Rising Storm; Imperial Confederation Dominion of Kuat

[Tanomas Graf]

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Banshee gunships screamed through the air above the dense forests of Kuat, letting off a deadly barrage of laser fire at an unknown target below before breaking off to deliver their payload of troops for the front line. A small proxy war of sorts had apparently broken out on the famous shipyard planet between two of the neighbouring galactic powers. Insurrectionists had always threatened stability on the world but were quickly stamped out upon its entry into the Imperial Confederated Systems, at least until external help came in the form of the Corellian Confederation, or 'Charlie' as the Stormtrooper Corps had affectionately dubbed them. Both the Imperials and the Corellians knew damn well it was better to classify it as small border dispute rather than a full-blown war, especially given the former's current campaign against the Clans.

But once on the planet, it was anything but - stormtroopers trudging through the the forest, backed by monstrous AT-ATs, in search of CorSec shock troopers. Unlike when they fought against the Mandalorians on Bogden and Obroa-skai, Imperial High Command wanted as many prisoners as possible to guarantee a form of leverage once both sides decided to finally sit down and talk it out. But that didn't mean the military wasn't allowed to use overwhelming lethal force, Scimitar bombers dropping proton bombs and flechette canisters down into the trees below to maximize casualties.

It was fun, in a sick sort of way.

At least for those that managed to survive.

Objectives:

1. 
   Better Run Through The Jungle - Charlie has infested the forests of Kuat, neutralize them by any means necessary. The Stormtrooper Corps will be taking charge for ground warfare while armour and air support is provided by the Army and Starfighter Corps respectively. The Navy has been tasked with transporting fresh soldiers to the front line and retrieving wounded soldiers from the forward bases. The Imperial Security Bureau has been deployed to capture and interrogate prisoners.
   
2. 
   Bring Your Own Objective - Alderaan's in the same hex, do something there if you don't want to play Vietnam War: Star Wars Edition.
   

 

[Dracken Pryce]

Allies: Corellians
Objective: Keep CIC Naval Forces Busy and provide coordination for Shock Troopers, Halcyon, and Starfighter groups
Location: Kuat Orbit

A turbolaser blast rumbled off the starboard deflector, bathing the bridge in green light and casting a grim shadow over Admiral Pryce's face. Leaning over the command table Pryce scanned the tactical holo hovering just above the table's projector. Readouts, unit status, and fleet status hovered over an incredibly detailed holomap of Kuat's surface where the main battle was taking place. Advances in scanning technologies and sensor gathering made it possible to see the battle unfolding in almost real time as dozens of triangle shapped groupings moved from square to square, up and down the hilly terrain, and over the trees as fresh troops were brougtt in or starfighters made their strafing runs. Garvey floated with his pixilated arms folded over his chest, a thoughtful expression on his face as he scanned the readouts alongside Pryce.

"Admiral," came a shout from one of the sensor tech crew clusters. Pryce gave her a look that said she better have a damn good reason to be breaking his concentration. She swallowed and nodded, offering a crisp salute before speaking again. "The Halcyon fireteam Goliath is reporting heavy resistance. They're asking for starfighter corps support."

Pryce's brow furrowed and then he nodded.

"Give the order. See if Cabal Squadrons 1 or 6 are available. They're the only two that are on the surface right now." She nodded and pressed her hand to the com in her ear as she relayed the message, walking crisply back to her station. Garvey looked up at him, a worried look on his face.

"You sure they'll be alright?" Pryce nodded.

"They're K-Wings, good shields, heavy payload." A half squadron of TIEs screamed over the bridge, their laser cannons crashing against the armored hull causing lights to flash in. They were quickly followed by a pair of X-Wings who took out the fighters in a quick burst of their own cannons.

In the distance on his tactical readout a CIC Battlecruiser loomed behind its fleet of CIC cruisers.

 

[Kier Grey]

Kyli Graf
Elsewhere.....

Another time.....
Objective: Bring Your Own (#2)
Post No: 1

Two pairs of bloodied wheels squeaked along the porcelain sterile white hospital floor rolling a gurney across its' surface carrying the ruined body of a Coruscant Security Force Officer and their rent scorched armour on its' claret-stained marble coloured sheets. "We're born from blood, we live in blood, we die in blood." rows of steel clenched teeth screeched together though none of the Physicians or Nurses clasping onto the bed's handles heard the presence which snarled angrily.

Falo grabbed the sinewy woman's left arm in his blue nitrile glove covered hands and thrust a cannula into the patient's forearm and witnessed neither pain or shock make itself known in those pair of Hazel Spheres which appeared to stare vacantly towards the ceiling's features unblinkingly. "Patient is going into cardiac arrest!" One of the physicians called as the emergency department team managed to properly bring the woman into a treatment 'room' though it wasn't so much a 'room' as much as it was a space bordered by curtains.

The patient began to convulse violently, she failed to respond appropriately to the general anesthetic they had been introducing successfully into the circulatory system. Falo examined their vital signs on a monitor displayed in the face of a floating droid probe which had been following through the emergency ward. Falo yelled, no screamed "Hypovolemic shock!" Arterial fluid squirted straight across his eye-lenses. Which prompted a senior long-necked slender female Kaminoan Physician to calmly provide a list of instructions after examining the patient's identification holopad. "Apply the tourniquets, keep a steady flow of replacement synthetic blood into the patient and have Doctor Wu bring down anesthetic appropriate for a quadruped weighing approximately nine-hundred kilograms."

