Location: Kway Teow - Northern Approach.
Objective: Establish Armoured and Artillery Position Prior to Commencement.
Allies: The Galactic Alliance; Felucian Expeditionary Forces.
Enemies: The Sith Empire.
Equipment: See Signature for Relevant Hyperlinks
NPC Complement: 212th Army Group - 7th Regiment: ~2,560 Alliance Marines.
Status: Sustained Casualties from Month-long Campaign.
Morale: Steady - Partially Improving.
For a month, they had been slogging through the underbrush and poisonous terrain of Felucia in the hopes of claiming victory against the insidious Sith Empire. For a month, an entire regiment of the Galactic Alliance’s best and brightest were pushing back against the darkness. They suffered casualties, as one would expect. Both the twisted fauna and flora of this world considered these valiant men and women to be nothing more than sustenance and ate away not only at their resolve but their bodies as well. Thankfully, these trained soldiers were equipped with some of the most advanced arms and armour that Credits could buy. Through their accrued technologies, much of the apparent hostility that benighted the fungal world was harmlessly filtered away from their person.
Sadly, the same couldn’t be said of the creatures that lurked in the terrestrial shadows. Not for all of them, at least, as the smaller ones seemed easy enough to scare away with the threat of violence or the odd stun bolt. But, when it came to the more massive creatures - their advanced technologies weren’t enough to dissuade them from attacking. The Alliance Marines were intruding on their territory, after all, so it made sense that they would do everything they could to defend their homes. While some were easy enough to dispatch using ultrasonic beacons, others found themselves even more enraged. Going so far as to assault the armoured column of walkers pushing through one village after the next.
That was a sight for the ages. While terrible in every respect, seeing a monstrous Acklay surge forth from the jungle of towering fungi made the trek towards the Capital City more… interesting. Especially when the trees themselves seemingly started speaking in the native’s local dialect. The armoured column, composed mostly of walkers - alongside a handful of mobile artillery units - found themselves keeping a wary eye upon the treeline. Even with proverbial swarms of recon walkers storming through the fungal underbrush, it did the Regiment well to sweep their surroundings lest they be caught unawares. Which, sadly, happened from time to time - as there was a limit to how well their advanced technologies operated in their deployed environment.
Organic error was most often the cause, as the locals knew the terrain better than anyone - and used that knowledge to their advantage.
During the Regiment’s advance towards the Capital City, there was a time where the native population led a portion of the armoured column astray. They knocked down one of their great fungal trees and impeded the rearguard’s advance. Nearly three squads of marines and their respective transports were severed from the advancing chain - forced to circumnavigate the freshly made obstacle that blocked their path. In doing so, however, these valiant men and women were ambushed by enraged animals that were stirred into action by the locals. Their last transmission relayed a ‘last stand’ scenario against a pair of jungle rancors that thrashed their way through the fungal foliage.
This planet was hell. Whoever thought it was a brilliant idea to land boots on the ground clearly didn’t recognize the threats they were pitted against, and all of the spilled blood would stain their hands. As the armoured column reached their intended destination, Major Tycho Dune hoped that those responsible for planning this assault would accept the consequences of their actions. While unlikely, in the grand scheme of things, it was a righteous line of thought. He cared about those under his Command and wanted to see them through this madness safely. But as the days began to stretch into weeks, and the month thereafter - that was proving to be an impossibility. There were always casualties in warfare; that much was true - whether it’s on the homefront as a soldier’s mind began to break or on the battlefield. But this was… wholly unnecessary.
The Alliance had the technology to assault the Capital City, with little need to secure its surroundings. For reasons that Tycho couldn’t explain, this was apparently the best option presented to them. He kept his thoughts to himself, however. Such rancour spreading through the ranks would’ve been demoralizing, and with the planet and the local garrison trying to kill you at every turn? It wouldn’t have been smart to spread such derision openly, lest his already depleted Regiment endures a continual spree of mass desertion.
So, Tycho was forced to do whatever he could to ensure that morale remained at nominal levels. The bodies of the fallen were recovered, if possible, and ferried back to the beachheads that their massive assault carrier’s established when they first made planetfall. They were given all the respect and honour that fallen soldiers were due. To ensure that they wouldn’t be lost, Tycho continually requested that a portion of their air power was dedicated to this grim duty whenever supply runs were made. While some were forced to proceed on the ground for a time, Command seemed more than appreciative to grant his continual pleas.
If only they did the same when the Major requested permission to put entire villages to the torch. Especially if they were rife with fanatical Sith Imperial soldiers and throngs of indoctrinated natives.
Despite the continual rejection by his Commanding Officers, there was one thing that Tycho could control, and that was how his Regiment interpreted and accomplished their primary objectives. A factor which translated into entire villages being bombarded with selective blaster neutralizers and knock-out gases. The former ensured that casualties inflicted by plasmatic or energy-based weapons were incredibly low for either side of the conflict. The latter ensured that the locals - who went without protective gear - were taken out of harm’s way in the most humane manner possible. Such actions made the burden of the Alliance Marine’s mission slightly more manageable, which played a part in improving morale in the long run. But, there were always exceptions that weren’t accounted for.
Nevertheless, when the Regiment reached their intended destination - there was a spike in the marine’s collective morale. The end of their Campaign was within their grasp. As all they had to do was force the Sith Empire to capitulate - or slay what remained of their active combatants within the Capital City. It was likely that their control over the entire system would falter with the surface secured, leaving the Alliance the undisputed victors. Sure, they’d likely have to deal with an unruly populace in the meantime. But, that was to be expected, especially since they were wholly indoctrinated to believe the Sith’s silver-tongued lies. It would take some time to undo such deeply ingrained manipulations before the locals could consider themselves freed from the Dark Sorcerer’s corruptive influence.
As the 104th Battalion and elements of the 222nd Nova Corps moved into position - completing their respective objectives, the 7th Regiment of the 212th found themselves on the prime footing to establish their contribution to the siege. The armoured walkers began to fan out as they secured their newly-taken position. Slowly trudging through the fringes of the terrestrial jungle before committing themselves to a firing line that took the shape of a waning, crescent moon. Situated behind these armoured walkers were the wheeled behemoths that formed a significant portion of the armoured column. Their heavy guns were pointed towards the veritable barbican arrayed before them, whilst the troops within began calculating firing solutions. While they were eager to end this month-long Campaign, it would be a hollow victory if their margin for collateral damage exceeded nominal parameters.
Extreme caution would be taken. Drones would likely be deployed to assist in targeting military structures - or pinpoint artillery strikes that would probably soften up any expected enemy resistance.
When his Regiment’s deployment was nearing completion, as more and more guns were being pointed towards the City, the Major activated his Juggernaut’s encrypted communication system. He broadcasted his Regiment’s status across the encrypted BattleNet, citing that they ready to proceed. As the Marine Commander waited for the order to commence the attack, the rest of his armoured units filled the gaps. They began establishing patrols - which included a collection of ultrasonic beacons to ward off the native fauna. It wouldn’t do any good to suffer an attack on multiple fronts when seeking to bring down a Sith Imperial stronghold’s defences. For that would divide their efforts and likely extend the already taxing Campaign longer than it should have.
“And so we stand at the precipice,” Tycho whispered to himself as he pulled himself through the Juggernaut’s forward access hatch with Quadnoculars in hand. “Let us see who wins the day.”
Darth Strosius
Kenth Ordo
|
Zark San Tekka
|
Karn Syndulla
| Aramis Sunstrider 
