ones battling above Cerea. All fifteen of the corrupted Vagaari vessels locked their weapons, each acquiring a single target at which to fire. Deep in the belly of the lead ship, thousands of warriors from across dozens of species marched robotically into place, loading themselves onto shuttles bound for the Heavy Cruiser the newcomers had brought into the fold.

The one who stood in the darkness, The Collective conscious of the monsters who had chased the Vagaari to this world, studied the ships. Focusing his mind, the dark one reached out and felt the minds of the children who resided in the iron hives above Cerea. Humans were chief among them, most of the Vagaari had been vanquished already by the newcomers. The creeping of fear and anxiety was rampant throughout the human ranks. Such ignorance. Such lack of understanding.

The Hive did not fear. The Hive felt only the hunger.

"It is pointless to resist us" The dark one spoke through the webs of thought he had spun throughout the minds of The Commonwealth's soldiers, "We are many and you are but one."

The dark one's voice was like that of a thousand souls speaking at once, filling the minds of the Commonwealth warriors with a screaching pain that ran much deeper than nerves. "Assimilate, children, and become ascended."

With a second flick of his hand, the dark one sent a relay of orders throughout his fleet. The dark void of space was lit with dozens of pulsing bolts of energy as the corrupted Vagaari vessels opened fire with turbo lasers. The lasers shattered the hull of the Vagaari Command Ship, breaching several decks and rocking the ship from side to side. Vagaari warriors were sucked into the vacuum of space, but the ship itself managed to maintain orbit.

Other's were not so lucky. Across the Vagaari fleet, pickets began exploding into twisting clouds of shrapnel that tore through empty space and fell to the surface of Cerea. "Excavate their Iron Hive. Show them the gifts of ascension." The Dark one commanded to his forces through the Glorious Mind.

Fractions of a second later, shuttles throughout the fleet took to the stars. Hundreds of shuttles lifted into the void, most of which began coursing toward the surface of the planet. Several dozen of them, however, speed through the emptiness toward the CRS Surprise. Aboard the shuttles were squads of Umphati and Killik Warriors, accompanied by Vagaari Joiners. All were armed with Vagaari weapons and all were prepared to die for The Swarm.

 

[Warfield Lester]

Objective: Echo
Post: 2/20
Tag: @Dean Letham │ @Isaac Knight

“Get to your pod, Warfield, it’s show time.”

The words echoed in his head as the other drop pods began to fire off in quick succession. The room filled with smoke, but he saw the final thumbs up from the jaguar before he began the process of locking himself into his own drop pod.

His mind raced with thoughts of simulations and practice drops he’d taken hundreds of times, but he had yet to actually utilize it in a real combat situation, let alone a complicated drop like hitting another ship. The drop ships computer lit up in a bright symphony of green lights as his vitals came online, and the harness locked down around his chest. He exhaled slowly, nerves overtaking him as the drop pod let loose.

He dropped violently, his body shooting upwards in his seat, sharply inhaling in tune with the vitals peaking on his screen. As soon as it began, it stopped, a beautiful calmness overtaking him as he saw the planet beneath him, but this too passing as he realized the seriousness of his situation. Various fighters blew past his pod, still blaring down on the frigate beneath them.

“LZ secure, holding position until your arrival.”, his comms chattered.

“Copy that Lieutenant, sit tight, we’re on our way. Over.”

The radio went silent as he finally hit the landing point, completely unaware of the situation his commander had just found himself in. The drop pot shuttered violently as the secondary explosives went off, shooting him into the frigate with almost as much force as when he originally had dropped.


The drop pod door shot off, decompressing as it did, and following it came Warfield, rifle in hand. His visor looked over to [member="Isaac Knight"], giving a quick nod before shouldering the rifle and waiting for their commander.

 

[Atlas Kane]

Location: Cerea
Objective: Convert and Assimilate
Post: #1

Many would mistake Mahlzaren for a savage on first glance. He wore clothing made from furs, had a mask made of wood, adorned with twigs and branches that stood out like great antlers, and walked around with a wooden stick. He wasn't the most civilised of people either, he lacked proper etiquette, rarely said please or thank you and was overall just somewhat unpleasant to be around. That is, unless he gave speeches. Speeches is what he was good at. Many people liked to hear his speeches. Now, granted, the effects of his speeches were usually enhanced with the Force, giving the people around him a sense of calm and openness towards new ideas or concepts, but he was still a good speaker. If he wasn't good at his job the swarm would have long replaced him with someone more suited; He didn't have to worry about job security in the Swarm however, for if he wasn't useful as a speaker, then he would be assigned a new role that would let him serve the swarm in a different way. Such was the beauty of the Swarm, no one was useless to the Collective, everyone had their purpose.

And so did the people around the Swarm Speaker. They would soon also be part of the Collective, it was only a matter of time, he was sure. After all a bigger Swarm fleet was en route. If the people here didn't join willingly, future circumstances would certainly make them to want to join. Whether those circumstances would be violent or not would really be up to them. He had a feeling that it would be fairly peaceful though, Cerea seemed like a fairly peaceful planet of open-minded individuals that had a long history of rejecting new technology and change. They'd fit in perfectly.

So Mahlzaren strode through the streets. Faint sounds of explosions and gunfire all around him as he made his way towards the Cerean's version of a town hall. A few blaster shots were exchanged here and there, some narrowly missing the Shaman, but he didn't mind. He was used to getting shot at by non-Joiners, they'd all soon see the truth. The large beast on the leash he was holding saw it differently however, it tried to lunge at various people that seemed to want to hurt the Shaman, but were quickly deterred by the large beast. One tried to shoot the beast, but missed because his hand was trembling too much. Overall, yup, a peaceful planet.

