The Limits of Glory (OP Dominion of Eriadu)

[Jorus Merrill]

@[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
@[member="Sarge Potteiger"]

Four dropships, two gunships. Gunship number one was a massively overpowered Inimica-class, a forty-meter brick with enough warhead launchers to make a capital ship blush. And at its helm, Commander Jorus Q. 'I swear I can fly anything, Prex' Merrill of the ODF danced rings around ships five times smaller than his vessel. Perhaps it was a matter of compensation -- he couldn't, in point of fact, control any of the weapons, and so he consoled himself by shielding the dropships and setting things up for his turret operators. Warheads and blasterfire sprayed out from the Inimica-class in all directions.

His focus remained, for now, on Colonel Kerrigan's ship -- the dropship containing Sarge. Even his exceptionally limited and specialized senses recognized that something outstanding was happening in one particular turret.

They said Siobhan Kerrigan was the best Force-based soldier alive. 'They' said a lot of things, but in this particular case, 'they' had a decent chance of being correct.

Such things didn't take too much of Jorus's attention. The Inimica class skidded and swerved through enemy fighters like a greased Hutt through Jawa appetizers.

 

[Jak Sandrow]

Jak went back to his ship, fully suited and ready to depart. "Okay, people, we'll be entering a hostile environment with plenty of enemy fighters. Our job is to keep them away from the capital ships, and to prevent any from being knocked out. Any questions? No? Good. To your fighters, then." As the pilots headed to their fighters, Jak commed Allaina. "Confirm starfighter role: protect capital ships from enemy fighters."

 

[Qae Shena]

@[member="Avicus DuSang"] @[member="Jak Sandrow"]

There were a lot of spectators on her bridge. Not the way she'd hoped it to be, but that was a matter of principle. Exarch Alcori was gone, leaving now the newbie. DuSang. She had... very little trust for him, truth told. Anyone who styled himself any kind of 'prince of darkness' or whatever it was meant trouble. Meant Sith training. Meant she was going to have to watch her back. Nonetheless, he was a a fellow command officer and deserved her respect and equality.

"Colonel," she said with a nod. "Glad to see you got piped aboard squarely. I'm afraid I don't have much for you to do right now, though. Almost all of our ground forces are already being deployed in the first phase under covert strikes. Once we get into the primary assault phase, you'll be the speartip of the first forces down. I can put you at the head of our reinforcement team, though, if that's to your suiting. Do you prefer command from the front, or from the safety of a CIC?"

Then, sudden message. It was Sandrow. "Ah. Excuse me one moment, Colonel."

She keyed her comm, allowing the Captain's voice to fill her ears, such that Avicus could hear it, too. Poor kind was so over-eager he forgot where he was. "Not quite, Captain. We're too far out to be attacked. No starfighters will reach us here unless Eriadu knows we're here, but I want you on ready five alert just in case. Stand your pilots down and hang around in the ready room. Go get a cup of stimcaf.... it's going to be a long day."

 

[Avicus DuSang]

@[member="Allaina Mare"] @[member="Jak Sandrow"]

The Admiral held a slight hesitation towards him. No doubt due to his past. However, she had no reason to watch her back. She was his ally. A distant one at best, but they both held the same goal. The advancement of OmegaPyre as a well known power in the Galaxy.

Her nod was met with a salute. "Thank you, Admiral. I would be most comfortable at the speartip of the main forces." She then paused their conversation to speak with the young Captain. It was the perfect time to catch a smoke break. Sparking up the cigarette, he listened to the conversation between the two naval officers.

"He's still young. War will teach him patience. Make him wiser. But, atleast he holds the safety of high command at top priority." Yellow eyes closed as he smiled. Still, she was the second person to say the day would be long. "Ma'am, do we a time table on the duration of the invasion? The resistance can' be that heavy, can it?"

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@[member="Jorus Merrill"], @[member="Sarge Potteiger"], @[member="Lenavina Martin"]

The first step to the conquest of Eriadu had been done. No matter what might be said against it, what political hand-wringing had been attempted at the last minute, the Rubicon had been crossed. Now that the first shots had been exchanged in the heat of space combat, the first Eriaduan fighters had been torn to smithereens and thus blood spilt, there was no turning back. So they would simply win.

No time to get wobbly. The Omega forces would carry the day and hoist the Banner of the Lady Protector upon the rooftop of Tarkin's palace and her the man, either in chains or in a bodybag. Or they would ignominiously fail and thus be humiliated before the Galaxy, further strengthening the local despot. Needless to say Siobhan Kerrigan had no intention of letting the latter happen. Failure, the option did not exist.

Four dropships, two gunships. They dropped deeper and deeper into Eriadu's atmosphere. The air of Eriadu was badly polluted, since apparently the rulers did not like environmental safe standards. As they dropped through the clouds the rugged landmasses and small seas of the world came into view, ground rushing before them.

Large city sprawls could be made out, along with old and abandoned factory complexes, looking decayed. Following the orders Kerrigan had given the small flotilla steered its way westward, towards the bridge that spanned the river separating Eriadu City from Phelar. No word had yet been received from the infiltration team meant to knock out the ion cannon. But no matter, they had a job that needed doing, that was the immediate problem.

Kerrigan remained on the gun turret, the air was filled with laser bolts streaking through as the gunners unleashed salvoes upon pursuing fighters. A fighter tailed and prepared to shoot missiles at the engines, but a tug from the Force was there as a warning and she rammed the turret to pump him full of laser shots. Struck in the wings the fighter went through a downward descent, crashing into an old factory building and causing a small fire as it impacted.

