Shoring Up | First Order Dominion of Anoth and Faldos

[Progflaw99]

Location: Open Air Market, Faldos
Objective: 4, Escape the Market
Post: (6)

A grimace crossed the Mandalorian's features as he felt the impact of a blaster bolt directly to his chestplate, his HUD flashing. His blaster replied, a rapid string of fire cutting the running man off from an avenue of escape. With a flare, Buruk came crashing into the ground feet first, blaster leveled at the man. With his left arm, he moved swiftly - the fear in the man's eyes glaringly obvious.

It was then that Buruk activated his cable launcher, the small dart shooting towards his target. As the cable went to work tangling the man, a smug voice behind the helmet spoke.

"It appears as if you're at the end of your rope... or I guess you could say mine."​

​

As he walked closer towards the man, he lowered the arm he'd fired the cable from, detaching as the man unceremoniously fell to the ground, blaster clattering away from Dolan's now prone form. A shout of protest began to form on the man's lips but was quickly silenced as Buruk cocked his head, aiming his blaster at the man's face.

"Now now, we wouldn't want to force my hand would we?"
​

 

[Ashin Varanin]

Objective 4
Post 6

[member="Amaya Verd"]

"Tactical, is she in range of the aft tractor beam?"

"Barely, ma'am."

"Engage."

A heavy tractor-pressor emplacement oriented on the Auli'i and hummed to life. Invisible bands of force, like and unlike magnetic fields, dragged the Mandalorian transport along and drew it close in the Shamballa's wake.

"Captain, this is the Professor. Your tractor subsystem is interfering with certain instrument packages. Deactivate it at once."

"We're rescuing a civilian ship in distress, Professor. First Order maritime law applies. I have every confidence you'll be able to adjust your data to compensate." She clicked the internal comm channel off, with extreme satisfaction that she hadn't let into her voice. "Captain Verd, we've locked onto you with a heavy tractor beam, but we're detecting heavy system strain in your transport. What's your status?"

 

[Hansen]

Emelie Sterren
Faldos Atmosphere, Smuggler Bazaar
Objective 4: Raze Smuggler Bazaar
Post: 1

Spoiler: Equi[/COLOR

pment]

• First Order Pilot Armour
• SE-44C Blaster Pistol (Matte Black, left thigh holster).
• F-11D Blaster Rifle (Matte Black, right thigh holster).
• T-7 Ion Disruptor Rifle (Stored behind seat in Cockpit, carried by sling).
• Vibro-knife (Boot Concealed).
• Parachute (Attached to Cockpit Ejection Seat).

Emelie focuses intensely the ground reaches closer to the TIE Fighter's Cockpit hands tighten around the flight controls and she speaks into her active TEAMCOM with the squadron that has deployed to support the armoured assault on the Illicit goods Bazaar and the FIV Whisperer, which as a Victory X-Class Star Destroyer had no fighter craft of its' own. Unknown to Emelie Sterren her former Squadron Commander Dietrich Bexley now found himself at the helm of that same ship as its' Captain. Emelie's Special Forces TIE Fighter passes above the Star Destroyer's bridge and bow before Emelie cracks a good-hearted mischevious smile knowing there was a 'rookie' Special Forces pilot sitting behind her. The veteran executes a complete rotation with the manipulation of pedals and one HOTAS and releases a cackle after hearing the rook's gasp. "Head in the game rook! We're going on a strafe run, make sure to hit any Surface-to-Air positions that shoot back at us now! I don't much fancy slogging it through the ground with the Stormtroopers." Emelie's left-hand reaches forward and adjusts the power-knob sitting on top of her targeting computer. Coming over the Bow and out of the roll, Emelie places a fortified 'Port Authority' building into her targeting computer's sights after but a moment it lets out a ring to alert Sterren. Emelie's thumbs depress the two red triggers and her TIE releases a burst of green lasers, they strike the building with a flash and it seemingly explodes from the inside, Emelie's hands pull the HOTAS back towards her and with a sharp breath the incredibly agile fighter reaches up into the clouds. With the Rookie firing mag rockets towards incoming projectiles, console flashes a warning and Emelie cannot help but be distracted for a moment by the sheer amount of shots her new wingman is firing. "Make sure to hit those rockets!" Emelie purposefully decelerates, firing off her reverse thrusters. The pair of rockets pursuing her steadily spiral together until exploding in a flash in front of the Wingman's eyes 'Woah!' he exclaims excitedly. "I bet they didn't teach you that one at the academy!" Emelie comments happily, banking to the left and performing a turn. Coming around quickly for another attack run.

