Old Bonds [SJO ft. New Alliance]

[Zef Halo]

One hour prior...


Amon vigilantly observed the surroundings of the ravine they were situated in pondering on the reasons why he had been stationed so far away from the recent clustering of forces on the Mandalorian frontier. Perhaps it still came down to trust. Even though it was well known that clan Vizsla clearly opposed the clans led by self-proclaimed Mand'alor Yasha Mantis.His capabilities would be much more useful in an eventual clash with the Mandalorian forces rather than here. The middle of nowhere. Guard duty of a research facility no one really seemed to give an osik about.

"By the Force, Vizsla, there's nothing but mynocks and bassa hounds roaming the forests. Chill out. Get some Corellian ale before it ends and sit 'n' play some sabacc with us." Private Jagg yelled out from over the table where a few soldiers were playing cards and enjoying a vacation. Half of their armor off and helmets tossed chaotically on the ground. "Guard duty on Rathis is basically a paid holiday. Thank command they sent you here. Free ale, fresh air."

"We have a duty. Soldier's responsibility."

"Wow, ain't he a stuck-up?" someone else whispered shaking their head.

"All Mandos seem to have a stick far up their arse as far I know."

"Well, suit yourself. Even the LT's inside watching the Spacebowl."

"sOlDiEr'S rEsPoNsiBiLIty."

The Mandalorian replied with silence and the rest gave up on his weird case of not taking a break. His eyes wandered through the HUD's feed until something caught his attention. An object in the sky, soon another followed up and then another. Too far from his sensors to fetch enough data except that there was indeed something heading downwards with high velocity.

"Who is manning the radar?" Amon asked sharply.

"Huh?"

"It's your duty today, isn't it, Jagg?" another of the Rangers commented.

"Multiple unknown objects are heading down from the sky." The Mandalorian reported.

"Ain't it time for the monthly supply?" Jagg asked hand waving the potential problem away despite the rest's sudden alarmed state.

"IFF tags them as hostile. Raise the alarms!" Vizsla ordered and suddenly their holiday was ruined. "Alert the lieutenant and get combat ready ASAP!"

While Amon tried maintaining a certain degree of composure, his worry mainly came from the decreased combat readiness his fellow comrades here demonstrated rather than the incoming hostiles.

He'd be damned if he made his last stand on a chithole in the middle of nowhere.

--

Now...

"They're shelling the darn place!!"

"We are fethin' trapped here like banthas to the slaughter."

"And what's your damn idea, Ulfeer, retreat, eh? LT said not one fethin' step backwards!"

"LT's dead, Sidon, and I got a wife and a kid back home.I ain't planning on dying for whatever the kark these crazy nut scientists and Jedi been researching down here!"

"You're a karkin' Antarian Ranger, boy, act like one!"

"Only enrolled to get drafted here for the good pay and no action. Cousin said it's easy money!"

"You're a fethin' piece of a low life, y'know that, Ulfeer? I knew the moment you got here, you're nothin' but a loan infested gamblin' Corellian bastard you."

"Shut up!" Amon burst in behind the two's cover breaking through the dispute as blaster fire rained down from literally everywhere. "Did Jagg get up there and fix the comm tower?"

"Jagg's dead, Vizsla."

"I don't wanna die, Mandalorian." Ulfeer moaned and Amon could see the tears piling up behind the man's helmet. Vizsla wasn't sure how to respond to the man.

"Shut it, fether." Sidon almost smacked the Corellian. "How does it look, Vizsla?"

"Bad. They've breached the western entrance and surrounded the whole facility. Shells are coming from the west hitting everything but the facility."

"They want no one alive but they aren't risking the place." Sidon concluded.

"Perhaps but we really are going to get killed if we stay here. The sergeant's orders are to fall back in the facility and meet them head on there."

"Makes sense, yeah. Their overwhelming numbers won't be that effective in a confined place."

"So let's make a run for it, yeah? If the rest are falling back, we will soon be overrun, won't we??" Ulfeer saw a glimpse of hope in it.

"He's right, Vizsla."

"He is but we're just buying more time. Unless I get that comm tower working. Toss all your smokes at the tower and cover me."

"Are you nuts?! We stay any much longer, we're dead men, Mandalorian!" Ulfeer shook Amon's arm hard before the latter shoved him down on the ground.

"We're already dead if I don't get that tower working either way!"

"Roger that. Get your useless arse up, Ulfeer and lob these grenades will ya. On the count of three, Vizsla. I fire, you move like the karkin' Sith Emperor's on your tail." Sidon nodded as he slammed a new mag in his rifle. "Every Ranger is a rifleman, eh? Even I the karkin' clerk. One. Two. Three."

Sidon rose up and unleashed all his rifle was capable off as Amon dashed towards the comm tower. Smoke 'nades popped off in his trail. He felt the ground shake from the shells and the heat from blaster bolts barely missing their target even in the thick smoke. The grappling hook caught the railing of the tower and elevated him upwards on the platform with the radar. As he plugged in the tool in the radar's socket, a bolt caught him right in the ribs and Amon dropped the tool on the ground. He reached for his ribs in pain but noticed the tool rolling towards the edge of the platform. In a desperate attempt he lunged at it catching it right before it fell.