Gunners ensconded in the mounted turrets of the gunships and dropships opened up with laser fire as flighters of interceptors swarmed to engage them. A hailstorm of laser fire scattered missiles streaking towards them. Nonetheless the dropship rocked from a missile that managed to breach the defences and impact upon its hull, getting past the shields.

Siobhan got up from the turret as their target zone got closer, gesturing to another trooper. "Take over!" she grunted, moving quickly back to the cockpit, passing Sarge and the other mercenaries.

"What a show, eh?" the pilot felt like quipping. Apparently he shared her penchant for lame jokes. "We're picking up scattered comm traffic. They're radioing for support. You don't have a lot time before the cavalry gets on our tail."

Kerrigan looked untroubled. Great odds, the risks involved in battle did not worry her. Attack and attack hard. For all the hell it entailed, war had a beautiful simplicity to it. If anything, if the foe drew troops out of the city to meet them then that was all the better. "I don't blam 'em for wanting us, we're amazing. Take us down there to coordinates 435-45." That was near a small forest close to the bridge, it could give them some cover.

"Heads up, sensors are picking up an armoured column coming from the north," the co-pilot reported, operating the dropship's scanning devices. Sure enough the column appeared on the monitor, apparently comprised of three repulsorlift tanks rumbling down the road. Needless to say they could not target ships, but seemed to moving in a similar direction. The force would be vulnerable when it was disembarking before it could get the AT-SEs moving.

Siobhan calmly activated the ship comm, sending a message to Jorus' Gunship. "Commander Merrill, blow those tanks apart. I want nothing but debris left." Some people said the amount of firepower the Inimica possessed was overkill. To Siobhan there was no such thing as overkill, there was only open fire and time to reload.

Some warheads or a well-placed bomb drop would take care of the problem. The dropships swerved and dodged as fast as their engines would allow it, the forest rushed into view and the dropships moved to swoop downward towards a clearing that gave them enough space to land.

"Hold on tight," the pilot advised them with a wry grin as he pushed the engines for all it was worth, the dropship swerving slightly, then went into a fast but controlled descent. Given his piloting Siobhan was happy that her breakfast this morning had not been substantial. Spilling out its contents would have been tremendously embarrassing. She quickly exited the cockpit, using the Force to stabilise herself when the vessel unexpectedly shuddered, then rejoined the mercenary force.

"Show time, boys and girls! Move it!" she said happily. "You know the drill, we get the walkers moving and wipe out the garrison. Sarge," she gave the soldier a nod. "Your explosive moment has arrived. Sneak in and give me a big bang on that bridge." He had wanted to solo the job and she trusted him to get it done. The Gunships would be on call to provide air cover and bomb hard targets if needed.

The dropship came in to land, the others joining it as they finally hit the ground. A flurry of activity was initiated as the landing ramp was lowered and the mercenaries stormed out, one unit taking up a vanguard position to screen the area for intruders. Within a few moments the walkers were rumbling down the ramp...

 

[Jorus Merrill]

@[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
@[member="Sarge Potteiger"]
@Lenavena Martin

"This is Gypsy, hard copy."

The Inimica-class gunship powered up and split from the pack, just enough to tweak the angle of attack and make itself a nice primary target. Jorus narrowed in on the column of tanks. Their main armaments couldn't track up far enough to threaten him. At close range, their lighter support guns fired, hammering the gunship's underside -- and the proton bomb bay, which he had, very sensibly, neither opened nor armed. Instead he dipped the gunship's nose and used the dorsal heavy rocket launchers to plant a proton rocket between each of the three tanks. The resulting explosion was more than sufficient.

"Colonel Kerrigan, this is Gypsy. You're clear to land."

As the dropships settled down and disgorged their troops, the two gunships took up mobile overwatch stations to protect the landing zone. Jorus clicked in a personal comm channel belonging to one @[member="Sarge Potteiger"].

"I've got overwatch, bro. Guardian angel mode. Say the word and I'll save your tail."

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

@[member="Jorus Merrill"]

Sarge merely gave Siobhan a nod as the dropship touched down. Soldiers sprinted from its confines and into the nearest pieces of cover, but the last man off wasn't actually the last man off. The true last man off was a specter, a vengeful spirit that evaporated into thin air the moment the interior of the dropship was exposed.

Fading into the environment, the man made his way towards the river. Jorus would recieve a double click on his comm unit. Message recieved and understood.

So far there weren't any patrols, as most forces were moved to divert the main thrust of the assault.

A scouts paradise, really.

 

[Jsc]

@[member="Jak Sandrow"]

Black leather boots and blue hair. Karen raised an eyebrow as she approached the very tall Jak Sandrow.

"Ahem. Captain? Lieutenant Roberts. I'm with Medical and I need to give a member of your team a look-over. Let's see. Jacen Spears? Ah. There you are. ...Ahem. It seems Pilot Spears missed his last check up. I'm here to give him the fast version."

The woman smiled as she straightened her white plastic gloves, *snap*

"Captain Sandrow. Mind if I borrow your Pilot for a moment? This will only take a second."

 

[Jak Sandrow]

"No problem, Lieutenant." Jak stepped aside as Spears came forward. He then called to the other pilots, "Stand down from ready alert, but I want to have regular patrols every hour."