No more than ten to fifteen minutes could have passed but for Falo it felt like hours of gruelling warfare to bring some level of stability to the patient. That's when Doctor Wu arrived, the native of the stormy city unnerved and disturbed Falo with his icy pallor and startling violet eyes. To be fair Falo could have said that for most of the slender Kaminoan Aliens who were unusually polite, calm and secretive in equal measure and suspected both the tube-necked aliens in the room knew more about the broken woman on the gurney than they'd disclosed.

Doctor Wu connected a bag filled with potent Anasthesia upto his patient after receiving her consent on the form of an affirmative nod. A testament to our bioengineering and talent in genetic control. He thought wordlessly before speaking in his native kaminoan knowing full well only he, Doctor Se and the patient would understand and not the Human Nurses in attendance. "The pain relief medication has a high chance of inducing hallucination, please do not panic Lady Graf." Se said in a fluid maternity which Graf in her deliriousness found comforting before succumbing with eyes rolling into the roof of skull between a pair of slightly pursed eyelids.

Into her own mind did Lady Graf descend.

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[member="Tanomas Graf"], [member="Dracken Pryce"]

 

[Light Rises]

For her to be deployed it meant that they weren’t finding someone better. She was still relatively new, and definitely unrestrained, compared t some of their other solider-Jedi. Danielle Stellaris knew what she was good at, and that was flying and fighting. She was not anywhere near a Sentinel, she was a soldier, and a pilot. But when the homeworld called, she was a Jedi and held rank. It was garbage and a visiting rank of a legionnaire but it still counted, and this was her homeworld’s call, after all. She had launched out from the Green Jedi base and met up with the Starchild. The StealthX, a bit of a surplus from the Alliance, but painted with a green Star of Corellia on each wingtop. As she logged into the Corellian battlenet, she heard the call for support.

“This is Frenzy. Transmit coordinates, I’ll get there too!” She may not be doing as much damage but she could use Cabal as cover for herself. Get in, land, and see what she could do from the ground."

The Jedi cracked her neck as she tightened her grip on her fighter, moving from the local signature of the Starchild and heading towards the planet, she was waiting for confirmation from Cabal Squadron to see if she could join up with them, and use them as a distraction to land. She felt it could be a good move, and if all fell down around her? Well, her droid could move the fighter.

[member="Dracken Pryce"]

 

[Zahara Myneto]

Location: The Bridge
Objective: Keep the Imperials...Uncomfortable
Allies: [member="Dracken Pryce"]

When Zahara had been offered a job back home on Corellia, he had assumed it would be taking charge of a small Task Force that would usually stay in the Comfort of homeworlds atmosphere. This, however, was not the case. " Full power to the foward engines.... Brace for impact" yelled his First Officer, Commadore Natalie Veers. " Get me some damn PDC's now!" Yelled Zahara. "Admiral, our Point Defense Cannons have been imoblilized. We cannot defeat the enemy fighters without support from Admiral [member="Dracken Pryce"]'s Unit." Replied an Engineer. " Contact the 'Starchild'" he ordered waving his hand in a sign of wariness. He hated having to beg for help from his superior. Hell, he had been through so many battle scenarios throughout his life time, one might assmue the man was a double agent. He had learned how to glean from his enimes tactics aand predict thier next move, thus allowing him to easily eliminate whatever threat there was. " 'Starchild, this is Vice Admiral Zahara Myneto requesting aerial support for the Modified Resurgent class Star Destoyer 'Corellias Endeavor'. " he said. "Say no. I can fend for myself" he thought to himself

[member="Dracken Pryce"]

 

[Lannik Hayes]

Sergeant Lannik Hayes, Imperial Stormtrooper Corps
Equipment: Katarn Multipurpose Battle Armour, AKraB Vibrodagger, T-88 Self-Loading Precision Carbine
2x Thermal Detonators, 2x Fragmentation Grenades, 4x Adhesive Grenades
Location: Somewhere in this Maker-forgotten thrice-damned forest, Kuat
Tags: Open for interaction!

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“Work, work, work. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy…” a certain stormtrooper sergeant mumbled to himself as he ran lightly beneath a lumbering AT-AT.

Work, work, work, work, work, work…

Lannik stayed within the shadows of the mechanical beast’s legs, using it as a cover as they moved across one of the larger clearings. Reports and intelligence continued to update and flow across his display even as he advanced, his blaster held at ready.

Work, work, work, work, work, work…

While he was none too pleased that he barely gotten a breather in since his sojourn on Bogden, at least the ground was firm… and he did not need to worry about finding himself plunging into yet another bog. Now, that was a nightmare and a half.

By the time they had gotten lifted off the world, the brunet was a pathetic sight indeed. Covered in mud, with foliage and branches and other unmentionables stuck to his armour, Lannik had looked like a cheap extra for the Swamp Thing. And when he was finally done with mission briefing and was allowed to finally rest his weary soul, the mud has dried… which meant it had taken him more time than he would have liked to clean it to his exacting standards.

And the smell?

It was seared into his memory and haunted his nose even now.

Work, work, work, work, work, work…

Ah, shut the kark up! I’m trying to focus here.

Mentally chastising his brain for being a querulous piece of chit, the sergeant continued to trudge forward, him and his small unit slipping away from the AT-AT and vanishing into the shade of the trees.

 

[DT-2319]

"What is it with you Dee-Tees and busting the hell out of your equipment?"

Nineteen raised an eyebrow in curiosity, dropping his helmet on the table in front of him. That left him stripped down just to a body suit. "I'm not sure what you mean, sergeant." Apparently that was the wrong response. The sergeant slammed something down on the table—looked like the forearm of Nineteen's old armour—his face going red in practiced outrage while he lit into the Death Trooper in front of him.

