Never say Nether: Reclamation [Mandalorian Dominion of Bimmiel]

[Arumi Zy]

Allies: Titan Oron Verd Mac O Shenanigans Vilaz Munin Azrael Arla Balor Bestala Vizsla
Objective: Reinforce and Push
Location: Planetside


Seek me, call me
I'll be waiting


The Radio echoed " Heavy contact..."...."Reinforcement... nee.."..." Sou...Argggghh"

Arumi sat there listening to the radio chatter, far to long he had sat back in the shadows and listened. He had to act now, he could hear the screams of the mando'ade and the vong as they collided. He knew the Vong stench, knew the power of their beasts and their warriors, he glanced at his mechanical arm and back at the com console.

"This is Titan." Boomed the giants voice over the comms, "Southeast lines, I am solo here and am running low on ammo and armor. Request party favors ASAP."

Arumi looked back at his Bralor brothers, so few of them had remained with him so few of them remained in life. His clan had been stretched thin by years of war and by countless battles. It was the thrill it was their dedication, their duty to go forth and die and destroy in the name of Mandalore. They were as much weapons as they were men, armored and armed for the heaviest of fighting, for the bloodiest of fighting and the Vong beast would give them the true battle they craved.

[member="Titan"] " Stand by" he echoed into his com console as the transport shuttles roared off. He lowered his visor and drew his twin beskad, he would cleave his way through the vong filth and he would bring hell to earth. He looked back at his clans men, only fifty or so split between the shuttles but they would do, they would have to. " Today we go to hell, we are death we are the reaper. The blood of the vong shall adorn our armor, our blades shall sharpen on their bones and our souls will burn even brighter under their screams" he said as drops shits touched grown. A hell fire storm of blaster bolts and rockets would lead the way as the verde of the Bralor marched forward.

This distance, this dissolution
I cling to memories while falling
Sleep brings release, and the hope of a new day
Waking the misery of being without you

Surrender, I give in
Another moment is another eternity

" Locate [member="Titan"] , reinforce the line we hold or we dine in hell tonight. We emerge victorious or they will sing to our bones! To victory or to death, we join the Manda'yim!"

 

[Vilaz Munin]

Location: Surface of Bimmiel
Objective: Terminate Vong General
Allies: [member="Adenn Gra'tua"] [member="Orick T'ane"] [member="Damien Kestal"] [member="Anastasia Rade"] [member="Orick T'ane"] [member="Werdla Dardalab"] [member="Naast'ika Laaran"] [member="Bestala Vizsla"] [member="Arla Balor"] [member="Verz Horak"] [member="Azrael"] [member=Titan] [member=Arumi Zy] [member=Verz Horak]

Squadrons of Mandalorians began to fill out from the many drop pods that had landed on the outskirts of the Vong fortress in the dry, desert terrain of Bimmiel. From one of these drop pods a Rally Master, Vilaz Munin, came out with his unique crossbow and charging towards the fortress in random maneuvers as he and other Mandalorians were avoiding antipersonnel projectiles from their adversaries.

Though, many of them activated their jetpacks to fly towards the settlement and over the walls bordering them from the outside. The Redneck was one of them as he threw a thermal detonator at a turret along with other detonators from other Warriors. An explosion erupted killing the Vong and destroying the turret. Six Mandos including Vilaz landed at the site of the explosion and began moving within the base all together. A monomolecular bolt was fired at three miles per second towards the Vong and went through the foul creature, but stopped as it was firmly placed in a duracrete wall.