"Aruetii. Never ready for a fight." Amon muttered under his breath as he set the tool to its highest setting. The radar surged with power and Amon wasted no time in sending a distress beacon attached with a voice message full of static.

"...is Private Vizsla... Antarian....requesting immediate...Sith elements...repeat....immediate help."

All friendlies would hopefully receive the message in nearby star systems before a heavy round struck the platform and sent it crashing down with the Mandalorian.

--

Somewhere above Commander Brutus Alta, a second cousin of the infamous Lord General [member="Scipio Alta"] of The Sith Empire, oversaw the operation of the One Sith Remnant upon the Silver Jedi world of Rathis. Underneath his command was the medium cruiser Vengeance, a few fighter squadrons and a detachment of well armed troopers which currently assaulted the research facility to acquire an ancient Sith Artifact.

"Operation is going as we foresaw, Commander Alta." the aide reported. "They were far from ready."

"Good jawb. The quicker we acquire this damn artifac', the betta. Keep mey updated."

"There's one issue, though, Sir. Somehow the Rangers have managed to get a distress beacon out."

"Huh?"

"Indeed, Sir."

"Git 'em to finish this chit sooner, a'ight."

"Yes, sir." The aided nodded still being tormented from comprehending his superior officer's Oorn Tchis accent.


[member="Coren Starchaser"] [member="Romi Jade"] (idk u liked every post I made) [member="Lynette Lykova"] [member="Valkren Calderon"] [member="Audren Sykes"] [member="Kahne Porte"] [member="Yula Perl"] (whynot) [member="Allyson Locke"] [member="Yuroic Xeraic"] [member="Loske Matson"]

 

[Coren Starchaser]

The Clans had become a bit rowdy as of late. Umbara being the most recent of the attacks. Out between Sullust and route through Silver Space towards the frontier with the Sith. It was different to fight the Mandalorians than the Sith, and he had a few new weapons in his toolbox, Jedi poppingup and taking lessons from the Outer Rim, for better or worse, was one such of these new weapons. She had a bit of training similar to Coren, and that made things all the more difficult.

But from the bridge of the Spear of the Alliance, leading the battlegroup Sentinel out to the front to keep the Sith expansion fleets from getting too big for their space. But what happened next was causing a bit of change. He received an urgent call, or at least part of one. Sith elements on a world. Spinning in the chair.

“Ensign, do we have the source?”
“Aye, General.”

“Navigation, plot us a course, send it to my screen, pull us and the FarStars Delta and Echo out of light speed, send the rest of the fleet forward.” Within a few minutes, Coren had the new location as the Spear was falling from light speed. Using the Force, he was patching up a new course to get them there faster. Instinctively, he finished the course and sent it forward.

“Plot that to all Alliance flagged vessels who are looking for a mission. Rescue and striking by the sounds of it.” The General ordered as he directed the navigator to make the jump.

 

[Kahne Porte]

Spear of the Alliance

Learn to let go...

Learn to just breathe...

It was rather cool in the room in which Kahne was in. Focusing, meditating that was one of the key's to his strength. The most important of them being hope. Many people were devoid of it and if there was one thing in this life that he wanted to impart on this galaxy.

Hope

Kahne had made it a point to be out here more, where he wanted to be. Yes, he had his responsibilities at home, and he wouldn't ever ignore them. However to be there meant to be fighting out here to keep that peace. And that is what he exactly planned to do. The Jedi Master being aboard this vessel was the best place for him to be honest. [member="Coren Starchaser"] was always looking for a fight, but not just to fight. There was reasoning behind it, and it was always a good reason. Kahne felt that is why he followed him so much, not just because he was the only Jedi who seemed to have the most sense and knowledge, but just because he was that leader. Or so he that was his thoughts behind the matter.

His communicator went off and that brought the Jedi out of his meditative stance. He could feel a shift as he glanced to his right and stared at the device for a moment before showing a small smile.

Here we go.

[member="Romi Jade"]

 

[Joza Perl]

Joza had tracked [member="Coren Starchaser"] down for one simple reason: to yell at him. Apparently, he’d lead a task force on the Sith world of Rhen Var, and had sent one of her children to retrieve a force artifact. Said child had returned disoriented with black eyes, a broken rib and a mangled droid. It didn’t matter that Yula had gone there without coercion, and it didn’t matter that she’d been accompanied by her grandfather and uncle. Hell, she’d given them an earful as well.

In true weird Starchaser fashion, they’d picked up a distress signal in all of this. Sith elements. It was always Sith. Why couldn’t it be someone else for a change?

“I swear to the Force, Starchaser. If one of my kids is caught in the crossfire, I’m kicking you straight to the Netherworld.” It didn’t matter that he had nothing to do with whatever this was, nor did he control her children’s erratic migration patterns.