"You've destroyed all the padding in the armour," the sergeant growled, ripping off a damaged portion of the old helmet to show what he was talking about. "You see that? You see how flat it is? It's not supposed to look like that!" Nineteen glanced at the padding, before looking back up. "Doesn't that mean it worked like it was suppo—" Apparently the sergeant still wasn't done.

"You drained all the bacta reserves inside it!" he growled, tossing over the internal bacta tank, from the disassembled torso pieces. "All the energy sinks have taken so much heat they're completely melted!" He slammed down a few lumpy chunks of...something, that used to be the energy sinks. "Your repulsors have all been destroyed, the power cell is completely fried, and—" he pulled out a few more pieces of the old armour, including the helmet ,that were covered with an inky, bluish-black residue.

"Dygian coolant leaks, everywhere. I haven't seen leaks this bad since the original Gorgon-Five both choked and froze to death when it managed to burst the seals inside his armour." That was a memory Nineteen didn't much want to dwell on; both because of the fact that Gorgon squad had been dissolved, and because he didn't like to think about how any previous squad members had died. "You've outdone yourself this time, Dee-Tee; this is worse than after you jumped out of a dropship without a parachute on Lyran IV!" Nineteen actually blinked in surprise.

He certainly didn't recognize the armoury sergeant from those old days, but anything was possible, he supposed. "At least this time it was directly combat related," he said, shrugging. The sergeant glared at him for a moment, before walking away, muttering darkly. He quickly came back with a different set of armour. A duller, greyish-black set, compared to how shiny the old armour had been when first issued. And quite different in other ways.

The sergeant noticed Nineteen looking at it, and tossed the helmet over for the Death Trooper's inspection. "New model," he explained. "Mark IX Katarn armour, Krennic pattern. Special intelligence version, just for you; they made all the parts out of STP rather than duraplast, and gave it a nice coating of reflec too." The rack with the rest of the armour on it was set next to Nineteen, ready for him to put it on. "I hope you're happy, you damn spook. Now get yourself dressed and get to the hangar. They'll have orders waiting for you." Nineteen nodded, bending down and pulling on the armoured boots, while the sergeant walked away with the remnants of his old armour.

Of course, dealing with the new armour didn't come without its own hangups. "How am I supposed to put this bloody helmet on?" Nineteen asked himself, looking at the opening in the base of it. Far too small to fit a humanoid head. He poked around inside of it for a moment, before a seal broke and the bottom of the faceplate came off in his hand. "I see."

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A short while later, fully dressed in his new armour and carrying his weaponry, he was in the hangar, facing a small dropship, going over the message that had been pre-recorded on his helmet. Some high-ish ranking officer in the army had defected, and was hiding out with insurrectionists and a few CorSec troops at a small bunker in the forest, waiting for exfil. "We want him alive," the recorded message said. "But if that's not possible, then do what you do best, Nineteen." The message blinked off, and he stepped onto the empty dropship.

Like always, it felt odd, getting onto a dropship without the rest of his old squad. But, after getting transferred to intelligence, his operations had been solo more often than not. "Hey," the pilot said, stepping into the back of the ship. "Armoury sergeant says you're supposed to use this." He tossed over something large; Nineteen deftly caught it, turning it over while the pilot returned to the cockpit.

A repulsorpack. Funny, sergeant.

Then the dropship lifted off, Nineteen grabbing one of the supports while it started to burn atmosphere towards Kuat's surface.

 

[Aeneis Valdemar]

Lieutenant Aeneis Valdemar
Equipment: Gundark Power Armor, VAARS Rifle, Lava cannon, 3x Glop Grenades, 3 Sonic Detonators, 3x Balmorran Firewall grenades, Duban Shield System
Location: Within the forest

War never changes, it never karking changes. Standing alongside the rest of his squad within the forest of Kuat, Aeneis stared through the break in the thick canopy above. From above the light from Kuat’s primary illuminated the small clearing. Wise enough not to stand in the light the rest of Aeneis’ squad hid within the foliage. With each second that passed the shaking of the ground beneath their feet grew stronger, more violent, the roar of the mechanical AT-AT was audible sending a shiver down the Arkanian hybrids spine.

Glaring into the forest Aeneis knew what was making its way towards them. When the New Republic had been the primary power in the core and encouraged the Corellians to have their own defense force Aeneis had served then fighting against the Imperial Confederation. Now even after the Corellian’s had reclaimed their freedom from beneath the New Republic’s influence going so far as to carve out their own swathe of space they found themselves flung back into the fray. The white-haired man had made a name for himself during his time as a grunt within the shocktrooper during those days. The things Aeneis saw he wished upon no-one but on this day he knew many others would experience tragedies far worse.

Raising his hand in the air, palm open Aeneis’ eyes narrowed. Behind the trooper three other Shocktroopers kneeled two with VT-SDC 13’s over their shoulders. While they may not have the same weaponry or even technology on par with the imperials the Corellian’s made up for it with ingenuity and guerilla warfare. Coms were silent, the only sounds audible to the Corellian being the approach of the AT-AT, its accompanying forces, and his own breathing.

Aeneis wanted the Imperials to know defeat, failure, if not on this day, maybe not the next but one day they would. With another earth-shaking stomp, the AT-AT’s front portion became visible. Hair standing on end Aeneis did not let the fear that gnawed on the back of his conscious control him. His arm fell and no sooner than it had twin beams of red energy shot over his shoulder. One going slightly wide of its target scraping against the upper left-hand side of the transport leaving a gaping hole.