[member="The Collective"] | @Anyone close to the town hall

 

[Horus]

5/20

[ T H E M E ]

0859 hours, 2.1.849 (military calendar)
Command Deck,
CRS Twelfth Night, Battlegroup Alexandria,
Cerea, Cerean System, Samagi Sector, Mid Rim​

Upon the request of Lord Admiral Horus, CRS Surprise had peeled away from Gannaria and chased after the fleet heading for Cerea. Meanwhile, Horus had opened communications back to the Home Fleet and ordered Battlegroup Alexandria to regroup and coordinate their movements. Horus had left behind the certainty of No Land Beyond and stepped afoot of the Twelfth Night. The command deck was bigger, more spacious, more crew. The familiar green and blue glow from the holoprojector was replaced by hot oranges and soft yellows.

The Twelfth Night was the only one of her class who had completed construction and awaited field testing. Given it was successful out in the field it would continue to be commissioned by the Commonwealth for centuries to come. She was large and unwieldly, a slow machine that was packed to the rafters with weapons. The longest ship under Commonwealth command was the carrier cruiser at nine-hundred meters. This ship was twice that, with a smooth barrel that ran the length of the entire ship. A magnetic accelerator. Mass Driver.

Battlegroup Alexandria slipped out into the Cerea system with the Twelfth Night leading the charge. "Report!" Horus' voice boomed with authority, despite his venerable age. "All engine cores have spun to zero, we're losing speed," a crewman answered, "Hyperdrive has gone cold, I'll need to reheat her before we jump again," his hands hovering over a datapad while his eyes were fixated on the screen. Another crewman at the station beside him chirped up, "We're spooling the engines now, we'll be fully operational in two minutes."

"Get me fire control, I want our cannon online," Horus ordered. Crewman would begin to hail [member="Allison Martha Iversson"]. During the brief moments as the technicians tried to raise Iversson, Horus turned to the scanner readouts and the crew operating the station, "What have we got?" The tabletop holoprojector illuminated and showed the readout of the system. Between them and Cerea, and the CRS Surprise was an unknown fleet. "Fiften capital ships right off our battle cluster." In the far distance the Surprise was engaging the much smaller Vaagari fleet orbiting Cerea, but they were still outnumbered five-to-one.

"Iversson," Horus barked, "You've got command of the mass driver, target those capital ships while our crew fix the engine core." The old Lord Admiral turned to technical fire crew present on the deck, "Arm the warheads and warm up the flak guns for a quick engagement." The ship was drifting towards the fleet, but it wasn't slowing down. "Bring the shields online, contact Admiral Lawrence - engage the enemy."

 

[The Upright Man]

Objective: ???
Post: 6/20
Tag: [member="Neldar Poska"] | [member="Zee"] | [member="Eli Brooks"] | [member="Cait Falcor"] | [member="Maris Jolner"]
________________

0900 hours, 2.1.849 (military calendar)
Crash Site, Upper City
Outsider Citadel,
Cerea, Cerean System, Samagi Sector, Mid Rim​

Dean stirred, eyes fluttering. He could hear a voice. Who was it? He couldn't remember. His mind began to race, then memories flooded his mind. Hadiyya. His heart was racing, slumped into total confusion. What in the Force had happened? He asked himself. He was upside down, the harness holding him onto his seat but gravity was pulling him to the ceiling of the drop pod. Red lights were flashing, sparks sprinkled against his cracked visor. He read the warning sign at the corner of his eye, </SUIT-SYSTEM-FAILURE. It too was flashing. He checked his shields, depleted, and his vitals were registering as flatlined, but he was still breathing.

Sudden realization hit him, his ears perked up to the radio chatter the drop pod was still sputtering. His helmet commlink must have died during the landing. "Black One is down, repeat, Commander Letham is KIA. Black Two taking operational control. Commander Sa'ad out," the Jaguar was reporting across all frequencies on the Commonwealth BattleNet. He tried to reach over but his arm wouldn't move. His suit was dead weight. Kark, he needed to get out of it. Then came a thud, then more. Thud, thud, thud. Things just got worse, it was the Vaagari, or so he thought. With the suit now dead weight he couldn't move a single muscle, no doubt he was about to suffer his own coup de grâce.

Then came a strange alien roar, the hatch was beginning to dent outwards. They were ripping the door off. Dean closed his eyes and waited for it all to end, but it didn't. "Friend - ally? speak!" the voice demanded. Dean opened his eyes, it wasn't a Vaagari, the strange alien pounded his chest, indicating to itself, "Neldar!" Dean stared down the barrel of the gun, "Woah, friend, friend!" Dean shouted, albeit he couldn't move, he simply sat there hanging upside down. "Get me out of this thing, I can't move in this armor, take it off," he demanded, then a pause, "Please."​

 

[Neldar Poska]

Outsider Citadel, City Center
(4/20)

[member="Dean Letham"]

Neldar open his eyes a little wide to focus on the humans speech while focusing out the gunfire. Then he squinted as he listened to the humans request to get his armor off so he could get out, but he was caught off guard suddenly as weapon discharges whizzed by him and pinged off the pod, making him drop to the ground for cover. The pod had caused a sizeable crater with about eighty meters in radius, but the hard and dense surface only allowed it a few feet down, not offering too much cover. Neldar grunted as he turned to immediately fire back at the enemy, cutting one down and getting back to the pod. He got up in the humans face as h yelled over the gunfire. "Warpod fighters - friend! Gank soldiers - friend! Neldar," he pounded his chest again, "friend! Agree!" Neldar wasn't going to free the human until he agreed to, at least for right now, not shoot Neldar or his people. After an affirmed grunt, Neldar put his thick claws on the human and started tearing off the armor. A dumb lizard, maybe, but he could tell the situation. He left most of the armor on the humans chest and some on the arms, but tore off the rest, before reaching down to slowly remove his helmet. A slow process, but an extra body to shoot was worth it, considering how few Ganks got on the ground. As Neldar finished up, he went for the harness holding the human inside. As the harness was torn out, and set the human free, Neldar grabbed the humans leg quickly and pulled them out, throwing them to the ground so they were laying face down, chest on the rubble, just before more weapons fire came down, giving him cover. Neldar tore out a weapon on a rack inside the pod and tossed it to the human before taking cover himself, but his attention was immediately stolen by one of his Ganks as it spoke up to him. Neldar gave a scared look as he looked up to where the Gank pointed in the sky.

