Smoke On The Water [Galactic Alliance Dominion of Bestine]

[Shar'tala]

[2]


DJ Jam Wizard put the water bottle down. The advert for Fruity Oaty Bars was winding down, its hypnotic jingle echoing through the studio. Fruity Oaty Bar was a serious backer of freedom, their commercials running after nearly hour long 'Rock Block' on the station.



Welcome back Alliance faithful! We've got Tsar from Sullust on the line. Tsar, whats going on my sentient? How's everything back in the old lava fields?


Am I actually on air? Like, live?


Tsar, you my friend are broadcasting to all free ears in the 'verse. How about that?


Wizard!!Hey...uh...DJ Jam Wizard, could I request a song for my friends? We're real bored out here on Sullust.


So what do you crazy cats do on Sullust?


Mechanics for the Galactic Alliance. We listen to Galactic Alliance Radio constantly.....but yeah, uh...request....uh, something by Bowie? To get us through.


Tsar, thanks for your service to the cause of freedom. You're keeping up the good fight and guess what? Lets turn your request into a Twofer. Where you hear freedom first?


Galactic Alliance Radio!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-_30HA7rec



Ladies and sentients of the Galactic Alliance, I hate to break your Twofer apart but we've gotten word of a skirmish in the Bestine system. We'll keep you updated as we know more. Remember, Galactic Alliance Radio is your number one source for freedom. Now, back to our Twofer....




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4d7Wp9kKjA

 

[Nubica Felidae]

Post=[6/20]​

Objective: Rid Bestine of those scurvy knaves
Allies: tbc
Enemies: Pirates, standard brief…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mvKhUUcLB0

Pulling back on the yoke, Nubica brought her nose up and spitted the DIE-wing on the crosshairs. The ugly began a roll, so Nubica matched him and tightened up on the trigger. Green laser-bolts slashed at one of the Y-wings, but the ugly flashed on past beneath her. Nubica prepared to invert and loop, but a hail of angry red laser-bolts sliced across her flight path.

"What? Who?" She kicked the squint up on its right wing, wrenched the wheel right, and tugged back on the yoke. The manoeuvre pulled her sharply out of line with her previous course, but she wasn't content with just doing that. She broke again, to port and up, then searched her scanner monitor for whomever had shot at her.

The scanners reported two ships, both of them reconditioned X-wings. "What's going on here?"

"We have two hostiles. X-wings. It was an ambush. Engage and terminate."

Ambush me, will you? Nubica translated her outrage into fluid manoeuvring. Cutting and jumping, she bounced her ship through a series of jukes that shook the X-wings from her tail and brought her around on the DIE-wing. Without really thinking about it, she pumped laser-fire into the ugly's ball cockpit, then pulled up and away as the misbegotten fighter exploded.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Meeristali Peradun"]
[member="Tionne Thanewulf"]

Objective A

Jacen was zoned out to the point of barely registering the words the pair exchanged. As they stood up, the scarred Felacatian heaved the redhead into the air. Throwing a good fifty kilos of Jedi, plus maybe ten more of weaponry, equipment and armour like that betrayed a phenomenal strength that had to be enhanced by the Force or technology. At the sound of glass breaking, he let out one last breath. Time seemed to slow as he rolled around the smouldering chunk of duracrete.

The Force was guiding his actions so that by the time the stock of the rifle nestled into his shoulder he was already sighted on the enemy. With his mind entrenched in the Force the next fraction of a second seemed to stretch out, allowing him to settle his aim. He fired once, then again, and a final time. His thumb brushed the catch onto three round burst and he let out a few more bursts of fire. Where his eyes failed him, the Force told him the repeater nest had been brought down. He was about to fire a grenade, when he heard Tionne over the comm.

He turned back into cover, one finger going to his ear. Time seemed to return back to its usual pace and the din of battle once again offended his senses. "Repeat that!" he shouted. "Hold fire?" Damnit Thanewolf don't mumble over the battle network when we're under the fire, he thought to himself.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

[member="Graaf Zalec"]
Obj. : Underwater


It was impossible to see anything in the azure waves past a certain depth. Prefabricated structures sunk so far, became a shadow, then disappeared from view completely to only become bubbles breaking the surface. The good Doctor seemed to be directing things well below on his medical bay. Judah considered it an amazing stroke of luck that a aquatic species and Doctor was on hand to personally oversee the operations at this point. He was mostly clueless when it came to these things, relying on aides or experts in various fields to do their work.


He wasn't so foolish to think he had all the answers.


