I Would Have Been Your Daddy... [TU Dominion of Zhar]

[Freanne]

Location: Ground
Objective: Supply Depot
Allies: [member="Draco Vereen"]
Enemies: Vong
[7/20]

Her men had steam in, the entry point and charge had killed a fair few vong. Then they had split up, and the major troops had moved in, what left of them the vong began to fire at them. This left them distracted from her recon teams, who were know filtering through and taking them down one at time. This was slow but easy, as the enemy could not see them in dim light smokey building.
She crept round boxes and saw out line of the vong soldiers, and lined up her shot. She steadying her aim and looking down the scope, she held her breath and squeezed the trigger. A slight noise came from her gun, then something happen she was not sure what first. Then dawned on her, one of her own men was in front of her, and she could not see him till shot him. She quickly fired again killing the vong out right, and then killed another just as quickly. She then ran to check up her soldier, she had shot him through the hart he was dead already. Her heart pounded, she knew him he called dave, she had drink with him last weekend. Oh by the force what she gonna tell his kids, they were only young.

 

[Darth Metus]

Objective: D - Housekeeping
Location: Taivas, Zhar System
Post Count: 7/20

While obviously hot-headed, the young man was not daft. The meaning laced within Dagora's words crashed down upon him like a mighty tide...and that inspired quiet on his part. However, fury bubbled forth from him like an inferno, spurning him to literally bite his own lip out of frustration. The Dar'manda did not say a word in those moments, simply watching and waiting for a response. It took a little bit, but the young man finally broke his quiet in order to simply say: "So it's...follow you...or die. That right?" Lofting a brow, the Dar'manda parted his lips in order to respond...but was met with the young man's rage instead.

Drawing back a fist, he prepared to slug Dagora square in the jaw. All the while yelling: "Just who the kark do you think you are?!" This wasn't good. The wrong move would see the boy shot down. That would see the Templars frenzied...and then there would be nothing left save corpses. Dagora's dominant hand raised instinctively, as if to deflect the blow...but against all odds, a new voice added halted the boy mid-punch. "Connor! Enough!" There was barely an inch between the young man's fist and Dagora's flesh when he caught himself and turned.

A woman emerged from the gaggle of Templars. Blonde, tall, garbed in the old style armor of the Order. Unlike her fellows, her lightsaber was not in her hands but rather on her belt. Even more odd was that her hands were raised in the air. "You're going to get all of us killed, Connor. Please, step back." she said, before drawing even closer to the pair. "We've been running so long, and now we've hit the brick wall. Supplies are low, funds even lower...the Obsidians are picking us off every other week. We don't...We can't keep going on like this." She then turned her full attention to Dagora and said: "And I, for one, don't want to die in this hell hole. So, Marshal, if we come with you we live right? No more being hunted?"

"That's correct." he breathed, glad to see that his offer was making some headway. "So, what do you expect us to do then? Fall in with the Obsidians?!" snarled Connor, obviously displeased with what the woman was saying.

And in response...Dagora laughed.

 

[Raziel]

Objective: A
Location: Approaching Cache

Raziel felt the ripple in the Force, immediately pressing himself into a crevice in the wall. A blue flash illuminated all the jagged edges of the corridor, showing how slick the walls were with water. His HUD flashed, showing that the further remote had dropped off the network.

EMP mine, he thought to himself. So, from this approach it seemed there were very much some active defences. He pushed back off the wall, signalling for the drones to fall back and let him advance alone. No need to waste them all setting off mines.

In the thin, dark corridor, the ground was treacherous. Smooth rock was covered in a thin sheen of water that dripped down through the network of caves. Raziel advanced up to the position of the inert drone, and stopped to take in his surroundings.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Location: Ground
Objective: Supply Depot
Allies: [member="Freanne"]
Enemies: Vong
[8/20]

I kept things interesting, keeping the weapon on alternating mode allowing it to cycle through three round bursts from the charric, then the heavy caliber slug. It drilled holes through the vong troops and my armor was more than capable of taking hits from their thud bugs, in fact I had made it specifically to resist slugs better than before. I closed on a vong and punched him hard in the ribs, doubling him over to catch a slug in the face from my left hand. I continued to clear vong, pressing forward with the two squads I was with when I almost tripped over two of the scouts. Swapping to my Force Sense I was able to get a decent outline of them, and I could tell one of them was as dead as it gets. Based on the Lieutenant’s reaction, they had been friends. I reached out, swatting in her general direction to get her attention back on the here and now, “Ey, up and at em. We’ll come back for his body if you’ll disable the stealth. Until then, keep in the fight.” I said to her. I needed them fighting. We were slightly outnumbered on all fronts and I couldn’t afford to lose someone that wasn’t dead.