 

[Ishana Pavanos]

Objective: Anoth
Post 10

Defenders were quite the upgrade as opposed to the shuttles, Ishana sat waiting for launch now. Fiend Squadron, or maybe Varactyl Squadron - nah, she used Varactyl when they were out over Kaeshana. She felt wrong using the name so Fiends it was. "You still recovering from your dance with the dinos?" She asked over communications with a smile, "you know what we should see if they have anything good on Faldos, you know I've go ta few friends." She always had a few good friends and a sabbac table or two to sit at. The tower comms chirped into her ear buds. Sitting upright in her chair she began the taxi process lining up her Defender per the signal corps direction.

"Fiend Squadron, prepare for launch - line on runway three."

"Copy that tower, Fiend Squadron lining on runway three," Ishana acknowledged and her professionalism took over, "Alpha Fiend check, Fiend check on line."

"Beta Fiend check."

"Gamma Fiend check."

One by one her squadron reported in, and Ishana looked at her monitors. "Tower we are green, all Fiends checking in."

"Ten-four Fiend, initiating launch sequence, three, two - you are go for take off."

TIE Defenders lit up the hangar as the runway lights flashed, the hangar bay doors opened and the deck was clear. Ishana began her take off as she pushed on her speed and looked at her numbers as the Defender gained speed, pushing on the speed again. Her defender took off without issue, the familiar scream of TIEs rushing out of the hangar could be heard as the squadron launched heading straight for danger to eliminate the pirates of this sector.

[member="Pierce Fortan III"] | [member="Daska Tess"] | [member="Nils Brenner"] | [member="Sara Lee Jones"]​

 

[Progflaw99]

Location: Open Air Market, Faldos
Objective: 4, Escape the Market
Post: (7)


Dolan's eyes shook, his head signaling his acceptance of the fact that he was no longer free - and then Buruk could see it. The anger, the frustration, no doubt the man's self preservation instinct was firing in full force. Doing a quick glance around the small intersection the two found themselves at, all he could see were strangers, quietly shuffling away, pretending they didn't see what they just had - in this town, no one wanted to get dragged into business that wasn't their own - surprising though that the man didn't have...

*BOOM!!*​

​

Buruk was rocketed off his feet, the resounding explosion sending him flying. It felt like someone had punched him in the gut and thrown him, his lungs burned, his throat hurt - his body ached. Whatever it was that had exploded had thrown a fully armored Mandalorian into the air and - *CRASH* - through the wall of a small durasteel construct. As his body tumbled through the wreckage of the wall, he put out his hands to steady himself. His HUD was a mess, several systems reporting failure, others reporting damage. Looking back up, he frantically looked around, trying to ascertain the situation - almost immediately he noted a figure atop a nearby roof wielding a small rocket tube. Down the street were two more, these ones had blasters tightly gripped as they advanced on his position. He was in for a fight - his quarry was the least of his concerns.

 

[Natasi Fortan]

Objective 1
Post 1

The village -- if you could call a collection of semi-permanent, semi-structures, gathered in one place a 'village' -- was in the wilds of Faldos, among the scrub and rocks at the base of a mountain chain near the equator. The heat was stifling, and Beka had exchanged her usual black stealth gear for something more comfortable, for today she wasn't an assassin but an arms dealer. At least, she was posing as one. The intelligence agent was on a simple mission whose ground work had been laid out for months before: pose as an arms dealer, find where the gunrunners keep their wares, then destroy them, and escape. The First Order was establishing its dominion on this world, and it wouldn't do to have the criminal element flourishing.