 

[Darth Rixas]

Location: Joining Verz's push
Allies: [member="Verz Horak"] [member="Titan"] [member="Mac O Shenanigans"] [member="Arla Balor"] [member="Bestala Vizsla"]

Oron's violet blade clashed momentarily with the staff of an enemy vong, the weapon interlocking as the sworn enemies glared at each other in utter disgust. Sweeping his leg behind the vong's own, the alien found himself without any support and smacked into the ground which pushed the air out of it's lungs. Without delay the mandalorian descended on the grounded vong and drove his elbow into the alien's stomach before flipping the grip of his lightsaber into a reversed position and slid it in between the vong's ribcage. Although wounded, the alien didn't die right away, instead opting to continue its struggle with Oron- nails biting into his neck as the large sentient attempted to push the dark jedi off of him in his desperate struggle to seek some solid purchase.

Oron didn't responded to the assault, barely twitching under the discomfort of feeling his skin being scratched by foreign digits. Finally, he pushed himself off the vong, quickly stood to his feet, ignited the second blade of his saberstaff and rotated the weapon as the blade reached its full extension- beheading the vong before he could register the attack. An orange, seared line clearly marked the slice but the head remained where it was. The vong staring blankly into the blue sky above with distant, unresponding eyes.

Leaping across the battlefield Oron threw his lightsaber to and fro via telekenisis, scoring fatal sears across the chests of some vong and dismembering others. His advance continued until he reached Verz Horak where he stopped at his position and joined in their push as he unignited and clipped his lightsaber to his belt and freed a pair of machine pistols from his thighs and fired into the mass of bodies ahead of them.

 

[H3xle]

Location: En Route to Planet/Planetside


Objective: Reinforce Titan
Allies: [member="Adenn Gra'tua"] [member="Orick T'ane"] [member="Damien Kestal"] [member="Anastasia Rade"] [member="Orick T'ane"] [member="Werdla Dardalab"] [member="Naast'ika Laaran"] [member="Bestala Vizsla"] [member="Arla Balor"] [member="Verz Horak"] [member="Azrael"] [member=Titan] [member=Arumi Zy] [member=Verz Horak] [member="vilaz munin"]

"Our lines need assistance, get down there Verd!" Shouted the voice of the deck officer at the group of greener Mando verd as they stepped into their drop pods. Reinforcing on the fly could happen from dropships, but drop pods were faster and each of these verd were young and crazy enough to do it. Dropping in a pod was different than a dropship on many levels. In a dropship you were strapped into a seat and could see the troops around you. You could chat a little and take refuge in the calm exterior of the veterans. In a droppod you were enclosed in a padded coffin designed to be shot out of what amounted to a capital ship sized mass accelerator aimed at the dirt. In a dropship there were moments of free floating as transition from having the dropship docked to firing off its own burners. In a droppod there was only the high gee force associated with being shot directly at the ground.

Taenor was shot directly at the ground, and the adrenaline hit his blood like a freight train hitting a wall. Combined with the gee forces involved with the drop, it almost blacked him out.

"This is Titan." Boomed the giants voice over the comms, "Southeast lines, I am solo here and am running low on ammo and armor. Request party favors ASAP."

Taenor's pod fired some small vernier boosters and reoriented it's trajectory to be near Titan. In his pod would be some extra ammunition that he would direct Titan to when he could. Taenor also had other weapons to hand off if he needed to, you could only use the SAW or the Bwatha one at a time, sadly.

It was almost no time before Taenor's pod stopped gaining speed toward the planet as the pods thrusters attempted to turn the velocity back on itself. The result was a second wave of gee force that did black Taenor out for a moment. Then his pod hit dirt and Taenor half stumbled, half tumbled from the pod and into the small crater it had created. His visor popped up as he spit the little bit of vomit from his mouth, then slid closed smoothly before he crested his crater.

Just a few meters ahead of him, he saw Titan and Arumi and several others. He crouched and ran in a zig zag pattern toward them, flopping on his belly in a piece of cover near, but behind them. He didn't say anything, he had unlimbered his SAW as he ran toward them, popped the bipod beneath the barrel and took only a moment to settle into the prone position behind it. He took aim by instinct, hours spent on the range and in combat simulations had developed muscle memory. He sighted on a small group of Vong attempting to rush the group before they were fully reinforced. Taenor pulled the trigger for a long burst, then followed up with a couple of short bursts to ensure they either went down or veered off. He took a moment to unlimber the Bwatha from his back and lean it against himself.