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@[member="Sarge Potteiger"], @[member="Jorus Merrill"]

“Acknowledged, Gypsy. Good work. Assume guardian position,” Kerrigan responded into her comm before switching it off and grabbing her gear. The dropships landed and the landing ramps were quickly lowered, troops were gorged out of the transport bay. Now that they had hit the ground at last it was not stealth that was of the essence, but speed and aggression. Hit the enemy garrison where it hurt and then get the strike force moving towards Eriadu City. Give the enemy no time to muster a sufficiently organised force to repel them.


Stealth better get a move on and take out that ion cannon. Otherwise the achievement of victory would be complicated.

But first things first. With that in mind Siobhan quickly boarded an All Terrain Shock Enforcer - AT-SE for short. Eighteen metres in height, sixteen metres in length, the assault walker was a potent weapon, a marvel of engineering. The mass driver cannon on top for hard targets, two linked cannons on the head for anti-vehicular and anti-personnel support, repeating blasters against infantry. Its high view might make it an easy target, the expenses involved meant that it could only be built in limited numbers, it was neither the largest nor most fearsome walker. But it was versatile, reliable and brought rapidly deployed, heavy firepower to the front. When the common man thought of Omega Pyre, he thought of an implacable force traversing the battlefield, unyielding in its drive to crush its foes. Or at least Siobhan, whom some had called a battering ram, thought so. In other words, the AT-SE was perfect for her.



From the cockpit of the AT-SE where she had taken the commander role Siobhan had gotten a good view of the target zone as Auresh Strike Force headed out of the forest. The earth shook as the heavy feet of four walkers trode upon it. At the loud noise birds were driven out of the forest and took to flight in the sky, alarmed by how violently the peace and quiet had been broken. The enormous Walkers made their way from their hiding place onto the road, where the smouldering wreckage of the three tanks that Merill had bombed earlier lay. The walkers were filled with infantry, thus serving as mobile combat platforms and armoured personnel carriers at the same time.



They did not have to wait long before encountering foes all too eager to charge them and thus meet total obliteration. “Colonel, this is Gypsy 2. Be advised, you got drones incoming!” the word of warning came from the pilot of the second gunship that was up there in the sky along with Jorus.

Looking through the telescope Siobhan could see a swarm of drones of various coming in fast. “Auresh 2, drone attack imminent. Take cover,” she sent the burst message to the troopers on the ground. Not all fitted in to the walkers, moreover they were supposed to make sure no enemy could get behind the mechanical giants and flank them. “Armoured units, cleanse the sky.”



No sooner had she spoken these words than the first swarm of drones, reminiscent of buzzing insects, had crossed the distance to them, coming down upon them like a wave. “Expendables,” the gunnery officer muttered. “They want to draw out our fire. The real bastards are behind 'em.”

Siobhan nodded and radioed the commander of the second walker closest to her. "Take out that swarm. Rest focus on the h-k-s.” As the expendables among the drones, meant to dive into the enemy fire and be enough of an annoyance to distract from the real deal swarmed in they were greeted by a hail of laser fire coming from the four repeaters. A few blind missiles from the drones streaked through the air, but the concentrated laser fire shot them down. Expendable drones sought to dive in deep between the walkers but epxloded in brilliant orange fireworks before they got in close, stopped short by heavy repeater fire


However, at the same time the hunter-killer drones had swarmed them, following in the wake of the expendables, quickly unleashing laser fire and missiles. “Blast them out of the sky,” Siobhan commanded. The first killer drones were hit by the red lasers and exploded in flashes of light in the sky, debris raining down upon the ground. One blasted drone crashed against the head of her walker, but it barely left a dent in it. However, one hunter-killer drone evaded the laser fire, moving with great speed and dodging the incoming fire. Acting on its emergency protocols it raced towards a third walker.

Descending rapidly it plunged itself against the walker's legs and blew up, making the walker shake. “Damage report! Are you immobile?” Siobhan called out over her comm.


There was a beat, then the answer came in with a cracking sound. “No way we're missing the party,” Thane responded. “Moving at half speed. Bloody unsportsmanlike natives.”

“Good. Press on!” as she said that and the last drones were blasted out of the sky they could make out a force of light repulsor tanks rumbling across the road towards them. From the flanks came droid infantry, it appeared like most of the garrison had been emptied to meet this attack.

“Loading mass driver cannon,” the pilot reported, the acknowledgement came from the rest of the walkers.

“First target in range.”


“Fire!” At this there was an incredibly loud, almost deafening cannon fire as the heavy gun thundered the shell at what appeared to be the lead tank of the small column. The shell impacted right upon the target, The enemy tank shook and was engulfed by splashes of flames that soon incinerated it. From her vantage point Siobhan could make out enemy soldiers desperately trying to get out of the tank as it was ignited. They screamed in agony, she picked up on the ensuing deaths through the Force.


Another tank was struck by the mass driver cannon of the second walker, blowing it apart. Infantry scrambled to get out of the way when the walkers approached, but they were mowed down by heavy repeater fire. From their cover Omega infantry Forces joined the mayhem by shooting with explosive rounds from their bolters and lobbing in grenades, creating a series of explosions. The walker Siobhan was in shook when a tank suddenly came across the road from the flanks and fired a heavy laser at its head, causing a deep gouge there. Fortunately the walker survived the attack, as the enemy tank pressed in close suddenly a missile from an Omega infantrymen streaked through the air and struck it


Troopers in the cockpit were knocked into the wall when the laser round struck, Siobhan stumbled. One of the gunners knocked his head into the wall, blood dripped out of the open wound. “Private, get on the guns,” Siobhan ordered calmly, pointing to one of the troopers. Another one grabbed ahold of the wounded gunner, getting him out of the way.