 

[Raziel]

Objective: A

This was truly going back to his roots. He’d spent nearly a decade as a thief, and occasional backstabber on Nar shaddaa. He knew every security system inside out, knew how to bypass them, or avoid them. Keen eyes scanned the walls, spotting the depression. That was the sensor that had triggered the mine. Not the source of the explosion through.

Doubtful anyone had rigged wires through these caves. Must have been a remote trigger. Raziel took a moment to check the logs on his suits scanners. It was there: right before the remains of the EMP reached him, a short sharp burst of signal. His suit analysed the signals frequency, and waveform. Raziel activated countermeasures, and sent the command to the drones, which carried on their journey. Now if any of them encountered another scanner, they’d counter its signal with a targeted burst transmission and prevent it setting off the mine.

The whily old assassin allowed a corner of his mouth to rise. Good to go back to basics sometimes.

 

[Freanne]

Location: Ground
Objective: Supply Depot
Allies: [member="Draco Vereen"]
Enemies: Vong
[8/20]

​She heard him, but was not that simple. The armour had the shadow silk instrictly place in it, thus she had to strip to disable it. She looked down at her dead comrade, and she realized this was the fog of war. She gritted her teeth, and began the hunt fog vong again. Just this time she was going to be more careful, before she fired a shot. After this fire though she would hold review on this armour, to see if they could augment their tactics so not repeat this mistake.
​Each time she fired she checked for a silhouette, to see if her own was between and her mark. No sign of one she fired, the vong were know dropping like flies. It would not be long before, the major had control of this depo.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Location: Ground
Objective: Supply Depot
Allies: [member="Freanne"]
Enemies: Vong
[9/20]

She got up and got back to work, because well, that is what this was. This was a job. Beyond all loyalties and friendships, this was a job that needed to be done. War itself was an art form, one that required practice to advance in, and that was a hobby. But individual missions, those were just jobs. I kept my Force Sense expanded, keeping track of my boys and her people that were around. There was not a huge number of us, but more than enough to have to work to keep track of with my senses. I kept rattling off rounds, seventeen bursts per weapon, each burst normally dropping, or at least seriously wound a vong. I noticed that they were massing up ahead of us, gathering in a large group, fifty or more. That wasn’t good, but it was a perfect chance to test our capabilities, and the capabilities of the lieutenant and her troops. “Firing lines” I ordered, seeing my troops rapidly drop into two lines, one kneeling, the other standing, weapons in their hands. “Missiles first” I ordered again. Left arms raised. Seventeen wrist rockets fired towards the enemy force. Immediately following our weapons were lifted and ready to start firing.

 

[Freanne]

Location: Ground
Objective: Supply Depot
Allies: [member="Draco Vereen"]
Enemies: Vong
[9/20]

Soon it was over the last the vong was cowering before the might of the techno union, a few were firing in blind panic. Though those that were, did not fire for long. Either her or one her men put a small hole between there eyes, those that surrender and laid down their arms were spared. They could be useful in the work camps, after they primed information from them. She took her hood down and shouted for her men to do same, soon you could you see floating heads. This equipment was so weird, and need reviewing so not to do any more friendly fire.
Shen then went looking for the hulk, known as Major Vereen. She found him and saluted him, as troops cuffed the last the vong. She must looked a little weird with partial stealthed head. Sir what our next move? she asked whilst standing at ease, she was professional soldier hoping to make captain soon.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Location: Ground
Objective: Supply Depot
Allies: [member="Freanne"]
Enemies: Vong
[10/20]

