The Sun Never Sets... | First Order Dominion of Lothal

[Natasi Fortan]

https://youtu.be/oEvHsFwr4pU​

Objective [4] - Brood on the cost of war in blood, gold, and innocence

Concordia hung low over the capital city of Lothal, a symbol of the might and unity of the First Order. The city would soon be under First Order control in fact as well as in name, and victory would be sweet indeed. The people of Lothal had to make things difficult, though. Of course they did. Their pathetic little world, unremarkable except for the fact that it was a thorn in the First Order's side, was proving that it intended to continue that tradition until the very last. Some native group or another had kidnapped Governor Lowe on her mission here, and there were still pockets of resistance to be stamped out.

Normally, Natasi would have favored a conciliatory approach. At the end of a hard-fought war -- two wars, she corrected herself internally -- it was better to bury the hatchet and find ways to get on with things. But this was different; Natasi had no interest in parleying with people willing to kidnap civil servants. If they weren't careful, these savages would find themselves sparking another Kaeshana.

The Grand Moff stood alone in the dimly-lit observation chamber of the Concordia, watching as smaller ships passed beneath it, across the battered cityscape. In one hand, she held a datapad, scrolling through with live data from the operations that were ongoing. In the other, she cradled a gin and tonic embellished with a small wedge of lime. Her instructions had been to destroy the terrorists responsible for abducting Lowe and to retrieve the Governor -- if possible. She wasn't sure where exactly she landed on the subject of [member="Madelyn Lowe"]. The woman had recently confessed to certain misdeeds which made Natasi's Galidraani sense of propriety and civic-mindedness uneasy. Her first and strongest impulse had been to sack her.

On the other hand, the results she had achieved on Varonat were nothing to sneer at. She had proved to be an operator, someone who could do what had to be done.

On the hypothetical third hand, if Natasi tolerated her previous deeds -- if she endorsed them, which is what it would be, tacit or otherwise, if she allowed Lowe remained in her position, the Grand Moff would have taken a half-step down from the moral high ground. Worse, if anyone found out what had occurred (and someone always would), she would be that much less able to demand excellence from her government and its officials going forward.

Perhaps it would be best if Ms. Lowe bravely perished in the crossfire during the rescue operation. She would leave behind a solid legacy without the risk of being exposed and exposing Natasi herself to a scandal. Her finger twitched on the datapad, activating the screen and switching to the communication app. The lead controller for the operation was just a few taps away. A few magic words, spoken in absolute secret, and it would all go away. She tapped the screen, lifted the device to her ear, and --

Natasi disconnected the line before it could chime. "Hell," she muttered to herself and dropped the datapad on the nearby table. Whatever her image -- whatever she wanted the people and the others in the First Order to believe -- Natasi couldn't order a hit on someone as a matter of convenience. She sipped her cocktail and frowned gravely out the window.

 

[The Major]

Objective 1
A much taller building…
Away from paper smiles and hollow souls.

A First Order LAAT/i, repurposed for the civilian police hovered away from the terrace of a skyscraper before banking into a stomach churning turn towards the target apartment which housed the now fledging governor held hostage. A number of local police and some Security Bureau enforcers were on the scene setting up monitoring and surveillance equipment. The occupants had been shown the emergency warrants and now were being manhandled quickly unto the street below. This situation in particular called for such swiftness.

A ballistic mat with a firing slot had been secured to the edge of this balcony -the many hands making quick work. A rifle barrel poked through the slot and rested down against the decorated bars, notching in nicely between two iron spirals that formed the shape of a wrought heart. Behind the end of the highly ornate railgun was a certain Director, eccentric to the point of unfurling a parasol over her head and pressing the songsteel rod against her neck to hold it in place, casting a shadow upon her face. Sitting crossed legged with long elbows and knees bracing together to promote stability, the eccentric freeshooter breathed steadily while a spotter used a rangefinder to ascertain the exact distance to the target building.

“926 meters.” Reported the spotter.

And the Director’s lips tightened in concentration as she zeroed the digital sights running in her glasses to account for the sleight elevation. Though at this distance the speed of the rounds would bypass any nagging concerns such as gravity or wind resistance. Setting the weapon to maximum penetration meant that firing follow up shots would be a laborious process -but this was her element: the one, singular thing she could do without the mangled mistakes of emotion or misfortunate folly.

“Rescue team has breached. Thermal scanners online.” Said another agent.

::We’re scanning the building now. Holding.:: Reported the LAAT -which now flew a lazy circle high above the target, bombarding the building with various penetrative sensors that also linked to the troopers invading the space. And the information gleaned wasn’t greedily keep. Any hostile detection would be transmitted to the HUD of the intrusion team, hopefully giving them the jump on those foolish enough to continue this charade.