A light hover tank came in for the attack. It was lightly armoured and fast enough to evade the mass driver cannon fire and fired missiles. Siobhan looked annoyed as a shell fired from the mass driver cannon missed the hovertank and impacted upon a pile of wreckage. The hovertank swerved sideways as it evaded more incoming fire, but then its pilot made the crucial error of getting right into their trajectory.


The smirk that crept over Siobhan's lips was just a little too much on the gleeful side. “Ram it.”

Proving perhaps that madness was contagious, the pilot grinned. “Really, Colonel? May I?” the question was rhetorical.


“Get on with it, Max,” Siobhan grunted at him. Implacably as countless laser bolts were ineffectually fired at it from droid infantry, doing little more than cause black marks on its armour, the walker moved forward. The hovertank swerved as it dodged another cannon shell, getting right in the way. Its pilot had just enough time to realise the error he had made when suddenly there was a loud as the walker knocked against his vehicle. Such was the impact that the hovertank was thrown backward and collided violently with the burning wreckage of a vehicle that had been destroyed earlier. In the same moment bolter fire struck its armour, the gunner screamed in pain when an explosive round tore apart his helmet. The last thing its crew before it made the journey to the fade was the heavy foot of the walker being raised and then slamming down upon their vehicle, breaking through it and crushing the humans inside as if they were jellie.



Witnessing the onslaught the remaining armoured units turned tail and sought to retreat, but the walkers fired with all their guns, striking one after the other. Splashes of flames and clouds of smoke rose up into the air as cannon fire dropped down on the fleeing enemies, with every walker pumping out rounds. As the enemy sought to retreat suddenly the gunship burst out of the sky and dove in deep, then shot out a warhead that slammed into an enemy target and put it to the flames.


The garrison building came into view, with some turrets and entrenched E-web positions. An explosive shell detonated a few metres ahead of Siobhan's walker. Hostile infantry, organic and droid, tried to stem the advance with rocket-propelled grenades, but their own Omega infantry was advancing now. “Disembark and raze that garrison to the ground. Walkers take out the turrets,” Siobhan ordered and at that an exit ramp descended from the rear hatch as the walkers kept up a steady barrage of fire. In quick order Siobhan and some of the troopers moved out of the walker to engage.



Blaster bolts shot towards her but the Colonel's lightsabre flew into her hand and ignited with a snap hiss, reflecting shots back to their shooters and taking them down by the scores, soon joined by automatic bolter fire. As droid units came forward, bearing missile launchers and taking aim, Siobhan surged forward with Force enhanced speed, seemingly careless of the red lasers whizzing past her head. As she thrust out the palm of her flesh hand and called upon the Force, shaping the atoms and molecules around her, purple currents of ionised energy shot from her fingertips towards the enemy ranks, blasting at them.

 

[Jorus Merrill]

@[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
@[member="Sarge Potteiger"]

If one man could have handled piloting duties for the gunship and controlled the various warhead launchers-

Well, the thought was moot, but Jorus could easily imagine hanging in the sky, slewing between airbursts, his missiles homing in on multiple targets at once -- just as fast as his mind could spot them. Instead, of course, he trusted his gunners as they put concussion missiles, proton torpedos, rockets and laserfire into the enemy forces. With a vessel like this, more so than with his own beloved Gypsymoth, magazine depletion was an issue, but an issue firmly in the hands of his support staff. At the moment, the only weapons linked to the helm were the heavy proton rocket tubes on the dorsal surface, and he used those judiciously -- heavy tanks only.

Down below, something caught his eye, maybe from instinct. He spied Kerrigan at work, advancing on a garrison position. RPGs warred against ODF bolters. Jorus squinted, shrugged, and lobbed a proton rocket in that general direction. A very large knot of entrenched rocket grenadiers vanished in a spectacular fireball. The bulk of the enemy ranks compressed between the explosion and Colonel Kerrigan herself, jamming enemy soldiers together into the Force Master's killzone.

Nobody liked a deus ex machina with a messiah complex, so he didn't aim closer to her, at more tempting targets. And aiming closer to the Colonel -- well, that would be a bad way to go.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@[member="Sarge Potteiger"], @[member="Jorus Merrill"]

War was hell. The old saying was important to keep in mind. It was a dirty, ugly business, even when fought for a noble cause. Naturally every party would declare its war to be a just one, sometimes manufacture a casus belli for public relations. Regardless of that, blaster bolts burnt through flesh, grenades ripped apart limbs, all too often supposedly surgical air strikes resulted in homes of civilians being put to the flames by bombings.

The despot Tarkin had called thunder and reaped the whirlwind, he would pay for daring to lay a hand on a representative of the power of Omega. But for the most part the soldiers he threw into the meat grinder were conscripts, men and women who from their point of were defending their country. After all, in the end, Omega would assume direct control.

All of these facts were surely pertinent, but did not change a thing about how alive and exhilarated Siobhan felt by the carnage all around her, with the ex-Jedi naturally right in the thick of it. The enemy soldiers were dug in deep, trying to repel the attackers with a hail of laser bolts and RPGs. Bolter upon bolter fired at them, the sound of the cries of wounded soldiers resonated through the area as explosive rounds found their targets.