Then she sat back and let him handle everything, while she touched up her eyeliner. Piloting skills skipped a generation in the family, after all.

 

[Silara Varis]

[member="Max Arach"] / [member="Coren Starchaser"] / [member="Zark"] / [member="Loske Matson"] / [member="Ty Zashal"] / [member="Wedge Draav"] / [member="Rayf Vigil"] / [member="Vhei Wasp Naudir"] / [member="Danielle Stellaris"] / [member="Amon Vizsla"]​

3rd Allied Fleet​

New Alliance Expeditionary Force​

Task Force Dagger​

Sullust​

​

​

​

She thought she was on a mini vacation. Currently she was seated at bar in one of the Orbital Shipyards around Sullust, checking out the stars. After a huge battle with the Ssi-Ruvi a lot of her vessels were banged up. Her command ship ANS Resolute Vengeance II had taken the worst of the beating, front side smashed and melted to slag; dorsal side the same. She watched drones move armor pieces about and weld them here and there.

Right as she was about to go for another sip of her glass, a buzzing sound interrupted her.

She almost blew it off. Her sense tingled, and she picked up the Data pad and swiped right.

"Xo? What's up?"

"This just in from FLEETCOM, General Starchaser has a contingent headed into what appears to be a Sith raid. Battlegroup Sentinel is already spun up."

She grimaced.

"Whats the next part?"

"It's an all hands call. Apparently there's a garrison of Antarian folks down there according to the Silver's."

She nodded.

"Vengeance is pretty beat up, the rest are looking like chit as well. What do we have available for flight?"

Even as she spoke she was placing her credit chip on the steel countertop and headed for the lifts.

"ANS Denigrator is the next best Ship of the Line, most of the Battle Line is beat."

"We can't pull too many from drydock, or already damaged craft. I'm not entering an engagement at half strength. Sullust also needs the remaining Ships close to bolster Sector Command. We'll have to go tactical on this one. If Spear of The Alliance is already headed there, spin up ANS Denigrator and ANS Anvil. That'll give us guns and Fighter support. We got any Rogue Squadron or them Mercs that helped us out in house?"

"I'll check."

"Do so I'll be on deck in ten, we launch in twenty."

She cut the link and grabbed her kit bag from her quarters, making her way back to the lift.

Duty never slept...

ANS Denigrator- Jast Elite Destroyer
100/100

ANS Anvil- Endurance II-Class Fleet Carrier
100/100

 

[Lynette Lykova]

Rathis
Obj: Scan and report the enemies Fleet Composition

Lynette's Travelsprite Jedi Interceptor dropped out of Hyperspace only minutes after Vizla managed to send the distress call. She had already been enroute to a nearby system and rerouted course immediately to assist. As her ship exited Lightspeed her vessel dumped a thermal shroud and she killed the engines. Then her astromech pinged the nearest Hyperspace Beacon for recent traffic logs and signal traffic. Unfortunately, there was nothing on it. Just high static for hours. Which was suspicious enough all on it's own. Meaning, yes. Somebody had likely jammed the travel beacon so they could sneak a fleet in-system without popping up on the Silver's sensor net. A common pirate tactic among the fringe worlds. Used often enough by just about every major faction too. And while how remote this system was already? It figured that nobody back at base would have noticed it.

Lynette ran a search for friendly satellites or a publicly accessible GPS. Again. Nothing. Nobody had bothered. Guess this planet really was a backwater. Sheesh.

"Guess we're doing it the hard way, R2."

~ "Dweet donk." ~

"Hold on sweetie."

Lynette fired back up the engines and kicked the stick. Cranking her back out into open space and throwing herself out and around the planet. She'd been on the Sith's sensors for sure. But, it was a risk she had to take. She needed a sensor scan of all the enemy ships in the AO. That way she could send it back along the chain of command. Tell the good guys what they were dealing with.

~ "Donk donk!" ~

"I see it. We're being jammed."

Lynette's computer pulled up the local scan as she got closer and closer to long range railgun distance. Bingo. One Medium Cruiser. Unknown Classification. And... Nothing. Nothing else. That meant it was either the point ship for calculating a local Fleet jump or, it was all they'd brought to the party.

~ "Dweet dweet." ~

"Fair enough. Pulling out now."

Lynette's Interceptor pulled out of long range and began to make a run for it. She'd make it too. After all, it doesn't take long for an Interceptor to escape a cruiser's jamming field. Especially at range. Within seconds, she was free to open coms.

"Sending local data now."

It took a few seconds for the sensor data to bounce off a few Hyperspace Beacons that weren't jammed up with static. But then the green light came back. Solid copy. The Silvers now knew what was happening in orbit. One Medium Cruiser. Check and timestamped.

"Okay R2. Let's bug out before they send a squad after us. We'll rendezvous with the Fleet and come back in full force."