Sensors followed the Major’s eyes and scrolled imaging to a thermal setting, throwing her world into a sensational plethora of colors as she panned carefully across the structure. The body shapes weren’t distinct enough to make out details, but it looked like the team were making progress. However, the terrorists were getting antsy, making their moves and buzzing about the various floors in reddish blurs. Eventually the sharpshooter leveled toward a singular heat signature, the only one with an IFF tag that more resembled a shamble of a person than an active shooter. A few seconds later the telemetry between the chip inside the governor placed just for such situations confirmed and updated both along the intelligence crew working within the apartment but further popping up as an alert to any stormtrooper working diligently inside the shoddy choice of a cover spot.

Briefly, the crosshairs hovered over the sitting figure, then floated upwards expertly towards the woman’s head...

“Phew.” She shook off the nerves and rolled her shoulders to shake off the misama before it could get any traction. This was an operation. Lowe’s life was at stake, and as long as the state saw her fit to govern then it fell upon the Bureau to make these things right.

The sights gingerly breezed right and away from the Governor and covered another figure that appeared to be rushing toward the lone figure. It was impossible to see this through the walls or in such poor definition, but the man was fumbling for keys, rushing to provide another wave of abuse or possibly move their quarry to another stronghold.

She exhaled as the sights bounced to the smudge that was presumably her target’s head and gently squeezed the trigger.

!VAAWAO!​

Cracked her hammer, and the round blurred with a sharp wake as it wailed a mighty cut through the air, through the building’s outer wall, past flimsy drywall, through the man’s jaw, spread his teeth and blended bone and tongue in a spray across the room as his body jerked with a hideous pull that sent the freshly made corpse sliding from the door down an conjoining corridor. It wasn’t a quiet affair.

Calmly, she pulled open the bolt that allowed the weapon to dump excess heat with a satisfying hiss, and scanned for the next vague outline of a body, who at the sound and sudden violence prone upon the floor.

[member="Madelyn Lowe"] | [member="Ursula Vizla"] | [member="Listib Hibin"] | [member="Omari Vyken"] | [member="Chubs"]​

 

[Madelyn Lowe]

Location: Captured apartment building, Lothal city centre.
Objective 1.

Madelyn shifted the position of the handcuffs, cruel metal things. Durasteel, tough as anything. They had rubbed the skin on her wrist raw in her struggling. Dried strips of blood and scabs encircled her wrist, twinging painfully each time she shifted. The other end was attached to the old metal tub, which itself was embedded into the concrete below the dirty plastic flooring. She had to get out. She knew that. She'd seen the madness in their eyes. Felt the cruelty in their kicks and jabs. When things fell apart, they would kill her without a second thought. That she knew. She couldn't break the cuffs, but maybe she could get out.

It wasn't like they were awfully tight cuffs. Maybe, if she just pulled right, she could free her hand. Maybe.

The guard shifted, strectched, and walked out. More than likely he wanted something to eat. That was opportunity enough. She went to work, raising herself painfully on to her knees. The manacles jingled softly as she moved, pulling at the metal band, and cortorting her hand to be as small as possible. It was close, but the handcuffs just couldn't slip past her thumb. They pressed painfully into her skin, but didn't draw blood.

Madelyn grimaced, and pulled harder. Grunting with effort, trying to force the cuffs off to no avail. Thin streams of blood now ran down her wrist, earlier wounds reopened by the effort. Sighing with frustration, she repositioned herself and, with a sharp intake of breath to steel her nerves, she fell backwards, suddenly pulling on her arm with all her weight. The handcuffs ground across her hand in a sweeping motion, driving her thumb out of its socket with a sickening crunch.

She screamed. She couldn't help it. White-hot waves of pain swept over her body, radiating from her hand. The cuffs slid the rest of the way down her fingers, and hit the floor with a metallic clank. The Governor bit down on the knuckles of her undamaged hand, her teeth sinking into the flesh and suppressing the scream. She gasped for breath, her vision blurry. The pain was so intense it was hard to think. Dimly, she was aware of shouting in the other room. Then the door burst open and a rebel rushed in, brandishing his rifle.

"What the hell is going on here? You thought you could escape? You stupid b-"

CRACK

In an instant, the man's head was obliterated, spraying Madelyn's already bloody visage in a find mist of gore. She gaped at the sight of the dead rebel, the gaping hole in the wall. The blood.

Shakily, she rose to her feet, retrieving the fallen blaster rifle. There was no time to waste.