A walker advanced, a rocket-propelled that was fired at doing little more than annoy it as it aimed its mass driver cannon at a turret that was pinning down mercenaries. The cannon roared as a shell was shot out and the turret disappeared into a fireball, soldiers close by it trying to scatter as the fire spread.

Intense fire from the rocketeers threatened to pin the mercenaries down, Siobhan used the Force to propel herself into the air and ride out the blast radius as a missile was fired into her general direction, landing hard on the ground and rolling to the side to bring up her blade and aggressively reflect shots. Then the rocket fired by Jorus hit the rocketeers head on and enveloped them in a fireball. Their screams and attempts to put it out were futile.

As Siobhan advanced grimly she noted how the enemy troopers had now been compressed between her and where once the rocketeers had stood. Yes, the Force Master felt on fire. There was nothing she loved more. Well, except Tegaea, but aside from her it was battle that exhilarated her more than anything else. She felt in deeply in her bones, she did not go out and fight because she hated the job and had somehow convinced herself that it was necessary.

So she advanced across the battlefield, falling upon the soldiers caught in the killzone. As the soldiers tried to regroup and move to a better covering position with bolters cutting down scores of them, her blue blade flashed left and right, she blocked blaster bolts and amputated limbs and heads. The Eriaduan soldiers were dedicated to their duty, they tried to dodge the reflected bolts and some of them switched to stun rounds, knowing that they were harder to reflect.

Siobhan spun and dodged, ampliying her speed with the Force. When a great number of enemies seemed to corner her she thrust out of her hand and her lightsabre sailed through the air in a fast circle. Some dodged by hitting the ground, two lost their heads, one dropped his gun when his arms were severed, another got bisected. As the blade returned to the Master E-web fire got came her, the shooters hidden behind emplacements.

Siobhan ran, drawing on the Force, spinning her lightsabre in an aggressive flurry. A cry of pain was heard when one E-web-gunner got riddled by bolter fire, the earth shook when a missile fired by one of her troopers found its target. Siobhan bolted, as a gunner took her under fire she leapt, too fast for his rounds to reach her, hitting the ground behind some debris. She just enough time to get her bearings when soldiers lunged at her.

She blocked a sword slash and brought up her fist to ram it into a soldier's neck, then whirled the blue blade around to bisect an enemy trooper. A laser bolt surged straight at her during this brief distraction, but was blocked at her armour's breastplate. Knocked by back slightly by the impact she found the shooter and thrust the palm of her hand. Suddenly to his shock he was levitated off his feet into the air before being slammed backwards hard straight into one of the turrets with a bone-crunching thud of such force that his head cracked.

Siobhan was already on the move, running and then hitting the dirt behind debris. Getting up, she gestured to the mercenaries to advance, barking out commands. The debris beneath which she was seeking cover was being riddled with bolts by the turret, as bolts whizzed past her she emerged from cover and at a tug from the Force, just when she was in its crosshairs, the automated turret started to rotate.

As the droid troopers around it realised what was going on, the turret fired a barrage of bolts at them. Sparks flew as droid upon drois was blasted before a heavy duty grenade blew up their own turret. Enemy forces retreated, Siobhan heard an agonising scream when one of her walkers crushed an enemy beneath its enormous foot.

"Don't let any escape!" she called out to the troops, not that they needed any encouragement. Racing forward she sent bolts of ionised energy shooting out from her fingertips. A droid was struck and shook violently, not destroyed, but stunned. Taking a breath and with beads of sweat dripping down her temples, she fashioned the atoms and molecules around her into a strong current shooting it at a large robot wielding a repeater.

Energy crackled from her fingertips towards it, sparks flew and the scent of fried circuits filled the air before it exploded, with fried electronics, pieces of metal and circuits flying through the air. Siobhan took a breath, breathing more ragged, then her eyes shot up as a group of speeders raced out of the garrison.

The barracks building had been ignited in flames by the walkers' guns, evidently the speeders wanted to warn their comrades. "Take 'em out!" The speeders tried to swerve through their ranks, with mercenaries jumping sideways to dodge them, firing their blaster cannons at mercenaries that came in close.

As they tried to flee through a side-entrance to the base they came under heavy fire. Two speeders were thrown up into the air and exploded when Omega troopers shot at them with bolters. Seeing a speeder manoeuvre its way through the chaos Siobhan ran, then leapt. She landed, less than gracefully on top of the speeder. The skimmer shook upon her landing and she almost stumbled, somewhat off-balance as the driver tried to shake her off.

They narrowly avoided crashing into a burning building and he yanked the blaster cannon up to get a salvoe out at her, but Siobhan brought down her blade to cut it in half. Before she could strike at him the pilot took a hard turn to the right, she struggled to hold on and he took aim with a small pistol, squeezing the trigger. The shot left the gun but at the same time she surged forward and landed a kick against his jaw, kicking him out.

Grabbing the controls she yanked the skimmer around and sent it ramming towards him, jumping out at the last moment before he got impaled, with her rolling sideways and jumping upward, lightsabre flying into her hand.

Her earpiece crackled, one of the teams that had been deployed was checking in.

"Enemy's scattering. Guess what, looks like they left a tank-sized gift. It still works."

"Very polite of them. Make it has ammo and requisition it."