"Titan, Taenor. I've got some ammo in the pod I dropped in, not sure if it has what you need or not, and a Bwatha you can use." Taenor replied over the comm channel, then went back to firing his heavy weapon at the Vong. Some of the other Verd had been redirected with him and in a mildly concerted effort, the Vong rush was stymied for the moment. Taenor didn't take a break, his SAW had a decently long range and he wasn't feeling like letting up on the pressure he was applying to the Vong.

 

[Nyos Val]

Allies: [member="Taenor Arrocco"] [member="Vilaz Munin"] [member="Arumi Zy"] [member="Azrael"] etc
Location: Southeast Line

As reinforcements arrived, Titan plugged Laser after Laser into the Vong lines. Arumi and his entire clan came to his aid. Another vod landed behind with a few drop troopers in tow. A lobe vod now an antire platoon and then some. The Vong were having trouble killing one Mandalorian, now with an entire unit, they stood little chance.

"Vor'e vod! Although you don't have the right ammunition, I still have Kronos to bring out to play."

Titan launched himself forwards and slammed into a Vong, snapping its spine hnder the great pressure that had just collided with it. Titan waved his Vod forwards and he himself turned to press the attack. He was indeed running low on Laser ammo, but it would be enough, he hoped.

 

[H3xle]

Allies: [member="titan"] [member="Vilaz Munin"] [member="Arumi Zy"] [member="Azrael"] etc

Location: Southeast Line

Taenor glanced at the massive beskad that Titan carried and grinned. He knew that the idea for such a massive beskad would be stuck in his head. He wouldn't make an exact replica, but likey something similar. Taenor was a broad shouldered, well muscled verd. He'd have to train himself to use such a weapon, but that thought was almost as pleasant as the thought of forging such a thing.

The moment passed, Taenor refocused himself on the task at hand. He saw that in his momentary dream of beskar, a large group of vong warriors had massed to assault their position. Taenor switched out the canister and magazine on his SAW, even though the others weren't empty quite yet. He set the not quite empties down next to his supported weapon before tracking his weapon to the left, pointing it at a point just ahead of the left most side of the massed vong, a point where the Mando's were weakest. Taenor depressed the trigger in short bursts, using his arm, shoulder and back muscles to keep the weapon on point. The Vong on that side crumpled under the fire, wilting away from that side as he tracked the weapon across their front. The other verd who had come down with him were picking their shots with more care, not having the devastating fire of his weapon, but providing devastating pressure on the pocket of enemy.

"Titan, are we here to hold this line or push it?" Taenor eyed a possible opening that was forming in the Vong line due to the advance of Titan and Taenor's continued fire.

 

[Azrael]

Location: Departure Shuttle
Objective: Meet with Bimmiel Council
Allies: [member="Arla Balor"] | Anyone else whose up for political talks

One planet, three different needs in order to re-secure this territory for the Mando'ade. What they had lost in the Netherworld wasn't only territory, and not all of it could be regained as easily or as successfully as the Mandalorians were able to dominate the competition. There were vode missing, clans ripped apart, and respect and morale on shaky ground at best. While the resilience found within this stalwart creed was impressive and long lasting, that didn't mean that the foundations of the Mando'ade couldn't and wouldn't be shaken. This was a group of independent sentients that all had their own ideas, and only out of respect and honor would they band together with their other clansmen and women to defend, to fight, and to die in the service of the Manda. Azrael wasn't where their devotion ultimately lay, though his title did bear the weight of a overarching father figure. No, these soldiers in beskar'gam were ultimately fighting for the Manda, and what it had given all of them. Azrael himself saw that as the prize as well, that welcome embrace into the next life where he too would one day hope to march and be greeted by the ancestors of the vode from centuries gone by. And despite their losses, at the very least they could find solace in knowing they could still march through and take back the physical planes they had once laid stake to.