Beka surveyed the area from the driver's seat of her speeder. They were prefabs, some tents, and a few buildings made out of the refuse found in the desert. It was not an overly hospitable place, on first appearances, but she wasn't there to live. The village would probably be in flames by the time Beka was done here. She sighed and opened the door.

 

[Natasi Fortan]

-double post-

 

[Zmej Ren]

Objective 4
Post 2
[member="Mishel Ren"]


“I don’t care how the Jedi and their allies brand me,” admitted the golden haired knight, grinning, finding it strangely amusing, “If they think us Sith, let them.”

Truly, applying the usual methods effective against Sith and similar wouldn’t work, effectively marking the Alliance’s tactics a mistake that could birth grave consequences. Unlike their dark sided cousins, the order of Ren had something others lacked; unity. Strong and standing together, there would be no challenge too hard to overcome. If the Galactic Alliance ever realized this, it would be too late, but given the dogmatic Jedi ways rejected to see things outside of their narrow vision of reality, such scenario seemed unlikely.

Offering smile, truly a rarity to be witnessed upon her expression, Zmej gave Mishel’s idea some thought. The teenage blonde knew little concerning lightsaber crystal except for a few well-known or particularly famous, thus she pulled more information out of Mishel instead of delivering an answer.

“I am not familiar with lava crystals. Tell me what makes them special.”

There was the inquisitive edge in her voice, usually heard by captives she interrogated.

 

[LT-137]

Objective Two​

Post Five​

​

The descent was less than ideal, as they came down far too sharply and nearly stole the balance from beneath his planted feet. Amit gripped onto the railing with all his physical might, silently cursing the shuttle’s pilot for all his supposed skill. How could he have been so foolish to believe that man’s arrogant boasting? I’m the greatest pilot in the wild regions, he said. I’ve flown through the unknown space with nothing more than a busted shuttle!

Shaking his head in disbelief, the Disciple felt the surge of gravity roll through his lithe, ivory clad figure as the pilot brought the vessel through the stratosphere. Having seen the event nearly a thousand times before, the former Imperial Knight had known that the ship was engulfed in flickering atmospheric fires - cleansing its mottled surface of the corruptive touch of the void before permitting access to the surface below.

There were others that flew alongside his starship. Though they were nothing more than faint presences lingering at the edge of his consciousness, Amit could feel his brothers and sisters readying themselves for the work that was to come. Their souls were tainted by darkness, but they had shown him the way. The Knights were a force for Good, despite their methods. They knew that a heavy hand was needed to guide the errant children of the present towards a bright, and Imperial future.

So frown all he would at their deeds, whatever they may have been, the former Imperial Knight couldn’t help but feel the flickering echoes of admiration flutter through his sculpted breast. When their great work was done, perhaps then he would enlighten them to the ways of Ashla’s light - however that would have to wait. With an ever growing conflict upon the horizon and neutral world’s being scooped up by expanding Empire’s - there were those that needed to be stolen away from the violence and bathed in the radiance of Harmony.

Thus, as the landing struts had impacted the surface and the yawning maw of the boarding ramp before him slammed down, the former Imperial Knight strode forth from the crimson bathed cargo compartment and began his Knightly Quest.

 

[Ria Misrani]

Objective 4
Post 11

Thinking impulsively, it was clearly a Verd trait according to her sister Deneve Verd. Amaya didn't think this through she just did it, she just travelled half-way across the galaxy to find the answers she needed. Never thinking that the Auli'i could not withstand this kind of strain. It was her own arrogance at this point that would do her in. Jaw clenched tightly as she had a wrench in one hand, datapad in the back pocket hooked up by a harness as she tried to keep the ship together. "My status is situation all fethed up, Cap." Amaya remarked as she grunted through to try and pull the wrench down to loosen up this bolt so she could get access to a panel. Droids kept working to keep the ship going on its velocity and trajectory and normally it wouldn't have been a problem but the strain of the gravimetric distortions was pulling on the hull and Amaya could hear her ship groaning in pain.