The second, however, struck home. The ray of destructive force penetrated straight through the Fusion Drives at the bottom portion of the AT-AT going straight through to the other side even hitting the fuel tanks. The shocktroopers were soon rewarded for their efforts as the following explosion swallowed the bottom of the Walker, the legs giving way without anything to drive them. All before the massive vehicle began to tilt, which became a fall. The footsteps of the walker had been enough to shake the ground, when it fell the planet of Kuat seemed to fall from beneath Aeneis as he nearly lost his balance. Teeth clanking against each other, Aeneis’ jaw tightened. “Go go go!” Aeneis screamed over the coms.

Rising up from where he had once crouched. Shouldering his rifle the soldier pulled it, no remorse could be seen behind the visor, nothing could be seen on Aeneis’ face by anybody. Not the remorse of taking lives of the Imperial troopers, not the fear of capture, not the gold eyes that blazed as the lava cannon tore into the troopers the lava-like substance landing upon their white armor cooking them within it. The horrific shrieks of agony rose up into a bloodcurdling chorus. “Fall back!” Aeneis ordered turning on his heels sprinting deeper into the thick underbrush. While they could continue to push the advantage of surprise it wasn't wise, getting greedy could easily lead to a death that could've been avoided. If the imperials wanted a fight the Shocktroopers were more than willing to give it to them but on their own terms.

 

[Kou'ha Escala]

Captain Kou’ha Escala, Imperial Navy
Equipment: Uniform & Code Cylinder
Location: Command Deck, INV Astraea, Kuat Orbit
Allies: Core Imperial Confederation
Enemies: Corellian Confederation; [member="Dracken Pryce"] | [member="Danielle Stellaris"] | [member="Zahara Myneto"]

It has been several long months before Kou’ha has been given enough trust and confidence to once stand again on the command deck of a star destroyer.

And though his obstinacy and pride would never allow him to admit his own personality flaw, the young man knew that he was also at fault. In his need to be away from the shadows that his father and siblings had cast, he had refused to return to the flock. It had taken a lot of guile and pleading from his mother before Kou’ha would even listen to reason, and much longer before he allowed the words of his family to seep into his very being and he had willingly allowed the veil that had blinded him to be lifted.

Even then, the death of Grand Moff Natasi Fortan still struck a deep chord within his heart. She had been nothing but gracious and kind to him when he was in her service, and the few times he had conversed with her when she visited the command deck of the FIV Concordia, he had caught a glimpse of steel encased beneath velvet. But with the curtain draped over the corpse of the First Order, his journey has taken him down another path that he had never once considered.

And while he was surrounded by carefully selected officers that were absolutely loyal to the imperium and looked upon him with eyes filled with wariness and distrust, Kou’ha found that he has missed looking out into the eternal night from his current vantage point.

“Captain… Escala, the Admiral has issued a notice that the next delivery of fresh soldiers to the frontlines will take place in approximately ten minutes.”

The slight stress of his family name was something that has become customary to the young Epicanthix. And though it still rankled, Kou’ha took it in stride as he turned to regard his XO.

“So noted. You have my gratitude, Lieutenant Harcourt. Please relay a message to the Wing Commander and let them know to prepare.”

 

[Kier Grey]

Kyli Graf
Elsewhere.....

Another time.....
Objective: Bring Your Own (#2)
Post No: 2

Cling, cling, cling

Kyli's hazel spheres steadily peeled upon to be greeted with the familiar and comforting sight of her aqua-coloured Coruscant Security Force helmet-mounted display its' vital sign widget sung a merry tune for a moment before stabilising, it had indicated but for a split second that she was dead. Sheev's Hood The armoured woman attempted to rise from the hospital bed only to experience the restraining tug of leather belts push down overwhelmingly against her body. "What the?"

The room was lit with a claret light from a source that couldn't readily be discerned. It can't be my eyes Kyli thought wordlessly and that's when a small pool of blood on the white tiled hospital floor began to bubble violently. A pointed skull flanked with horns rose from its' boiling orifice with a pair of burning sulphur eyes staring gleefully towards the Coruscant Security Force Officer who froze in a semi-upright position helplessly. It snarled a chuckle. "So nice of you to join me. Down here in the dark recesses Kyli." Crimson spittle oozed in strings between two rows of clasped cobalt teeth.

Distant shrieks drilled into her ears as the creature took several steady steps into her direction. "Uuugggggggh" The sound that Kyli's mouth made was one of pain and she shook helmeted head violently as the tortured chorus grew louder, in response to such an unpleasant invasion her fury was unmistakable and growled in a gravelly tone. "Get out of my head!" The spindly humanoid horned monster took several steps in Kyli's direction his advance gave the baleful choir ever yet further power. "Get ooouuuuutttt" Rapidly did her defiance falter and then turn to a barely controlled pleading sob as two sets of long clawed fingers clasped her helmet though Kyli did not see them having pursed her eyes shut with a line of fluid from each eye running down to jaw.

Smiling with a sadists glee down towards the armoured officer the Demon cradled Kyli's helmeted head with an odd protective affection and carefully trailed the edges of his claws along where her cheek should have been even as a shrieking baleful choir of murdered souls thrust the woman closer towards the edge of blissful insanity. "I am not your enemy, think of what you will see soon no matter how real as just a bad dream....A nightmare of your own making."