With the majority of the vong taken care of the next move was to spread out further, I suppose. Grab any last survivors and make sure the fairly large facility was empty of vong before we started to scavenge the place for its commodities. Even still it was good quick work and both groups had performed well. “Well, let’s break down into fire teams of four and keep sweeping the facility. Why don’t you and one of yours come with me and one of mine. I could use the more experienced eyes down here.” I said to her, still helmet on, but my body language was relaxed and familiar, like nothing had happened and I was completely at home standing amongst the bodies of my enemies. I was nonchalant and rarely used military jargon outside of coordinating position. It came with being a Mandalorian, and a mercenary. Screw doctrine, just fight stuff and celebrate afterwards. “Come on, tell me about that armor while we go.” I said to her, curious about how it functioned. ArmaTech had been working on a line of combat armors that fulfilled every role and a Stealth variant hadn’t begun development yet, but there was one planned.

 

[Freanne]

Location: Ground
Objective: Supply Depot
Allies:[member="Draco Vereen"]
Enemies: Vong
[10/20]

She smiled and order a couple of nco to scout ahead for them, You two, go in front of us make sure the way is clear. 2nd lieutenant farmar take control of rest of the men, and secure this area. She then walked with the major, and began to explain about her armour. Well it uses a material known as shadow silk, wrapped over the plasteel. They use plasteel as it light, so does not increase noise that would be made if used normal durasteel. This also mean we are more mobile and lighter, so we can climb get into good position quickly. Down side of it is, we can't take a direct hit, but it strong enough for shrapnel or a glancing blow. The idea is they don't take a direct shot at you, but this was it first field test so we have tactical improvements to make yet. She knew this armour was her future, and of the techno union recon teams. It had advantages for small units, that outweighed the few disadvantages overall. Part of thought cracking joke, but she decide not to. As she did not know him well enough, to ask him did her bum look big in this.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Location: Ground
Objective: Supply Depot
Allies: [member="Freanne"]
Enemies: Vong
[11/20]

I listened to her, keeping my Force Sense expanded, letting the dragons sweep the area behind us and her scouts the area in front of us as we walked. “Well stealth armor interests me greatly. My own set incorporates a personal cloaking field and I must say I enjoy it. Being able to ambush your foes is an excellent tactical advantage.” I told her, keeping my eyes open for more vong. “Since apparently I have been made a member of the Executive Council and a commander in one fell swoop, I guess we will be seeing a lot of each other. You do good work, so I am looking forward to having you assisting my armor regiments in the field more often.” I said to her. It was true, I needed a good group of scouts with me if I was going to be effective with my artillery and armor rounds, or at least by my most effective.

 

[Eeth Forte]

Location: Gall City
Objective: D, Find companies to invest in, spot a giant Cathar or at the gym
Allies: [member="Max Rumor"]
Post 2/20

Eeth strutted into the gym, still clicking away on his Datapad. He raised his gaze to the workout machines and spied his client snapping a towel at a Rodian, sending the smaller man scurrying away, cursing in Huttese. Eeth suddenly felt a vision coming on. He got those randomly sometimes. In his vision, instead of whipping the Rodian with a gym towel, the Cathar was ripping into Rodian's torso, tearing off huge chunks of bloody flesh with his teeth and claws. The Zabrak blinked thrice, and saw the pink-furred Cathar striding towards him with his arms stretched wide, an infectious fang-filled grin on his face.

"Rumor, you big, pink mother-karker. You look great. Whatever you're doing, don't stop."

The Cathar was talking a mile a minute, and Eeth nodded along, every now and then interjecting his usual boilerplate bro bonding phrases. His visions always left him a bit cloudy-headed. Mr. Rumor ushered him to a weight bench. Eeth practically ripped off his suit jacket and white dress shirt and flung himself onto the floor.

"Gotta get some crunches in." he said, breathing heavily.

 

[Siyndacha Aerin]

Zhar System, Gall
Smuggler's Canyon
Accompanying [member="Adekos"], [member="Prime"], and [member="Sobek"]
Post 2/20

Her mouth assumed a thin line and she looked forward, as if to think on the proposed course of action for half a moment. Fact was, she had already decided. Whether she had the training to adequately deal with a living assailant or not (she did not), she was here, and there was little benefit in standing around watching.

