The Limits of Glory (OP Dominion of Eriadu)

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

((Bad post, very late here))

@[member="Sarge Potteiger"], @[member="Lenavina Martin"], @[member="Tegaea Alcori"]

While Tegaea, Cira and Ayden debated the best way to exact justice upon Tarkin for daring to lay his hand upon a representative of the Protectorate without losing the all-important battle for hearts and minds, Siobhan Kerrigan had boarded one of the Jaeger-class Star Destroyers of the small task force.

The dropship and several Peregrine gunships were docked in the hangar bay, they would be unleashed like a locus of angry insects once the flotilla had left hyperspace and started the operation. The Fleet, ably commanded by Siobhan's favourite partner in explosions, Admiral Mare, would take up position behind the moon until the ion cannon was taken out.

Siobhan ran through some last minute checks of her weaponry, bolter, grenades, lightsabre and went her rounds among the strike force, giving words of encouragement, pointing out the booty they could acquire in some cases, for any conquest resulted in a pay bonus, before heading for the bridge.

For now her part was to wait until the order had been given for the flotilla to proceed through space. The risks were considerable, but Siobhan felt confident, even with the responsibility of leading the initial assault and a hastily put together plan. This was no time to get wobbly. Invade a strongly defended planet, break through the enemy lines and deliver Tarkin, dead or alive, to Cira and Tegaea, all in a day's good work. Maybe put his head in a fruit basket with blood oranges, she thought grimly to herself, a dark smile forming over her lips.

 

[Jak Sandrow]

"That's alright, Exarch." Pulling out his holopad, he placed it on the floor. A large hologram of the city and its surroundings popped up, and Jak manipulated the controls with his hands. "With our new vehicle dropship, our large capital ships don't have to get anywhere near the ion cannon. We can land outside the city here, and set up our forces for the best available defensive position. The king will try to attack us, and this will sufficiently draw out his forces enough that the strike team will be able to destroy the ion cannon with little effort. Once the cannon is destroyed, we can bring in our larger ships and air support, and reinforce the ground troops. Once the enemy forces have been destroyed, it should be a cinch to take the city." Shutting down and picking up the holoprojector, he turned to Tegaea. "Well? What do you think?"

 

[Ayden Cater]

@[member="Allaina Mare"]

Ayden stepped out of the conference room with a casual stride. Cira nor Tegaea might approve of what he suggested, but Ayden knew it was the only viable way they could extract vengeance for the fallen diplomat and not appear like galactic bullies to the rest of the galaxy. So far, every world had joined them willingly. More importantly, most of them had extraordinary problems that led them to accept OmegaPyre's presence. Now that a world as balking, Ayden was amused (and slightly worried) to note that most of the members seemed at a loss for how to proceed.

Still, that left him the next task. Stepping into another, empty conference room, Ayden activated the vidscreen and sent a communique to the Invicta, where he was sure Allaina was already on board. "Patch me through to the Admiral." Ayden ordered the communications officer and was soon rewarded with the sight of Admiral Mare. "Admiral, change of plans. Our operations on Eriadu are to switch from hostile engagement to covert. Repeat, stand down the big guns." That wasn't going to be popular with Allaina at all. He had interacted enough with her to know that she felt most at home in space on the bridge of a ship.

"The Invicta is too high profile to send to Eriadu. We don't want to escalate things any more than absolutely necessary. So your orders are to deploy to Sullust and let the infiltration teams head to Eriadu in unmarked freighters and transport craft. You're to hold position in the Sullust system unless you receive an emergency distress beacon. If this all goes to hell, you're orders will be to get the insertion teams out of there and haul ass back to Fondor. If the gods will it, it won't come to that."

 

[Avicus DuSang]

Outside the conference, sat the Dark God. A cigarette in one hand, a glass of wine in the other. The organization was in a buzz, but this was merely the calm before the storm. A diplomat was executed, and Omega found itself in a difficult situation. Retaliation would be a PR nightmare for the budding power. And a lack of action meant appearing weak.

Thus, it was the decision as ro which was the proverbial lesser of two evils. Exhaling smoke from his nostrils, he sipped his wine. Taking the final draw off of his cigarette, he flicked it off to the side. With a snap of his fingers, the flying speck of paper and tobacco was instantly cinsumed in a flash of smoke and ash. He sipped his wine again, exhaling his smoke.

He wore his officer's uniform, six lightsaber hilts on his belt. He was no good with a blaster and refused to carry one. Armor only slowed him down. Tucked in his boots were a pair of vibrodaggers. One could never have too many blades, afterall.

