Mission Operation Scimitar | An Age of Strife Story - Pt. 2

[Hal Vaiken]

P A G E _ C L A I M

IMPERIAL SPECIAL FORCES
SCAR SQUADRON
Lily Stevens Margo Liaeris Castor E-196 Kriegan Tavlar Katja Javik Kav Canthar Leto Karazyn

​

The plethora of curses and slurs that escaped his mouth in a series of incomprehensible grunts ceased as the door of the turbo lift slid close and the Reaper set the wounded commander back down on the ground.

"I'm sorry, Sarge."

A huffed grumble came in response before Hal sighed in a mixture of relief, exhaustion, and frustration.

"Give me a rundown, Sergeant." he finally responded as he picked himself up back on his feet. "Which teams have made it out so far? Enigma mentioned overloading the place -- we about to get fried to death?" he glanced at the loose wirings and panels on the lift that was taking them up. "And the bioweapon?"
​

 

[Leto Venau]

Katja Javik

In the armour of a would-be black night of the Empire, Leto was sprayed by the crimson innards of the Chiss warriors who's skin stood in such stark contrast. It was a messy display but rare was it that Phantom opted to be clean, neat, tidy. He was characterised by the excessive use of force and the joy found in the utilisation of it, a nasty thing for a nastier man. There was no angelic hymn that awaited the Amaxine upon an inevitable death.

"Get some beacons on those ships and call it in, we're done." Leto called out, reaching into his pouches for the tracking beacons.

 

[Kriegan Tavlar]

PRODIGAL SON
501st STORMTROOPER LEGION
8th AIRBORNE BATTALION 'ALL-IMPERIAL' | B 1-8 COMPANY | ENIGMA PLATOON
SUPPORTING | SPECIAL OPERATIONS
NIO | Castor E-196 | Lily Stevens | Leto Karazyn | Katja Javik | Margo Liaeris | Kav Canthar | Hal Vaiken

In spite of the calls from SCAR, he had to remain steadfast in his decision. With the slicer spike in the engineering bay's control system, he could trigger the meltdown remotely and thus, give them the time they needed to escape. He wasn't straying from this course. Destroying the Chiss Reclamationist assets here in totality would save the lives of hundreds of other Imperial servicemen and women deployed across former Ascendant space.

<"This is Enigma Actual- I have a remote uplink to the generator controls, soon as we're free from the complex's footprint, I'm triggering the meltdown- but the sooner we evac, the less time they have to catch on, copy?"> He iterated to Lily Stevens and Katja Javik . That was his own shortfall for not properly communicating that the first time and he ground his teeth for the mishap. Afterall, he was still learning but similar mistakes could get men killed. It couldn't happen again.

In the midst of the firefight, his gaze shot in the direction of Castor who advanced back into the control room to ambush the Chiss through one of the ventilation shafts, a maneuver he noticed by seeing his silhouette highlighted in blue crawl through the vent and light up on his movement scanner with each passing scan wave of the HUD inbuilt into his helmet.

As soon as blaster bolts and a grenade emerged from the ventilation shaft, that was the cue for Kriegan to make his move for the section to advance. As the Chiss scattered and clamored for cover after being pinned by the grenade, Kriegan dropped his left hand from the handguard of his carbine and aimed his vambrace in the direction of the Chiss squad.

<"Smoke! Twelve!"> He said, ordering one of the trooper grenadiers to lob a smoke grenade in the direction he specified.

<"Smoke out!"> The trooper belted out before a bellow of white smoke began to fill the corridor centered on the Chiss unit. From there, Kriegan flicked his vision to thermal to pick up on the silhouettes and body signatures of the insurgents honing in on each with his target selector before he was able to select eight or so. Not a second later, he fired the whistling bird launcher inbuilt unto his vambrace and with a horrid explosive shriek- a volley of micro missiles scattered and cracked into each of the selected Chiss troopers, killing most of them immediately before Kriegan took his carbine into both hands and stood back up behind the barricade, motioning forward with a wave of his hand before beckoning another command.

<"Assault through! Move!"> He commanded and the section rose back up from behind cover to close the gap. Each Chiss they passed was put down with a rapid fire burst before they were able to clear the smoke and Kriegan moved up to link back up with Castor.

<"Sector clear. Move forward.">

<"SCAR, this is Engima Actual- we're nearing the exfil point, what's your status?"> He inquired through the commo again.

 

[Kelinna Tryn]

R E A P E R
THE EMPIRE
FACILITY INFILTRATION | VEROLEEM
TAG: Hal Vaiken | Margo Liaeris | Katja Javik | Kav Canthar | Leto Karazyn | Kriegan Tavlar | Castor E-196
GEAR: Armour | Sniper rifle | Pistol | Battle rifle | Vibroblade | Vibroknife | Grenade loadout

KINGS NEVER DIE​

"Give me a rundown, Sergeant. Which teams have made it out so far? Enigma mentioned overloading the place -- we about to get fried to death? And the bioweapon?"