"Doctor Zalec, progress seems....slow but steady. The surf is kicking up and the waves are getting choppy, bound to slow our progress down slightly. Do you require more droids? I do have a few crew up here that are aquatic sentients. Might be able to help you oversee the process further."

 

[Grrwunhoooll Agaburry]

Location: Unda the Sea!
Objective C
Allies: [member="Judah Dashiell"]
3/20

" Slow an steady wins the race eh. How close are you to me? Because to be honest i am getting kinda hungry." he spoke into the comm as he drifted in a current. Getting the Med bay built was not gonna happen over night and Graaf was not going to direct droids all day. Even now his stomach rumbled slightly as he thought about a nice steak. As the current of the sea took him away from the construction site the karkarodon looked around noticing droid parts at the bottom of the ocean floor.

With a squint Dr.Zalec examined the parts closely and looked around more. " Mmm." he growled lightly to himself. If something was happening to the construction droids that would explain why things were going slower than normal.

Speaking into his comm Graaf snarled. " Theirs droid parts down here. Could of been wild life but I think I'll take some mor.." he paused as he watched a small aquatic speeder habor several other species. An aggressive roar erupted from Graaf as blaster the pirates began attacking the construction droids.

" I hope you have some combat ready troops with you." he grumbled as he vigorously swam with powerful movements to stop the pirates.

[member="Judah Dashiell"]

 

[Alasdair Sitra]

Objective: Where thar be fighters, thar be the Reds.
Post1/20
[member="Nubica Felidae"] [member="Dax Ragnar"] [member="Odelia Starchaser"] [member="James Justice"] [member="Sophia Walsh"] [member="Sven Tolen"] [member="Coren Starchaser"] [member="Tionne Thanewulf"] (Because you loves the Dex)

There had always been one thing that the Reds were good at.
Rocking up to the party exactly when they were needed.

The first sign of the Galactic Alliance’s X-Wing squadron was the four uglies that simultaneously exploded when the formation lanced through the pirate positions and nearly seemed to plumet into the seas of Bestine itself. Waves of water kicking up as the ships maintained formation to come beneath the main bulk of the pirate forces that were hovering around the platforms.

“Commander Starchaser. I believe you called.” Dex said with a smirk. “Okay Red Group you know what to do.” As one the entire squadron pulled up into a perfect vertical ascent that led them straight at the pirate force’s exposed underbellies. “Now!”

The squadron split, each picking their targets and preparing to stick with them. Dex found a pirate flying around in what seemed to have once been a TIE-fighter, it made him an easy target, just like the sims, just like—

—A Stardestroyer, flames, darkness and pain —

—Dex shook his head as he released the enemy fighter had scattered off to his left leaving him open and targetless. “Damn it.” Pulling the craft back around he lined her up and released several shots which clipped the mock wing and took the ship spinning in a fireball towards the surface of the ocean below.

 

[Nubica Felidae]

Post=[7/20]​

Objective: Rid Bestine of those scurvy knaves
Allies: tbc
Enemies: Pirates, standard brief…eye-patches, wooden-legs, you know the stuff…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Vywhf7cF7Q

Two on one — same odds she’d had all day. Despite that hasty assessment, she knew the odds were actually quite different in this battle. The two X-wing pilots seemed determined to operate together. They flew in tight formation and seemed familiar enough with each other that he wasn't so much fighting two foes as one meta-foe.

The X-wings came around on a vector that brought them straight at her. Nubica knew head-to-head passes were the most deadly in dogfighting, and given the enemy's superiority of numbers, he had no intention of engaging in such a duel. She cut his throttle back and dove at a slight angle so she would pass beneath their incoming vector. They made a slight adjustment in their courses, apparently content to get a passing deflection shot. Nubica then goosed her throttle forward, forcing them to sharpen their dives, yet before they could get a good shot at her, she had passed beneath them and had started up again.

One X-wing inverted and pulled up through a loop to drop on her tail while the other broke the other way. The second X-wing's looped out and away from her ship, momentarily splitting the two fighters. She instinctively knew the second pilot had made a mistake and instantly acted to make the most of it. Cutting her throttle back, she turned hard to starboard and then back again to port.

 

[Meeristali Peradun]

Objective A: Accost ringleaders; snag H'kig Book of Laws
Location: In da streetz
Allies: [member="Jacen Voidstalker"] | [member="Tionne Thanewulf"] | The Galactic Alliance
Enemies: H'kig Radicals
Post: 3/20

While the Marshall experienced difficulties in hearing the muttering from the redhead, low speak that was interlaced with comm static that was expected in any instance of a warzone, the hearing of a Felacatian was keener than what Jacen could manage; Meeristali had experience separating speech from interference, and picking up softer voices as clear as a bell.