"Culling it is, then."

Simple as that. Hesitation wasn't something she was known for, anymore. There were a lot of things she didn't do anymore, and a matter of a number of things coming to a head in her mind, and the time she had spent with [member="Darth Carach"] in recent years had much to do with that. And so, she stepped off as if she had done this countless times before, despite the reality.

 

[Darth Metus]

Objective: D - Housekeeping
Location: Taivas, Zhar System
Post Count: 8/20

Of course, such an action perplexed the Templars before the Dar'manda considerably. However, neither of the two adjacent to Dagora dared to ask what was so funny...nor did their rather tense fellows. Instead, they waited until "their Marshal" ceased his peals of laughter and were promptly rewarded with a response. "That was a good one." he remarked with a smirk. "Thinking that I would toss you in with the very same lot that hunted you across the stars? Come now, I'm not completely heartless." That seemed to do something for the young man's angst, as he no longer seemed as visibly tense. However, the glare that characterized his expression did not falter in the slightest.

Likewise, the woman before Dagora seemed to relax ever so slightly, but she did not see herself as out of the woods just yet. "Alright, so we aren't destined to become Obsidians." she said, lowering her arms now. "And for that, I am beyond grateful...but I have to ask, what do you expect of us?" Now it seemed as though they were getting to the meat of the sandwich...which was good. Very good. "Before I answer that, am I safe to assume that you speak for all the Templars here? Or is there another leader in your midst." he inquired.

"You assume correctly. I am the only Knight of our gathering here. The Masters...well, you can assume what befell them." she replied. Dagora offered a nod before continuing. "What I expect of you is little different than what you did as members of the Templar Order. However, we can discuss the details when we get off the world. I would much rather talk in a better environment...free of blasters and sabers pointed at one another." He then motioned at the congregation of Templars standing about them before asking: "How many are with you?

"We're forty strong at the moment." she said...with a tone of voice that indicated recent losses. Dagora picked up on that, but held his peace regarding their numbers. Instead, he moved forward. "Then let us convene aboard my vessel, the Eminence. We can discuss the finer points about all that will transpire moving forward."

There wasn't much resistance at that point. Their leader had seen the light and so the rest followed along without little incident. From the battleground to the landing zone was a rather awkward procession, but they would arrive aboard the star destroyer soon enough.

 

[Djorn Bline]

Location: Gall
Objective: Alpha
Allies: [member=Orick T'ane] [member=Raziel]

Senses were high and alert. In this dreary place that has no other signs of life or functioning cybernetics besides the ones of Techno Union droids and organics. Even in a isolated place that was consumed by time there were always secrets and mysteries having the potential to unveil themselves to foreigners and intruders to defend and repel rodents from their territory which they vowed to protect until the end. He remembered in one operation when he and a few other CIS personnel went to retrieve an antidote to cure them from the aging they had during their creation the age twice as fast then regular humans who were born naturally. Alone and untouched that place was but was host to snakes that attacked them all randomly. This place won't dare to get him in tangled events, for he had seen and done so much that it was appropriate to call him a wise veteran.

But then a turret integrated in the ceiling noticed the lifeform of Canade and began firing with no hesitation. His reflexes reacted, however, they weren't as quickly when he was very young. Two blaster bolts had found contact on the duraplast chest plate of his armor before he had time to take cover and not risk damaging his armor further. A cargo box was his refuge to avoid anymore hostile projectiles. More and more blaster bolts were speaking out in Canade's general direction. Like anyone he retaliated and returned fire at the mechanism that was part of the complex. From his DC-17M blue bolts of plasma were fired at the turret that wasn't protected by anything. Just right out in the open. In less than 10 seconds he disabled the pest forever until an engineer came to fix it. More footsteps of duraplast meeting durasteel continued as he walked on the unknown path.