A muscle twitched in Lily's eye behind her visor, a silence so thick with tension that it could be cut with a knife between them for a heartbeat, blood still pulsing from her shoulder, smearing what used to be white armour with even more grime.

Just then, the silence was broken by Tavlar's comms.

<"This is Enigma Actual- I have a remote uplink to the generator controls, soon as we're free from the complex's footprint, I'm triggering the meltdown- but the sooner we evac, the less time they have to catch on, copy?">

The Reaper unclenched her jaw with some trouble. <Reaper to Enigma Actual. Good copy. ETA to surface - 5 minutes. Repeat - 5 minutes. Reaper out.> she replied to him before turning her visor back toward her CO.

"Team B have reached the surface, making for exfil point, Sir." Her voice had dropped 8 degrees to freezing - the cold embrace of death that she reserved for a target. "Enigma will remotely detonate once everyone is out. Team D are about to be outside - they have the spook but taking heavy fire. Team A still within the facility. They will be tagging the ships. Enigma will blow the majority - hopefully the bioweapon would be among them. That's what I know, Sir." Go ahead, complain about it.

Just as the lift reached the top, Tavlar's voice cut through again.

<"SCAR, this is Engima Actual- we're nearing the exfil point, what's your status?">

<Reaper to Enigma Actual. Team C reaching surface now and will be moving to exfil point. Confirming status of Team A. Reaper out.> she replied before switching over to Katja Javik 's comms.
<Spectre, this is Reaper. What is your status?> she asked the medic.

Her visor turned back to Sarge, colder than it had ever been before.
"Would you be walking the rest of the way, Sir, or do I have permission to carry?" she asked him, still cold, while Rancor's Z-6 thundered in the background.

He would either have to man up or suck it up.

 

[Katja Javik]

The Empire
SCAR Squadron
Hal Vaiken | Lily Stevens | Margo Liaeris | Leto Karazyn | Kav Canthar | Kriegan Tavlar | Castor E-196

​

Katja gave a single nod of the head to show her acknowledgement to her comrade. The reverberance of sound from the ignition of ships was growing almost unbearably loud, accompanied by the violent shaking of the ground, but thankfully with some fine tuning of their tech they could avoid the harshness of the noise.

She produced a couple of small tracking beacons from her belt and launched them individually in the direction of two ships after painstakingly waiting for them to appear in view, slapping Leto on the arm once completed as acknowledgement of their departure. They may have used stealth to enter the facility but they hardly needed it to escape; instead it was replaced with a sense of urgency.

Kriegan may have confirmed that he was unlikely to entomb, which she acknowledged over comms, them but their presence was known and the Chiss were pissed.

<Spectre, this is Reaper. What is your status?>

<Trying to get out before Lieutenant Tavlar gets trigger happy.> She replied jokingly as she started climbing a ladder which was no doubt for maintenance purposes. She followed with a serious response soon after. <We've tagged some of the ships. ETA 7 minutes.>

 

[Siyndacha Aerin]

ERRANT HEIR
THE ORDER OF IMPERIAL KNIGHTS → 501st STORMTROOPER LEGION
BANOL'S MAZE - WORTAN - IRIDONIA
Jorus Fel

MEPHISTO'S LULLABY​

When the cultist began to laugh despite the threat of having the life squeezed out of them, Aerin’s jaw set, but when the remaining cultists were torn up by the unrelenting deluge of blaster bolts, and Fel advanced on the cultist she held into the air to begin to brutalise them with his vibrodagger, she maintained her grip, and let out a slow, even breath.

She watched him. Curiously.

It was inefficient. Excessive… yet she understood, all too well. The very same thing that drove her frigid and exacting demeanor in the roil of chaos was what lit an inferno in so many others. A hatred in her that was disciplined, forged into an exacting tool of the Empire. They had known well how to make use of what she had been.

Yet when it began to be clear that he wouldn’t so easily stop, Siyndacha extinguished her blade and wove past the three troopers that remained upright, sparing a glance towards Eisley and the location of his now-removed arm - cauterized. Doubtless the trooper was driven to unconsciousness from the shock of the event, alone.

“Fel,” she said, lifting her silver eyes to look at him, “Fel,” she reiterated, releasing her grip on the cultist’s body, which began to crumple to the ground, and dropping a hand on Jorus' shoulder, "We need to keep moving. This place," she focused on it, rolling her shoulders in discomfort at what she felt so distinctly, "It feels as vile as it smells, like worms writhing underneath my skin," Siyn shuddered in disgust, "The deaths are likely feeding it."