Atmospheric conditions bathed the transport back and forth through the somewhat turbulent air currents as streams of fresh water washed across the exterior. Bimmiel's planet was in a riotous uproar because of the Vong. They had come back to their first stronghold quickly and without recompense once the Netherworld had freed the Mandalorian grip from this world. If they were going to take it back, they'd need to fight smart and hard on all fronts. With Verz and company taking care of the General leading the charge on the war-front, and another strike team on the way to shuttle the delegates to the council doors, Azrael's team and shuttle headed for the secondary outpost where the council would convene. Both pilot and co-pilot upfront radioed to the salvager to appraise them of the decent.

:: A'lor, three Vong sentries on the exterior entrances, docking ships are locked from departure. We'll need to swing around and air drop if we're going to get you near the doors and still be able to fly. ::

:: Oya, vod - get us within three meters, we'll take it from there. :: The confirmation was heard near instantly as Azrael hit the harness - releasing the straps from his chest and standing to his feet. Switching instantly to the party comms, his eyes scanned behind the visor before he moved towards the rack of jetpacks lining the west wall of the seating compartment. :: Mount up vod, we're flying in. Take them fast, take them hard, and get into the council room on all three entrances. Surround and take out any defense. :: Re-positioning the equipment to fit his jetpack, Azrael armed himself with his trusty E'tad Kal, BOAR.D, and Mark II Ripper before he started towards the rear of the vessel, waiting to feel the swing around before the ramp would lower. Seconds passed after the order was achieved, and the ramp lowered to let a rush of warm air fill the cabin. The jetpack roared to life and he was off, leaving his team towards the council's secondary estate, lobbing rounds from the ripper into the fortified defenses of the Vong.


[member="Verz Horak"] | @Anastasaia Rade | [member="Anija Ordo"] | [member="Arrbi Betna"] | [member="Taenor Arrocco"] | [member="Titan"] | [member="Oron Verd"] | [member="Vilaz Munin"]

 

[Anastasia Rade]

[member="Orick T'ane"][member="Adenn Gra'tua"][member="Verz Horak"][member="Titan"] [member="Taenor Arrocco"][member="Oron Verd"][member="Vilaz Munin"][member="Arumi Zy"]
[7/20]

Ana would wait until they were ready. The ones outside were aware of their presence but maybe those inside were not. It was a long shot but Ana had a little hope that the Vong were not smart at all. The boss she was sure though had eyes everywhere. He was the boss for some reason or another after all.

She had no doubt that Orick was coming with them. They enjoyed spending time together even if it happened to be going into a nest of Vong. "Atin, your getting a back up of Marines. Be on the look out for them." She spoke in her comm before pulling those smoke grenades from her bag and tossing them into the hallway. After a few seconds they went off covering the whole hallway in a grayish type fog.

"Now," she waved for those with her to follow her in as she grabbed the rifle and held it out ready to begin shooting at the first thing that moved. It probably wasn't the best tactic but it was always shoot first and ask questions later. It seemed to work well enough.

Within the smoke she could hear the shots fired in front of her and she shot back at the outline of an individual that she could see. The smoke would fade eventually and the enemy would be able to see them again.

 

[Naast'ika Laaran]

(#3/20)


Naast'ika saw in full three dimensional glory as a swarm of dozens of Coralskippers raced towards him. He saw the tiny pinpricks of gravity created by the weak dovin basals that held them aloft. He felt their metal and heart their electronic emissions. He saw them illuminated as living beings on his life form indicator. And he, in turn raced towards them. His four larger, more powerful Dovin Basals pulled him forward as they held him aloft, his Etheric Rudders doing their part to stabilize him and lend him grace and agility to match his power and speed. Weapons unsheathed from their protective housings, and point defense emplacements activated. Within himself, he could feel and sense and see as his crew readied themselves. Pilots and crew raced to prepare starfighters and gunships which hid within himself. Men and droids worked to prepare heavy proton torpedoes for launch, and dozens more men and women and droids readied themselves to repair or defend their host, should he become injured or boarded. On the bridge, his captain reminded him to remain calm and warned him that the enemy coralskippers would likely return fire seconds after being fired upon. He advised Naast'ika on when the best time to fire his weapons would be, and told the warship that he should roll to his right to avoid the return fire of the Yuuzhan Vong creations.