Yellow eyes watched @[member="Ayden"] leave the room, radiating frustration. Hearing the man's order to the Admiral, the Dark God chuckled. So deceit was the course of action. How noble the organization painted itself while engaging in Sith-like tactics. Treachery and all of that.

Still, Avicus would carry out his orders when they were given. He was a soldier. He was a nobleman. OmegaPyre was where.his loyalty stood. And they kept him on a firm leash.

 

[Jsc]

Outside the Conference Room
@[member="Avicus DuSang"]

A door slide open and a blue-haired woman approached in leather boots. She found Avicus musing,

"Ah. It seems I missed the meeting. Pity."

She frowned and placed her hands on her hips. Looking around and shrugging. The Jedi woman was only recently part of the Hierarchy. She kept her distance and assumed a number of strange roles to facilitate her ease of travel. Today she was playing at being a 'Political Councilor'. Whatever that was.

"Hmph. ...And you? Off to Eriadu too? I don't suppose the locals are being friendly, eh." *sigh* "...Oh well. What will they think of next?"

She pursed her lips and frowned. Another battle was coming. She could feel it.

 

[Avicus DuSang]

"If those are my orders." the Colonel said, looking down at his almost empty glass of wine.

Yellow eyes looked up at the blue haired beauty that was @Karen. He paused, placing his free hand on his goatee, a lone finger on his lips. She was a Jedi, that much was obvious. He could almost smell the light coming off of her. He smirked, and shrugged.

"The Galaxy is full of decay. The pandemic of the Gulag Virus has turned many civilizations into barbarians. If only the Galaxy ran off of the Caste System you see on worlds like Coruscant. You don't see the nobility gunning down diplomats in a xenophobic frenzy. C'est la vie.

"Mais, the Galaxy is in a state of war. Always has been. Always will be. Wars caused by the fear of never having enough. Power and resources, of course. Peace, afterall, is a lie. Could quite possibly be the biggest lie of all."

Finishing his glass of wine, he stood up, his saber hilts clacking together in his action. He nodded to tje woman. "I am Lor..." He paused, shaking his head as he chuckled to himself. "Colonel Avicus DuSang, and you are?"

 

[Jsc]

@[member="Avicus DuSang"]

"Roberts. Karen Roberts. ODF. ...Nice to meet you Colonel."

She smiled and remained optimistic. If aloof for the moment. His commentary remained his own,

"I assume the orders are forthcoming then? I noticed the commando's already prepping. ...Hm. Should be a long day. Mmm."

The woman tugged on her lower lip, then quickly seemed in a rush to be elsewhere.

"Right then. No rest for the weary. Good luck Colonel. ...And oh? Did you see which way the Kerrigan woman went?"

 

[Avicus DuSang]

"The pleasure is all mine, Ms. Roberts. Please, call me Avicus." he said, wearing a rather wicked grin.

"If the Colonel's character is anything like her reputation, she's chomping at the bit to storm the front lines." He pulled out a cigarette, placing it between his lips before lighting it. As he took a long drag, black tendrils of the Force brougjt the empty glass to his hand. "But, I will agree tje day will be long. Which only means one thing..." he said, smoke rolling out of his lips.

"More wine is required. Care to join me for a glass?"

 

[Jsc]

@[member="Avicus DuSang"]

Karen gave Avicus the strangest look. More than a little perplexed at his invitation, given the circumstances.

"Oh. ...No. Mm. Thank you."

What a unique fellow. The dark-side was not lost on her either. But the coming war seemed to dwarf her need to be offended by his casual attendance to their religion.

"Anyway. Ahem. ...Wonderful to meet you Colonel. Good luck today. Now. ...If you'll excuse me. I sense a battle coming that I must attend to. May the Force be with us."

She gave a resolute nod of her head. Determined to remain ever an officer, and a lady. Introductions were enough for now. There was a conflict calling their names, after all. The Jedi women gave a quick squint down the hallway and paced away. It would only take a few moments to reach the observation deck for another quick chat with the crew. There was shuttle number she needed to remember.

Though, given their new affiliations. Karen Roberts was sure to encounter Colonel Avicus DuSang again.

 

[Avicus DuSang]

"Indeed. Duty calls and all that."

He remained cool and collected on the surface, but underneath it all he was screaming. She said no. She refused him. The notion was simply ridiculous. To believe that he could be refused. He scoffed at the upsurdity of it all. And promptly walked off to the hangar where he boarded the Plaguebringer.