Siyn glanced over her shoulder towards the other troopers, and past them, down the dank, dark tunnel. Her eyes narrowed.

"Manage your injured squadmate, then we move on," she frowned faintly, "and find the source."

​

 

[Margo Liaeris]

STALKER

Objective: II - Root & Stem
Location: Veroleem - Surface Deployment
Tags: Hal Vaiken | Kriegan Tavlar | Castor E-196 | Lily Stevens | Leto Karazyn | Katja Javik | Kav Canthar

Lose Yourself

The chatter across the different teams of SCAR squadron bled through her helmet as her rifle threw fire down rage, allowing for Rancor and Sylus to pass her. Rancor took position, covering Margo so as to give her an opportunity to withdraw out of the building. He tossed some smoke in the hoist house and joined them, with the trio rushing from the position as quickly as possible.

As they did so, the Chiss were quick about rushing forward through the smoke as best they could, stumbling into the consoles and trying to grope about for handholds. One unfortunate soldier would touch the wrong explosive.

BOOM!

The thermal detonator erupted within the building, and caused a small chain reaction as it caught some canisters set about for transit deeper into the mine. The shockwave from the blast shook the railings of the pathway the trio rushed along. As Margo took position in the rear, she took the brunt of the explosion - causing her to be bodily flung up and over the railing just before they reached the safety of solid ground beyond. “FECK!” was all she could manage as her left hand was only just barely able to grasp a railing, and it took all of her willpower to grasp for the same railing with her other hand.

She tried to lift herself up, but the railing snapped as she did so, causing her to slide deeper into a cavern that led to a... very substantial drop beneath the earth. Panic began to set in, but she tried her best to breath and gain focus. Her feet kicked against the rock, looking for a foothold as her fingers began to slip...

 

[Sylus (Γ059)]

█████ - Rama-Actual
IMPERIAL SECURITY BUREAU
TASK FORCE ████
Chiss Base, Veroleem
TAGS: Katja Javik Leto Karazyn Castor E-196 Kriegan Tavlar Lily Stevens Hal Vaiken Kav Canthar Margo Liaeris

The shockwave from the blast shook the railings of the pathway the trio rushed along.

Sylus stumbled, looking back to see the blast and the secondaries taking out the hoists. The Chiss were totally obscured by the blast.

However, the Imperials were not spared. Just at the end of the railing, the explosion forced Sylus to his knees, grabbing the handrail just as Margo was tossed off.

She tried to lift herself up, but the railing snapped as she did so, causing her to slide deeper into a cavern that led to a... very substantial drop beneath the earth. Panic began to set in, but she tried her best to breath and gain focus. Her feet kicked against the rock, looking for a foothold as her fingers began to slip...

A calm center in his mind. Eye of the storm. Something touched his mind, a soft pressure sliding around his soul. He could see the wavefront of compressed air, gravity acting on Margo. Sylus reached out with his free hand, dropping the blaster, its three dimensional trajectory imprinted in his mind as numbers. Instinctively, he wished to stop her fall.

The Force flowed through him, his Suppression gone for the moment.

Margo would have felt a light force acting upwards, halting her slide for precious seconds until Sylus could dash over, one hand reaching out and grabbing her arm. One foot was hooked around the railing's supports on the far side of the walkway, the other pressing down into the rough walkway's texture, his boot gripping perpedicularly. His other hand reached towards Kav.

"Need assist!" He shouted at Kav. Despite his partial rejuvenation and his position he could only hold so long. His muscles burned, feeling his alchemical biology struggling to stitch his bones and meat together even as he put them under immense pressure.

 

[Castor E-196]

Master Sergeant Castor E-196
Imperial Navy Special Forces Command; Attached to SCAR​

Objective: clear the barracks and engineering bay. retrieve intel
Allies: A: Katja Javik Leto Karazyn || B: Castor E-196 Kriegan Tavlar || C: Lily Stevens Hal Vaiken || D: Kav Canthar Margo Liaeris

Castor got back to his feet, only now realising perhaps jumping from the ceiling down ten eight feet into hard concrete was a bad idea. He could feel his bones ache. He definitely needed to get that checked.

<"Sector clear. Move forward.">

<"SCAR, this is Engima Actual- we're nearing the exfil point, what's your status?">

Castor followed the section through the halls as they neared the exfil point. There few Chiss in their way now, and he listened intently to the sitreps. Everything appeared to be mostly fine, but these things had a way of going belly up at the last moment.

Castor and several troopers heaved aside a barricade that separated the group from the elevator they had used to come down.

"We using this?" It would be a gamble to hope the Chiss did not deactivate the lift as it ascended or ambush them from the top.

