Ali Hadrix
Bad Boss
REPUBLIC HOLONEWS NETWORK
Location: Kachiro Beaches (West = GR-controlled territory; East = UMC-controlled territory)
Objective: Provide coverage of the invasion, interview Mandalorian Crusaders
Characters: Republic Combat Journalist Team
Cabur followed the developing battle with commentary focused primarily on clarifying incidents and details that were harder to glean from the shifting view of the holocamera. Their speeder was skimming the surface of the lake at high speed, water spray kicking up from behind. They followed the large Mandalorian force as if they were a symbiotic pair; the Mando'ade gave Cabur the stories he told, and Cabur gave them context in exchange. The picture he was painting through his commentary was a vivid one, discussing the details of not only the events, but insight into the lives behind both sides of this war.
The speeder bounced, causing Cabur's voice to hitch as he continued. He was nearly shouting for the noise. "We're crossing the lake now, right in the heart of the Mandalorian formation. As you can see, they have these massive walkers shielding the rest of their force from overhead - " Gib turned the camera upward and panned across the belly of the immense mechanical beast that walked above them " - and they're pushing some sort of smoke screen out in front, it's...it's bathing the water and the beaches in this impenetrable fog, and seems to cling to everything it touches. I can hear screaming, it seems to be coming from the fog itself, but it's dispersed and shaky, I-I don't really know what we-we're hearing."
The Mand'alor himself, Ra Vizsla, had caught Cabur's attention long enough to signal his army's developments. First there was the smoke and the screaming noises, and as the first of the Mandalorian forces joined in battle with the Republic, Gib had to yank his camera away from the armored war leader. The holocam managed to adjust partially to the cloud-riddled landscape, taking in every explosion, every death and every shout that it panned over. Cabur stood up from his seat and rested his knee on the edge of the speeder, sitting back against it and holding himself up by the transparasteel windscreen. He had seen warfare before. He had seen the Republic military engage on numerous battlefields, Mandalorians too. But seeing the two pitted against one another was...an amazing and brutal experience that shook Cabur at his core.
The tenacity with which each side fought against their foe was apparent in every shout, every thrust, every pull of the trigger. Mandalorian soldiers weathered barrages of grenades before rushing Republic trenches and procedurally slaughtering their occupants. The defending soldiers buried their enemies in waves of cannon fire, forming teams to divide and isolate the shield walls that formed here and there to flood their fighting positions. These isolated groups of Mandalorians were hemmed in and executed before their killers were done in themselves by flanking attackers. It was a brutal game of dejarik where each substantial victory was immediately nullified by a resounding defeat, and Cabur found he couldn't look away.
"Bring us closer, around Vizsla's ship," Cabur demanded. Ayca nodded and swung the speeder away from the large vehicle, bringing them onto the shore. Rockets flew overhead and laser cannons screamed, each side whittling away at the other with the best they had to offer. Each strength became a weakness, and for a time neither side yielded. Eventually though, as they followed, Cabur observed Mandalorian teams route Republic positions in the trenches, though their losses were substantial in doing so. The Mando'ade secured the foothold they needed to claw their way out of the lakewaters, foot by foot. Their nails were torn from all their scraping, but their body remained strong.
Cabur set Gib up on the dry sands of the beach, giving him a wide view of the battlefield. Reams of blaster fire came too close for comfort, but this is where the team needed and wanted to be. "As things develop, we can see that the Mandalorian Clans have begun to pull themselves out of the water and are now contesting the beach. The Republic's trench lines were well thought and forced the Clans to pour large amounts of personnel into them in order to route those fighters, but as you see there - " Cabur pointed, ducking suddenly as Republic air support careened overhead, loosing missiles at Mandalorian vehicles " - the first and second trench lines have already been filled. It doesn't look as if the Republic will manage to hold the beaches...but, wha-what's that? Gib pan up and right! No! The other-feth, right there! It's...tanks, we're seeing Republic tanks it appears, cropping out from over the bluffs dividing the forest from the lake. Yes, Republic tanks, they're starting to open fire no - " Cabur was cut off as a high-velocity sabot round penetrated the thick energy shield being expelled from one of the Mandalorian Ori'edee walker and scattered friction-molten particles that bored into its armor, leaving a series of large, fist-sized smoking holes. The force of the sabot round penetrating the shields created a concussive wave that threw Cabur's speeder onto its side as it was tossed dozens of meters away.
Ayca was thrown from the craft, as was Cabur, though Gib, strapped into his seat, remained stuck inside during the vessels unscheduled flight. Cabur felt his body grow wet as he was thrown into the dark-colored sand, his mind reeling and his vision blurry. He rolled sideward and pushed himself up with one hand, then patted the dark spot over his vision. Blood covered his fingers, a fact he hardly registered as he forced himself to shaky knees and began staggering across the sand toward the smoking wreckage of their vehicle. Ayca was leaning against the engine shroud, her hands in her lap and her head hanging grossly to one side. Cabur grimaced, though even making the expression caused him pain as he checked her pulse. There wasn't one.
Using the speeder's frame as support, Cabur struggled to round the edge and locate Gib, who was dangling from the vehicle's rear seat with his hands over his head. He was unconscious, but alive. Cabur unclipped his restraints and helped the man's body to the ground as best he could, then retrieved the camera and tended to his wounds. His ears were ringing, and he suspected blown. It wouldn't be the first time. Blaster bolts and turbolasers cut back and forth across the battlefield around them as Cabur rested the camera in his lap and struggled to continue his live stream with a slight slur.
"Ith this ith s-still transmitting...our driver is dead, broke her n-neck. The shields exploded...I don't know why...it threw our vehicle, ou-our driver is dead..." Cabur panned the camera across the scene from where he had collapsed for a moment, then shook his head and winced at the flashes of pain doing so caused. The pain sharpened his mind, cleared it of fog for the time being, and Cabur was able to stand once more. "The Mandalorian advance is s-still moving, though the tanks have...sthtopped them for...for now."
It seemed the Mandalorians recognized this as well. As Cabur Codi forced himself to stand upright, [member=Ra Vizsla]'s vehicle drew up near them. Without a word, as before, the Mand'alor gestured, and Cabur watched. The gobbling sounds Cabur soon heard would have killed him with laughter if he weren't so shocked to hear them. What followed, however, in few ways reflected the vulnerability and weakness the gobbling had hinted at. Powerfully legged birds flooded the beaches from Mandalorian vessels and began bombing the shores where the remaining Republic positions were stationed. The ground shook, and continued shaking, for minutes on end, and all Cabur could do was stand and stare in disbelief.
"It...it appears the Mandalorians have decided to employ Dantooinian turkeys as suicide bombers. The gobbling...while annoying, also conveys a sense of fear and impending doom to the listener. As I hear it, I can't help but wonder if my own number is up..."