[member="Mahlzaren of the Swarm"]

As Neldar was forced to witness it, the Ganks also became enraged. It was the Corona, it was experiencing a total systems failure, after trying to stay afloat for so long. The power shutdown and the fires onboard engulfed it as it started coming down. There was nothing keeping it up anymore. The enemy's weaponry was too much for it, excluding its' old age. It started to split as it came down, at the neck, as the engines were the last to go. There was nothing holding it, so it started free-falling. Both pieces mostly fell within the same area on the planets surface, but before they did, escape pods could be seen launching. A lot of them crashed down on the city's surface, not all were completely functional, inertial dampeners damaged or disabled, killing those who tried to escape, signaling their own flatlinings to the rest of th Gank soldiers. Firefights began erupting all over th city with Ganks sprad out and spread thin. Very few found their way to Neldar and the others, while the rest became pinned down or didn't know where they were. Neldar wasn't upset over the loss of his soldiers as much as the loss of everything he worked for. That Corona had been in his possession for over 300 years, you don't just get over losing something like that.

Neldar yelled furiously, maybe even scaring the human as he threw his fists and wrists into the ground, crushing some of the rubble underneath, before taking a deep breath and taking one of the flechette guns dropped by a downed Gank and switched its ammunition to anti-vehicle, immediately spraying the rounds at the enemies. Walls started lighting up like Low Eplosives were shot from a grenade launcher that shot like a cannon and multiple at once. Neldar was angry and he was starting to lose it. Although the weapons firing did little as they just. kept. coming... "Human! Fight! We are alone, no retreat. Last stand! Too many! Fight Or Die!"

Spoiler

Forces

2 Warpod (5)
Gank (21 on ground) (Multiple spread thin, not commanded, pinned)

 

[Zark San Tekka]

Objective: Echo
3/20


7.62x51mm cartridges echoed off the strange alien deck as the muzzle flash from Lieutenant Knight's assault rifle lit up the poorly lit corridor like flash exposure on an ancient primitive camera. The fireteam's concentrated fire eviscerated the Vagaari crewmen that had hastily scrambled to assault their position. This part was easy, but it would not be long at all before the aliens mustered trained military forces to repel the boarding party. They would have to move soon, or else risk being overwhelmed by wave after wave of oncoming defenders. A sudden proximity alert on his helmet's display warned Isaac just in time, and he ordered everyone in the corridor against the far bulkhead from the outer hull. Seconds later, several explosive charges erupted outward obscuring the hallway with more dust and debris as the second wave of drop pods breached the command ship.

Knight scanned for any signs of Commander Letham among the Commonwealth soldiers that had emerged from their pods, but saw no sign of the hulking Jaguar powersuit. Nearby [member="Warfield Lester"] gave him a nod of acknowledgement which he returned, and his second fireteam set up in the corridor until orders came from their commanding officer. Seconds ticked by, and as no word came Isaac began to suspect something was wrong. Still close enough with his pod's still functioning electronics suit to interface with his heads up display, the shock trooper pulled up the pod readouts and his blood ran cold as the diagnostic screen confirmed his worst fears. The signal had been severed, but not before the Commander's pod had redlined.

Kark.

"Black One is down, repeat, Commander Letham is KIA," Hadiyya's voice crackled over the BattleNet, beating him to the punch and causing his blood to run cold, "Black Two taking operational control. Commander Sa'ad out."

"Kark!" the Lieutenant yelled, this time aloud, as the first wave of well equipped Vagaari entered through the hatch at the end of the corridor.

So Jaguars can be killed after all, the thought rose unbidden in his mind as Commonwealth marines opened fire once more all around him, filling the hall with slugs and Vagaari screams. Nearby, a standard infantry went down screaming, his body pierced by alien weapon's fire. The Alexandrians efforts redoubled as they took turns reloading at staggered intervals, and Lieutenant Knight called for covering fire as he lead the charge, bounding from cover to cover towards the Vagaari position until their proximity began to force the defenders back through the hatch lest their position become completely overwhelmed. The unexpected tactic had bought them a few more seconds, but the aliens would be back soon enough when they remembered that they had the numbers advantage.

"Alright, you heard Commander Sa'ad," he said over proximity comms when they had a moment to breathe, "Black Two has operational authority, I am taking direct command in the field. We stick to the plan, split into two teams. Lester, I need you to take half the men down to the engine room. We need to secure that reactor before these alien fethers blow us all to hell. I'll take the second team up to the bridge. If you see anyone that looks...fancy looking, I guess? Different from the others...I dunno, just shoot em in the leg or something. Let CNI sort it out later."

 

[Rayce Tharelle]

Tharelle, Rayce
Commander-In-Chief, Commonwealth Marine Corps
Aboard CRN-Surprise
Orbiting Cerea
​Post [2/20]

​​Tharelle stood with his back to the door; a simple, four meter durasteel conference table bolted to the deck plating behind him. A dozen chairs of the same construction were arranged neatly around the table, just as you would expect to find in a ship of the line. Other than that, it was a drab room; a single holo screen mounted on the wall in front of him marred the otherwise monotonous grey of the walls. Currently the screen displayed information on troop deployments to the planet's surface. Had he left with the original mission, these plans would likely have been his. The decision to depart for the operation, however, had been made afterward - in the wake of two equally important discoveries.

His thoughts were interrupted by light footfalls behind him.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" Tharelle turned to see the speaker; a tall young woman, red hair spilling over her shoulders and onto her uniform. A helmet was tucked under the crook of an elbow while a customized sniper rifle hung over her shoulder. In response to his turn, the lithe woman straightened into a pristine salute, virtually bleeding formality. "Sergeant Starkos, reporting as ordered!"

Tharelle sighed to himself audibly. The last time they'd met had been awkward, to say the least. He regretted that, truly. Hands clasped behind his back, he fixed Sergeant Starkos with an appraising stare.