 

[Kav Canthar]

R A N C O R
THE EMPIRE
INSIDE HOIST HOUSE
ALLIES: Hal Vaiken | Margo Liaeris | Lily Stevens | Leto Karazyn | Katja Javik
Castor E-196 | Kriegan Tavlar | Sylus (Γ059)
ENEMIES: Chiss Forces
ENGAGING: Chiss reinforcements
GEAR: Commando Armor | Z-6 Rotary Blaster Cannon | TL-50 Heavy Repeater
C-10 Heavy Blaster Pistol | Phase-Knife | Grenade loadout

The explosion came out of nowhere, at least to Rancor who hadn't expected it.

A wave of hot air and debris, an impact that stumbled, and a sequence of explosions that followed in a loud - and damaging - domino effect. The result was Rancor covered in dirt, dents across his dark armor, as he crouched to brace. Thankfully he had been away from the closest of the explosions, having withdrawn to the next bounding point, but that also meant his fellow soldiers were ahead of him and closer to the event.

Rancor stood, as he scowled in his helmet, and sent a cloud of dust into the wind as he came to his full height. He scanned through the helmet, sought out Stalker and the ISB spook, though it was the shout of a curse that drew his attention more fully. With the smoke and dust it was hard to see, but his ears - thanks to the automated sound buffering, which conserved his hearing - didn't lie...

And a dozen yards away, the situation for Stalker and Spook looked dire.

Spook called for help.

Rancor crossed the distance in several large bounds, as he slung his Z-6 rotary cannon, and reached the pair in the precarious position on the precipice. The heavy didn't bother to reach for Spook's hand, as he instead stepped aside the other, and reached down to grab Stalker's forearm firmly in a large gloved hand--

<<"Minor delay,">> Rancor murmured, as he scoffed. <<"Was pulling up my skirt. Spook, grab that blaster.">>

--and then hefted the SCAR trooper fully up and over his shoulder, where Stalker thumped into place over a pauldron. The spook didn't fare much better, as Rancor grabbed him as well, and tossed him over the other shoulder. Chances were both could have been injured, from being close to the explosions, and the heavy suspected it was just easier to carry them both.

<<"Hold on, shut up, this is happening.">>

Rancor turned and began to run, the armor joints whirred, but it was evident that he wasn't struggling at all - even despite the power armor. The Ragithian bounded across the debris-strewn and dust-covered ground, where between crunches of boots, Rancor called over the comlink:

<<"Update for Imperial forces: Team D is moving, exfil of the hoist house is successful. Be advised, heavy Chiss presence and uncontrolled explosions in this area, so watch your step!">>

And even as the trio moved, the other pair lofted on Rancor's shoulders, the charric bolts began to resume and fire in their direction - perhaps return fire was an option - as the heavy doubled his speed and began a thundering pace with his powerful legs...

 

[Hal Vaiken]

IMPERIAL SPECIAL FORCES
SCAR SQUADRON
Lily Stevens Margo Liaeris Castor E-196 Kriegan Tavlar Katja Javik Kav Canthar Leto Karazyn

​

Sarge watched her dully from behind the featureless confines of his white helmet as she heavily accentuated his honorific. He disregarded the clear pattering of frustration and resentment in her tone, opting to focus on what really mattered -- the mission. Tensions were running high, quite near the boiling point, but they could be untangled one way or the other after they made it out of here alive.

"Roger that." he curtly nodded in her direction, ignoring her question as he staggered out of the lift into the open barrens of Veroleem. Sporadic blaster fire was exchanged as both Chiss and Imperial elements were making a run for it.

:: SCAR-Actual to all callsigns, birds are incoming for pickup at the designated LZ. Get a move on, stat! The karking Navy won't wait much long for us. :: he ordered through the comms, then urged the Reaper to move up ahead. As they hurried through the desolate wilderness with barely any cover behind their backs, Sarge asked, "Mind telling me what all that was about?"
​

 

[Kelinna Tryn]

R E A P E R
THE EMPIRE
FACILITY INFILTRATION | VEROLEEM
TAG: Hal Vaiken | Margo Liaeris | Katja Javik | Kav Canthar | Leto Karazyn | Kriegan Tavlar | Castor E-196
GEAR: Armour | Sniper rifle | Pistol | Battle rifle | Vibroblade | Vibroknife | Grenade loadout

KINGS NEVER DIE​

At least he chose to walk.

Small blessings to get the mission done. Swapping rifles, she headed outside as well, covering his six as usual while the back and forth happened between the blueskins and the Imperials.

Her own particle fire was added to the mix as she dropped some Chiss while Sarge gave his order over the comms to all before she could answer Spectre about that ETA. Either way, the medic got her answer about it.