Waiting for him in his cockpit was his wine. Pouring a fresh glass, he rested his extinguished cigarette in the nearby ashtray. Sipping the contents of the glass, he tried his best to regain his composure. His pride was getting the better of him. Resting a hand on his goatee, he replayed the brief encounter in his head over and over. He just didn't understand what went wrong.

Sighing to himself, he leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up. Yellow eyes closed as he waited for his orders. The waiting was the hardest part. He was OE's proverbial junkyard dog. Kept on heavy chain, under lock and key until they unleashed him.

Damnit if her shutting him down make her seem all the more attractive...

 

[Mao]

@[member="One"]

"Not very sociable are ya?" came the blunt question from Mao as she adjusted her helmet. The amusement would not go unnoticed, and for the present time, the Major didn't answer the question in regards to what ship they were taking. Instead, she was taking her sweet time.

"Y'know... mingling might do ya some good." she slid back the visor of her helmet, her nicitating membranes sliding over cobalt eyes as she continued, "You drink Lieutenant?" She didn't even wait for an answer, "'ow bout after all this pile of giju be done, I buy you a drink!"

 

[Vora Kaar]

Zero just shook his head. This girl was going to be more than a handful. Zero adjusted his pistols on his hips and walked towards 'Blade' his modified X-wing fighter. It had a slightly larger engine that way he was faster than most other ships of the type and he added some light cannons on the side of the ship. it was mainly used for taking shields out.

Zero hopped in the starfighter and turned on his engines With a nice hum they activated. The cockpit closed down to create an air tight seal around him. Zero flipped some switches and said into his Com link to @Mao

"Get ready. no time to waste in talking about drinks." Zero flipped a switch that caused Blade to hum even louder. With a smile Zero waited for the girl.

 

[Qae Shena]

@Everyone.

What do you do when you have two Exarches in your ear, literally, telling you separate things? You apply rank, of course. After all, Exarch 'total control' applied only in their respective domains and Eriadu fell under neither. Thus, she, as overall commander of military forces and the only military branch commander with actual total control of her branch could pull rank and issue orders where necessary. After all, they paid her for this stuff. If they didn't like it, they could fire her.

She pulled up a comm window to @[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] and @[member="Ayden Cater"] and told @[member="Jak Sandrow"] and @[member="Tegaea Alcori"] to listen close.

"Now that I have your attention, here's the tactical game plan, Siobhan - deploy all your forces exactly as you detailed. Any ship you take should hold behind the Eriadu moon's dark side. Our fleet will hold on the edge of the Eriadu system so as to avoid provoking the Sullustans instead and await the sign to move in if our strike teams require assistance. Exarches, need I remind you that just because you have rank, doesn't mean you can discuss and issue conflicting orders to our hard-working forces. You are all talking three separate sets of orders and expecting them to be followed, and I won't have that at all. It's not fair to any of our forces and your concerns will next time be noted in strategy meetings we held for this very reason. Siobhan, in-theatre command falls to the senior officer, so that's you until I arrive. Captain Sandrow, I will not have you attempting to undermine the chain of command again - you're on starfighter detail. Take a squad of Guardians. Everybody happy? Can we get on with this? Good. I'm sorry to have to do this, ladies and gentlemen, but I'm cleaning up your mess. Mare out."

Sorted? Sorted. Awesome. Sitting in the captain's chair, she looked to her helmsman.

"Are we ready to jump?"

"Aye, Admiral."

"Do it."

"Jumping out in five... four... three... two... one..."

As one, the Omega Protectorate fleet took their departure, making the hyperjump to distant space so we can actually move this thread along. Done!

 

[Jak Sandrow]

Muttering to himself I'm not trying to undermine anything, I just want to state my opinion, Jak headed over to the hangar bay, steaming all the while. He went over to the pilots who were patiently waiting for orders. He didn't want his bad mood to spread, so he took a few breaths before talking to them. "Okay, listen up. Our job is to keep any enemy fighters off this ship's back. I want you to stay in pairs to keep fighters off each others' backs. I will let you know more when we arrive." Walking away to get his flight suit, he heard a few mutterings behind him; "Greenie. Why is he in charge?" Doing a complete about-face, he walked up to the pilot who spoke out of turn. Using his fairly impressive 6'7" tall build, he asked, letting just a hint of his anger into his voice, "I may not have as many fighter hours as you, cadet, but I doubt you can boast pulling a freighter unscathed out of a battlefield. Are we good? Fine. I'll meet you all here later." Walking away to get changed, he decided to take his anger out on a starfighter simulator, instead.