~ "Dweet dweet!" ~

"What! And risk being shot down by a Sith railgun? That's crazy. We don't have the shield strength to risk landing on-world. Flak we could dodge. Missiles we could handle. But a single hypervelocity cannon would turn us into space dust as soon as we cleared computer range."

~ "Boop." ~

"I know. Next time we'll bring a bigger ship. Sorry dear. Readying for Lightspeed now. And. ...Mark."

With a burst of light, Lynette's tiny starship disappeared back into deep space. She'd be back though. And soon enough. She'd have friends too.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

The fact that he had Joza on his ship for this little joy ride out to ensure the Sith and Mandalorians remained contained in their little dens of evil was not really what he wanted to have. He respected the Zeltron greatly, but she also terrified him a little. Sure, he was a parent, technically. Jared and Kaia were adults when he got out of the freeze, but they were taking care of themselves. Kaia was out chasing Runi or whoever, and Wardening, good girl, that one, and Jared was back on Corellia, doing Force knew what. Still, probably a good move.

Since Starchaser was here, chasing Sith was part and parcel. But it was also an Alliance flagged vessel. Providing assistance to the powers that needed it were what they did. He heard Joza, sure, but re-routing three capital sized ships was a bit more pressing.

As he handed the new path over, not as good as Jorus could do but not too far off, he nodded. “The thing about that, Joza,” he turned his Commander’s chair. “Was that Yula came on her own accord. She knew the risks, and since stepping to the Praxeum, I’ve gotten less demanding of the younger generation.” Maybe learn to work on apologies Coren. Being headstrong wasn't always the best.

“Besides, her grandfather was there, isn’t this more his department?” Oh no, it was completely Starchaser’s and he knew that for fact, but if he dinged Joza just right, he wanted to see what she’d do.

Playing with fire.


[member="Joza Perl"]

 

[Light Rises]

But speaking of being headstrong, down in the hangar of the Spear, Frenzy was doing what she did best, fill in. A pilot that was marked as a special case, and needs of the Alliance, Captain Stellaris was getting her TwinTail linked into the Tiburon Squadron’s battlenet and getting their formations and tactics downloaded into Mack. She was in her modified flight suit, walking around her fighter and tugging on landing gear, engines, and guns, checking how firm everything was on. Mack was following shortly after,letting her know she was technically Tiburon 12, but everyone would refer to her as Frenzy and that she’d been accepted, knowing her special case.

“You mean that I’m a Jedi, right?” The blonde said, not pleased that she was seen differently, but allowing it. The droid beeped as he wheeled himself over to the lift station and was brought up into his internal slot on the fighter. Not too far from the E-Wing, the TwinTail that allowed for the astromechs was special for Jedi, as the droids were much more than mechanics.

She heard the squadron commander and gave a quick salute. Time to mount up. They were going to be engaging until there was an opening to head planetside. From there, special teams would break out. And it helped that the Tiburons and the full crew of the Spear were Force and Jedi friendly. A quick hop up the latter and she grabbed her flight helmet. And the engines were powering up.

All systems green.

 

[Audren Sykes]

Half an hour before...

"Signal check. Data coming through?"

"Five by five. Ready to roll through again? Six targets this time."

"Hold."

Audren had heard that tone of voice before. Rather than asking questions, he fell silent and waited for the captain of the Vespira to finish whatever needed doing before continuing. He also pulled back on the throttle of his fighter, delaying the next stage of the course. His handler onboard the freighter, however, was not so disciplined.

"What's going on, captain?

There was no answer, but seconds later the fighter's comm unit began to indicate that it was receiving a distress beacon. Audio was not good here in the unnamed asteroid cloud, but he could distinctly hear a voice; this was no automated or long-dormant distress beacon. Unfortunately, this was not his standard vessel. If it were, he might have been able to chase down specifics like frequency and point of origin. Not only was this fighter's equipment not as sophisticated, he wasn't familiar with it - as a matter of fact nobody really was. That was the whole reason they were out here, putting the ship through its paces. Thirty seconds later, Captain came back on the channel.

"Sir, distress beacon coming in on Silver Jedi channels. Details unclear, but it sounds to be a Ranger and involves Sith."

"Location?"

"Uncertain, but likely Rathis."

The Sephi leaned back in his acceleration chair, thinking. He wasn't deeply involved with the Silver Jedi any longer - no longer considered a member of the Assembly for one - but he did still retain clearance and information sources. Rathis was relatively close and was a small research facility. He didn't know what their purpose was but was aware of the small contingent of Antarian Rangers stationed there. If it was under attack those on-planet were likely already dead. He needed to be sure though.

"Captain, plot a course for Rathis, quickest possible route. Have technicians standing by to refuel and re-arm the fighters."

"Respectfully, sir, the Vespira is a freighter armed only a single laser cannon."

"But the Limemlin fighters are not. Don't worry, Captain, we're not going to take on Star Destroyers. We do need to take a look though."