"Requisitioning, huh? Reminds me of my old corsair days," the officer responded with a hint of amusement. "We got enemy fire coming from the bunker, they're dug in. Orders?"

Normally Siobhan would have ordered to blow up the entrance and storm through, but they had more important things to do. "Send the coordinates to the flyboys and have them take it out. We're saddling up and getting to the city. Over."

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

@[member="Jorus Merrill"]
@[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

Sarge, ever the stalker, was shadowing a squad of soldiers double-timing it towards the bridge. Tailing them allowed him to move a little faster, make a bit more noise, because it would sound like animals attempting to escape from the approach of soldiers.

Diverting suddenly to the left, he made his way far more carefully towards the river. An indisturbed minute later and he was on it's banks, the bridge not too far ahead. Slipping into the water until it was up to his chest, he makes sure to keep his rifle above water level.

Wading forward slowly, cape billowing around him and still keeping him hidden, he begins the slow trek through the frigid waters and towards his target. The charges were being kept in water proof bags, so there was no need to worry.

So far, just as planned... other than the massive searchlights periodically scanning across the water to look for boat raiders.

Forced to slow further, he sighed and moved a bit closer to shore so that he could make up some speed.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@[member="Jorus Merrill"], @[member="Sarge Potteiger"], @[member="Maelion Liates"]

The fight had been intense, the firepower brought to the front overwhelming, it had taken remarkably little time. The Budyonny Garrison was a smoking ruin. The barracks had caught fire along with the field hospital.

The smell of ozone, burnt and charred flesh along with fried electronics hung in the air, much like a pall. Corpses and the wreckage of destroyed droids littered the area, such that the Omega mercenaries had to tread upon them to get moving. The walkers had taken some hits, from blaster fire and rocket propelled grenades, not to mention the brief tank battle on the road, but they were all still serviceable. Wounded were being patched up as best as they could on short notice.

Siobhan examined a holographic map brought forth by a datapad held by one of the troopers. "Got a report from the comm boys on the Justice. The enemy's amassing forces at the capital, but it doesn't seem like they know how many we are."

Siobhan nodded, then frowned. "Any word from stealth team? They gotta bloody take out that ion cannon." As much as she disliked admitting it, she could not exactly conquer the planet on her own.

The Zabrak staff officer cleared his throat, then shook his head. "Not a word. Its destruction is essential. Our space forces cannot break through as long as it's active. Without reinforcements, the enemy's superior numbers..."

Siobhan cut him off with a wave of her hand. "I'm aware. They can't get the job done, we do it. Get me the facts. Can we hit before the enemy reinforcements swarm us?" her tone of voice conveyed that she would accept a "No".

The map shifted a bit, flickering through various images before settling on one. "There, on a hill just outside the city. Surrounded on cliffs by both sides. The main road leads up to it, but no alternate route. There's a less well-travelled road past the abandoned Daala factory complex. We follow it till here..." he pointed to a complex near the cliffs, "and get on the main road for the assault." There was obviously no way to be stealthy about this.

"Then attack and attack hard," Siobhan gave her usual solution. "Right, saddle up. We're moving at top speed. Get the wounded loaded up. Call Commander @[member="Jorus Merrill"] and tell him we could use some cover."

If no one else was showing up, they were doing the job. Most troopers had by now boarded the four walkers, they were joined by a repulsor tank that had been requisitioned in the garage and the strike force started moving at breakspeed through the sector towards the wrecked factories and past them.

Soon enemy forces started appearing on the radar, as they got closer...

 

[Maelion Liates]

@[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] @[member="Jorus Merrill"] @[member="Sarge Potteiger"]

The cliffs defending the ion cannon were a formidable obstacle. The cannon itself was built into a series of bunkers and pits in the hill which kept it from most dangers. Most importantly of all the cannon itself could be lowered into the ground to hide it from danger. Now though the weapon was being unsheathed like a sword and pointed towards the hazed air. If any Protectorate ship appeared in orbit it would suffer a most severe volley from this weapon.

Scaling the cliffs though was a well hidden figure. Climbing like a spider, sheathed in shimmersilk Maelion forced her way up the rocks. No mere organic could have managed such a feat, but the tireless metal of the Terminatrix allowed her to scale up the cliffs. As she neared the top she produced a slim periscope and sighted around at the Eriadu guards nearby. Seeing that none of them were looking her direction she carefully crept over and headed to one of the service hatches of the ion cannon's power regulators.
It was locked and secured, even against her unnatural strength. She would need to blow it open, but to do that she needed a diversion. Thankfully one was not long in coming....

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@[member="Maelion Liates"]

"Sir, this is scout patrol 4, enemy armour is coming up the main road. We need..." the soldier in question, seated in a patrol speeder and beholding the armoured column moving up the main road did not get much further because suddenly a powerful force push was slammed into his vehicle and sent it hurtling into the cliffs, exploding in a small fireball.

"Scout patrol 4, report! Damnit, get a platoon down there and sort them out."

The Terminatrix had wanted a distraction and now she was getting one, though Auresh Strike Force was still unaware of her presence as the four walkers and the one tank advanced forward, along with infantry. The mass driver cannons took aim and the thunder of the cannons was heard when they unleashed volleys upon the gun turrets built into the cliffs.

Eriaduan infantry quickly came running down from the hill to take up position in their bunkers and pillboxes. A hail of laser fire and missiles greeted the Omega invasion force, who responded in kind with a steady barrage. Shells impacted upon the bunkers, blowing in large holes, repeaters fired.

