Public Sand

[Eulogy Jones]

Sand



A scorching wind found it’s way across the large dunes that littered the surface of Tatooine. Two blazing suns baked the scalding desert sand as various creatures wandered or slept, lifeforms large and small. Beneath one of these piles, buried for what most in a human lifespan would classify as an abnormally long amount of time for such a facility to be hidden, lay a malnourished man. Above him was glass and layers of durasteel, around him sat the bones of long dead technicians, troopers, and other Imperial military. A generator hummed listlessly in a corner of the bunker, a testament to technology at the time, and the only reason Eulogy still dreamed. In the pod the ISB Agent had dreamed his own life a thousand times, in infinite variations. To the point of haze. His blood was too thin. His physical state had suffered terribly over the long years.

He awaited on an awakening that he no longer knew he was waiting on.

 

[Aldo Garrick]

R E B I R T H

Operation: FINAL DAWN​

The Admiral let his head hang low as he bowed to the holographic image of Derix Tirall , High Regent of the Final Dawn. “The Grand Overseer seems to believe so, if the contents of the search bear fruit I shall have them secured immediately.”

Marlon Sularen had uncovered intel from ancient Imperial archives of a facility on the sand dunes of Tatooine. Supposedly the contents of which were classified, a project ran by the ISB of the Galactic Empire. It was a long shot for a hunch, the contents of the facility being unknown and the location in the heart of the Confederacy. He would of blown it off to be truthful.. until word from above came down, straight from the Dark Lord and the High Regent. There was more to this place, last minute revelations he had yet to be informed of.

Whatever was here had warranted their attention..

He gathered a strike team and dispatched out to the desert world himself aboard an Ommin-class Infiltration Shuttle. Emerging from hyperspace over the barren world the Admiral turned away from the hologram as it faded away, “It will be done.”

Soon their shuttle would touch down and uncloak near the edge of the facility, soon they would have their answers..

 

[Ruus Kote]

​

RECON​

Friendly Units:​

• Shersehoy Mechanized Infantry Battalion​
  • Shereshoy 6 Command Company

Forces in Reserve: ​

• Ruus Kote's Command Tank
• Shersehoy Mechanized Infantry Battalion
  • Shereshoy Aurek Solus Company
• Kyr'galaar squadron Kalikir
• 2x Busayr-class Heavy Assault Transports

Tag(s): Eulogy Jones | Lavria Xedrim ​

​

​

Spoiler: Equipment

​

• Armor:​
  • 'Verd'jurkad'gam'
    • Shoulders:
      • NML-02VTB Nano missile Launcher
    • Back Mount:
      • MML-02S Miniaturized Missile Launcher
        • 8x Cretanr'ika-lcass Guided Plasma Micro-missile
        • 8x Striilir'ika-class Brilliant Micro-missile
    • Left Vambrace:
      • NML-02VTB Nano missile Launcher
      • PC-05V Plasma Caster
    • Right Vambrace:
      • TBP-01V Tractor-Pressor Beam Projector
      • MML-01V Miniaturized Missile Launcher
        • Surveillance Tagger Darts (2)
        • Electro Darts (2)
        • Explosive Darts (4)
• Weapons:
  • B-01M Beskad
  • M-06S 'Skirata' Mra'jitr (2)
  • RP-05A Ripper Pistol w/ 'Kyrayc Sur'haai' Short Range Optic
  • AR-2CQB Verpine Assault Rifle w/ UGL-02 Underbarrel Grenade Launcher and 'Kyrayc Sur'haai' Medium Range Optic
• Explosives:
  • 3x CryoBan Grenades
  • 3x NOVA40 Plasma Grenade
  • 2x Smoke Grenades
  • 2x Class-A Thermal Detonator
  • 2x Det-Packs
• Implants:
  • 'Verd' Enhancement Package
  • 'Gar Tkiriyr' Neural Interface

Recon. That was the official reason he was here. The real reason he was here and not some rammikade was because he owed Saram Kote a favor. 'It's just a simple recon op, ori'vod, how bad could it be?' If he'd known it was working with some Knights Obsidian dar'jetii puttering about the sands of one of the worst shabla dust balls that he'd had the displeasure of setting foot on, he probably would have asked her to reconsider. Still, poor ad'ika'd been working herself hard ever since the ba'slan shev'la. The rammikade had been hit worst by the company's attempt at reform. It was the least he could shabla do for her.

Before the CIS contract, if Ruus had heard that someone was calling him in because some local di'kute had seen some structure in the sand that looked positively shabla ancient, he'd have laughed his way to the tapcaf and ignored it. Working for the CIS, however, he'd learned that long forgotten buried things rarely ever stayed that way, so here he was. Of course, he dragged Mirta into this seeing as he couldn't very well drag Aamer, he wasn't exactly justified in bringing a tank company even if he'd brought his command tank with him.

Ruus began making his way to the vehicle bay from the troop cabin, rifle in hand as the Busayr-class Heavy Assault Transport made its final approach. His armor's Manda module showed their fighter escorts peeling away for the moment. He'd instructed them to stay on station just in case. You could never be too careful. Let your guard down for a moment when investigating situations like this and some ancient shabuir or the other decided it was going to take it's frustration at having napped too long on you. When such things happened, it was usually best to have plenty of firepower on hand to encourage the thing to usenye.