Exactly thirty-three minutes and fourteen seconds later, the Vespira dropped out of hyperspace near Rathis. Technically speaking, it was outside the outer-most orbit but the vessel's momentum would have them encounter that point shortly. There was no sign of life on the freighter; external running lights were off, sublight engines were down, and no active sensors pinged space around them. Heck, even the internally-lit rooms with viewports had their lights turned off. Visual and passive sensors only, telescopic enhancements live. There was no reason to make themselves a target if they didn't have to.

"Nothing nearby. One larger ship in orbit, a cruiser maybe. Can't tell if there's anything smaller without running an active scan."

The communications were of course going through an internal, wired network. Audren was standing in the control room for the small hangar while the captain reported what he saw on the scopes. The Sephi's wingmate was situating himself in his fighter; they'd both made use of the refresher, grabbed a drink. They'd already been in their cockpits for a good two hours running sims and might be heading out in fighters untested with real combat.

"Can you tell who's it is? Any fighting on the surface?"

"Unknown."

Audren chewed on his lip for just a moment - calculating distances - before making an executive decision.

"Alter course, head further in-system. Slowly, maintain dark status after the initial adjustment. Be prepared for fighter launch with a thirty-second delay, be ready to turn and burn if they see us. Try to feed me your data on the internal lines, I'll help. We need more information or reinforcements before we go in."

 

[Sol Stazi]

"Sound off for equipment check!"

Captain Stazi of the Alliance 61st Mobile Infantry Company verified his warplate's own systems while one by one the squad of rebel commandos shouted their readiness over the tumult of reentry. At least the Firebird could take a pounding, Sol always felt uncomfortable on U-Wings with so little hull between his troopers and oblivion. Their usual posting was still in drydock, the same place he should be after the thrashing he had taken on Dreypa's Peak from kriffing Mandalorians.

"Hang tight!" he yelled over comms, "Drop zone is hot!"

As soon as the words left the duros' mouth, their passenger bay was rocked by a nearby explosion. Stazi didn't know a thing about Rathis and he didn't care to, but he knew it didn't belong to the Sith. Most of the invaders' artillery wouldn't be specialized for anti-air, which meant better chances that Twilight Company would make it to the surface in one piece. So much of his life in the mobile infantry was spent surrendering his fate to chance, there could be a horde of rakghouls down there and Sol would still feel a lot better when his feet touched solid earth.

"Stand by!" Sol called out when the drop indicator flashed yellow. A few seconds later it flashed green and he punched the transport's airlock controls, "Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!"

One by one he shoved troopers out of the drifting U-Wing. When the passenger bay was finally clear, Captain Stazi backed up for a running start and dove into freefall. Strong winds whipped his body around like a ragdoll briefly, but then his grav chute's repulsors automatically fired a stabilizing burn, and he was now plummeting feet first towards the distant speck of a research facility below. Automatic las fire lit up the skies all around him, and Sol hugged his rifle tightly to his chest to make sure he didn't lose it like in the last jump.

"Landing in twenty," he wheezed into his comms, the pressure of the drop made his still healing ribs feel like they would burst.

The grav chute's repulsors cycled through a series of short, controlled burns. By the time he was two hundred meters up his fall had slowed considerably, and one final prolonged burst from the boosters arrested his descent so that when he landed it felt like Sol had only fallen about six meters. Unhooking the hefty grav chute from his back in one fluid motion, Stazi ripped his A320 from its harness and slammed in a fresh power pack just in time to drop a stormtrooper in unusually outdated armor.

"Form up on my signal."

They were behind enemy lines. Just the way Twilight liked it.

[member="Amon Vizsla"] | [member="Coren Starchaser"] | [member="Silara Varis"] | [member="Joza Perl"] | et al.​

 

[Kahne Porte]

The Jedi Master whipped his cloak around his shoulders and then reached for his lightsaber and clipped it to his belt. Kahne wasn't much of a flier, he could do the job if necessary so his game was usually the ground. However he had his moments to where he stood out on occasion, but if it initially came down to it, he preferred to be on the ground. The first thing was to get the ground from where he was.

Kahne made his way down the halls at a brisk pace as the shift in lightspeed had occurred, that Kahne had observed through his own senses. The Jedi made his way towards the bridge and Coren was speaking with a Zeltron whom he had never met before. She looked familiar enough, however Kahne still couldn't notate any sort of familiarity by way of them meeting before.

"Forgive me for the interruption.What is on the agenda today Coren? Play date with some Mandalorians and Sith I take it?" Kahne said with a small chuckled as he glanced over to Joza and gave a small nod of his head. "Hello there."

[member="Joza Perl"] [member="Coren Starchaser"]

 

[EllieEx]

Wasp, 3rd Allied fleet​

Contract: Terminated​

​

​

Wasp had been listening in on the various comms going in and out, not to mention what little briefing she managed to claw out of her employers. She had been hired to kill Ssi-Ruuk and aid in the liberation of sullust, Not Fight sith, and Her own People by the sound of it. "Krifing mando this" and "Clan" that. They'd better be generalizing and speaking of the faction, not the people. Either way, She didn't sign up to become a traitor to her people, and she definitely wasn't hired to save one. She didn't want to be here, and she definitely wasn't welcome here either. she flipped the switch on her comms and sends a quick holo-message to the 3rd fleet's command ship.