 

[Caulder Dune]

Objective: B - Wampa Hunting
Company: [member="Prime"] | [member="Siyndacha Aerin"] | [member="Sobek"]
Location: Smuggler's Canyon - North Entrance
Posts: [03/20]

With little else to add, they were off to hunt Wampas. The force that accompanied them was a mixed think. There were two M1 Light Walkers, followed by three squads of TA1 and TA2 Battle Droids. A larger force to comb the canyon floor was unnecessary as far as Adekos was concerned. They were just Wampas. Savage, slightly intelligent Wampas, but only slightly. There was nothing they could hope to accomplish against this brand of superior firepower. As for the paltry amount of Vong allegedly squatting in these parts... Well, they could be dealt with in the same fashion. The Vong were only slightly less primitive than the Wampas.

With Sobek out of smelling-range and the assault on his nostrils thereby ended, Adekos felt remarkably more at ease. The patrol through the canyon would probably be quiet, at least for now. Plenty of time for some arbitrary dialogue. Then when the teams scouring the high ground and caves managed to flush some out, the culling could begin.

"You mentioned organics were outside your area of expertise." Adekos began. "Have you taken steps to correct that?"

 

[Darth Metus]

[9/20]

From the ground to the atmosphere was a relatively cramped ride, as making room for an additional forty bodies was not exactly a spacious task. The Vanguard and Templars managed, however, and the various dropships and starships returned promptly to the vessel from whence they came. Upon landing in the hangar, Dagora began to direct the newly-acquired Templars to where they could lodge. For the time being, forty lucky mercenaries were going to have to share their quarters with a guest until they next arrived at Headquarters. Now, while this was usually the sort of thing that caused whining...Dagora saw fit to dangle a few extra credits over the lucky winners' heads. That sure made they shut up.

When all that business was taken care of, the Dar'manda then invited the leader of the Templar cell to join him in his personal vessel, the Mie'yebo, which was situated in the hangar. There, he activated the Hibridium cloaking device: an act that confused the Knight immensely. When she inquired about it, Dagora informed her that the device was double-blind in nature; meaning that no transmissions would go in or out of the vessel during their conversation. This was perfect privacy, away from any potential prying eyes or ears. Sliding down into the captain's seat, the Dar'manda then commenced the conversation with a simple introduction.

"My name is Dagora-Kel, although I gained infamy under the name Isley Verd. Who might you be?" To that, the Knight responded with a polite inclination of her head and said: "My name is Tara Sov, Templar Knight. A pleasure to make your acquaintance." With the pleasantries now out of the way, it was time to get down to business. "So, what exactly is it that you would have us do? Are you going to allow us to remain as we are, Templars, under your command or something?"

"Or something indeed." said Dagora, before he leaned back in his seat. "If I'm being perfectly honest, I would see you lot shed the Templar mantle altogether...in favor of becoming my Acolytes." There was yet another expression of utter confusion...but this was only the beginning.

 

[Komo]

Location: Zhar System, Gall
Objective: Supply Depot (along with the Mythosaur crew)
Allies: [member="Draco Vereen"] | [member="Freanne"]
[1/20]

Greta sped across the land in her Khoehng speeder, its engines roaring as it rocketed her towards her destination. Her hands on the throttles firmly pushed up, increasing the speed as she zoomed across the terrain. Her destination laid out in clear sight for all to see. The ACS-503 Mythosaur Mobile Fortress. The massive hexapod towered into the air, its front facing towards the supply depot, with a multitude of weapons ready to fire at moment's notice. It was an awe-inspiring sight and the young woman looked upon the monstrous mechanical creature with admiration. She'd always had a thing for machines. As she began to approach the enormous mobile fortress, she was ordered to identify herself and her purpose.

She sent over the requested information, indicating her purpose as an invitation by [member="Draco Vereen"] to assist in helming the command centre of the Mythosaur, while he was out away in the field. Her keen eye for tactics, along with her meticulous eye for detail had made her a force to be reckoned with. He had made a great choice in inviting her, and she would not made him forget that. With her identity confirmed, she and her speeder were lifted into the mobile fortress through the electromagnetic wench and clamp system.

