After the initial dropping of the two-hundred fifty-seventh into the streets, the streets had become increasingly stark and quiet. Save for the sound of fire crackling and the heat that radiated from the ruins surrounding the legion, it was silent. Reports came in of perimeters being set, advanced squads delving in to engage with the Helgardi and Sith. Effectively kill squads as the rest of the New Imperial forces descended upon the world. Over head, floodlights from dropships could be seen, attempting to cut through the thick smoke in search of a secure landing zone.
"
Get some flares up," the Knight Errant ordered, nodding back to one of the barely decorated stormtroopers. As he passed him, cracking the flare that burst to life in green light, Ragnar could read the etched in designation numbers.
BN-321, BN-345, BN-117. He recognized them of course. He had fought alongside many of them while the battle raged on Bastion.
How had they gotten so far from home?
The thick smoke generators from the flare spewed out, flooding their immediate proximity with green smoke, and he waved the unit onwards.
This was revenge, punishment, retribution on the Sith... Whatever name they wanted to call it, this was it for them. In the aftermath of Bastion, he had quickly learned that the 257th was a green legion, marshaling forces for weeks in the wake of Dantooine's defeat. The vast majority of the legion hadn't even seen battle, stationed on Bastion, they got their final ready check when the Sith Empire's invasion force arrived. Thousands of those they had come up with in the Corps, dead by the end of the battle. The remnants? Sought combat if they were still of sound mind.
After a few minutes of marching through the silent streets, Ragnar raised his arm into a fist, the stormtroopers instantly raising their rifles around at the signal to stop. Angles were taken up. The buildings were densely packed, it was hard to maneuver a large sized force through the streets. Ragnar's danger sense tingled, whispering of the impending danger.
The turbolaser fire that had rained from the sky had since stopped once the invading force had entered the city -- reserved for clearing the path for them, now that they were establishing beachheads within the perimeter of the walls, the hateful fury of the orbiting Star Destroyers came to an end.
"
If only they could light up the rest of the night," Ragnar mutters in his hoarse voice. It felt like there were a million eyes on them. On the peripheries of his vision he could see movement, he figured the stormtroopers did too as some of their muzzles tracked the moving silhouettes before they vanished behind some form of cover.
Abruptly, his danger sense screeched --
"
Watch out!"
A heavy crash hit the street, and along the side of the road, Ragnar started to turn about, just as he took what felt like a club crashed into the side of his ribs. Keeling over, he stumbled into the middle of the street, closer to the towering Helgardi. Favoured by the Force, the native warrior was occupied with the stormtroopers firing on him. The aliens shoulder-mounted blaster already active, it began firing in response, blaster rifles in both hands, hosing down his platoon as he rose back to his feet. From the shadows of the alley that he had been standing by, the towering Helgardi stomped out, no weapon in sight save for its fists. Even for the ugly bastards, it looked like it was haggard, abruptly woken up in the dead of night. Solely for the fact that it was shirtless, unarmoured, and unarmed.
There'd be no honour gained in todays battle.
But I'll make it quick nonetheless. Shuffling backwards as the second helgardi rushed him, with a shove of his hand, the Force answered the summoning and the invisible mystical energy held the helgardi back as if restraining him. Digits splayed out, they slowly began to curl inwards to his palm, squeezing the very being of the alien as his saberstaff snapped back to his free hand, and he jammed the top ends emitter against its chin.
SNAP-HISS.
The silver coloured saber sprouted to life as normal as ever, burning through the back of the aliens head. Collapsing to the ground, Ragnar finally relinquished his stranglehold on the Force, and the corpse slumped into itself, dead. Spinning back around to find the first Helgardi already on its knees in its death throes, a trio of stormtroopers laid unmoving on the ground, another crawling away from the dying aliens grasp. Too slow, the heavy fists of the alien slammed down into the stormtroopers helmet, caving it in as the helgardi collapsed on top of the corpse. In the following moments, there was just silence, stormtroopers staring at the hulking mass of flesh and muscle that had ambushed them.
Panting heavily, saberstaff swinging around his body to point down the street -- the direction they had been going in. "
Remember the mission. No hesitation." There was no saying what the stormtroopers felt, not really, but internally, he couldn't help but to beg the question.
What's the difference between them and us, on Bastion? Nostrils flaring as his features contorted into a snarl. He fought the insolence that made its face known. He was a Knight Errant, and didn't possess the title, nor the experience to question orders... To question the morality of them.
On appearance alone, he doubted his questions would be entertained.
Shocked back to reality by the sound of the marching steps of the Corps, he nodded his head in an attempt to clear his mind. "
Darkness is ahead... We will face it head on." They hadn't come across the forces of the Sith Empire yet. Undoubtedly they would, the world was too close to the rest of the ancient Sith homeworlds, for this mass invading force to be disregarded.
Hundreds of metres above, he caught sight of the Corvettes that flew overhead. Under the command of
Savoh Muska as the transmission said, Ragnar was wary of the corvettes, but they were a boon that could not be denied. "
Hm." Thoughtfully humming, his focus was once more brought to the road ahead, and delved deeper into the city.
The reports that he was beginning to hear from advanced units was... Interesting. The Sith's legionnaires were engaging with the Helgardi? That'd make the stormtroopers job all that more easier.
Helgard Awaits.