"Callsign wasp to the Resolute Vengeance II. I'm transmitting the terms of my contract with the alliance, and none of this is in it. let's just leave it at that and call it a day. I hope your boys make it back safe, Good luck" She turns her comms off and calculates a hyperspace jump.
She didn't like abandoning an operation like that, but at this point- there wasn't any guarantee she wouldn't get a vibroblade to the back..

Wasp's kandosii lingers for a moment before disappearing in a sudden blue flash, carried through hyperspace.

Spoiler

 

[Zef Halo]

The impact rattled every piece of his bones but didn't send him into the void. Lying as a corpse on the ground. Rubble all around him. Ears ringing. Vision blurred. Amon barely made only the figure of Sidon returning fire at multiple approaching figures. A lifetime of war training quickly made him notice their pincer movement. If Sidon was a goner, so was he.

Instinct kicked in and he found the sidearm in his holster. Unshackling it as quickly as his state allowed him to, the Mandalorian used the element of surprise to fire a few bolts at the hostile troopers, possibly killing one of them and breaking the rest's formation as they sought cover from the unexpected fire. The short lived window of no fire at their position gave Amon enough time to stand up and dash for cover beside his comrade. Pain almost knocked him back on the ground. Getting trampled by a mythosaur probably felt better.

"Sent the signal."

"Fethin' good, Vizsla." Sidon patted him on shoulder.

"We're still trapped and ammo's low." The Mandalorian stated. "Where's Ulfeer?"

"There." Sidon pointed at a nearby lying corpse. "Fether tried using my covering fire and your dash at the tower to get to safety in the facility."

"You don't sound happy about it."

"Just cause he was a scumbag doesn't mean I wanted his death, Vizsla."

"I've seen Mandalorians kill for less of a reason." Amon replied neutrally.

"And you sound accepting of that."

"Strength dictates life." Vizsla replied laconically. "Enough talk. We must move."

"We must. You wanna toss this?" A thermal det popped in the clerk's hand. "Was never good at throwing stuff."

The Mandalorian picked the explosive orb from the man and without saying anything else hurled the thermal detonator at the approaching targets. Sidon didn't wait another moment as he bolted for the facility where the last of the rangers platoon was falling back. Amon caught up just as the detonator exploded and reached the facility's eastern entrance as the last man of the Rangers to get in.

"Close call, you two." One of the corporals commented as he brought a dozen mines. "Orders are clear. Sabotage this entrance and fall back to the western chokepoint. We're holding them there. Or more likely dying there."

"Vizsla got a distress signal out." Sidon said. "We might still have a chance, corporal."

"We'll all be dead before any fether arrives. Who the hell's gonna be close to this backwater chithole?"

"Look, karker, if you've already dug your grave - might as well be me tossing you in it." Sidon grabbed the corporal by the throat and shoved the rifle's muzzle at the man. A blast was fired but it came from neither of the two men. The corporal's body sunk to the floor for Sidon only to see Amon holstering his blaster pistol.

"M-mandalorian...w-what the feth did you just do?"

"His right hand." The Vizsla cooly pointed at the dead corporal before him. "Old scoundrel tricks. He would've fired through his holster."

"W-wha?"

"Snap out of it, Sidon. Let's set these mines up in here and fall back to the chokepoint."

--

Aboard OS Remnant Cruiser "Vengeance"

The events of a distress signal being sent down from Rithas had certainly changed the situation for the forces under Commander Brutus Alta. Someone had scanned the OS remnant's naval element before they disappeared into hyperspace. Alta hardly faltered at that fact but preemptively ordered all fighter squadrons to be deployed in space.

The action proved fruitful as the reversal of what looked like none other than the meddling Alliance kids had the One Sith Remnant prepared. Some of them were able to land unhindered despite the Sith's best efforts and Alta had ordered a wing of fighters to be dispatched as an air support to the ground forces.

Twilight Company would soon hear the very familiar sounds of twin ion engines roaring above their heads. Meanwhile, the initial shelling order was changed to indiscriminate as the rangers would very soon find out.

--

Western Chokepoint,
Research Facility

The outnumbered and outgunned men and women of the 3rd Platoon, Company C met the fierce assault of the Sith with a rejuvenated spirit. Encouraged by the arrival of Twilight Company, they fought tooth and nail for every inch of...durasteel floor.

Someone had been able to repair a portable sensor equipment from which they had learned of the arrival of friendly forces. Not to their avail, the confidence would abruptly cease when the shells started landing on top of them. The first of the heavier rounds had brought a whole section of the roof on the Rangers decimating a chunk of their already low numbered soldiers.

The fortunes of war had once again turned against them as what was once left of the choke point became an open hunting ground for the Sith and the Rangers scattered for cover behind the newly formed rubble.