 

[Light Rises]

She saw the location where she was supposed to go. Cabal Squadron contacting her and she grinned. “Hey Cabal, yeah, going to be following you in.” The soldier-pilot nodded as she pushed the ship forward. She had to get in past the shooting and targeting. The dark colored StealthX was covered in a flat paint so the glow of the lasers were not reflecting to give her position away. As she hit atmosphere with the Cabals, she pulled the thrusters off and pushed the repulsors online to full.

The X-Wing was falling through the sky and catching itself like an airspeeder.

“Alright Mack. Keep the systems warmed up but don’t draw attention. I think I can grab their focus. But we need to help that team and get them up against the Imperials." She could only hope they’d pull the team away before it got out of hand.


[member="Kyli Graf"]
[member="Kou'ha Escala"]

 

[DT-2319]

"This is your drop, Spook," the pilot said over the shuttle's intercom. The back of the troop bay opened up; ignoring his dislike of the nickname, Nineteen moved back to the opening, shrugging on the repulsorpack. "Meet you at the exfil point," the pilot called back, just before the trooper jumped; Nineteen quickly activated the repulsorpack to slow his dissent, the energy shields from his armor momentarily dropping in power while he was hit with some wash from the shuttle's engines as it sped away.

He quickly activated the repulsorpack, landing gently—this time, without damaging his armour. Upon landing, he quickly hefted his DLT-29. He'd figured it a good choice; there would be numerous places for him to hide and set up a nest, and the rifle was strong enough to blast clean through any of the trees and still hit a target. If it came down to it, though, he'd brought along a G-11F for a backup, alongside his vibroknife and some grenades. Nineteen liked to be over prepared.

He tapped some controls on a forearm pad, and a map came up in the bottom-right portion of his heads-up display, with the formerly-hidden bunker marked fairly clearly on it. He was only about two kilometers away; if he'd had his disruptor, he could almost just climb up into one of the trees and take aim; unfortunately, the jungle was a little too thick for that, the terrain a little too uneven, and the disruptor a little too far away, sequestered as it was up in orbit.

So he had to walk.

"Time for a hike," he muttered to himself, starting to walk. "Computer. Target details." The on-board computer in his helmet responded to the command instantly, bringing up information on his target. Lieutenant Braddus Vicar, age forty-three. Not one of the originals from the Galactic Empire, but somebody who had defected from the First Order when they'd made their exodus out of it. Almost unsurprising that he'd chosen to defect again, when a potentially-better offer presented itself.

Not everybody can be as loyal as a clone, Nineteen thought to himself. But they won't be as efficient, either. Somehow he doubted that the Lieutenant would be willing to be taken alive. And, like always, the Death Trooper would be happy to fulfill the name of his division.

 

[Seto Du Couteau]

Seto Du Couteau
Location: Alederaan, Aldera the Capital City
Objective: Alderaan Business Trip
Allies: [member="Marriskcal Lati"]
Apparel: Suit

Over eager, not normally a phrase that Seto would ever describe himself, but today the boyish eagerness he had once thought well tamed and discipline threatened to erupt as Seto continued to walk quickly down the market streets on Aldera. The sprawling beauty of the City encapsulated all that was regal, noble and grand for the heir of Du Couteau, a noble from a Wild Space planet.

I’ve come a long, long way.

Seto smiled despite himself attempting to remain straight face through his short walk, and yet with so much around; displays of clothes and cafes simply filling the air with scents that would make weaker minds salivate, Seto kept true to his course. The Du Couteau Heir raised his small data-slate and smiled wickedly in the direction ahead of him, past much of the busy store fronts and several businesses laid ahead a park for derelict shoppers to cool themselves from overspending almost all their credits.

With his left hand quickly stuffing away his data-slate, Seto reached with his right to grab hold of Marr’s hand and tugged her gently to perhaps break free any trances the countless smells and dazzling trinkets that might have caught her attention. “Quickly, before we spend far too much time exploring the endless shops and cafes.” Seto encouraged his sister as he picked up his walking pace.

Coruscant, for all its wonder and, busy nature by design, the high rises and auto-regulated weather system that provided the citizens near perfect weather all year round, was at times overly congested with too many people. Seto had learned rather quickly that more people meant more problems, and more problems meant longer hours in the office and longer lasting headaches to tag along for each extra hour he would spend in the office.

“The lake that surrounds the city can be viewed from over there, only a few meters away. . .”

 

[Lannik Hayes]

Sergeant Lannik Hayes, Imperial Stormtrooper Corps
Equipment: Katarn Multipurpose Battle Armour, AKraB Vibrodagger, T-88 Self-Loading Precision Carbine
2x Thermal Detonators, 2x Fragmentation Grenades, 4x Adhesive Grenades
Location: Somewhere in this Maker-forgotten thrice-damned forest, Kuat
Allies: Core Imperial Confederation
Enemies: Corellian Confederation; [member="Aeneis Valdemar"] (Maybe?)

​

With them being lifted in as the second wave to replenish the vanguard, their advance into the thick of the forest of Kuat remained unobstructed. Even then, the ARC-certified stormtrooper and his team remained cautious as they covered the scarred ground. They edged around fallen trees that were strewn haphazardly over upturned soil.

If Lannik were the poetic sort, he would have said that it was eerily quiet… except truly, it wasn’t. Even as they tried to conceal their forms within the shadows and thicker foliage, the cacophonous symphony of screeching starfighters and gunships was an unrelenting, but welcomed accompaniment. It was only further accented by the uneven thump thump thump of the heavy footfalls of the mechanical giants that formed three intimidating lines in the frontlines. And every now and then, the piercing whistles of their air support unleashing hell from up above broke the monotony.