He felt the transport settle onto its landing claws with a familiar muffled thunk. As the ramp began to lower with a hiss of escaping gasses and the groan of hydraulics, he managed to catch Mirta's gaze. "This time, just this shabla time, let it be nothing. I'll settle for a few cold drinks and an uneventful flight home."

"I shabla wish, vod," he scoffed. "I'll take Aurek Solus and your recon platoon. You can keep Ghes and Jintar. If we're lucky, we'll be done out there and you can fly out and pick us the shab up." Mirta crossed her fingers instead of responding. It was an aruetii thing that a few of them had picked up. Ruus let out a dry cackle. The sound of one of their Trataab'morut IFVs thundering down the ramp punctuated his sentence. Ruus didn't hurry their men, he knew they had to wait for their burc'ya from the Knights Obsidian first.

 

[Eulogy Jones]

Aldo Garrick Ruus Kote Cord Starfall
The flurry of activity above had begun to wake up the long dormant facility. Flashing lights, proximity alarms. Eulogy remained asleep, unconsciously projecting glimpses of his dreams to those who could perceive such things.

Snow. From low orbit that was the one thought that stuck out in Eulogy’s mind. The whole world below looked like one giant blanket of white cast against the darkness of space as himself and a Snowtrooper squad loaded onto an R-ITT hooked underneath it’s LAAT carrier, a strange sight when offset by the stark contrasts looming ahead. Durasteel clanked as the thirteen piled into the red lit box that was to carry them close enough to their objectives before the Alliance could react. Their goals were twofold, to eliminate an Ion Canon and capture any data possible within the facility before the Rebels had the chance to scrub it. They were going in shortly before the initial assault and were relying on the coming blitzkrieg to reinforce them if things went south. Eulogy hated the plan but knew better than to complain. An ISB Agent that questioned orders when attached to Vader’s Fist often found themselves exiting both the Empire and their physical forms at the same time.

The LAAT click clacked as metal detached from metal and one of the crew squawked instructions over the intercom. Helpful things informing everyone just how cold it was and exactly how long they’d have to wait for reinforcements if the situation got loud, as it was oft to. Wonderful. Newer members of the Imperial Military may have begun having strange thoughts like “What kind of plan is this?” or “Why did I enlist?” but those that had been through it before didn’t bother themselves with such worries. It wouldn’t do them any good. Eulogy thought about Kuat. About hours spent floating around incredibly large vessels in zero g drydocks. The thought made him calm, relaxed in the face of his own mortality.

The bay was silent as the LAAT launched downward towards Hoth, the pilot using the world’s gravity to do much of the work of accelerating as he lined up with the correct trajectory. Eulogy’s adrenaline kicked as his stomach dropped.

 

[Eulogy Jones]

Outside the ship ice whipped past at speeds that could rip flesh from bone as the LAAT prepared to drop the recon ship, shouting out a warning to buckle crash belts if not already done. Eulogy heard a few clicks and opened his eyes as the vessel shifted. Repulsor engines kicked on and the hunk of metal avoided crashing into the cold surface. With a jolt the driver took off, melting ice as the vehicle hummed along. Six kilometers out, they’d be crawling two. Their hope was that even if the vessels had been spotted, the older setup and blizzard would be liable to confuse their identities as it wasn’t totally uncommon for scavengers to take advantage of conflict for looting.

Eulogy hoped they hadn’t been spotted.

The troopers were kitted with suppressed slugthrowers along with their normal E-11s and D models, which had only happened do to the agent’s polite suggestion. From outside the wind and engines slowed, a few took a breath as the drop door opened. The group silently filed out, keeping appropriate spacing and following the ISB Agent’s lead toward a large snow-covered hill that lay ahead just ahead. Again, Eulogy marveled at the starkness of a planet covered in ice. Even with their armor they shivered in the open air. Two troopers set up positions on the hill in professional silence as the rest got on their bellies and began to move toward the looming structure that was their target, a V-150 ion canon silhouetted by artificial light. Eulogy smiled wryly as they crawled in the freezing twilight, reminded again of his childhood when he saw such artillery being constructed firsthand. “That’s why the Empire loves me so.” He sang to himself in his head as they crawled. Eulogy felt comfortable with the Overwatch provided by his Snowtrooper counterparts. In spite of propaganda to the contrary, he had yet to see a buckethead sniper fail to hit their mark when behind a large, accurate rifle. Ahead the occasional patrol would create an incredibly stressful and time-consuming exercise.

It would take them hours to travel the distance. The sun had begun peaking over the horizon as the numb troopers finally pulled themselves behind the front of rebel manned gun emplacements. Eulogy pulled himself along a low bunker wall as he kept his rifle tight and up, pieing as he moved towards the opening at the back of the structure. This movement was repeated by the several of the other squad members at other emplacements. The angles they had on the facility and the squad’s own potential escape route meant they couldn’t be left. All of them had to go. Inside two troopers watched the wasteland in front of them without much enthusiasm. One coughed. Eulogy unceremoniously put three slugs in each of them before moving back outside to regroup with the squad as they moved toward the main facility.

Strange sensation. Shooting folks in the back. Shivers from his subconscious echoed again in the real world as he continued to relive Hoth.

Aldo Garrick Ruus Kote Cord Starfall