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

Tegaea watched @[member="Jak Sandrow"] being dismissed again and frowned. She didn't want to interfere, but perhaps the young man had been unfairly cut off. Still, they had a plan, and they would execute it.

As she stood on the bridge near @[member="Allaina Mare"] the ship vanished into hyperspace, along with the other ships. The campaign was about to begin...that ion cannon had to fall swiftly, or else this would be a fairly short campaign!

Using the time in hyperspace to her advantage she swiftly got into her armour and collected her weapons from the armoury. If the situation called for her to land on the surface, she would do so.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@[member="Sarge Potteiger"], @[member="Lenavina Martin"], @[member="Allaina Mare"]

"About freaking time. Your clean-up is much appreciated, Admiral! See you on the other side. Good hunting," Siobhan exclaimed. Unlike Allaina she had had not experienced the misfortune of being bombarded with contradictory messages about what to do, but she had been getting irritated being stuck on the bridge as seemingly the fleet had been unable to get a move on because of some conflict over directives. What she heard through Allaina's comm message about the pandemonium down there just annoyed her more. She had been given the job taking the fight to the enemy, she would do that. The Sword of Omega had been unsheathed and she would strike the first blow.
She made a mental note to buy Allaina a drink or two when they got back. Well, and then do a few things more to do express her gratitude.

Activating her comm she hailed the assault teams. "Auresh Force, we're getting to Eriadu, at last. Be ready for immediate deployment once we're dropped out. We're rocking this. @Zero, @[member="Mao"] and @[member="Maelion Liates"], be ready to knock out that ion cannon. Captain, get us behind the dark side of the moon when we leave hyperspace."

Then, at the command of Admiral Mare, who had fortunately cut through all the bureaucratic nonsense and sorted the mess out, the flotilla made the jump to hyperspace.

Whatever else anyone thought, the die had been cast and they were moving. If someone objected, she was Siobhan bloody Kerrigan, she did not give a damn. A few hours later, which probably were not interesting enough to describe in detail, the flotilla jumped out of hyperspace. Siobhan had by then already departed from the bridge. Before them lay the planet Eriadu. Scanners showed the formidable defences, though they were still out of range.

The formidable ion cannon was there, no doubt anti-air guns were in place around the capital city. Moreover, sensors showed fighter patrols scouring space, along with frigates further away, but they were out of range.

In the dropship she joined the assault team, the pilot had already gotten the engines prepared and was about to take off. She took up position in the cockpit, giving him the signal. "Let's roll. Take us down to sector B56. Fast."

"Through space that could be crawling any moment with bad guys. We so need a trade union for this," the pilot muttered sarcastically as wiftly the hangar bays opened and the dropship dove out.

"Beating the odds is our hobby." All in all four dropships and two gunships were launched into the vastness of space, swooping down towards the planet as they emerged from the cover of the moon.

They moved downward in loose formation, passing the moon. A large force could not be mustered for such a mission, it had to be covert but large enough to fight its way through. Siobhan leaned against the bulkhead in the cockpit, staring out.

They were getting closer, so much closer. The orb of a planet was almost in reach. Just a few more pushes of the engines and they would be passing through the planet's atmosphere.

"We got contact! Fighter patrol." she got a comm message from the pilot of another dropship. The incoming fighters had already been picked up by their sensors, but they had been spotted as well. The serenity of space was broken by missiles and laser fire that created a lightshow that under other circumstances would have been considered beautiful.

The dropship rocked when its hull was struck by laserfire, though its shields held. Siobhan held her ground. "Man the turrets and go faster. We're not breaking course."

There was a satisfying explosion when an attacking fighter was caught in a hail of laserfire and crashed against another one before being blowing apart in a brilliant explosion. More fighters swarmed them and were struck.

"Another fighter group coming from the asteroid field!" she heard over the comm. The dropship shook violently and went into a fast spin when the pilot engaged evasive manoeuvres to dodge missiles.

"Shields have taken damage. Rerouting power to strengthen them."

"Not a step back!" Siobhan declared, mainly because this writer likes making obscure references. "Mr Vargas, do start our dramatic entrance." The officer inserted a disk into the computer and suddenly the ship was filled with the dramatic music from Hammer of the Gods, which was pretty much of the Ride of the Valkyries. By now Siobhan had hastened out of the cockpit and manned one of the laser turrets.

Yanking the turret around she pumped out a hailstorm of red laser shots against the fighters that swarmed them like angry insects. She drew on the Force, using it to guide her targeting. As she rammed the turret around and fired a fighter was caught in the blast and she beheld a brilliant flash of light as it exploded, but more were incoming.