–Not to mention the kriffing annoying line that had gotten well and truly stuck in his head.

And it did not even have the decency to be the whole verse, just that one word… ad nauseum.

How dare?!

It was then that there was a sudden spike in reports that scrolled through his display. Just as his eyes flickered to check on the latest intelligence, the icon that indicated the AT-AT half a klick away flashed red on his telemetry. The sound of an explosion resounded through the area, sending a flurry of birds taking to the air. Quicker than Lannik could even hiss out a curse at the realisation of what is taking place ahead, the impact of the downed mechanical giant shook the earth, sending the unfortunate sergeant and his men tumbling like unbalanced rumble pins.

“E chu ta,” the brunette spat out venomously even as he picked himself up swiftly, none worse for the wear… unless one counted disposition as part of it. For the dark cloud of displeasure that was swiftly gathering around him was beginning to grow. Lannik signaled his men to spread out loosely, still within sight of each other, but enough so that Charlie would not be able to take out his whole team with a well-placed aim.

“Remember the order, boys.”

Taking a deep breath to bolster his resolve, the sergeant began to head towards the direction of the commotion.

 

[Marriskcal Lati]

Marriskcal Lati, House Du Couteau
Equipment: Attire
Location: Gardens. Aldera, Alderaan
Objective: Sightseeing! Business trip
Interacting with: [member="Seto Du Couteau"]

For a city that served as the capital of its world, Aldera was… ethereal in its beauty. Graceful domes and delicate spires reached towards the clear skies, evoking a sense of refined elegance. And framing the city was a lake with mirror clear waters and mountain peaks dusted with pristine snow.

Meandering behind her brother at a more sedate stride, one Marriskcal Lati found herself captivated by the sights and scents. Thus far, she had behaved admirably and with comportment as befitting a highborn lady, though her heart and mind was beginning to waver–

That pastry looks delicious…

Ah! That gem would make for a lovely addition to my collection…

But before the blonde could vanish from Seto’s side and wander further along the boulevard, a warm hand closed around her own. A faintest pout curved her lips even as she laced her fingers with her brother’s and allowed him to draw her away. Even then, her aura blossomed with her joy and affection for the man before her, for she has always adored these little shows of care and regard.

“We have the rest of the afternoon and all evening to ourselves,” she reminded him, even as she swiveled on her heels and widened the interval of her gait, the staccato clicks trailing after her as they stayed on the stone paths of the lush garden. “And it is not like we would not get a view of it when we retire to our accommodations later anyway.” Despite her reluctance and the rather cumbersome dress that her maids had clothed her in, Marriskcal admitted that it was a nice change from gilt and glamour of Coruscant.

“Is there something special about the lake?”

Because while her brother possessed an appreciation for natural wonders, it was rare for her to see him this exuberant.

“… Or is there a café you have been looking forward to close by?”

 

[Willan Tal]

General Theodore Royce-Clark, Imperial stormtrooper corps
Location: Kuat frontlines
Allies: Core Imperial Confederation
Enemies: CC, Tree huggers.
Objective: Run through the jungle.

​

Fourteen hours since arrival and the Galidraani generals men had yet to make significant gains on Kuat, with the Charlies putting up stiffer resistance than was to be expected initially. Unlike the clansmen of Mandalore who Theodores forces had clashed with prior, the Corellians had stalled his troop’s offensives and had even launched fierce counter ambushes to great effect — decimating several companies of stormtroopers units so severely that they were recalled from the frontlines.

Theodore and his entourage made use of the bombed-out ruins of an industrial plant, serving as a temporary HQ and command centre for divisions in the area and troop movement. With casualties mounting by the hour and the looming threat of media leakage, the likes of which threatened the Imperials image as an invincible power if news got out about the Kuat campaign. The Imperials would soon have to make significant gains if they wanted to avoid a PR storm back home.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Corporal Heven Landrik, Imperial army infantry corps
Location: Ruins of Kuats industrial complexes
Allies: CIC, other bucketheads.
Enemies: CC



Where are the others?

Half-stumbling and half-running, he moved towards the flashing red lights and found the Major and his men clinging to either side of a rusted door. It had to be one of the hangar-like buildings and touching the walls; he felt the repetitive and deep vibrations which resounded in the distance from artillery fire.

“Charges ready!” someone shouted. There was a response from the Major beside him but his words drowned in the deafening howling of explosions and blaster fire. With no orders, Corporal Heven raised his rifle and pulled the trigger again and again, firing back at where the blue bolts came from but he had no idea if he was hitting anything.

“Take cover!”

He threw himself down as a wave of heat poured over him, and a vicious shockwave tore through him.

“Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!”

Heaving for breath, his lungs got filled with dust. The others moved along the wall, and he followed, eventually passing through a huge breach which had previously been a door. The men in front of him fired away wildly; every shot returned with a blue one. He had no choice but to duck and fire back, hoping he wouldn’t get hit.

“Don’t let them Charlies escape! Shoot them!”

Some of the Corellian soldiers held up their hands in surrender, some of them kept firing from several makeshift firing holes but most retreated further into the dilapidated industrial complex. To their misfortune, the blaster bolts didn’t discriminate between those who surrendered and those who did not.

“Cease fire! Ceasefire!”

Not a single Corellian who stayed behind was left alive, and as it seemed there was to be a pause, he took a look around the area. There were no less than thirty Corellian corpses that dotted the inside of the factory; some slumped behind their makeshift firing positions while others were grotesquely splayed out across the floor and amidst the rubble.