Despite what had just happened in the facility, the Reaper matched her speed to Sarge's, continuing to cover him as they rushed to the LZ. They weren't out the woods yet. Especially when she saw Rancor bounding from the hoist house area with both Stalker and the spook over his shoulders. If the situation wasn't so precarious, it would have been comical.

It was then that she saw Sarge's motion for her to move up. With a sigh, she dropped another Chiss that was making a beeline before she acquiesced.
"Mind telling me what all that was about?"
Another particle bolt toward his 2 o'clock. He really wanted to do it now?
"Now's hardly the time for that, Sarge. Let's just get to the ship first to get the intel secured." she told him, sticking to his pace while they neared the LZ.

The air needed clearing - just not in the middle of a firefight.

 

[Katja Javik]

The Empire
SCAR Squadron
Hal Vaiken | Lily Stevens | Margo Liaeris | Leto Karazyn | Kav Canthar | Kriegan Tavlar | Castor E-196

​

:: As fast as we can, Sarge. :: She replied while scaling the ladder. Her gaze shifted upwards to see how much further there was but she was greeted by the flash of a blaster bolt. With no way to evade as they had entered a confined section nearing the top, she took the shot to the shoulder with a surprised yelp of pain, causing her to slip a few rungs down before clinging tightly to the ladder to stop herself. If Leto had been too close to her then he would earn himself a kick in the head.

Despite the shock, she reacted quickly and scrambled to return fire and didn't hesitate before resuming the climb, knowing that there was a certain urgency. <Sorry.> She told her companion.

Once they reached the top, she pushed on towards the location they had been given. The HUD highlighted the others in the distance as they contended with the relentless Chiss. Using what little stamina she had left, she ran towards her allies across the exposed landscape, in spite of the blasterfire that littered it.

Fuelled by adrenaline, she didn't slow down even once catching up and passing Reaper and Sarge. <Too slow!> She called out as she passed them. He had told them to hurry up.

 

[Margo Liaeris]

STALKER

Objective: II - Root & Stem
Location: Veroleem - Surface Deployment
Tags: Hal Vaiken | Kriegan Tavlar | Castor E-196 | Lily Stevens | Leto Karazyn | Katja Javik | Kav Canthar

Lose Yourself

Relief began to wash over Margo as Kav’s grasp wrapped around her wrist and he began to effortlessly lift her up. That relief was soon replaced with surprise, then annoyance over being thrown over his shoulder. As she lightly bounced atop his shoulder pauldron, she was half tempted to give him grief over it again - but thought better of it. As much as she hated to admit, she owed him her life. Sure, it was his duty to do so - but she had seen all too often soldiers ignoring their duty when it suited them.

She hardly had any time to reflect over that when the charric bolts began flying again. Without hesitating, her hand pulled the pistol from its holster at her side and leveled the weapon as straight as she could. She began firing at the sources of the charric bolts, her aim thrown off to varying degrees with each bound by the heavy beneath her. She just hoped the rest of the squad didn’t see this... she would have a hard time living it down; discounting the fact she imagined different circumstances surrounding her being on top of Rancor...

The trio would arrive at the rendezvous point first, the landing sound shrouded by rocky outcroppings in every direction, with a clearing just large enough for the shuttle dispatched to exfiltrate them. Finally, Margo’s boots would hit the dirt of her own accord as Rancor dropped both her and Sylus back to the ground. She took a moment to assess their current situation. Thus far, it would seem they had escaped any counterattack by the Chiss - although that was likely a matter of time. They needed to set up a perimeter to keep the LZ clear for the other squads making their way here. She hefted her rifle and glanced at Sylus: “Get some rest while you can Spook. We’ll be back. Rancor, with me.”

Margo would lead the way to the other side of the outcropping, her visor scanning the horizon for any approaching hostiles. After seeing nothing (for now), her head craned to Rancor, and she stared at him in silence for a moment. Then, slowly, she propped her rifle against the rock surface, and reached up with both hands to remove her helmet. She set it at the top of the rock, then did something Rancor probably did not expect. She reached up, and deactivated the seal on Rancor’s helmet - pulling off slowly and dropping it to the ground.

Her eyes met his, her face expressionless for a moment that seemed to pass in slow motion. Then, her hand reached up and gripped the lip of his cuirass near the helmet attachment point, and she pulled him down to her level. Before any protest, or any struggle could occur - her lips locked with his. Her eyes closed, contorting for a moment in step with his own. And then, in short order, their lips parted, and her grip on his cuirass eased. Her eyes examined him, and for possibly the first time since the two of them met - her mouth creased into a faint smile. “Thank you.” she said, and it was clear - she meant it. “You kiss better than you fight, Heavy. I didn’t see a skirt then.” She meant that too.