 

[Naast'ika Laaran]

(#4/20)



His weapons fired upon the swarm of lesser craft. A trio of explosions marked the success of his weaponry before the Mesen'Loras rolled sharply to his starboard and dipped down, closer to the surface of the planet. In that moment, a torrent of fire erupted from the swarm to lash out upon the strange and alien creature that had invaded their space, only to miss as Naast'ika rolled out of the way of the inevitable counter-attack. Weaponry lashed out again as Naast'ika completed his roll and brought his dorsal side to the swarm again. His primary armament lashed out upon them as he raced past them, his point defense turrets cried out at them with streams of exploding projectiles pouring among the swarm. The Coralskippers tried to turn their weapons towards Naast'ika as he passed. They rotated their whole bodies to point their prow at the passing Mandalorian Warship, holding themselves aloft with Dovin Basals as they did so.

They were fools. Each of the tiny craft slowed considerably as they performed this maneuver. Naast'ika raked them with his fifth Dovin Basal and watched in glee as scores of the craft collided with one another before tumbling from the skies and crashing to the sands below.

 

[Naast'ika Laaran]

(#5/20)



His sensors showed him that more Coralskippers were ahead of him. These ones were approaching from close to the sands, well below him. His bow inclined and Naast'ika dipped upward, diving into the mass of Coralskippers that still raced past him. The sudden shift in his powerful Dovin Basals yanked several of the small craft from their intended course and caused them to collide with one another. His weapons still barked out at the craft as they passed, though they only occasionally landed a hit upon the swarm of small targets. When he did strike one of them, it was mainly due to the misfortune of the target itself as he had resorted to aiming at the swarm itself and not at the individual craft. It allowed him to concentrate upon the movement of the swarms and upon his own movements in gravity.

This inaccurate aiming did not go unnoticed by Captain Tupu. "Activate manual override of primary weapon systems." He said to the officers of the bridge. "Relay weapons to Fire-Control Teams."

"Primary weapons to Fire-Control Teams, aye Captain." Responded the voice of Diego Durran as he quickly relayed the orders to Petty Officer First Class Andrew Trite and Petty Officers Second Class Xel Kochi, and Kate Woodal. "You have the guns." He said to the trio of Fire Controlmen.

 

[Naast'ika Laaran]

(#6/20)


Naast'ika felt his weapons go numb for a moment. Sensation returned quickly, but the weapons no longer responded to his will. Instead, each of the three moved and fired of its own volition.

He was familiar with this. He knew what it was like to have control of his weapons given over to members of his crew, and he knew it was coming, as he could hear the orders issued by Captain Tupu as he spoke them. Naast'ika was not fond of losing control of his weapons, but he quickly realized that it allowed him to focus instead upon the movements of his enemy and the movements he needed to take to combat them.