​"At ease, Sergeant,"​ he said slowly, as if prolonging the inevitable. ​"I owe you an apology, I'm afraid. When last we met, I responded to our conversation less than ideally." ​That was an understatement, to be sure. He'd virtually had a conniption fit in response to their last conversation.

"I am sorry,"​ he said sincerely, ​"and I hope that we can put that behind us going forward?"

​[member="Sasha Starkos"]​

 

[Progflaw99]

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---​

Location: Cerea, In Atmos​

Objective: MC-D​

In Vicinity:​

[member="Sasha Starkos"] | [member="Neldar Poska"] | [member="Dean Letham"] | [member="Isaac Knight"] | [member="Warfield Lester"]​

[member="Cait Falcor"] | [member="The Collective"] | [member="Kel Hamner"]​

Post: 2/ 20(?)​

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---​

​

Had he not been focused on the mission ahead, the rattling and humming of the MPD would have likely put him to sleep. Memories of being a young Marine flashed through his mind, the luxury of a cat-nap during the ride not one he could afford. In one ear he listened closely to the chatter on the comm, trying to piece together what exactly was going on and what he and his troops would be getting into once they touched down. From a trooper nearby he heard a voice. Looking over he saw it was... Zee. That was her name. He raised a silent eyebrow as he waited for her to continue.

Good, at worst he'd have a designated marksman. It sounded like the woman knew what she was about, and that was a good thing. Eli was pretty proficient in just about every weapon he'd touched but he lacked the math knowledge to adjust precise fire with a scoped weapon. He gave a thankful nod to the woman, he'd be glad to have her along but now was not the time for words. Chatter on the comm had picked up, it sounded fairly grim. From what he could make out things had started to go non-linear. He could hear the engines ramp up as the shuttle surged forward. They were headed to a small clearing just south of the Citadels. From there they'd hoof it up to the maintenance entrances below ground and make their way up. If he'd had his way they would have worked top down but command had reported heavy anti-air in the area and weren't willing to risk an insertion atop the citadels themselves. Unfortunate Eli thought.

To his other side sat Cait Falcor, one of his peers. Truthfully he didn't know much but her personnel file was solid and he was glad to have her along as well. He would need talented Marines around him, the enemy they were about to face were far from pushovers. With a start, he looked back over his shoulder. The hatch between the cargo bay and the cockpit had been opened, the pilot yelling.

"Landing in 5, get ready for disembark!"

Eli gave the pilot a thumbs up before the hatch was slammed shut once more. This was it. They didn't expect resistance at the landing site but Eli knew that could go sideways in a hurry. Plenty of times they'd expected no resistance but intel always seemed to be slow or late, sometimes even completely wrong. The remaining few minutes Brooks kept his mouth wired shut, they all knew what to do, filling the air with meaningless words would only remind the men and women of home and fill their minds with doubt. A red light came to life near the exit ramp, the straps around the troopers auto-tightening as the MPD descended and then came into contact with the ground. In a fraction of a second the straps had gone limp, the blaring green light and high pitched whistle indicating that unloading could commence. Simultaneously the boarding ramp dropped, a hollow thud sounding as it hit the earth.

As was custom, Eli surged ahead, exiting the vehicle first. Typically the highest ranked in the platoon would exit first, always the first into the fray and always the last out, ensuring the 'greenies' were aboard safe and sound before themselves. It was the mark of a true leader. Quickly bringing the barrel of his rifle up to bear he exited the MPD. The men had been trained well, most of them rushing to form a perimeter. The pilots prepared to launch off into the sky once more as the last Marine's boot left the ramp. Taking a knee, Eli glanced around himself, motioning for both Cait and Zee to rally on him. According to the map, they had a little less than half a km to the base of the first Citadel. From there they could breach the maintenance shafts and come up beneath the enemy, provided they were in fact in the Citadel.

Turning to Zee, he pointed at the top of the Citadel, poking just over the treetops.

"I need you to take a few men, make sure we get confirmation that our enemy is in fact holed up in there. Make sure you're not spotted. All we need is confirmation that the enemy is on site. Rumor is they have heavy AAA on the roof."

Motioning for a nearby Marine, he swapped weapons, handing Zee the MM110. Then he turned to Falcor.

"We're going to need to move fast, can you take point?" He motioned toward the map. "There's a small canal here, we should be able to follow that straight up to the maintenance tunnels that open up right above this stream here." He drew his finger away from the Citadel on his small holo-map.

Once Zee had confirmation they'd be free to join back up with the rest of the Squad. The other MPD's had an alternate drop location, closer to the heat of the battle. Already he could hear the gunfire in the distance.

"Let's go, Oscar Mike! Time's wasting!"

 

[Allison Martha Iversson]

0859 hours, 2.1.849 (military calendar)
Command Deck,
CRS Twelfth Night, Battlegroup Alexandria,
Cerea, Cerean System, Samagi Sector, Mid Rim
Objective Alpha

(1/20)

The Vagaari, strangely humanoid, strangely bug-like, all about assimilating and taking over people's minds. It made her shiver to think about what sort of world they came from and what being part of a collective consciousness would be like. But that was neither here nor there right now and she brought up the tactical map of the area they were dropping out of warp in. She had to focus on the task at hand.

The Captain was still on his extended leave and she was being bounced around to other ships in the fleet while Mathias was undoubtedly sipping Correllian Ale through a bendy straw somewhere on a beach. Somehow she felt unfairly treated for this job. Her fears soon melted away as she was given a chance to test out the newest ship of the line for the Commonwealth. A massive 1800 meter ship fitted with the biggest gun the Commonwealth ever had to fit on a ship. A Magnetic Mass Accelerator Cannon that ran the length of the ship, lovingly referred to by the fire control deck as "Big Mac". She only had a short time to marvel at the specs of the big gun before the earpiece hiding behind her hair started talking.

"Iversson," Horus barked, "You've got command of the mass driver, target those capital ships while our crew fix the engine core."

Allison felt the excitement wash over of being able to command such a big gun in the Commonwealth navy and excitedly reported back. "Understood Lord Admiral."

Right, time to get the guns roaring. "Echo.", she said summoning her orange AI assistant.