A mech that came rumbling down the hill and took shots at infantry, forcing them into cover with its repeater fire, was struck by a shell from a mass driver cannon and keeled over, falling down the hill to crash into some Eriaduan troopers. Siobhan was at the centre of it, reflecting shots with her lightsabre and lashing out with telekinesis as she relentlessly advanced.

Covered by the walkers, three Omega mercenaries clad in heavy armour and wielding flamethrowers advanced towards a bunker down the hill. One was struck in his armour by a round and fell, the other two unleashed their weapons and soon cries of pain were heard when the soldiers inside were ignited to a fiery death. More and more Eriaduan troops were thrown into the battle as the local commander tried to get on line with the central command and get reinforcements on the move.

 

[Thadd Zarr]

@Siobhan Kerrigan @Jorus Merrill @Sarge Potteiger @Maelion Liates

Thadd dropped to the ground on the North-east side of the ion canon, almost opposite to where Maelion had dropped on from the Cliff. Thadd slung his Medium XP Blaster rifle over his shoulder, his sword strapped to his back, and a pack full of 8 thermal charges. The Omega attack force was causing enough of distraction that most of the guards and troops were already running in that direction.

Thadd tapped his writs COM unit.. "Maelion... I'll get as close I can to the Ion canon. Cover me".

Where the hell was @[member="Mao"] .. he didn't know. Never got any word from her since the command base back in Fondor. But this was it, this was the zenith of the battle and if they didn't get that Ion cannon taken out there would be no party dropping in close to the capital.

A guard was startled by Thadd as he ran around the corner of one of the large power generators. "Hey you stop there!" The Guard raised his weapon with barely enough time before Thadd squeezed off one single shot into the gaurds visor, dropping him instantly.
Thadd nearly threw himself onto the base of Ion cannon. It's cool metal was was vibrating ever so softly. His back to the cannon, breathing heavily... sweating... He opened his pack and pulled out the first charge. With the flick of a switch the full green bars lit up on the side showing full power and the humming of the magnetic casing. He slapped the first one on the base of the Ion cannon.
Blaster fire rang out from the north west corner of the ion cannon, near Maelion's perimeter. The blaster fire splattered and impacted around the bunker. Thadd tapped his writs unit once more, "Maelion. My lady... I need some cover here."
Thadd picked up the pace and ran towards the far side of the bunker, looking for another spot to leave the charges. *Slap* He threw one of the charges towards the base at another location and the thermal charge stuck with it's magnetic strip.

Blaster fire was still coming at him from that angle and whenever it seemed like he could get off a clear shot Thadd fired a few blasts in that direction. It had to be a sniper, he couldn't see a body, or the trajectory of the blaster fire.

Only a few more charges to go.... He thought to himself. Completing the circle around the base Thadd finished slapping the last few charges on the base.

More guards were appearing to the south, they doubling back from the main firefight at the entrance. Maybe they didn't want to leave the ION Cannon totally unguarded after all. "Maelion. I'm doubling back on your position. We've got company!"

 

[Maelion Liates]

Siobhan's onslaught was just what Maelion had been looking for. Timing herself for when the mass drivers would fire, she planted a charge and blew open the door. Heading inside she drew her blaster and shot down the guard patrolling inside. Moving through the underground passage she came to a long power conduit leading from an underground reactor to the ion cannon. Into her pack she reached and produced a baridium det-pack and planted it securely out of sight.

While Siobhan was leading her death charge, Maelion was advancing through the passages, dealing with anyone in her path quickly. Soon she had planted explosives in four key locations for the power conduits. With those blown up the ion cannon would be unusable...though she did not have the ability to actually destroy it entirely herself....

Edit: @[member="Thadd Zarr"] we posted at the same time. Assume I told you to join me inside the tunnels.

 

[Thadd Zarr]

(( OCC: @[member="Maelion Liates"] - Roger that, no problem. ))
"Bloody..." Thadd clicked off his transmitter as he heard Maelion's voice telling him to get inside the tunnels. Blaster fire still rang from a distant trajectory. It splattered against the bulkhead of one of the generators where Thadd was crouched down. Thadd's black silicon-blast armor reflected the red flashes of the blaster fire as it flew past him. He couldn't afford to try to outrun the blaster fire to make it back to the entrance of the Ion Cannon. But couldn't stay out here either. His charges were planted on the outer structure of the Ion Cannon, and Maelion had planted her charges on the inside disrupting the power conduits. When they set these bad boys off it would surely cause a fireworks display that would leave anyone within a few hundred meters extra crispy.

Thadd held his breath for a second and let his mind slip out of the panic and chaotic thoughts. I am the balance between harmony and chaos.... His thoughts became like cool streams of images and calculations. His anxiety became a fire burning within his bones that charged his every thought. His breathing slowed and he rose above the top of the bulkhead where he had been hiding. He tucked the blaster rifile tightly under his arm pit and let his eyes focus. Time seem to slow down as outside sounds of gun fire and explosions became muffled echos. The force, dark and light, swirled around him like a beautiful ballet dance of energy.

His sight caught a smal black dot, the shooters head. With a cool swift breath he released the air from his lungs and squeezed the trigger. *Slunkkk*

Thadd closed his eyes and returned to his crouched position behind the bulkhead. In another breath time seemed to accelerate again. He didn't hear the ditant blaster fire from the sniper. Thadd checked his chest and body. No wounds, no blaster singes, he was alive. A grin appeared over his face, and his shooter was no doubt dead.