Heat sprayed at her from a vent, "fething NERFPOODOO!"

The heat burned at her exposed flesh and she kept hold on the wrench pulling all her weight to shift it, and when it cracked she laughed hysterically. Flipping her braids back she cracked open the panel and began rewire a few things. "I'll be fine Cap, jus' need to rewire- a few- things."

[member="Ashin Karrde"]

 

[Natasi Fortan]

Objective 1
Post 2

Once again, Captain Fortan had chosen the short straw, so instead of being involved in what he was actually trained for -- and paid for -- in space combat, he was babysitting a Security Bureau asset, [member="Beka Barineker"]. Instead of his trusty TIE Fighter, he was sitting in the cockpit of a shuttle, hidden beneath anti-sensor camouflage webbing, monitoring Barineker's position using her GPS. He was in the mountains overlooking the village. At least he had [member="BB-10R2"] to keep him company.

And air conditioning. That was important.

He took a long drink from his cold water bottle and touched his earpiece. "Range test," he said. "Do you read me, Barineker?"

 

[Hansen]

FN-888
Faldos Surface, Ironhound One "Malachor",
Objective 4: Raze Smuggler Bazaar and Detain Suspects.
Post: 2

Spoiler: Equipment

• 1x FO-02 Stormtrooper Armour (Red Officer-Pauldron)
• 1x T-7 Ion Disruptor
• 1x F-11D Blaster Rifle
• 1x SE-44C Blaster Pistol
• 1x Z6 Riot Control Baton
• 1x N-20 Baradium-core thermal detonator
• 2x M1-VX "Vee Ex" Grenades
• 3x M1-NR "Nerve" Autoinjector

Joan feels a certain sense of relief to witness a TIE fighter strafing over the Bazaar's port authority, though the size of the detonation surprises her. A rocket twists through the air towards the AT-AT Walker and smashes against it above the head. Shaking Joan's footing somewhat but that was why she'd been holding onto the crew seats confidently. Helden's lips stretch into a grin and looks down over her gunner. "Heh, they're scratching your paint-job, Krayt." He grumbles something beneath his breath about 'damn pirates' before Joan points towards the source of the rocket. "Hit that building." Malachor's head inclines slightly and Joan catches a glimpse of the pair of heavy laser cannon blasts hurtling through the air into the stone homestead sending debris and rocks across the mud, the Ironguard continue to mercilessly pound away at the buildings and Joan straightens her posture. Examining the situation tactically for a moment with air support things had just become significantly easier. "All platoons, halt! Infantry prepare to dismount. All Iron assets provide covering fire." With that Joan pivots in her boots walking through the open bulkhead door into the troop deployment bay and witnesses familiar faces, or rather helmets preparing to leap down onto the Earth and deploy into action against the Pirates. Malachor comes to a halt, though with the hull side doors raising one could clearly hear the Heavy laser cannon fire even through the helmets' sound dampening. Joan walks towards Sev and makes a demand. "Sev! Tether my up! I'm going down first." Joan swings T-7 Ion Disruptor off of shoulder by sling and holds it in both hands, she walks over to the edge of hull and peers out, staring down at the muddy Earth and inwardly resigns herself that the whole Company would need to perform cleaning drills after the operation was completed. "Move the platoon forward in an arrowhead! We're taking One Section at the tip! Each Platoon is to assault the bazaar from a different direction! We'll Randezvous in the middle!" Joan screams at Sev over the sound of war, the Stormtrooper Lieutenant gives her but a silent nod, slapping the rappel line to the back of her armour before walking away and helping the other members of One and Two section prepare to rappel.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

Objective 4
Post 7

Sensor probes fountained from the Shamballa as the science frigate reached the midpoint between the two large fragments of Anoth. Gravimetric distortions dragged the probes away on odd and doomed trajectories. For the next handful of minutes, the modified civilian probes would transmit tightbeam data pulses to the Shamballa, right up until the moment that the probes impacted the craggy planetary fragments.