"Yes, Ma'am.", Echo dutifully responded.

"Spin up the Big Mac and get me the projected flight path of the nearest of the Vaagari ships. Engage as soon as we are sure the ship is clear of the planet and friendly forces. Don't draw power from the core, just the main battery for now and reserve batteries if needed."

"Understood. Calculating.... Ma'am, the calculations are complete. Adjust delta V and thrust vectoring to projectile intercept. Magnetic drives powered and ready. System locks disengaged. Secondary emergency locks disengaged."

As soon as the basics were taken care of Allison looked over the calculations on the screen and did the mental math for the projected plotted course. Space combat was a mental minefield of calculations and drifts of kilometers on a weapon of this size was a mistake that nobody could afford to make. She could hit the ship, the ship behind it, the planet, or it could go off into deep space and hit some poor bugger trying to relax on a shady glen 10,000 years from now. Regardless, missing was not something she would do. After checking it there was only one thing left to do.

"Fire"

The innermost chambers of the Twelfth Night rang with alarms telling personnel to clear the firing chamber as the magnetic drivers spun up and the sounds of electricity filled the air. The projectile spun up against the rail and, in a space of nanoseconds, rocketed forward from the chamber and towards a Vaagari warship. "Assimilate this.", she murmured as the projectile soared across the screen towards the target.

"Echo, prepare the next round and extend external radiators. Fire on the next target as soon as we reach safe levels. If you have to pull them in to avoid the enemy damaging them then do it and use the internal radiator tanks and expel them through heat vents between firing cycles."

 

[Alleycat]

Starkos, Sasha Sergeant
CST Marine Sniper
Aboard the CRS Surprise
[member="Rayce Tharelle"], [member="Kel Hamner"], [member="The Collective"]
(4)

What in the nine Corellian hells were you thinking, Dad! You came all the way out here, now, and called me away from deploying with my squad to say you're frakking sorry?!

Twenty-one years had gone by before Sasha Starkos met the man who was the other half of her gene pool. The young Corellisi while doing some data slicing for the Corellian Underground Resistance League had come across an official birth record that she'd never seen before. It listed her biological father on it as one Rayce Tharelle. Sasha wasn't interested in knowing him until she read about the man and officer of the Commonwealth. Without a place to really call home since Brokellia hadn't been liberated totally yet, the redhead decided to go and seek him out… and gods was that a mistake. Well maybe not, but the Commander wasn't very happy to see her, or was he? After all it wasn't like the former CorSec agent was looking for a handout. She was accomplished in her own right, and could take care of herself.

"Apology accepted. Commander… Will there be anything else, sir? If I am excused now I just may be able to catch up with my squad. They are missing their sniper. I don't want to let them down," the Marine sergeant stated while she stood at ease with her dark green eyes gazing at the man that was not only her superior officer but her only living parent, if one could call him that.

It wasn't but a few moments later the Battlenet chatter went crazy, and a new set of klaxons rang out across the ship…

"Black One is… down, and we have incoming!"

 

[Warfield Lester]

Objective: Echo
Post: 3/20
Allies: [member="Isaac Knight"]

"Lester, I need you to take half the men down to the engine room. We need to secure that reactor before these alien fethers blow us all to hell. I'll take the second team up to the bridge. If you see anyone that looks...fancy looking, I guess? Different from the others...I dunno, just shoot em in the leg or something. Let CNI sort it out later."

Lester's rugged voice rang out in the throat mic with a quick, "Aye, Sir. Consider those engines already offline."

He ran his hand in a circle, pivoting at the elbow, signalling half of the marines over to him. After a quick headcount of who 'volunteered', there mission began, each of the marines beginning their trek down the hallways already laid out before them by their pre-boarding scans of the ship. They moved with haste, but Lester's mind ran faster as he considered the tactile disadvantages of many of the rooms they would soon see. He grunted as they came to the first of the many doors they'd inevitably have to breach, and with a few more signals of Lester's hand, the marines took on a breaching formation surrounding the metal frame that housed the airlock.

Lester hesitated for a moment before signalling for the explosive to be placed. It slapped against the steel barrier with a satisfying thud, each of the marines tensing as they prepared. The focused explosion followed, smoke errupting into the hallways, blinding anyone that didn't have their thermal heads up display overlayed. Shots began to rang out before Lester entered the room, but it seemed he was too late for the action. The marines had already cleared the room, and they'd made the first of their progress to the engine room.

"Room cleared. Watch for stragglers.", he repeated, his shoulders relaxing as he looked around.

Hopefully it stayed this easy.

 

[Other Space Kaiden]

[member="Sasha Starkos"] [member="Allison Martha Iversson"] [member="Horus"]

​

The Swarm Assimilated Fleet​

Aboard 'The Eminence'​

Engaging Commonwealth Fleets​

​

"The children bring us more assimilants. We target these Iron Hives." It was then that a flash engulfed the lead ship of the newcomers and before even the Hivemind could react, the ship beside The Eminence flared as its shields took a direct hit from some sort of solid projectile. Electricity arched around the ship, known by its prior owners as "The Salvor"; the ray shields all but shattered by the blast. For a moment, the glorious mind raced with confusion as the dark one pooled the collective knowledge of its millions of ascended in search for an answer. The glorious mind brought back only silence. These children had brought before the dark one a piece of the galaxy it could not draw knowledge about from the mind of which it controlled.

These new children would make glorious additions to The Hivemind.

Without a single order verbally spoken, the joiners who manned the bridge went about targetting the ship that had just fired. As the weapons of the Vagaari ships reacquired their targets, the Dark One reached through the fragile threads of thought that incircled the battlefield. He could sense the man in charge of these iron hives, one of a much older and frailer form. The Dark One attempted to contact him, throwing his thoughts across time in space towards [member="Horus"]. He was the one in charge of the enemy Hivemind and thus he would be first to die.

"Why do you and your children resist us? Ascension shall free you from the chains of lonely existance. Bend to us. Spare your children of their destruction."

