The small convoy of armored landspeeders painted jet-black raised a small cloud of dust trailing after them. The ground underneath shook violently from the powerful engines of the Basilisks as they dove down for strafing runs. The artificial shriek of the Mandalorian war machines instilled awe and a sense of impending doom into the hearts of the mercenaries as they passed overhead.
Although, different in nature, it reminded them of Mustafar to an extent -except for the climate. Nothing quite compared to the blistering, skin charring heat of the lava world; precision air strikes provided by close air support elements, columns of thick, black smoke soaring up to the skies above their heads, the incessant cacophony of blaster fire both far and near.
They were on the receiving end of it all this time.
:: Acklay, this is Retail! How’s the clearance going?! ::
The com set right beside the veteran merc crackled to life; the familiar voice of their commander rang sharply in the interior. Reaching for the handset of the comlink station, Skif spoke in a calm tone, despite the occasional, long winded salvo blaster bolts slamming against the armored windshield, as the convoy barreled down the streets of Starbase Yamarro; the thrumming, sharp whine of the laser cannon on the roof of their vehicle would echo into his transmission, each time Nimble let loose on an enemy target.
<”Retail, Acklay. Facility evacuated successfully. We’re enroute towards Extraction Point Theta as we speak. Five minutes out,”>
:: We need to get the Clients offworld as soon as possible. ::
The old merc’s features underneath the helmet visor would remain stern, as always, but the sudden glimmer appearing in his dark gray eyes would betray his stoic stature for just a moment upon being reminded of the
second job they were expected to fulfill now.
The Clients.
With a battle reminiscent of a full on military invasion taking place all around them, extracting the Clients on top of their primary objective had the potential to jeopardize the safety of the research personnel, and the research data that belonged to their parent company.
<”Acklay Actual copies all. Taking a detour to their known location now,”> Acknowledging his orders, Skif let out a troubled, muffled sigh as he calmly returned the handset of the comlink set.
<”Quick change of plans, lads,”> he said over the comlink.
<”We’re taking a detour to the Kimuur Building, and with all due haste.”>
His men acknowledging his command over the comlink, the small convoy broke away from their path leading up to their extraction point while under a hail of blaster bolts, and began making their way towards their client’s last known location before the Mandalorians and troops of the Enclave descended on the planet.
The Kimuur Building.
They now had to race with time to get them out of there. Although the contract regarding their Clients was among their list of priorities, the safety of the research personnel and their data overshadowed that priority to an extent. He would not endanger the latter, their parent companies’ secrets and interests, for the safety of the former.
Large chunks of ferroconcrete tore from the road as the Mandalorian warmachine, the dreaded Basilisk, roared passed right above them; the lead armored landspeeder in the convoy was swallowed in a large cloud of dust, with the rest of the convoy following their lead right after them.
<”AAAH, FOR KARK SAKE!”> Frustrated Nimble shouted over the comms, as he witnessed the lead car crash into a black limousine through the gunner optics. Swerving out of control, the lead Arrow struck the black limousine from the rear.
The gun on the roof of the lead landspeeder had fallen silent shortly after the basilisk’s gun run, before rear-ending the limousine. Although their medical status shown in Skif’s helmet heads-up-display stated otherwise, there weren’t any signs pointing at the liveliness of the crew and passengers within the armored confines of the landspeeder from the outside to the naked eye.
The old merc muttered a thoroughly nefand curse under his breath as he witnessed the results of the gun-run unfold before his eyes.
<”Lead vic’s hit!”> The remote controlled gun on the roof of their vehicle swirled around as the mercenary’s voice boomed in the comlink channel; the gun barrel snapped onto the Basilisk, as it turned gracefully in the air, coming in for another gun run.
Squeezing back the switch on the gunner’s control handle joystick of the laser cannon, Nimble let loose a winded salvo against the war droid as it maneuvered in the air for another run; the powerful bolts struck and blew over the armored plating in a white mist on the gun’s thermal camera. Leaving a faint trail of black smoke in its wake in the air, the war droid broke off from an attack formation, forced to disengage for the moment.
<”Out, out, out! I want a secure perimeter around that limo NOW!”>
Coming to a halt by the limousine shortly after the lead vehicle crashed into it, a small platoon of mercenaries clad in unmarked jet-black combat armor disembarked from their armored transports -save for their drivers, gunners and the cargo they were tasked to escort to safety and extract.
Forming a secure perimeter around the entrance to the Kimuur Building with haste, the mercenaries circled behind their vehicles amidst the incoming hailstorm of blaster fire, using both their armored transports and the black limousine their Clients owned as they repositioned themselves to accommodate for the the angles of fire their enemies possessed.
Making a mad dash towards the rear of the limousine for cover, the old merc slid behind cover as blaster bolts followed right behind him, sharing cover next to what appeared to be a man dressed in an expensive suit, holding an interchangeable weapon system in its anti-armor configuration in his hands.
<”Black Oak! Black Oak!”> He turned on his back on the ground and assumed a firing position on a low-crouch stance behind cover, as he shouted the code phrase to what he assumed to be one of the Clients he was tasked to escort out of here.
Stating their intention to the man, the old merc got to issuing orders to his man amidst the firefight.
<”Tower! Wolf! Get the woundeeed!”> Skif shouted as he peaked his head slightly over the trunk of the limousine. Acquiring a target, the man leaned to the left with his particle rifle raised to the fore, trained at an Enclave Marine. Squeezing the trigger gently, the man swiftly snapped onto a different target a moment after as the Marine fell onto his back, clutching his chest plate torn open by particle bolts.
<”Aiden! Dylan! Hold that left flank! Scalpel, tend to the injured!”>
<”Chit! We got contact on the roof of that building!”> Dipping his head behind cover as bright yellow particle bolts snapped past a mere inch away from his helmet, Dylan reported the superior position of the Mandalorian (
Kayl Krayt
) posted up on the roof of an apartment, right across from the Kimuur Building. Leaning to the side and peaking out from his cover, the kid’s particle rifle let out a long burst at an attempt to suppress the Mandalorian.
<”AAH! They’re karkin’ everywhere!”>
Ducking behind the trunk just in time, the old merc muttered a curse under his breath as the bolts slammed and bounced off the rear of the limousine.
<”We have to achieve fire superiority over them if we want to stand a chance! Pin ‘em down, lads!”>
Soon after, amidst a deafening volley from particle rifles, heavy repeaters and unmanned laser cannons alike, a wall of particle bolts would be erected between the mercs and the attacking Mandalorian elements at an attempt to buy the Clients time to regroup, reorganize and make their way towards their transportation outside.
Their time frame was limited, and narrowed with each passing moment, however. They lacked the numbers and to an extent, the firepower necessary to
truly hold back the attackers. They had to get going to their extraction point quickly, or else they risked encirclement, with avenues of escape choked under the merciless and firm grasp of the Mandalorians.
Ivory Stroud
Marcella Fiora
Cynthia Solus
Diocletian Kahmen’’a
Dominik Borra
Ket Van-Derveld
Samuel Exel
Ela Exel
Jai'galaar Gred
Jos Krayt