As the pilot dodged another torpedo aimed at his engines Siobhan was thrown back by the force of the spin and knocked into the wall, hitting her head aganinst it, though fortunately it did not split. Groaning she got up, grabbing the turret and relentlessly firing.

Eriadu was getting closer and closer, as a fighter tailing them was pumped full with laser fire and collided with a pile of debris, they dove into the atmosphere, swooping down and flying at top speed. Hopefully the stealth team would be able to take out the ion cannon.

 

[Jsc]

The Medical Bay
@[member="Allaina Mare"]

Lieutenant Roberts finished her business and returned to Admiral Mare's vessel. There she assumed an advisory role on the Medical Staff underneath a Chief Sara Williams. A thin woman of medium height and long brown hair kept in a bun. Her thin eyes meant business and her tight jaw hinted at the dirty work to come.

"Roberts. Glad you could make it. ...What's in the backpack?" The Chief mused with a squint.

"Haven't had time to get situated ma'am. Apologies ma'am."

"Nevermind. We are jumping soon, so just throw your gear in that medical locker. Ensign Athena here will be your assistant. I'm Commander Williams and I'll be your new supervisor."

"Yes ma'am. Thank you ma'am."

"Ensign. Bring her up to speed."

Ensign Athena was a blond woman of strange ancestry. She had four piercings on her left ear that seemed to defy military dress code and a spotted leopard tattoo down the side of her neck. Mmm. Must be tribal or religious in nature. Karen waved away the idea when the blond girl began running her through the equipment pre-status. It was time to Doctor-Up.

"...Well? What do you think Doctor Roberts? I bit nicer than Republic sector equipment yes?"

"Oh my. Yes. No argument there. Thank you Doctor Athena. But I've already been briefed on the ship."

"Please. Just call me Maddy. Everyone else does. I'm the youngest of the crew, so I get treated differently. Tehe. So, it's nice that your here now. I don't have to be the 'new girl' too."

"Well. Don't you worry about that Maddy. We'll get along just fine. Just you wait and see. Hehe."

The ship shuddered as they made the jump to Hyperspace. It was Go-Time. Within moments, the battle began with gusto.

 

[Thadd Zarr]

@[member="Mao"] @[member="One"]

Thadd walked through the hallways of the command center making his way to the hanger bay. He was trying to get back to his Delta Class Escort Shuttle to retrieve his weapons. Mercenaries, Soldiers, Pilots, and random officers scrambled through the corridors. His recent arrival left his head spinning. The day before he had met-up with Mao in her counselor ship in orbit around Deveron. It was his first contact with another person in almost 2 years after his self imposed exile on Ruusaan. There he had been escorted back to the commander center on Fondor and met the infamous Cira where he was indoctrinated, debriefed and given a rank and posting. There were whispers of "war", "revenge", "Eriadu", and "bloodshed" running down the halls and through the rambling conversations of the varied mix of soldiers. He knew he had seen Mao here earlier. He still didn't trust just anyone, but something about the sincerity and honesty of Mao let him to believe that he could trust her. He would follow her into war if it were necessary.

"Excuse me." He grabbed a technician by the arm that seemed to be almost running to another section of the base. "Can you tell me whats going on?"

The technician ripped his arm free. "Were at war you blerk brain. Now let me go so I can get to the C&C." The unknown tech stormed off down the hall picking up his pace with every step.

Thadd gritted his teeth. Where was that girl when he needed her... He walked over to one of the COM units that was integrated into the wall. He tapped his newly issued access codes. ** Second Lieutenant Thadd Zarr of the Omega Pyre Division ** - "This is Thadd to Mao... I don't mean to be a pest but, is everything alright?"

He looked around... This frakin base was more stirred up than a rodian wasp nest...

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

Sarge, seated with the rest of the assault force, swayed and rocked in time with the dropship as it hurtled towards the planet. Oh the joys of having your life in the hands of someone hurtling a giant metal boulder through space.

 

[Avicus DuSang]

@[member="Tegaea Alcori"] @[member="Allaina Mare"]

"Col. DuSang, you are to dock with the Admiral's ship and await further instruction."

Rolling his eyes, he activated the Plaguebringer, taking it into space. As the atmosphere of Fondor faded out inro the infinite vacuum, yellow eyes quickly found the ship he was supposed to rendezvous with. Docking in the hangar, he watched as hyperspace drifted past them just beyond the force field.

Making his way to the bridge, yellow eyes rested on his female superiors. This was his first real mission with OmegaPyre. He wanted to prove himself a capable soldier. A capable assett.

A capable killer.