Turning sharply once again, Naast'ika turned now towards the Coralskippers that had raced beyond him and were trying to bring their weapons to bare on the larger craft that was proving to be far more agile in the atmosphere of Bimmiel. Naast'ika put his prow towards the swarm and raced towards them. His defensive battery lashed out at the swarm as he moved. He saw the Coralskippers around him take fire and drop from the skies one by one as flak cannons found their mark. His powerful, primary Dovin Basals smashed into the formation of Coralskippers as he moved towards them. It hit the swarm like a hammer. A swath of Coralskippers jarred suddenly as they were forced rapidly towards the center of the singularity created by Naast'ika's Dovin Basals. Two dozen collided with one another before falling from the skies. His fifth, defensive Dovin Basal caused further chaos as Naast'ika ran it through the swarm along his flanks. Here too, the Coralskippers were caught unaware by the sudden shift in gravity and collided with one another as their own dovin basals were overwhelmed. His weapons fired and struck targets among the swarm. Likewise, heavy proton torpedoes raced forward from his hull to find targets hidden within the swarm. When they detonated, Naast'ika saw five Coralskippers disappear from his senses. He saw the heavy proton cannon's round tare through two Coralskippers before detonating among a cluster of three more craft.

He had to acknowledge and admire the skills of his crew. He wanted to pay more attention to the actions of his crew so that he may learn from them, but the pressing swarm of enemy fighters demanded his full attention. Even as dozens fell to the sands below, hundreds more swarmed towards the Mandalorian Corvette.

 

[Anija Betna]

Allies: @Azrael @Naast'ika Laaran
Location: Bimmiel Atmosphere
Objective: Push back the Vong
[2/20]

The hangar had long since emptied out as the Vode departed for their assigned ships. Anija herself had moved quickly towards the smaller hangar reserved for the starfighter squadrons. While she might not know many of the newer pilots, Anija knew her task, and her ship well. Dropping easily into the pilot's chair, she heard the muted whine of the servos as the canopy closed over her head. As she settled, she reached up and settled her buy'ce over her head.

Instantly, the HUD came alive, flickering a few times as it and the AI contained within uplinked with the Bes'uliik's systems. She'd done this dozens of times before... and this was no different. over the last year or so, the Mandalorian clans had been scrambling to regain territory lost when lines of communication between Mandalore and outlying worlds were dissolved. That happened quickly when the people manning the comm relays simply... vanished. Sighing. Anija shook her head and tried to focus again. They'd lost worlds.. and some had been scooped up and placed under the banner of other Galactic Powers.

Adumar had fallen to the Sith. Korriban, Telos, and Echoy'la.. the world she'd helped discover... had fallen under the weight of the Primeval. Admittedly, she didn't know much about them. But what she did know wasn't good. They not only subjugated worlds... but their expansion hinged on plowing through anyone who dared to stand in their way. Even the Mandalorians weren't quite that brutal. Territorial, yes. But not like this.

Frowning, she turned her attention to her control board, quickly running through her preflight sequence. It wasn't long after that she was granted launch clearance. Boosting power to the repulsors, she felt the ship lift off the deck and wobble for a moment before it stabilized. When it did, she pushed the control stick forward, guiding the craft towards the magcon field, and the black of space beyond that. Once clear, she pushed the throttle control forward, and pointed the nose of the craft slightly downward towards the planet below.

 

[Catherine Romanov]

Location: Mythosaur SUper-Carrier, Hangar
Allies: [member="Azrael"] [member="Vilaz Munin"] [member="Anastasia Rade"] [member="Taenor Arrocco"] [member="Adenn Gra'tua"] [member="Titan"]
Objective: Join the rest on the planet surface. [1/20]


Catherine was late. She had been so caught up in helping out at the carrier's infirmary, that she had forgotten all about the time. She had heard the speech of her Aliit Buir and Mand'alor echoing out on the speakers mounted in the walls and had cheered along with everyone else in there who was able to. That had been an hour ago, and the attack had well gone under way.

She'd only realised the time when she decided to take a small break, glancing at the clock hanging on the wall. Jumping in alarm, she tore off her scrubs, leaving them on one of the chairs, before running towards her bunk to put on her armour.

Now both fully armoured and armed, she proceeded to the hangar bay. It relatively empty at this point, most of the dropships have already left and are on route to the planet below. Most of the chambers that once held drop pods were equally empty as well, long ejected from the carrier. Thankfully, there were still a couple of pods reserved for any late-coming reinforcements. These were all one-seaters, designed for quick insertions into the battlefield.