“Third Squad – You’re up!”

Major Baldwyck motioned for the dust-covered troops and they began advancing further in while others started rounding up the wounded. Corporal Heven just stood there again, and in the back of his mind, he heard his army instructors voice scolding him. He was somewhat relieved to know that he would never do it again.

“Corporal!” Baldwyck called, waving his hand at Heven. He shook his head to get rid of the choking feeling in his throat.

“Yes Sir!” he replied and pushed to get into the circle of men around the leader of the brigade.

“Look here,” the old Imperial said with a broken lip. His face was speckled with blood and dirt, and when he held out a hand-held holoprojector, he cringed in pain.

“We’re here,” he said, showing a holographic layout of the entire complex. Overall, it resembled a hexagonal base and his finger hovered at a node near the centre. Then he moved it straight across the nearest field to the next node. “And this is our target. We have to take control of this hangar bay at the north end of the complex. It holds an underground access gate and a landing zone we’ll need to call in further reinforcements on top.”

“What about the Corellians still inside?” one of the men asked.

“Clear them out room by room, corridor by corridor, we must secure this position for the empire."


We’ll be completely exposed to being ambushed, Heven thought to himself worriedly and glancing at the other dusty faces around him, he knew more than to share his opinion, but what other options were there? The open-air routes leading to the hangar seemed equally exposed, and they would be even more vulnerable to Corellian artillery then if they were systematically clearing the complex itself out. Either would cost them a lot of lives.

“Corporal.”

Heven caught the green eyes of the Major.

“I want to you to join several other soldiers and me in heading straight for the hangar bay,” he ordered and did not pause before addressing the others. “Any questions?”

No one said anything.

“Move out!”


Appropriate tags- [member="Tanomas Graf"] [member="Danielle Stellaris"] [member="Dracken Pryce"] [member="Kyli Graf"] [member="Zahara Myneto"] [member="Lannik Hayes"] @DT-2319 @Aeneis Valdemar [member="Kou'ha Escala"] [member="Seto Du Couteau"] [member="Marriskcal Lati"]

 

[Dracken Pryce]

Allies: [member="Danielle Stellaris"] [member="Aeneis Valdemar"] [member="Zahara Myneto"]
Enemies: [member="Theodore Royce-Clarke"] [member="Lannik Hayes"] @DT-2319 @Kyli Graf [member="Kou'ha Escala"]
OOC: Just writing background, these attacks aren't targeted at anyone, but if you want to make them target you that's fine with me too. I'm just here for the background, don't mind me.

"Sir, CDF Corellia's Endeavor is requesting aid!" Even if she hadn't said anything Pryce had already realized the situation Commodore had put him in. Determined to take point in the formation the glory hungry old dog had charged in without support. Enemy TIEs and bombers had taken out more than half of their point-defense weapons, which should have been the other way around. Despite that, still he charged forward, turbolaser cannons blazing green streaks across the black sky and now his ship was ramming another?

The fool.

"Granted," he said in a low voice.

With a curse he nodded to Garvey who looked like he had already figured out what to do next. Garvey nodded in response and pulled up mini holoscreens relaying orders to ships.

"Bring Sword 1 and 2 up to help defend the Corellia's Endeavor along with a squadron of fighters, their point defense system is down. Send Longswords if we can spare them! Get one of our cruisers to pull back to the rear and support the carriers." He sighed and leaned over the table harder, "Well we might as well take the shot he's given us," he muttered under his breath. "Full power to the long range turbolasers. Full salvo on that rammed Destroyer! Make sure the Commodore knows he's going to be dealing with danger close."

The long range turbolaser batteries shifted, stired awake by Garvey's command. They shuddered as bolts of red arced through space at the destroyer Myneto was in combat with, colliding with their shields. Signifigantly lower powered than even regular turbolasers, long range artillery fire had the benefit of much farther effective ranges, though at this range the extra umph required to retain energy at such long distances came in handy. He watched with grim satisfaction as their shield sputtered but didn't falter.

​

Blue Squadron - Blue Leader

His K-Wing shuddered as it broke through the atmosphere. As usual G5 and CL-24 were fighting over systems and probability, their argument streaming across his screen as the ship translated it seamlessly.

"Alright you two, cut it out, we're entering the battle!" With a curse he clicked the mute when they wouldn't stop. "Alright Blue's let's get those S-foils locked and get our boys on the ground some support. You've got mission parameters. Check in!" With a flip of a switch his small S-foils peeled out from the wings as they stabilized above the clouds.

"This is Blue 3"

"Blue 2 ready and willing."

Blue 4 muttered someting in an alien language that Blue Leader still hadn't learned to understand without translators which read acorss his screen that he too was ready.

"Alright, then let's give them hell!" the K-Wings with their robust shields and powerful weapons were formidable dogfighters in space, even with their low manueverability. In atmosphere they were just asking to be shot down, so Blue Leader wondered why they had been sent without escort. Maybe because the mission was so short?

"Target Alpha in sight!" They were coming up on a large walker now. Life form sensors picked up a squad of their Clones working their way towards the Corellian Shocktroopers. With a smirk Blue Squadron's K-wing squadron leader shouted,

"Bombs away boys!"