The Shamballa's engines roared as they fought against gravity. Like everything else on this boat, they were civilian-grade. Though that tended to throw off Ajira's instincts, her navigator had pre-calculated the necessary thrust, and Ops had assessed potential system strain as acceptable. The frigate slipped out from between the planetary fragments like a melon seed squeezed between two fingers.

"Tractor status?"

"Connection holding. We've still got the Mandalorian ship, ma'am."

"Captain Verd, this is Captain Karrde again. We're about to emerge from the distortion. Because of your damage, our navigator will maneuver to dock with you via force cylinder. Once you come aboard, I'll have one of my crewers take you to my briefing room or a medical bay as you see fit. I'll be with you shortly."

 

[Progflaw99]

Anoth Sector, Anoth​

Approaching the planetary body​

Status: Launch​

Post (8)​

​

The scream of the engines, the rush as the G forces pressed Nils into his seat - those were the things he lived for, at least as far as his profession was concerned. The pilot had purposefully dampened the effectiveness of his inertial dampners, he liked to feel his flying, not simply manipulate controls, if he'd wanted that he would have been a drone pilot. As Nils and Sheikh Squadron rocketed out from the hangar of their carrier ship, his scanners had already pinged several energy signatures lurking near the smallest of the three chunks of rock that constituted Anoth.

They weren't Alliance ships, and they weren't First Order vessels, that was for certain but what were they exactly? The frequent static charges as the two giant plates of earth crashed together prevented Nils from identifying anything further - they would have to get closer.

:: Fiend Squadron, take point. We need to get in close, heads up on energy signatures at coordinates X-Z-2 and L-N-3. Unknown Bogeys. :: ​

​

[member="Daska Tess"] | [member="Ishana Pavanos"] | [member="Pierce Fortan III"] | [member="Sara Lee Jones"]​

 

[Progflaw99]

Location: Open Air Market, Faldos
Objective: 4, Escape the Market
Post: (9)

Before he'd even been able to rise to his feet, the mercenaries advancing on his position had picked him out of the rubble, the blaster rifles bucking in their hands as they unleashed a torrent of fire towards the hole in the wall. The choice had been easy, Buruk had rolled to his right, taking a brief respite behind what remained of the structure, but he had to act quickly. Lucky for him, he always came prepared, the small holdout blaster strapped to his thigh quickly finding it's way into his hands. Reaching up and giving his helmet a solid smack, his HUD began functioning again, the flickering had been driving him insane.

Now able to focus on the situation he grit his teeth. Soon they would be upon him, and as he gathered himself he found his instincts correct. Even now he could hear the voices of the two Trandoshans speaking to each other, their language one Buruk found himself familiar with. Their Clan Alor had at one time been a Trandoshan, a hunter, and they had learned well from each other - well enough that Buruk had a pretty good idea of what tactics they were about to use. He wouldn't give them a chance.

Diving from behind the wall, he lined up two crisp shots at each, the small holdout blaster rapidly heating up as he fired.

*Pew pew, Pew pew*​

​

Shocked expressions, or what he imagined them to be, creased the reptilian's faces as they soaked up the blaster bolts and dropped to the earth as Buruk slid across the ground. He issued forth a grunt as he turned the slide into a roll and came up on a knee. The only threat to take care of now was that merc with a rocket tube.