When she was safety in the interior of the massive creature, Greta made her way towards the Operations Command Centre. There, a smattering of technical coordinators assessed and relayed the information coming in and out through the relevant parties. She walked over to the man standing in the middle of the them, issuing orders as he stared upon holo-camera screens of the assault troops on the surface. "So tell me Captain, how are we doing?" The Captain glanced towards the new arrival, and half- smiled. "Well, look who decided to show up after all!" Greta gave a brief laugh in response, before mentioning something about a brief holdup in the spaceport. "You were expecting me?"

The Captain then appraised on the situation below. "But of course. The boss told me someone would be coming. But he didn't say who." He looked at her appreciatively before continuing. "We'll still doing pretty alright at the moment. The boss himself had yet to call for any assistance."

Greta pondered on that for a moment before replying. "Keep eyes on the entrance, as well as on the surroundings areas. Spare some eyes to keep watch on the assault troops below. Report if they need any assistance immediately."

 

[Darth Metus]

[10/20]

"What do you mean by your acolytes exactly? Are you wanting a new cult subservient to your whims?" came Tara's response. Her voice was heavy with indignation, as if the very thought of giving up the Templar name was a grand offense. Dagora simply steepled his fingers and got all the more comfortable in his seat. "Yes and No." he began. "Long ago, there was a man who had a vision. In order to accomplish this vision, he created an informal Order to clash with the Republic and her Jedi. He was Count Dooku, and they his Acolytes. In the same vein, I have a vision...one that eclipses that of the old Count by leagues. In order to accomplish it, I require the very same: an Order unlike any other."

Disgust wormed its way upon the Templar's face as she immediately rose from her seat. Her intent was to storm out of the vessel after spitting a few heated words: "And you would use us to accomplish this vision of yours? You see us as nothing but tools! No. I would rather we die as Templars than live under your bo-" And that is when Dagora raised his hand. Fury surged forth from the depth of his core, manifested through the Force as a torrent of lightning. It shot across the space between them, crashing into her flesh viciously.

Yet it was not his full power, not at all. In fact, he was holding back quite considerably. The Dar'manda did not seek to kill or grievously harm in this moment...only to reduce the woman before him to a writhing mess on the ground. "Unfortunately, you do not have a say in the matter." he said. His voice, cool and calm, echoed rather solemnly about the vessel. Tara had nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. She had walked into a ship where no one would hear her nor even know her peril.

Just as planned.

"The T-Templars will never serve you." she spat, fighting in vain against her cramped and spasming muscles. To this, Dagora simply chuckled and shook his head. "I don't expect them to serve me. There is no way I could foster their undying loyalty in the time that I have...but the forty that came at your behest...they will serve you." he said, now rising from his seat. Taking a step closer, the Dar'manda lowered himself to a single knee so that he might look the woman square in the eye.

"I learned the hard way that loyalty is a fickle thing. You can program ten thousand soldiers to see you as their King; to be loyal to the bitter end...but then upstarts can pluck at the heart strings and bring about dissent. So, I shall be taking a different route. The Templars are loyal to you, and through you will their obedience be assured. You will tell me where the other cells are. You will help the other leaders see the same...revelation...that you will. You will be the first." Tara bared her teeth. If she had the strength, Dagora was certain that she would have attempted to bite him in this moment. Good. She still had some fight in her...that would make the trip back to HQ a lot more satisfying.

"Never."

Reaching out, Dagora simply placed a fingertip upon her brow. Enthralling a mind was not an easy task, especially a trained Knight...but he had time on his side.

"And as I said, you have no choice."

 

[Siyndacha Aerin]

Zhar System, Gall
Smuggler's Canyon - North Entrance
Accompanying [member="Adekos"], [member="Prime"], and Sobek
Post 3/20

Had she? Surely, the opportunity - or at least, an opportune individual - had been there, but said individual's concerns were wrapped up in Echani culture and the settling of his people on a world that was granted to them by the former political entity of the Fringe Confederacy. He was also much, much too concerned with creating a clone of his long-dead wife to pay her much heed.

"No," she said, finally, "not beyond aligning myself with one that should have aided in the process of rectifying the issue, were he not too concerned with everything save his own student."

Was she bitter? No. It was merely fact.

"Promises unfulfilled, Adekos."