Margo winked and patted him on the chest, and as soon as the moment had happened, it had ended as she reached for her rifle and helmet once again. She would replace the helmet on its place, and would scan the approach for any sign of the other squads. They were in the home stretch, but they couldn’t take anything for granted... not even first impressions.

 

[Kav Canthar]

R A N C O R
THE EMPIRE
AT THE LZ
ALLIES: Hal Vaiken | Margo Liaeris | Lily Stevens | Leto Karazyn | Katja Javik
Castor E-196 | Kriegan Tavlar | Sylus (Γ059)
ENEMIES: Chiss Forces
ENGAGING: Personal space
GEAR: Commando Armor | Z-6 Rotary Blaster Cannon | TL-50 Heavy Repeater
C-10 Heavy Blaster Pistol | Phase-Knife | Grenade loadout

The small group made it to the landing zone.

No further injuries, no obstacles, it had been a good development. Thankfully the Chiss reinforcements had lost ground, hadn't been able to follow the trio as effectively as the blue-skins might have hoped, and Rancor noted other SCAR teammates approaching. So far the count seemed to even out, which meant no losses, which was always a win.

There was still no man's land to cross, but they looked to be ahead of it.

<<"Rancor to Sarge: we've reached the LZ,">> Rancor said through the comlink. <<"Chiss look to be hanging back, probably don't want to run out into the open so obviously. Holding position.">>

Based on the chatter from the 501st, there would be some fireworks soon enough.

Also talk about ships with potential bioweapons.

Despite not commenting or responding during the combat, Rancor had been absorbing whatever was heard, and now that there was a brief moment to catch his breath, the situation seemed dire. Rancor's mind was well into establishing defensive positions, to organize overwatch angles, and to set up his weapons for cover when Stalker gave him orders.

<<"Copy that.">>

With a nod, the heavy followed, ready to provide his thoughts on how to proceed when asked, however that didn't quite happen... in fact, Rancor was surprised when Stalker took on a suspiciously somber tone and removed their helmets, only to thank him with a kiss and a quip about a skirt and fighting/kissing.

"Uh," Rancor blinked, as he fell into silence, before watching Stalker regather the weapon and helmet and move on. "Okay... well, that's one way to say thanks, I guess."

Rancor blinked again and called out:

"And I haven't had complaints about my fighting, either!"

The heavy didn't really know what to think about all that, since they were on a mission in an active combat zone. Plus, since the pair had met, Stalker had been fairly standoffish, which had never really been Rancor's 'thing'... so, as the heavy reached down to collect his helmet, as he put it back on to avoid being shot in the face, he called out to the ISB spook:

<<"Hey, so no thanks needed,">> Rancor said with a tight-lipped smile. His helmet was sealed, to remain that way. <<"Just need the weapon back, and we're good.">>

Once said and done, Rancor returned to overwatch with the TL-50 heavy repeater, even as the transport for the troopers came down from the sky above. And when it opened the ramp, the heavy covered the squad - and other Stormtroopers - until they funneled inside, then stepped onto the ramp himself and entered with haste.

Rancor then found some busy work for the trip back to base.

Rancor exits.​

 

[Kriegan Tavlar]

PRODIGAL SON
501st STORMTROOPER LEGION
8th AIRBORNE BATTALION 'ALL-IMPERIAL' | B 1-8 COMPANY | ENIGMA PLATOON
SUPPORTING | SPECIAL OPERATIONS
NIO | Castor E-196 | Lily Stevens | Leto Karazyn | Katja Javik | Margo Liaeris | Kav Canthar | Hal Vaiken

Clearing the last set of Chiss insurgents, they were on the home stretch. A few cracks and volleys of blaster fire followed Enigma's last maneuver but overall, they were making their way out in one piece. The current status had two casualties, one wounded in need of medevac and one KIA. Acceptable losses by the numbers- but even still, they hit home for Kriegan. He wouldn't let that show now, however. It was time to operate and they still had a margin of error to close.

Reaching the lift, they had little choice other than to commandeer it. When hitting the activation switch to lift them up to the ground level however, a red error marked that they had no administrative permissions to work the lift. No matter, he though. He gave a gesture of command to one of his troopers who took up one of the slain Chiss, pressed his print onto the scanner before activating the lift again. All green. All clear. Time to ascend.

A loud hydraulic roar accompanied the lift's first jolt of ascension as Kriegan's squad positioned themselves to cover a three hundred and sixty degree field of fire around it on a kneel. Kriegan knelt down all the same, closing his eyes as he felt the lift ascend before soon enough the surface doors roared open to welcome them to the surface.

<"On your feet! Double time to the LZ! Move!"> He barked out in command to the unit as they began their sprint to the evac vehicles. Within a few seconds later they had all boarded the transport to exfil.