"Minefield," he said, piping up enough for the Hounds' leader to hear as he hunkered back down against the wall, resuming his prior crouch, "She said 'minefield', and if I had to guess, the muttering was because she doesn't mean 'minefield', but 'suicidal extremists' that are in the room with her."

Thanewulf wasn't known to be soft-spoken, in his limited experience. He cracked a morbid smile.

"Game plan, Jace?" He queried, "My only suggestions are collapsing the building, which by now is bound to have a few critical shatterpoints, or..." that morbid smile took on some tooth, "...I shift and go scare the dinner out of 'em."

He was nothing if not creative.

"I defer to you, of course."

 

[Connor Harrison]

Objective: B – Fleet
Location: Take out pirates.
Allies Up Above: The Galactic Alliance - [member="Nubica Felidae"] | [member="Coren Starchaser"] | [member="Odelia Starchaser"] | [member="Sven Tolen"] | [member="Dex Bastion"] | [member="Tionne Thanewulf"]
Enemies: Space Pirates
Post: #3 / 20

Another voice Dax didn’t recognise came over the signal, obviously a commander of Red Group – was that who Dax was with? He really needed to make some introductions soon; he was acting almost like a gun-for-hire flying beside the Alliance when he really should be a part of it.

Flipping his switch on the dash, the pilot gripped the yolk with his left hand and prepared a proton with the other, flying around looking for a target on the ground to put a spanner in their works. A flurry of blaster bolts streamed by, and the ship shuddered.

Glancing out his viewport, Dax pulled back hard and right to spin the T-70 in an evasive manoeuvre which required a quick reflex to regain control once the roll had been completed. He had it, and pushed hard after the chasing TIE, now trying to go around again for another hit.

Preparing his trigger finger, Dax fired a good number of blasts which took the craft apart, spinning wildly into nothing but a fireball. Nodding to himself, it was now time to send a shockwave to the ground forces of these pirates. He looked over the side of his fighter for a sign of ground-to-air fire from the enemy, and noted a mounted launcher beside the docks.

The proton torpedo would make short work of that installment.

 

[Nubica Felidae]

Post=[8/20]​

Objective: Rid Bestine of those scurvy knaves
Allies: tbc
Enemies: Pirates, people who say 'arrrrr' a lot

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCdNRPmCv9s

Nubica's sine-wave manoeuvre brought her back on course, but the X-wing that had been following her now hung up and out in front of her. The X-wing's pilot had continued on his course, assuming she had been trying to evade him. It wasn't until he shot past her and she dropped into his aft arc that he realised his error.
Nubica throttled up and closed with the X-wing. You're mine now, she thought, all because your buddy made a mistake. She pushed her ship in to point-blank range and started to fire.

Suddenly something exploded behind her, pitching her forward. She slammed hard into the steering yoke, driving the breath from her lungs. Her chest burned as she tried in vain to catch her breath. She waited for the pain in her chest and the fire in her lungs to consume her, but those sensations dulled, and his ability to focus on them eroded — as the Force allowed her mind to retrain its attention back on the pirates.

 

[Zonia Kalranoos]

Objective: Steal H'kig book of laws
Location: H'kig sanctuary
Allies: [member="Jacen Voidstalker"] [member="Meeristali Peradun"]
Enemies: Dem radicals
Post: 4/20

"Do not attempt extraction. Proceed." the redhead now voiced clearly into the comm. Voidstalker had effectively removed the direct threat, the Hound duo could move forward to their target. This minor delay would be dealt with, mentalist style. Tionne placed the hilt of her saber on the floor, then stood up with hands raised in the air. The Galandan just glared at her, his black beady eyes narrowed into a dismal scowl. His clawed finger was on the trigger of his explosive vest, ready to be pressed at slightest provocation. He was ready to send both himself and this misplaced Jedi into oblivion, for the purpose of religion solely. Where did the peaceful ways of H'kig vanish, the high morals of his teachings? How did peaceful monks transform into blood-thirsty zealots? There was something amiss.

"I'm not going to hurt you." the redhead spoke softly and motioned towards the detonator - "You should give me that."
Force persuasion was a mighty weapon in the hands of an experienced mentalist. However, breaking the will of a fanatic will prove much harder than usual. Galandans were not susceptible to any kind of mental trickery, their minds impermeable to Tionne's will. Thanewulf knew most species who were immune to mind tricks, per her xenobilogy degree, but not all. Unexpectedly, the Galandan remained unphased by her proposition. Instead, he moved closer to the ginger-haired Jedi, as if trying to make sure she was close enough to be killed by the blast.