The weapons would be locked, but they would not fire. Instead their would be an odd lack of movement from the corrupted fleet as the ship beside the Eminence began the attempt to recharge its shields.

_______________________________________________​

​

The Boarding Party ​

​

The mind of The Collective could be many places at once. With his body safe in the ship, The Collective relinquished control of it in favor of assuming the form of one of the many Umphathi warriors moving to board the heavy cruiser. The shuttle was pitch black inside and as the swarm of transports moved toward The CRS Surprise, they began shattering into thousands of shards of shrapnel as Point Defense worked to defend The Commonwealth vessel.

Twenty turned to fifteen. Fifteen turned to twelve and by the time the shuttles made it within boarding range twelve had turned to eight.

Without slowing down, the shuttles shot through the shields that had opened to launch their drop pods down to the planet. Sparks showered the hanger as the shuttles crashed into the durasteel floors and threw their cargo about the hold as rag dolls in a dryer. The eight shuttles skidded to a hault, crashing into several fighters on their way to the center of the cruisers hanger.

Their was a momentary silence. Commonwealth soldiers surrounded the shuttles, blasters at the ready. Slowly they approach...ignorant of the darkness.

Then the shuttle doors flew open. Swarms of Schostri clouded into the hanger, forming a black veil that engulfed the dozens of men in the hanger. Screams filled the corridors as stingers dug into bone and blaster bolts rained down on the human warriors from inside the transports. The dark one stepped out from within, a clawed foot coming down on the chest of a writhing man foaming from his mouth.

"We search for one who knows their hives. Find us one who knows their weakness."

The dark one growled through the bridges of thought that connected him to his men right before forcing the man's ribs into his lungs.


Navy

Spoiler

15 Vagaari Warships

Eminence
Salvor
Slave Driver
Malice
Kan'dor
Heres
Norma
Torash
Jorvai
Nali
Rogal
Imperius
Wolve's Hide
Caldron's Heart
Lone Straggler
All Targeting The Twelfth Night

 

[H3xle]

Location: CRS Surprise, Drop Pod Bay
Allies: Commonwealth Sailors and Marines
Enemies: The Swarm, The Vagari, [member="The Collective"]
Mission: Foxtrot (After Defending the Surprise)


The drop pods and landing ships for missions Delta and Echo had launched. The mission timer for Foxtrot was to wait for twenty minutes, then launch to the planet to clear an advanced LZ and clear an area for a forward command post. Sending a platoon of shock troopers to establish a landing zone and forward command post probably seemed a bit on the heavy side, until one looked into the operational history against the Vagari. CST's led by a Jaguar was definitely called for.

Jacen stood in his armor, his HUD displaying the mission timer, and watched his troopers go through their pre battle rituals. Every one of them was battle tested, and every one prepped in different ways. The timer hit ten minutes, and Jacen began to move towards the drop pods, part of his ritual was to ensure his platoon's pods were all up to snuff one final time before battle.

Just as he was about to get up to the first of the pods, the sounds of metal being scraped and heavy landings came from above them. From the hangar bay. Short bursts of gunfire erupted, and Jacen turned quickly to his team. At a mere nod, all dropped what they were doing, limbered their weapons, and fell in behind Jacen as he led the way to the stairs leading up to the hangar deck. The navy crew had heard the same sounds, so when a Jaguar ran through followed by a platoon of CSTs, they made way very easily.

They came up the stairs in tactical formation, Jacen and his advanced cybernetics and armor held the center, while his platoon followed, then fanned out to the side to secure the top of the stairwell. The scene that greeted them was one out of a horror movie. Bodies of sailors and soldiers littered the floor, beneath a canopy of black and yellow insects with wicked looking stingers, backed by...something.

As one, Jacen and his platoon knelt where they were and opened fire. Jacen fired in short bursts at the mass of darkness that lay within the swarm of bee like creatures. With a quick thought, he opened a channel to the ship's command deck.

"Hammer Actual to Surprise Command, we have engaged a boarding party on the port hangar deck. Insects backed up by something large and strong. Just flattened a soldier with a foot. Requesting backup." Jacen spoke calmly as the flare up of combat took him to something akin to a happy place, but far scarier.

A calm sense surrounded him as he continued to lay down fire. Every time his bolt slid back and locked, his left hand slid to an ammo pouch and slid a new magazine home where the spent one had just been ejected from.

 

[Cait Falcor]

CAIT FALCOR, Commonwealth Marine NCO
Location: Cerea, In Atmos
Objective: MC-D
In Vicinity:
Sasha Starkoshttp://starwarsrp.net/user/11589-sasha-starkos/ | Neldar Poska | Dean Letham | Isaac Knight | Warfield Lester
[member="Eli Brooks"]http://starwarsrp.net/user/12322-cait-falcor/ | The Collective | Kel Hamner
Post: 2/ 20(?)
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

The lights inside the shuttle turned green and the rear bay began to drop seconds before the MC-D made contact with Cerea's Surface.

The ear-splitting whine of the engine's exhaust ports pierced Cait's ears before her Helm automatically countered the noise, dropping it to a low hum. Wind, from both the pressure differential and also backwash from the engine's buffeted Cait. She had braced for this, but it never seemed enough. She had to adjust her footing.

SSG Brooks bounded out of the Shuttle One of the First In, Last Out school of Leadership I see. Cait noted, appraising the imposing man in a positive fashion. Though equal in title, Brooks was undeniably the Senior NCO on this Op - Cait was only a squad-leader. Cait leaned forward and stepped out of the shuttle, right behind him. Her rifle snapping into its comfortable spot in her shoulder pocket while she scanned her sector. A non-regulation blaster pistol bounced against her hip while a vibrodagger sat in its scabbard just over her left breast.

Mac, the Gomez's and the other members of 3rd Squad fanned out to Cait's left and right, forming their part of the Perimeter. Her HUD flashed with a dozen "All Clear" icons from her squad.

Brook's signaled for her to collapse on him. "Mac, keep watch" Cait called into the SquadCom before loping over to Brook's position.