"V-vizsla..." The agonizing whisper startled the Mandalorian. Its source - the entrapped beneath steel Sidon. "Finish me off, Vizsla."

Amon gazed at the clerk silently, sort of thinking the man's idea through.

"You said...it yourself....strength dictates life."

Still silent. End the man's misery? Right here, right now?

What would his father Ronan do?


OOC, quick fyi - throw curveballs, go nuts on NPCing the Sith and etc. DMing will burn me out real quick.

[member="Sol Stazi"], [member="Joza Perl"], [member="Kahne Porte"], [member="Coren Starchaser"], [member="Silara Varis"], [member="Danielle Stellaris"], [member="Audren Sykes"], [member="Lynette Lykova"]​

 

[Joza Perl]

Oh now he done it.

Her head lifted from the tiny makeup mirror she’d been using to apply her liner. “The thing about that, Coren,” Her tone was sickly sweet for a moment, evidence enough of how cross she was with him. “Was that you were in charge of the operation. Crusading against the Sith is one thing, but sending my daughter and a few old men to the catacombs in order to retrieve a powerful Force artifact?”

There was the mom voice. Too bad she couldn’t send this one to him room, or take his holostation away. Joza leaned back into her chair, turning what remained of her attention back to cosmetics. What was done was done, but she could still give [member="Coren Starchaser"] hell for it.

“You had to know,” She muttered loud enough for him to hear, swiping the inky black brush across her lash line. “You had to know the Sith would go after the damned star like animals.”

A new face appeared—or maybe it was an old one? The wars and battles had blended together over the years. She snapped the compact shut and gave [member="Kahne Porte"] a smile. “Hello there. I’m Joza Perl, a friend of Coren’s.” Was there an edge to her voice just now? “Sith elements, if the distress call was anything to go by.”

There was a reason why she’d stuck around to grill Sithchaser. He’d always stuck to his guns when it came to fighting against the Sith, so she half expected to be dragged into some sort of conflict.

 

[Romi Jade]

---

---

Location: Research Facility, Rathis
Objective: Retrieve and Hold--Er do what we can...
Tag: [member="Ador Horn"] [member="Sol Stazi"]

---

---

​

---

"Hang tight!" he yelled over comms, "Drop zone is hot!"

She'd heard Sol over her comm, she'd accompanied him on her vessel here after an earlier rendezvous.​

Embers gathered in sporadic instances, there was a warmth to the air likely aided by fire below. Scattering as the airlock controls shifted and the bay door shot open, she looked down from the gunships platform, etching along the edge while hovering in place. Her nostrils flared, and her chest grew static in reaction to the drastically humid air. Pulling back, "Alright. They're about to drop..."

She whipped around to look at Ador, "Remember what we discussed?" She gestured with her hand, pointing at their destination below, "We'll meet there. Lets monitor our progress on our chronometers. Sync on three...one....two...three" She'd given him one.

"Stand by!" Sol called out when the drop indicator flashed yellow.

She approached the edge, fastening her harness "Kid...please don't do anything crazy, I have to return you in one piece."

Corellians...

She didn't understand why she attracted them.

She paced backwards a couple of steps.

"Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!"

With a running start she vaulted off the edge, "And don't wreck the ship! I have to return that as well!"

-----

A cascade of blaster bolts sweep across the dune, Romi Force-leapt through the smoky, flashing interior of the battleground, pivoting around she created a fan of scarlet light that came slicing through whatever bolts it could find; she helped provide some cover for the Twilight company in their descent.

They raced past her, bringing their blaster rifles up to fire. She sprang up behind them with some more rounds flashing past her corkscrewing body, so close that the sting of its heat crept across her skin. She twisted into another whorl, her wrists turning almost of their own accord as she swung her lightsaber around to catch the next bolt.

Slashing in a leveled fashion with her blade, she melted the barrel of a commandos rifle before her kick took him in the side of the head. It was certainly not powerful enough to damage his armor, but a lot of kinetic force was transmitted through the helmet, rocking the man's head. He staggered and fell backwards.

"Form up on my signal."

 

[Coren Starchaser]

The trick with Coren and Joza was just that it… was a lot of tension. They were on the same side, mostly but still, there were issues. He looked over at the Zeltron and ran a hand through his hair. Right, he was going to be losing this argument, wasn’t he? “I mean, yeah, but it was because the Aing-Tii sent us there. And I sent the Perl pod on that mission because I had my own thing.” He shrugged. “I am high on the Sith hated list. I figured they’d come for me and leave a clear path for Perls.”

He shrugged as he looked at the navigation. They were not too far out.

“Hey Kahne, great timing my friend. We’ve got Sith and I think bucketheads. Silvers are making the call, so we’re tasked to assist. Should be there… soon. Need a lift? Got room on my landing craft.” He had an apprentice of his taking the starfighter wing. Watching over at Joza, he looked at her. “What about you, Pink?” The Jedi Master looked to his ship’s crew.