 

[Natasi Fortan]

Objective 1
Post 3

A touch of static licked at her ear. She had a stealth communications implant that allowed her to speak and hear without a physical earpiece or microphone visible. She cast her eyes around the outskirts of town. It was nearly midday, so the village seemed buzzing, in a lazy, hick-town sort of way. At any rate, nobody was looking at Beka yet, and no one was within earshot. "Affirmative, Captain," she replied. "We're rated for ten kilometers, and I'm not getting any interference from jammers. But stay alert."

She strolled into the village, and as soon as she came within view, she felt eyes on her. These people were all criminals, so newcomers would naturally be seen with some measure of suspicion. But she walked with purpose towards the center of the town. Someone approached her, and she was surprised to see it was a child of about seven or eight. "Newmem! Newmem! Creds, newmem!" Beka surveyed the child as she walked; the child followed with hands outstretched. "Creds, newmem!"

Normally, Beka felt some measure of compassion for the less fortunate, but in this instance, she was the hard-boiled arms dealer Saphira von Portello -- no time for compassion. She dug into her pocket and flung a few credit chits into the street. "Begone," she snapped.

 

[Mishel Kryze]

Objective 4
Post 12

"This is why sister Ara says you have issues, Zmej." Mishel responded as she looked at the blonde hair knight quietly, "also you're out of hair conditioner." She mentioned out of the side of her mouth while she pulled up the information on the lava crystals. "You recall I put an inceration crystal into this lightsaber." She pointed as if Zmej couldn't see it, "the lava crystal is what Ara would say, upgrade!" The teen pulled through her datapad, "it's only found on Mustafar I didn't have time for finding crystals but I am trying to track a crystal dealer on Faldos." A pause as she pressed her finger to the pad, "so according to this Jedi... Jorus Merrill, the lava crystal can cause anomalies in blade composition and structure such that blade plasma can drip and splash out of the containment field."

"I'd like to build a lightsaber with this crystal and work with it, but then there's this luxum crystal that must be formed through prolonged meditation at Lake Natth on Ambria, which is all the way over here." She brought up a map of the galaxy, rather a mini map of it. "It is heavily imbued with the dark side, blade causes electrical/ion damage making it especially potent against droids. That could be useful, do you think we could assemble a few weapons with it? Other than a lightsaber of course."

[member="Zmej Ren"]

 

[LT-137]

Objective Two​

Post Six​

​

​

Spicing every breath with the sweet cinnamon scent of corruption, Amit departed the shuttle and had been immediately swept up in a dry gust of wind. This world smelled heavily of humanoid filth, and the refuse they left behind wherever they went. The stench of decay was palpable and caused the Knight to recoil in surprise with a cough. As fast as his corporeal form would permit, the former Imperial Knight tugged on the bridge of his mask, shrouding the lower portions of his face and denying himself the so-called pleasure of breathing in a mouthful of aetheric sin.

With the covering in place, Amit’s hand had drifted ever higher and secured the black sackcloth that bound itself around his eyes. He could feel the bonds that entwined themselves about the back of his head were coming loose, as the winds sought to steal the ebony fabric from his flesh. Though no-one had dared to say that his disfigurement had caused them discomfort, the former Imperial Knight was more than capable of reading a person’s aura - and knew the truth behind their honeyed lies. So, as he sought to find himself free of projected unease, he bound his eyes in a torn section of his obsidian training robes. A token of loyalty to the Order, despite his fashionable, flesh-spare attire.

Pushing the cowl that sought to engulf his face in shadow back, with the very hand that had brought his mask and topknot into perspective prominence, Amit felt the despoiled light of the system’s star fall upon his closely shaven scalp. It was warm, as he had expected, but carried with it the promise of burning him alive should he remain under its uncaring gaze for too long. Bringing forth yet another thought that had caused his hidden lips to curl into an unpleasant frown, the former Imperial Knight pressed on - seeking to widen the gap between himself and the distant dropship.