The Platoon Sergeant outlined his needs, calling on Cait and 3rd Squad to take point and find a Canal.

"Roger that, Platoon Sergeant. 3rd will Take point, navigate to the Canal and follow to intersecting Stream, leading to Maintenance Tunnels." Cait called back Brook's instructions looking for confirmation.

Brooks nodded.

Cait didn't need anymore, pivoting on the ball and pad of her feet and moving into a Low Run. She called up her Fire Team Leaders - MacArther, Gomez and other Gomez. "Kay, listen up." Cait used her HUD to map out the planned movement. "Brooks wants 3rd to take point. Gomez, your girl Spazetti is the squad's best Pathfinder. So you're up first. Mac, rear-guard, other Gomez - flank security. Inform your people, and we move out in 2 mikes"

Cait returned to her squad foot print, a minute later the leading elements of Gomez's fireteam began to string themselves out in Fire Team Wedges. Cait used her HUD system to inform Brooks that her element had coordinated its movements, and was beginning to move. With one last glance at the MC-D, Cait shouldered her rifle again and joined 3rd Squad as it finally finished snaking itself into a large Wedge formation itself composed of smaller wedges. Every angle covered with at least half a dozen Commonwealth rifles, frequently more.

 

[Horus]

7/20 - [member="Jacen Konshu"]

0905 hours, 2.1.849 (military calendar)
Command Deck,
CRS Twelfth Night, Battlegroup Alexandria,
Cerea, Cerean System, Samagi Sector, Mid Rim​

Horus stood at command, his gaze fixed far afield. He didn't see the round cut across space, but not a second after firing it had already hit its target, hundreds of kilometers away. A distant shield sizzled and cracked, then slowly peeled aside to expose the hull. "Iversson, arm the warheads - I'm sending you targeting fixtures now." Horus turned and moved to the nearest fire station, the crew there was already targeting the exposed ship and patching Iversson through the numbers she'd need for a direct hit. They were going to hit the bridge, wipe out operational command.

"Sir," a junior technician from the engine room came running in onto the deck, "Engines cores are hot, we're ready to move." Horus nodded, "Good work son," the venerable admiral returned to his own command station and boomed aloud, "Take us in." The engines on the Twelfth Night sputtered and then flared, acceleration was picking up. "Lord Admiral Horus to Battlegroup Alexandria, move in, engage the outer-most vessels. Watch your crossfires."

Horus took a gentle seat and waited. Batteries were opening up as the Commonwealth vessels closed the distance. The enemy ships were bigger and meaner, but Horus had the numbers. He removed his black and gold trimmed hat and ran his hand over his smooth hair, lacking of hair. He had suffered from grey hair at the tender age of twenty, and began to lose his hair by the time he was thirty. Since then he had taken to a close shave before ultimately undergoing surgery to permanently remove his head hair.

His eyes darted to the screen in front. The CRS Surprise was compromised. "Hail the Suprise," Horus ordered, then there was silence. A long pause followed, radio technicians whispered quietly among each other. "Sir, no ones answering, and we're detecting a signal from one of the Jaguars inside the vessel, we're watching him through." Static followed then the sound of gunfire, in the background someone screamed, a mortal wound, "Hammer Actual to Surprise Command, we have engaged a boarding party on the port hangar deck. Insects backed up by something large and strong. Just flattened a soldier with a foot. Requesting backup."

Horus motioned for the technician to give him the stand, he stood from his seat, his voice answered in turn, grave and fragile, "This is Lord Admiral Horus to Hammer Actual - The Surprise is compromised, I'm ordering you to scuttle that ship, soldier. Cover the crews retreat while they hit the lifeboats, then take the drop pods to the ground and meet up with the 906th. That is an order." The technicians ended the communication relay and refocused their attention on the fleet ahead. The Vagari were being wiped out by the Swarm, and Horus had no idea what was going on. He'd never seen anything like it, in all his seventy years sailing in the Unknown Regions.

Horus mean't to resume command but something stabbed at the back of his mind. A searing pain, he flinched and then fell from where he stood. Crew and technicians went silent, a marine ran forward, "Sir, are you alright?" he asked, Horus couldn't answer, his mind focused on words that scratched themselves into his mind, Why do you and your children resist us? Ascension shall free you from the chains of lonely existence. Bend to us. Spare your children of their destruction.

They weren't his thoughts, he snapped his head left then right, trying to shake it off, he shouted, "Get out of my head!" The marine stood back, shocked and uncertain, "Someone get a medic!" he roared. Not a moments hesitation and a field medic was running in, then the local onboard doctors funneled into the room. "Give him space," the marine said, pushing back some of the other soldiers who had come to check on their Lord Admiral who lay on the cold titanium floor. His headache thundered in unison with his ships batteries, "Get out of my head," he said once more.

 

[Darth Caecus]

Location: Cerea, near Outsider Citadel
Objective: MC-D
Sub-objective: Scout Citadel, confirm
2/20
Allies Near By: [member="Eli Brooks"] [member="Cait Falcor"]

Zee had shot Cait a loooooong side-eye before answering over the private channel- someone had their sassy flakes this morning and I'm pretty sure it wasn't me. Back's good. Like nothing ever happened- got a full bacta dip instead of a liquid hate injection, so all in all, things are good. Nice to know I warrant a full bath, neh? 'Liquid hate' was what Zee (and a long time ago, her squad) had called injectable bacta. The first time she'd mentioned it during recovery, it had gotten instant laughter. The phrase seemed to be catching on.

They didn't get a chance to talk much after that, but Zee and Cait did comfortable (and uncomfortable) silences okay. The shuttle landed and soldiers booted out like a well oiled machine. She came out after Eli and Cait, covering Eli's six as the marines fanned out around them. She joined him on a knee a moment later, listening, but her visual attention scanning. A nod greeted his instructions as she traded off weapons. Doing a quick visual inspection (no time for anything else, and she was coming to trust the other soldiers of the Commonwealth), she stood up in one fluid motion. There was a time, not that long ago, where she would have tried to just go alone.

"You. And you. With me."