"You don't want to push that button." Her words instigated no reaction in the near-human now standing beside her. His free hand grabbed her by the neck firmly, claws digging into her skin as if trying to rip out her arteries.
"Jedi scum." the Galandan growled, an eerie glow in his orbs. The frequency of scintillation was all too familiar to the red-haired Jedi. Dark side.

"Run." she grunted into the comm, grey eyes widening. "Run!"

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

1/20
Objective B: Repaying A Favour

A corvette broke hyperspace at the edge of the Bestine system.

On board was Valiens Nantaris and the Freespace Rangers, an anti-slavery group aligned with the Coalition. However, as the Alliance had provided aid recently to them, Nantaris had offered his services to assist the operation on Bestine.

So now as he neared orbit he sent out an open hail on the Alliance channels.

“This is Valiens Nantaris on behalf of the Coalition. What is the situation, and does anyone need support?”

He’d deployed his squadron of fighters too, just in case anyone was willing to try and pounce.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Tionne Thanewulf"]
[member="Meeristali Peradun"]

"Alright, we leave it with Thanewulf," Jacen said to Meeristali upon hearing her first call over the comm. The repeater was down, but there was still a winding street full of obstacles and more guerillas ahead of them. "Jedi heading straight up the straight, watch your fire," he called into the battlenet. There were several Alliance commandos moving up the edges of the street and through buildings on either side of them. Always a bad idea to charge off without mentioning it first. This were veterans fighting alongside them. Professionals who were fresh to the fight, Jacen wasn't too concerned about a blue on blue. It was when he had to fight beside eighteen year olds who were half way through a seventy two hour mission following a week of marching that he become most concerned about a bolt to the back.

"Front and centre then," he said to his companion with a nod. His rifle was already being clicked into place on the magnetic holster across his back. Saber in hand he leapt over the half-destroyed wall and onto the open street. With a snap-hiss his golden blade came to life and snatched three bolts out of the air in quick succession. He could sense the sudden shift in the mind's of their opponents as the lightsaber came into view. The two rebels prone behind on overturned airspeeder ahead couldn't hide from his senses. As they moved to ambush him tight bladework kept the bolts at bay. One swipe tore a rifle in half. It was followed by a short side hope forwards and an upwards swing that removed hand and weapon from the second together. Perhaps less fanatical than the individuals Tionne had found, both dropped and surrendered.

"Run." she grunted into the comm, grey eyes widening. "Run!"​

"Tionne, what's going on?" he called, his saber still moving through the air in a tight pattern of defensive bladework.

 

[Nubica Felidae]

Post=[9/20]​

Objective: Rid Bestine of those scurvy knaves
Allies: tbc
Enemies: Anyone flying the black flag…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27mB8verLK8

She was suddenly aware that a dozen enemies screamed down at them with lasers blazing — eight or nine of them concentrating fire on her own ship. She returned fire with her lasers but mostly concentrated on evasive manoeuvring. She juked and jinked from side to side, set her ship into an axial rotation to constantly change the image she offered to enemy light-boards, and fired by reflex as targets presented themselves.

She saw her lasers shear through one incoming ship and stitch scoring marks on the fuselage of a second. She felt her own craft shudder as lasers hammered at her fuselage. Then she was past the diving wave of enemies, seeing them — seven, not twelve — turn in her wake and follow. Behind her, three colleagues followed in very loose formation.

Ahead of her flight path at several thousand meters was another blip, diffusing into a new squad of foes.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

6/20
Obj: Space

[member="Sven Tolen"] [member="Dax Ragnar"] [member="Nubica Felidae"]

Coren saw the fighter, the one that was a new Tiburon come onto his wing and he grinned. Pushing the throttle to full, he figured that Fox could keep up. Firing his turrets out at the uglies coming in, Coren was going to be ducking down, pulling the fighters and Fox could go do his thing.

“Going to break down, pull the fighters with me. Get in behind them.” Was the order coming across. “Three, two, one. Break.” Pulling his throttle down, Coren fired a few ion bolts at the fighters before pulling a half airleon roll to take a shot on his shields before diving, turrets coaxing the starfighters to come after him. When he was facing 90 degrees, or there abouts, from his former flight path, he pushed the thrusters again.

The YT-2000 pushed forward and the roar was welcoming to Coren. He looked in his scopes to see if he had a tail, but was pushing hard.

They’d have to break these pirates somehow.