<“SCAR this is Enigma Actual, all accounted for, boarded and ready to exfil. As soon as we’re up- this facility is done for.”> He said, glancing down to his wrist mounted tac pad. Still had an uplink. Once they were all aboard- the power generator would begin its meltdown.

 

[Jorus Fel]

T H E _ E M P I R E
501st STORMTROOPER LEGION
OPERATION SCIMITAR
IT'S TREASON THEN
Siyndacha Aerin

​

A hand touched his shoulder startling the trooper and snapping him around to face the white-haired Knight, flashing the crimson dagger at her. He remained frozen, heaving beneath the armor with the cold weapon raised for attack. The familiar, blurred contours of Lady Aerin began to clear up, sweeping the murderous haze of adrenaline and lifting up the red veil from his eyes. The muscles in his hand began to ache and he unclenched his fist over the dagger before sheathing the blade.

"[...] It feels as vile as it smells, like worms writhing underneath my skin," Siyn shuddered in disgust, "The deaths are likely feeding it."

Jorus wiped the blood murking his visor and picked up his rifle from the ground. He couldn't even remember when he had dropped it in the first place. This time, he slung the rifle over his chest; a good stormtrooper never loses their gun.

"Manage your injured squadmate, then we move on," she frowned faintly, "and find the source."

"Get Eisley to the field hospital ASAP." he cooly ordered. Mantell, their designated combat medic, had already been kneeling on the ground to keep the boy alive. "All of you. I'm continuing the mission alone with the Knight." Cred was ready to protest but Mantell placed a hand on his shoulder, "Roger that, Sir--Smokes pick him up from the shoulders, Cred--the legs. C'mon, let's go, men." Jorus watched them depart warily with Mantell taking the role of an escort.

:: The Emperor protect you, Fel. :: Smokes' voice bid him farewell through the comms. The goodwill expression was a common phrase, often uttered across the Empire, but Jorus couldn't help and recall his and his sister Zorah Fel 's outlandish meeting with the ghost of Rurik Fel in the Gardens of Pellaeon on Bastion.

"Let's go." he coldly stated and followed the Knight's lead into the darkness. She should've protected them better, but the stormtrooper made no mention of it. Not yet. Not the time, nor the place.

The dim light in the tunnels grew more sporadic the deeper they went into the labyrinth of tunnels, forcing him to rely more and more on his HUD's sensors to pick up any threats. The further they went, the quieter it became; even the muffled sounds of artillery pounding the ground faded away under the ominous blanket of silence reigning over their journey.

"What do you expect we'll find?" he asked, breaking the silence almost with a whisper. ​

 

[Siyndacha Aerin]

ERRANT HEIR
THE ORDER OF IMPERIAL KNIGHTS → 501st STORMTROOPER LEGION
BANOL'S MAZE - WORTAN - IRIDONIA
Jorus Fel

MEPHISTO'S LULLABY​

As Jorus gave the order to get Eisley out, determined that he would be the only one accompanying her further on, and the troopers carried out the order, Siyn turned fully to face away from them, electing to look ahead, down the dimly lit passage. Trying to separate herself from dwelling on the vile physical feeling that had already begun to accumulate. She knew how this worked. Knew that the best case scenario was getting out with just the lingering effects.

She didn’t like it as a child, nor did she like it in the present.

Wordlessly, she stepped off when he was ready to go, once again. She thought she could protect them wholly, but that was before she knew - in all likelihood - what they were dealing with. She should have known that this was a possibility. But it was unwise to dwell on what might or might not happen. It was always best to focus, roll with the mission through its ebbs and flows. Too much speculation leads to distraction. Breeds fear.

"What do you expect we'll find?" he asked, breaking the silence almost with a whisper.

She remained silent for some moments beyond his query. “There are few things that feel as oppressive,” she replied at a similar volume, eyes and senses scanning ahead, “But only the blackest of Sith ritual magic tries to burrow into your bones and feast on your soul,” Siyn flicked a glance at Jorus, “Rituals that involve mass sacrifice, mass suicide, life siphoning at a large scale, or defilement or reanimation of the dead are as such.”

She looked back to the increasingly dim forward path, “We are still alive, and there have been no zombies, so I am inclined to believe that what we have walked into is a field of mass sacrificial or suicidal Sith magic,” She felt out the path ahead, “for the purpose of either a summoning, or the endowment of an individual.”

Siyn paused in the tunnel, where a narrow passage went off to the right, and recalled the map, “Not this passage - the next one that goes to the right,” and she kept walking, “another right soon after that, and we should arrive at the hangar.”

LIkely where the ritual itself was taking place… if it wasn’t already complete.