The two soldiers peeled off, falling in behind her. She'd chosen two of the other smallest marines on the ground with them. She'd seen both of them in training- what were their names? Dark and Turing? That was it. The three of them melted in to the tree line, making silent haste toward the looming Citadel.

 

[The Upright Man]

Objective: ???
Post: 8/20
Tag: [member="Neldar Poska"]
________________

0906 hours, 2.1.849 (military calendar)
Crash Site, Upper City
Outsider Citadel,
Cerea, Cerean System, Samagi Sector, Mid Rim​

Weight lifted, a tremendous boon. He could breathe easier now, but it didn't help that blood was still rushing to his head. The alien leered forward, ripped through the harness and with the ease of an adult handling a baby, tore Dean out of his seat and slammed him face-first against the ground. There was an initial sting and he spat out loose asphalt that had made its way into his mouth. Emotion told him to be angry about his treatment, logic told him he should be glad the alien was willing to help, and as a Jaguar, he was taught to listen to logic.

A moment before Dean moved to stand blasterfire sounded off, and more screaming. Civilians were getting gunned down in the street and from his viewpoint it looked like these aliens were about to make a final stand. Dean needed his guns, but more importantly he needed his suit back online. Then the alien ripped a gun out from the pod and tossed it at Dean, an MM99 sidearm, it had the stopping power enough to down a Rancor. Neldar began roaring, pummeling his own fists, "Human! Fight! We are alone, no retreat. Last stand! Too many! Fight Or Die!"

"I can do more if you get my suit online, it needs power," Dean answered, gesturing to the powersuit Neldar at disassembled into its primary pieces. "If any of your men are good with gadgets, now is the time they start fiddling," Dean said, almost an order, he couldn't help it. He was trained to lead, not to be led. He checked the magazine in the MM99, switched the safety off and turned its iron sights on the first bug-like alien that came into view. There was an incredible crack, then a wallop as it hit its target. The alien went down instantly.

 

[Neldar Poska]

Outsider Citadel, City Center
(5/20)

[member="Dean Letham"]


As Neldar listened to the human, he shook his head and laughed. "Ganks? Ganks do tech? Maybe some Ganks, these Ganks soldiers, lucky Ganks no eat you. Ganks kill, eat, kill," he continued, getting to the downed pod and leaning against it for cover. "No, Pod dead." he pointed South, "Public Holo, maybe still work. Want try? It far, but only ho-" Neldar was interrupted as a blaze of blaster bolts started hitting him and he fell, taking shots to the shoulder and back. The Ganks went to his aid and shot down at the enemies while Neldar roared in pain, turning his weapon and firing off explosive shots in a rage until the weapon was out of ammo and he tossed it. It was so complicated to use anyway, with his massive hands.

"FETHING HUMAN," he yelled, looking up at the sky. "Big military no care civvies! Warpod fighters told to ask help from big military. Big Military too busy to answer Warpods, ignore Neldar Corona ship die. Now human need Neldar help, need Neldar or Gank fix broken pod. Graaaa!" He panted in anger and pain, his left arm out of commission for right now. "Fething derka horker... GANKS...! Holo Comm, South!" The ganks looked at Neldar and looked at each other. "Human, Ganks spread all over big city. Corona pod half way to Holonet, maybe help you. Neldar send Ganks with human, help human get help. Ganks at pod told by these Ganks help you to Holonet comm. Gank get Neldar ships to help, too, after human ask human friends for help." He stood up and grabbed the droppod, pulling it to lay on its side aa ge took cover behind it. "Neldar and Ganks stay here, make less enemies follow. Haha, Neldar no sacrifice, Neldar bad soldier, Neldar worse soldier, graaa, no arm. Human, hurry. GANKS! Ten Ganks follow human, get help, more Ganks!"

The Ganks spoke to each other over their comms silently and picked themselves up, walking over to the hallway to the south and shooting down it, clearing a path as much as possible, ready to walk in front of Dean when he was ready. The other Ganks held their position, save for a few that took cover with Neldar. "Human needs his humans, Neldar know human not should be here, human should be with other humans. Warpods, haaa, Warpods going down, no more sight above. Enemies moving in, so go." He grinned as he watched the human make his decision. "Neldar bite bad heads off they come for human."

Neldar could walk, but he took the entire hallway and more, so this was a horrible position for him. No matter what he would get hit and cause an obstacle for them to push. In a normal everyday stroll, the Holocomm station was only about five minutes down South, but it would take a little while under fire.

 

[H3xle]

7/20 - [member="Jacen Konshu"]

"This is Lord Admiral Horus to Hammer Actual - The Surprise is compromised, I'm ordering you to scuttle that ship, soldier. Cover the crews retreat while they hit the lifeboats, then take the drop pods to the ground and meet up with the 906th. That is an order."

"Aye, sir." Jacen responded. They didn't pick Jaguars to be stupid or slow. He switched to his platoon channel. "Change of plans. Surprise is getting scuttled. Orders are to cover the sailors gettingto lifeboats, then commence drop on the planet." He relayed to his soldiers. Their barrage of bullets seemed to knock a few dozen bees out of the air, but otherwise not adversely affected the darkness. "Ordered retreat down to the pods." He ordered.

With a few mental commands through his neural link, Jacen brought up what internal sensors he could. Most of the lifeboats had launched, with the ones they passed on the way up being the last remaining with personnel near by. There were whole sections of the ship that he couldn't get readings on, however, but he had to go with his intel.

The soldiers of Hammer platoon made a quick ordered retreat down the stairs. Once they were completely disengaged, they went about getting sailors into lifeboats and on their way as they moved to the drop pods. Once at the pods, they tucked their gear in, locked the pods and launched towards the planet like human missiles. As he launched, he set a beacon to transmit an all clear to the Commonwealth fleet. The Surprise could be scuttled safely, so far as he knew.

That done, the Jaguar lieutenant turned his attention to the planet, and linking up with the 906th.

"Hammer actual to 906th command, relay your twenty for rendevous." he gritted out as the gee forces grew on him.