Checking to make sure that she had all her gear with her, she put on her buy'ce, and pressed one of the buttons on the panels on a vacant pod, which opened up the door with a hiss. She closed the door as she entered, proceeding to sit comfortably and securely, ensuring that her gear were mag-clamped to her armour before she activated the switch that would send her rocketing towards the planet's surface.

 

[Damien Kestal]

[member="Anastasia Rade"] [member="Orick T'ane"]
[2/20]

Damien's eyes were bright as he was at the entrance of the building. The woman in the pink armor threw the smoke grenade into the building, spreading the mist around the room as the Mandalorians stormed in. Blaster bolts fired from both sides, as Damien fired at the outline of the enemies in the smoke and their gun's flashes.

Firing into the smoke, he noticed two of the shots he fired his, pulling on his trigger, he lifted his left arm, which contain his flamethrower on his wrist. "You're all FIRED." He said, grinning at his own chitty pun. As he was ready to set the Vong ablaze, a blast hit half a foot under his arm as he fell to the ground.

 

[Catherine Romanov]

Location: Bimmiel
Allies: [member="Azrael"] [member="Vilaz Munin"] [member="Anastasia Rade"] [member="Taenor Arrocco"] [member="Adenn Gra'tua"] [member="Titan"]
Objective: Land safely and join in the fight. [2/20]

With a flick of her hand, she pressed one of the few buttons on the control panel of the drop pod, sending it rocketing towards the surface of the planet as it was fired off with a loud 'whoosh'. The craft vibrated strongly as it made its way down the planet. Apparentely, she was not the only one heading to the surface, as she could also see several other pods in the distance.

Catherine's heart took a lunge as she looked through the tiny viewport of the craft in front of her. What greeted her was the sight of the brown and blue orb dotted with orange as the dominion continued to take place below her. Tiny sprouts of flames were scattered around the planet, as the Mandalorians and the Vong wrecked havoc on one another. The pods looked liked comets blazing towards the ground as they entered the atmoshpere with their glowing red hot aura of flame. It wasn't before long until blaster cannon fire filled with air, lighting up the sky, among dogfights of both Mandalorian and Vong fighters.

Anxiousness began to fill her, and she had to control her breathing to calm herself down. Catherine wasn't scared or in the least frightened, on the other hand she was anxious and excited. She was late to the fight, and had missed quite fair bit by now, she couldn't wait to get to the ground and began to work her magic.

Warning lights began to go off, but she ignored them after giving them a quick glance. She was no stranger being in a drop pod, and simplyed ignored them while it blared away in her buy'ce audio recievers. She knew it was only a matter of time before they hit the ground, and she used the wisely, making sure she was fully prepared when the pod hit the ground.

 

[Naast'ika Laaran]

(#7/20)


For all the damage he and his crew inflicted upon the swarm of coralskippers, it seemed trivial in comparison to their total number. The sky churned with the collective gravity disturbances of hundreds, if not thousands of tiny dovin basals holding aloft the swarm of starfighters. Thunder and Lightning pierced the sky as stormclouds formed above the mass of starfighters, water and gasses compressed by the swirling mix of gravitational sources. Winds and rain flowed over Naast'ika's hull, as did the weaponry of the Coralskippers. Superheated plasma and ballistic, calcified stones battered his shields. Here and there, his shields flickered and a handful of rounds shattered upon his Beskar-plated hull. Naast'ika performed a roll and a dive, giving himself breathing room for long enough that his shields began to restore themselves.

"Don't forget about the objective." Captain Tupu said calmly as he watched the flow of battle on the main holoprojector of the bridge. "It won't matter how many you destroy if you can't blow up the factory that's producing them."

Naast'ika beeped in response and continued his dive towards the surface of the planet, coralskippers trailing behind him as the swarm continued its relentless assault upon the foreign craft.