​

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[Julius Haskler]

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R E X _ T R E M E N D A E

Tag: Ignacious Korvan​

Haskler's hologram's gaze went from staring into the abyss of nothing to studying Korvan's posture as he spoke. Slowly, reports had faded away in the Moff's office, only for two to remain under his eyes: the real-time situational map of Korvan's engagement, and his file, filled with whatever the DiploServ could have gathered in his years of service to the Empire. Not exhaustive, Julius regretted, but sufficient enough.

As the Grand Moff went on to remark on his colleague's absence from the battlefield, Haskler thought of how he could justify him not being present to witness what was becoming his new best ally in the Council's success. Tell him about how he had retired from his military career? It was unlikely he would accept such an excuse, but maybe… It was worth a shot.

"Grand Moff, I must say I regret not being here in person to witness your greatest success as of yet. Culling the traitors from the Frontier is something many, including a certain Triumvir, would have wished you failed at. But matters… have kept me on Yinchorr, dealing with logistical and political issues that spawned recently on this world. But anyways, I wouldn't have taken much pleasure in watching the battle from your ship's bridge. It wakes up too many memories of my failures in military matters, on Anaxes… it is preferable I observe your great skills from where I am."

Invoking memories of Anaxes was not a pleasant thing to do, at all, especially when it came to the revolution he failed to lead to its term. Truthfully, it was best for him to have retired, once the New Imperial Order had gotten them out of Anaxes. The looks that his staff gave him… they weren't even of anger or contempt, they were commiserating gazes of worry, of distrust, of disappointment. He could not lead an army anymore, after that. It was best he became something else entirely, the man to lead the men he failed, entrusting them in the military field, and becoming their voice in the political field of things.

He did not want to come to the Chiss Worlds, but he could not talk about sensible matters from a distance. That was a problem, even if he knew the DiploServ would have assured him that all communications through their channels were as secure as could be. But there were ways to get past the hindrance.

"I suggest we meet to talk about this, Grand Moff. There are many subjects we need to address if we want to have the next session of the Council be something else than the Triumvirs picking on the alleged incompetence of our colleagues, and setting the necessary reforms and reports in motion. We will need to address the matter of pacification of the Western Frontier, the manpower crisis, and… the succession."

His tone had become low and tense as if he thought they were being watched. Speaking of succession could be considered treason, as a new Emperor would dismantle the Triumvirate, leading to the three men losing their powers. Powers they still had at the moment, and powers they could use to clamp down on anyone willing to speed up the process of choosing a new Emperor.

But, as he spoke, some of the technicians, on Yinchorr, had taken the freedom to alter the signal for a brief period. Haskler's hologram was suddenly cluttered and jammed, speaking incomprehensibly, until the sound and image returned to have him wish good luck to Korvan.

"... I wish you fortune in your next battles, Grand Moff, and I hope you consider my offer to visit Yinchorr in the coming weeks!"

And then the communication was over.

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[Jorus Fel]

T H E _ E M P I R E
501st STORMTROOPER LEGION
OPERATION SCIMITAR
IT'S TREASON THEN
Siyndacha Aerin

​

The stories of Sith were told to most denizens of the galaxy as tales, a third or fourth account of events, but to a man raised in the court of House Fel, the tales became cold, solid facts documenting to a detail recollections based on reports and knowledge passed down through the Force Sensitive line of their dynasty; those that would be Knights, like his sister Zorah Fel . Jorus' own rather nihilistic view of the galaxy had more or less surgically removed his revulsion of these abhorrent practices. They only reinforced a mantra as ancient as time -- do unto them as they do unto you.

The duo took the second right turn and carried on a path now drier than the previous ones; they were far deeper into the tunnels now, further away from the river bed above that seeped through miniature fissures in the walls. Shimmering, dingy light, with tints of crimson, from the upcoming right turn where the hangar was supposedly at, washed over the darkness of their passage, and his night vision slightly began to fade automatically as did his other sensors. The stormtrooper brushed the remaining bits of the cultist's blood from his visor and tightened the grip over his rifle.

Fel strode ahead of the Knight, tapping her lightly on the shoulder to indicate he'd take point before the corner. A gun at point-blank range was far less avoidable than a melee weapon. Warily slowing down before the turn into the hangar from where the low light was radiating, Jorus peeked over to see a coven of cultists in a circle around the source of the dim light. He pulled back, knowing there was no immediate threat awaiting them right from the corner, and turned to Aerin.

"Wide open hangar. I count five inside, all in a circle around some... source of light." he reported. "My sensors didn't indicate anyone else hiding in the shadows, either."

"Catching them with their pants down I can take out one... two actually." he lightly tapped his rifle, slightly regretting dismissing his squad back to base. "Leaving three to deal with."​