 

[Cambria Zadira]

Objective: B - Aid GA in liberating Bestine IV
Location: Space
Allies: [member="Valiens Nantaris"], GA pilots [member="Coren Starchaser"] [member="Sven Tolen"] [member="Dax Ragnar"] [member="Nubica Felidae"]
Post: 1/20

Pirates... Oh how the Twi'lek Guardian loathed them. They were just as bad as the Hutts when it came to slavery, but that was neither here nor there. The Galactic Alliance was routing them out of Bestine, which was a just cause, and the Silver Sanctum Coalition was here to give support. The Light-sided factions often allied with one another. This was one of those times.

Cambria feathered the controls on her Jedi starfighter, then shot out of the hangar of the SSC Liberator along with the Freespace Ranger squadron; the thirteenth starfighter of the Freedom Fighters to deploy from the corvette under the command of Jedi Master Valiens Nantaris.

< "Freedom Thirteen moving to engage pirate fighters," > Bri keyed over the comm unit with her thick Twi'lek accent heavily distorted, then the blue-skinned Jedi Ace inverted and dove down to help break up the pirates duking it out the the GA fighters.

 

[Odelia Starchaser]

[SIZE=12pt]Objective 2[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Allies: [member="Coren Starchaser"] [member="Dax Ragnar"] [member="Nubica Felidae"] [member="Tachon Zur-Ksi"] [member="Sophia Walsh"] [member="James Justice"][/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]3/20[/SIZE]

Odi followed Coren and when the word was given she broke to the right and then pulled the trigger on the fighters that cascaded downwards after her brother. The targeting system hummed with activity giving off the soft tones of being locked on. The trouble with some fighters they stayed in those tiny groups thinking they had fire power on their side, truth was it made them targets, get the one in the middle it could take out the other with him.

She said very little as she worked along, the idea to get the pirates. Pirates. She had her fair share of dealing with them when Home came into their contact. She had little love for them, but there were a few among them that could be considered honorable thieves.

 

[Judah Lesan]

Objective: A
Location: Ground
Allies: [member="Jacen Voidstalker"] | [member="Tionne Thanewulf"] | [member="Meeristali Peradun"]
Post: 1/20

Judah found himself working with the Galactic Alaiance at the moment. When the Techno Union took Naboo, Judah and his wife, [member="Katara Starkos"], found themselves leaving. Their son JJ had been intstrumamental in helping them make the decision. Seeing that he was traveling the Galaxy with a ranger reminded the two of their younger days when they had done similar things. The Jedi Sentinal and his bride were players again in the Galaxy, and now news had reached them of possible plans for Corellia. Judah was motivated again.

He was on one of the islands dealing with radicals. The book of law was needing protection, kept out of the wrong hands. For a time Judah had been trailing a few Jedi, but kept his distance. He helped from the shadows where he could, his aura masked from them. The shadow was always one to remain hidden. He liked working alone when not with his bride, or his best friend @Cambira Zadira. She was likely in the space battle, where Judah would have been if not for gifting his fighter to his son.

It was time to let the others know he was there. Dropping his mask, Judah stepped out of hiding and opted to aid the fight going on. Igniting his twin sapphire sabers, Judah deflected a few bolts sent his way. He nodded to the two men that he was bound to fight along side.

"Gentlemen, tell me where you want me."

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

[member="Cambria Zadira"]
2/20
B: Engage the pirates.

Nantaris nodded as his team’s newest addition headed into action.

“Alright, let’s move in. Cambria, be careful and stay near us until the pirates have sprung their trap.”

The Liberator had powerful weaponry and the fighters were more than capable but he didn’t want to blunder into an entire fleet of pirates.

Fortunately, the ones closest to him were a squadron of interceptors and an old Corellian corvette. Not easy picking by any means, but still manageable.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Judah Lesan"]

In his mind's eye Jacen saw the vectors of future bolt as transparent lines criss crossing the cross before him. His saber moved smartly to bisect one line before he was rewarded by the sound of the bolt being deflected.

Shifting his weight to his other foot, Jacen turned his body putting one of the lines outside his chest. He angled his blade down and to his left to cut across another that was coming from the buildings to their left. Two most bolts failed to bring the Master down.

Even as immersed in the Force as he was, this was taxing work. The slightest misstep and he was a dead man. As the newcomer approached he dropped into cover behind the overturned air speeder.

"Target building is 200 metres down this street!" Jacen replied to Judah. "Was supposed to be a simple extraction of an artefact and capture of several fanatics. Turned into a warzone right as we arrived. Can you do something about the rifles in the windows on our left?"

Tionne, what is happening? he called, circumventing the comm system.

[member="Tionne Thanewulf"]
[member="Meeristali Peradun"]