He was certain that there were people within the settlement upon the horizon that had seen him make his descent and marked him out as a possible threat, but that was of little concern. His goal would be to approach the walled settlement on foot with open arms. Those within would then be given a choice. To either cast off their wicked ways and immerse themselves in the Illumination of the Imperial Truth, or to submit to his brothers and sisters. The latter would most likely be the path that they’d choose to walk, but - he secretly hoped that they’d choose the former instead - so that their lives would be spared and that they’d continue to live on, enjoying the all of the wonders this Galaxy had yet to reveal.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

Objective 4
Post 8

Once both vessels cleared Anoth's gravimetric turbulence and settled into high orbit, [member="Amaya Verd"] would be able to exit her damaged ship via force cylinder and board the Shamballa. It would become clear to her that the science frigate was not a military ship: a good fraction of those aboard wore soft off-white uniforms, and the rest were clearly academics. The latter comprised four professors of various grades, a dozen postdocs, numerous grad students and undergrads, all physicists of one brand or another.

The briefing room, likewise, wouldn't have been out of place at an upscale university. Available refreshments included ice water, caf, small baked goods, and a fruit platter. The chef had picked up quite a bit of exotic fresh fruit during shore leave at Sor Yusan on Varada Five.

A few minutes after Amaya entered the briefing room, Ashin bustled in. "Sorry for the wait," she said, closing the door firmly behind her. She set a small piece of electronics on the table and pressed a button without explanation. "So Ajira Cardei of Theed Hangar left you some kind of bequest when she retired, did she? You should know that I'm one of several clones of Grand Admiral Ashin Cardé Varanin. One of the benefits of flying on a ship full of academics is access to research. It seems that my genetic donor and Ajira Cardei were second cousins. A few other points of interest turned up as well, so I might be able to answer some of your questions."

 

[Hansen]

Thalera Isianthar
Faldos Orbit, FIV Ashira, Bridge.
Objective 4: Engage Smuggler Vessels.
Post: 2

Thalera's lips curl inwardly in thought as one of the freighters is torn apart. One ship attempts to jump away but is pulled from hyperspace in an astonishing aurora or colour which leaves even the seasoned colonel in shock for a moment, such beauty reminds Thalera of home. Back in the good old days when Kaeshana wasn't just a molten pile of slag and radioactive debris. How their people had sacrificed so much. Thalera points at the ship pulled out of Hyperspace. "Engage tractor beams on that target!" The Corvette finds itself trapped between two tractor beam projectors just off of the bow of the FIV Ashira, and Thalera's fingers curl into a tight fist for the weapons officer to see. It makes her next order irrelevant he understood although Thalera was weary about trusting in the reasoning skills of Human men of all things. "Destroy that unregistered corvette." The fore turbolaser batteries depress and traverse, smashing the vessel's durasteel hull. One emerald spear thrusts through the vessel's hypermatter annihilation reactor. And after a few brief explosions along the hull's superstructure, it splits apart in a glorious explosion before Thalera's satisfied gaze. "Good work! Interia, starboard. Shift gravity well bearings to stop those pirate corvettes from escaping!" Thalera retasks her crew and the FIV Ashira turns steadily to the right to and the turbolaser batteries search for the closest pirate corvette. Smugglers were but a symptom of a much larger problem; Organised crime and piracy, to her smugglers, were the least damaging of Faldos's many unlawful denizens. Thalera rationalised that Smugglers simply sold goods stolen and seized by pirates, to get rid of the problem you had to attack the route and here that is piracy to her. One could easily conclude that part of this prejudice is rooted in the Eldorai's struggle against marauders and pirates following the Cataclysm. Something then unexpected happens, the pirate corvettes turn to face the FIV Ashira. Thalera's eyes widen for a moment. "Weapons! Report!" Thalera demands, glancing back and forth between her crew members and the view provided by the Tansparisteel glass; Three Pirate Corvettes accelerating towards the lone Ashira and splitting to engage fore, starboard and port sides. Thalera could see that they were doing; Splitting the Ashira's gravity well and tractor beam projectors either in an attempt to get some ships to escape or do some real damage to her ship. Neither she could allow.