“Let me know when we’re entering real space. And join in the Third Fleet for the conflict!” He stepped out of the bridge, to the lift.

[member="Joza Perl"]
[member="Kahne Porte"]

 

[Light Rises]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSeNSzJ2-Jw​

​

The fighter’s systems were activated, repulsors were warmed up and the weapons systems came online. The blonde Corellian was all smiles as she looked over her systems. The fighters were ready and the light was green. Looking out beyond the magcon shield of the Spear of the Alliance, the Star Defender was crashing into real space, and the hyperspace tunnel became starpoints.

“This is Frenzy, all green and following!” Came her call as Tiburons were sounding off. Tapping a few commands and giving Mack the order, another sound came over her local broadcast, that of some music with a heavier beat and a bit of a beat. She always flew better to music. The rest of the Tiburons were already launched and forming up.

She joined the squadron and her radar was finding hostiles ahead, which meant the order to jump to combat speed and engage while slashing towards the planet. Rolling, she moved her fighter to the side, a bit off from the Tiburons, but allowed herself to relax into the Force. When she did that she could feel the meld the Tibs were creating.

“Frenzy has targets incoming, moving ahead. Let’s grab them!”

 

[Alexandra Porte]

Alexandra had slipped out of the meditation room cause like no one can properly center themselves in the Force if they have to pee, right? Any hoo, when she had returned, her master had left... and without his apprentice. How rude! Was this a test? Or maybe a game of hide and seek perhaps? The master and student played games all the time... but sometimes in a reverse roll. Okay TMI, but for reals, where had [member="Kahne Porte"] gone too...

The Taanabian reached out into the Force and searched for her husband's Force signature.... and when she'd found him elsewhere on the ship she took off in that direction.

It had been quite a while since Alleycat had been on the Spear of the Alliance. In fact that last time was when Russo was Rogue Leader. Had it been that long? Now she felt old. Well Alex kinda was now that the she was married with two kiddos. Funny how karma works. If it wasn't for Aiden and Addison, she may have never realized that she had been Force Sensitive all along. Those hunches and gut instincts while flying into all those past space battles were signs of her gift of the Force, but the ace pilot had just racked it up to being just that good. Who knew, right?!

Stepping out onto the bridge of the Star Defender from the lift, the tall brunette spotted Kahne speaking with [member="Coren Starchaser"] and a pink lady..... It was one of them Perls for sure, perhaps the matriarch of the family, [member="Joza Perl"]?

Alexandra met the group and waited for an appropriate pause in the conversation, then she spoke up.

"Masters," she greeted with a cant of her dark head, then stepped back into the lift as the doors opened.

Seems they were tasked with a ground side mission... Should be fun taking care of some Sith and Mandos. Well, Alex was hopeful it would be.

 

[Kahne Porte]

"A pleasure." Kahne said with a smile as he held his hand out to Joza's. Kahne took a small glance to Coren when he started to talk about what they were going against. At which surprisingly Kahne held a small smile at the subject matter. His eye brow raised just a little bit as he shrugged his shoulders. The Jedi Master hadn't gone head to head with the Sith in some time. It was only a matter of time before it happened again. Following Coren, there was going to be a lot of fighting in the future.

"I owe the Sith a few things, bucketheads not so much. But they can take it just as well as the Sith are going too." Kahne cleared his throat as he followed Coren into the lift with Joza potentially and that was when his wife Alexandra showed up to which he showed a small smile.

"Late again I see." Kahne quipped, before winking at Alexandra. "The more the better."

[member="Coren Starchaser"] [member="Joza Perl"] [member="Alexandra Russo Porte"]

 

[Setter Ryburn]

It was the whites on one's eyes, most of the time.

That's what got you spotted.

Cover your face, your hands, your wrists, your neck, your ears, the shape of your head, in all the camouflage you wanted. But nothing could beat the white's of one's eyes. Nothing. So that's why, Setter was squinting, before someone would ask. It was just him. Just him against an army and a desperate attempt to play the hero.

Forever the fool, he was.

Plate carrier, RS-16, a knife, and two grenades.

And a whole lot of slapped-on paint. Gray, brown. Ash, mud. Blood. But not his. He had to make his strikes count. He touched his throat mic, crouching beneath a torn-up piece of Earth from the shelling. It had ripped apart the ground around him, along with himself. He said only a few words, but to one man in particular- he knew they'd mean a lot.

"Razor Actual on station."

He was stalking a sniper team, a disgusting One Sith remnant group, or something to that effect. All the same- the sniper team was settled in. Focused less on their hide, more on trying to pick off the Rangers and Silver Jedi personnel that were visible after the shelling. What Setter did to them reminded them to focus on the basics.

It was a shame that they'd only realize that when Setter jabbed his knife into the neck of one, and beat the other to death with a nearby rock. He took the liberty of taking the mantle of their rifle, now with them being dead and all. He took the time to survey the landscape before sighting in on a target-

And watching his gray matter fertilize the ground.

[member="Amon Vizsla"]