 

[Cynthia Alucard]

Cynthia Alucard, Pixie Wing Commander
Location: Kuat Space - Heading to Kuat Low Orbit
Starcraft: TIE/IN Mark IV Interceptor (Wing Compliment of Seventy-Two) The Tuatha De Danann (HQ- Located far Edge of Kuat Space)
Attire: Flight Suit
Allies: [member="Kou'ha Escala"]

Engaging: [member="Dracken Pryce"]​

​

Cyn inwardly groaned at her tactical read-out, this was not what she expected when she was told that they would encounter “light” resistance over Kuat space. In fact, High Command went as far as to only provide minimal support craft for this engagement and kept the rest for escort duty. Border Skirmishes though was what she told what this was she was looking at on her screen, Cyn wanted to choke out a laugh, that such swill contaminated the minds of so many Commanders and Officers. Do people not want to win a war where you do not need to pull the trigger?

Her TIE Interceptor screamed back into life, along came the rest of her squad as a separate order issued to engage incoming enemy Star-craft fighters. Cyn hummed a dangerous sound, her eyes locked onto a group of X-Wings that were harassing the other TIE fighters to distract them from pursuing the enemy bomber wings.

Well, if I can't end a war without pulling a trigger, I'll just have to end it with several of my own.

“Pixie One-Five and One-Six, take your Wing-Mate and monitor our outer flanks.” Cyn ordered via her squad comm-channel, her voice cheerfully spoke as she gleefully selected their targets and prioritized several enemy star-fighters quickly coming into range of their weapons.

“Pixie Squad Leader Two-One, Three-One, and Four-One, take you and yours and create some Pixie Dust on these targets.” Cyn ordered, her comm-channel switching to her direct line to her other Squad Leaders.

They had their job to keep the X-Wings in check that hounded the TIE’s in high-orbit, while Cyn would take her own squad contest the low-orbit heavy fighters. Now with my other Interceptors. . . “Pixie Squad Leaders Five-One and Six-One, pull off and provide over-watch for us.” She quickly communicated her order across to the last two squadrons under her command.

Cyn smiled despite herself, she had created a perfect advantage to keep her squadron alone with a singular cluster of enemy combatants and furthermore she felt secure knowing that she at least had over-watch to help warn her of any incoming enemy reinforcements. Or even assist and delay any reinforcements.

With her smile cutting across her features and forming into a wicked grin, Wing Commander Alucard launched her TIE Interceptor into attack position and headed directly to give enemy air superiority over the ground combat some slight competition.

Though, I wouldn’t mind facing against participants instead of actual competitors.

 

[Kier Grey]

Kyli Graf
Elsewhere.....

Another time.....
Objective: Bring Your Own (#2)
Post No: 3

The shaggy-haired Warmaster looked down into the cell and spotted a kindred spirit and dropped a silvery key through the grate down towards them. "Before the end of this you can consider us even, Whir." He muttered rubbing a hand across his stubble covered cheek, the Asylym's ancient stone walls were crumbling it wouldn't be difficult to get inside and aid the incarcerated Sergeant's escape as the mysterious hooded warrior thought, it was protected by animated shambling corpses primarily as much guards as prisoners. "Fitting that a former Death Trooper be forsaken among the dead and the damned." Calloused hands did not at all heed the rough edges of the cracked brick wall using the gaps left behind by mortar receded away to the rot which had consumed the world. Even Masonry required the careful attention of a suitably trained craftsman for maintenance.

Kyli with her knees pressed against chest sat in the corner of a ferrocrete cell when the impossibly thin hairless animated corpse tumbled through small opening in ceiling it splattered across the floor disintegrating into a fragile puddle. A man looked down and smiled widely dropping a silvery key Kyli caught in a keen grip, he disappeared from sight Kyli not knowing who he was and in that moment not particularly caring. "Am I dead, am I finally leaving?" What was usually a cold and stoic voice broke on it, the loose grip tremored violently drops of rain began to trickle down through the ruined ceiling and that helped to steel the woman's resolve, it was time to leave, a long awaited salvation had finally arrived and wherever this blessing had hailed she would be appreciative. Kyli breathed a sigh so heavy you would have a thought an anvil would have cleared her chest when the lock accepted that silver key, twisting it delicately she gave a steady careful push and the door's rusty hinges squealed in protest revealing the subterranean dark corridors of an Asylum long abandoned.

 

[Kou'ha Escala]

Captain Kou’ha Escala, Imperial Navy
Equipment: Uniform & Code Cylinder
Location: Command Deck, INV Astraea, Kuat Orbit
Allies: Core Imperial Confederation; [member="Cynthia Alucard"]
Enemies: Corellian Confederation; [member="Dracken Pryce"] | [member="Danielle Stellaris"] | [member="Zahara Myneto"]

​

Kou’ha blinked.

Once.

Twice.

But yet, the information displayed on the holomap before him did not change. “Is the trajectory of this enemy vessel…?” he murmured quietly. Even while the Astraea was positioned safe behind an intimidating line of cruisers and destroyers, the very notion was… foolish, if he was being kind. Around him, his coterie of officers were equally silent, astounded by what they were witnessing.

But as much as the Epicanthix would like to continue paying heed to the clash that was taking place between Task Force Ithaca and the Corellian Confederation at the far end of the other side of the orbit, he also knew it was none of his concern. While the vessel that was under his command had weapons of its own, it was not designed for aggression and prolonged conflict. No, it would take him much longer before his father would allow him command of one of the more formidable destroyers that he favoured.

“Any update from Admiral Verasx yet?”

“Yes sir! They will be deploying on time. Shall I send word to the Wing Commander to launch?”

“Please do.”

Even as the gunships and shuttles even began to depart from the other cruisers and destroyers, the starfighters of Astraea took to space, entering into a defensive formation in preparation to escort the other vessels into the atmosphere.