 

[Naast'ika Laaran]

(#8/20)


Naast'ika pulled up with only moments to spare. Shields flared briefly as his belly plowed through the top of a sand dune, sending particulates in all directions. His organic heart beat strong and fast as he pumped energy into himself, much of that energy flooded into his Dovin Basal Biot-organs and his personal singularity of gravity pulsed with the strength of his will to pull himself forward as fast as possible. Placement of the singularity was key. Too high and he would slow his forward momentum and raise from the ground. Too low, too far forward, and he would drop from the sky and slam his belly into the ground that rushed so close below his ventral side. His etheric rudders gave him an edge in this regard. It was easy for Naast'ika to make himself as streamline as possible as he kept his prow pointed in the right direction. Likewise, it allowed him a greater measure of freedom in the placement of his Dovin Basal Singularity.

Behind him, he could feel the Coralskippers lagging behind as the collective strength of their Dovin Basals dragged the mass of them higher and higher into the atmosphere. The foremost ships of the swarm fired upon him, then dropped back behind the next wave of fighters as the kinetic force of their own weapons slowed their momentum. A scattering of shots peppered his tail and aft sections, but he sustained little damage. Coralskippers were not designed for use in atmosphere, nor were they designed for use in such a tight cluster.

 

[Naast'ika Laaran]

(#9/20)


Lieutenant Commander Shia Armada, intelligence officer of the Naast'ika Laaran, found the movement of the Coralskipper Swarm fascinating. Intentional or otherwise, the collective effect of their Dovin Basals on eachother and the environment of the planet was both significant and, by all rights, unprecedented. While each starfighter was less agile that it would otherwise have been, the swarm as a whole was both faster and more agile that she would have thought possible. Had they been in space, the swarm would have truly been a sight to behold.

Now that she thought about it, she wasn't quite sure how this confrontation would have played out had they not been in atmosphere. Collectively, the power of the swarm's dovin basals would have been more than enough to overwhelm Naast'ika. And, had the ships not been forced to focus their efforts on simply holding themselves aloft, they likely could have simply crushed Naast'ika from within by focusing their dovin basals upon the center of his body.

It was fascinating and terrifying.

And it was absolutely the sort of tactic that Mandal Hypernautics should be using.

As Naast'ika raced the swarm to the factory, Shia Armada recorded the swarm's movements and prepared to file an intelligence report on the matter.

 

[Naast'ika Laaran]

(#10/20)

The trio of point defense emplacements upon Naast'ika's dorsal section barked out at the swarm of Coralskippers as Naast'ika continued to focus on moving forward as fast as possible without colliding with the sands of the desert that were coming within inches of his hull. In the distance, the Yuuzhan Vong factory loomed on the horizon. Even from this distance, the organic nature of the structure was obvious. It pulsed slightly as it churned nutrients and minerals from the planet, quite literally growing each ship within itself.

Shia Armada found this too to be interesting. She double checked that the databanks were recording the sensor readings Naast'ika was receiving from the structure before returning her attention to the pursuing craft.

"Two minutes to target." Reported Junior Lieutenant Tersu from Navigation.

"Stay focused Naast'ika," Captain Tupu stated for the benefit of the ship. "You're doing great."

Naast'ika beeped once in acknowledgement as his heart pounded within his chest. Nearby, Engineman Chris Kapou monitored the powerful organ as it pumped energy into the ship. Even through the containment walls, he could feel the massive waves of heat generated by the struggling organ. "Engineering to the Bridge." He said as he raised the Captain on comms. "If he keeps this up, something's gonna fry. I've already got all the electronics running at maximum to try and bleed off some of the excess energy we're getting from the bioreactor... But... We're going to lose all non-organic systems if the Thermal Coupling gives."

"Will it last five more minutes?" Asked Captain Tupu as he focused on the tactical display.

"Maybe. We're running on best guesses at this point." Junior Lieutenant Kapou responded as he watched a few more red lights appear on his control panel.