Thadd stood up and with every ounce of adrenaline, excited energy, and force he could focuss into his legs at the moment, he ran! He ran until he made it to the entry of the tunnel, nearly diving to get through the door without getting noticed or shot at.

Thadd twisted and turned around the corners of the passageways below ground, using the force to guide his senses.
At one of the quick sharp turns she appeared before him and they both got startled. "Next time you take the outside position." Thadd grinned as his wiped the sweat off his face.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@[member="Thadd Zarr"], @[member="Maelion Liates"]
While Maelion and Lieutenant Zarr took to their demolition job with gusto, Auresh Strike Force had provided the sufficient distraction to make the destruction of the ion cannon possible. The battle was in full swing, blind missiles streaked across the sky, desperate shots that fell between the advancing walkers and the tank.

The enemy forces had the advantage of height, they were dug in their bunkers, even their static positions turned into a curse at the steady barrage of fire coming from the walkers. Some of the shells fired by the mass driver cannons missed their target and impacted upon the cliffs, loosening rocks that came tumbling down upon the defenders.

Using the cover provided by the deafening volleys Omega heavy infantry advanced, unleashing light repeaters and flamethrowers, incinerating bunkers, while more lightly armoured mercenaries fired from cover behind rocks. As the Eriaduan soldiers were bombed out of their cover they were forced to shift position and get further upward, making them easy prey. As apparently a last throw of the dice two enemy tanks came rumbling down the the hill, firing at the walkers.

Siobhan was right in the thick of the fighting. It fit her battering ram mentality, perhaps one of the reasons why she would be a less than adequate choice for higher command. Leading the charge with the heavy weapons commandos the Force directed her strikes, her blue blade cleaved through the thick air, deflecting bolts, hacking off limbs. As they got in close and enemies took flight when the flamethrower troopers unleashed hell on a pillbox, foes fell to her aggressive slashes, one of the droids got what passed for its head chopped off, its melted circuitry had an ozone reek to it.

One Eriaduan soldier screamed in pain when he fell backwards, blood leaking from a hole in his chest, his limbs having already been blown off by a frag grenade. A slug shot fired from an old-fashioned rifle barely missed her. Spinning around Siobhan jumped and in a downward slash separated the attacker of his left leg below the knee.

Then suddenly she felt a tug from the Force, a warning that came just about in time for her. Wrapping herself in a Force shield she managed to leap and narrowly ride out the explosion when a missile impacted upon the wreckage of the bunker where had been fighting on. She landed upon rock with a hard thud, spitting out blood. As she lay there Eriaduan troopers came storming down towards her. She tried to get out of her haze and reach for her lightsabre, but it had been blown several metres away and the troopers started firing.

Rolling sideways she grabbed the knife in her boot and tossed it at one, though it bounced off his armour, in the same motion grabbing her blaster pistol and firing, hitting one in the shoulder. Suddenly a salvoe from a walker's repeater mowed them down. With a slight groan Siobhan got up, grateful. Turning and retrieving her lightsabre with a wave of her hand, Siobhan realised the source of the missile attack.

A combat mech had advanced upon them from the right flank, its missiles and laser fire sent mercenaries scattering for cover, while the walkers were busy with the tanks and turrets. She heard the distinctive buzzing of drones as they swarmed through the air, some suicide drones racing directly for the walkers, others unleashing bolts.

"Take out those bloody tanks and the suicide drones, I'll deal with the mech," she called into her comm, making a snap decision so characteristic of her. With that she started running, with blaster bolts shooting past and above her, not even bothering much with deflecting as she sprinted. An attacker came at her with a vibroblade and she dodged, though she winced when he caught her with a slash in the back before she knocked her boot into his throat.

Debris got tossed into the air when a tank on the hill got blown up in a small fireball. A drone coming at her from the side was taken down and wreckage rained down, fried electronics hitting her in the cheek, causing a burn. Pumped full with adrenaline she leapt as more blaster fire came in, landing with her feet upon a drone.

The drone shook, trying to dislodge, she almost fell but managed to grab ahold of it, pulling herself up. Laser fire from droids struck the automaton and she jumped as it swerved past some rocks before it collapsed, landing at the flank of the mech. As the mech's guns turned to her she sprinted, jumping forward so that she landed directly under it, then started hacking at its legs. The mech moved forward and raised its foot, intent on crushing her, but she rolled out of the way, then struck again.

The hot plasma burnt through the machine's armour, the mech shook and opened fire, then fell forward. Siobhan sought to dodge, but pieces of machinery fell upon her as she tried to withdraw and she knocked back. Rolling backwards she pulled herself up, slashing at a trooper that came at her and chopping his foot off.

Drones were being blasted out of the sky, a second tank tumbled down after being struck by a mass drive cannon. Her comm beeped, it was difficult to hear it over the sounds of battle. "Colonel, we're picking up a signal from stealth team...coming from inside the tunnels. It's Liates."

"Nice to see them join the party, after all! All units, fall back and don't advance up the hill. We're about to get a big bang!" Siobhan responded over the comm, groaning at the pain when she got up and ran towards a walker, ready to watch the fireworks that would no doubt soon break out on the hill, wiping out anyone unfortunate enough to still be in close proximity to the ion cannon.