[member="The Major"] | [member="Natasi Fortan"] | [member="Omari Vyken"] | [member="Chubs"] | [member="Listib Hibin"] |​

 

[Marriskcal Lati]

Praetorian Initiate
Objective II
Callsign: Nekghoul 1
Equipment | FO-07K Multi-purpose Assault Armour with Repulsorlift Technology, Vibrorapier, Training Lightsaber, DE-39 Maser Rifle, Throwing Knives, Binding Wires, Injector Pens filled with Lecepanine
Location | Checkpoint 1 (Catchbasin), The Sewers, Lothal
Allies | [member="Castor Ren"], [member="Seto Du Couteau"]
Status | I hope I don't fall...

[SIZE=11pt]“I’ll be there. See you soon, Rakghoul One.”

Taking a deep breathe to bolster herself for the trek ahead (while sending a fervent thought of thanks to the engineers for her suit’s integrated respiratory system), Marriskcal sheathed her rapier and armed herself with the maser rifle instead. While the vibrorapier the initiate carried was almost completely silent, a ranged weapon would give her an added advantage of being able to keep her distance if and when she encountered hostiles as she made her way deeper into the maze of tunnels.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Though she had not encountered a jedi in person before today, the youngling was well aware that they had lost everything. With the First Order sovereignty in place, the heretics were ousted from their temple. Now, they were being hunted and neutralised even as they tried to look for a way to escape the planet. Marriskcal knew they were only growing more desperate with each passing hour, as more jedi lives were being extinguished. And a cornered rat was dangerous, liable to lash out blindly and ferociously.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]With this in mind, Marriskcal raised her rifle, keeping her force presence tightly under control as she made her way down the dim path before her. Though she was alone, the tunnels were anything but quiet. Designed for stealth operations, the armour’s sensory enhancement amplified every sound. Each drip of sewage water as it fell, the echo of the steps she took, even the chitter of the pests that made the sewers its home, it was enough to be slightly distracting.

But it more than made up for it in how it also augmented her own senses to better perceive her surroundings. Her confidence buoyed by the clarity and distance she could achieve with its aid, the youngling took another step forward… only to step on something soft and slimy. Letting out a muffled ‘eep’, Marriskcal took a swift leap back, and looked down only to be greeted by a juvenile dianoga. Wrinkling her nose at the tiny cephalopod for making her heart jump to her throat, the blonde continued her journey to Checkpoint 1, all while mumbling softly under her breathe about her misfortunate encounters with tentacled creatures on both of her operations. Once is bad luck, twice is an unfortunate coincidence. But if there is a thrice in my future, I’m going to scream.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Mercifully, other than the offended dianoga, the initiate made her way towards Checkpoint 1 with no further interruptions. Or perhaps it was purposely assigned to me due to my inexperience? The aforementioned area that she was to meet up with Rakghoul 1 and the rest of her brothers and sisters was the first catchbasin where the tunnels would intersect. Seeing the expanse of space in her view as she neared the end of the passage she was travelling on, Marriskcal slowed, taking care to approach the area. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“Nekghoul One, approaching Checkpoint One.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]If she was first and there were no unidentified personnel lurking around the area, it was her task to make sure it was secure and did not contain any traps. If there were, she would lay low and alert the others as to her discovery.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Pressing herself close to the tunnel walls to make use of the shadows to further shroud her presence, Marriskcal carefully peeked over the edge. The suit’s systems went to work, swiftly analysing the immediate surroundings for any detonation or detection devices. The blonde also stretched her senses out, relying on the force to caution and warn her to any potential threats. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Both came back clear.

“Checkpoint One, clear.”[/SIZE]

 

[Seto du Couteau]

Objective: II
Location: Sewer, Lothal (Checkpoint One; Near Marriskcal Lati)
Allies: [member="Castor Ren"] | [member="Marriskcal Lati"]

The eerie silence actually gave Seto slight pause, usually critters would be running around and strangely he heard nothing. His footsteps remained just as silent, great care he took to keep his physical presence hidden. Though he exposed his Force presence as he needed his Force sense to help with discovering any wayward Silver Jedi running around. The inky blackness of the water Seto stepped over remained thankfully low, even if he had been wearing more suitable survival gear he couldn't stand getting his clothing dirty. The sewer continued to cause great offense to his nose more so but if the water would rise it certainly would be the least of his worries at that point of time.

Kriffling hell the smell.

Seto maneuvered himself gracefully between the bodies of more poor souls, unfortunately Seto did not discover anyone still alive, or fortunately depending on the perspective. His eyes darted across from body to the next, with both arms crossed over his chest, he felt no Force signature indicating life or even a quick prod with his foot. A slight worry erupted from his pessimistic mind that perhaps they had planted explosives to trap and kill anyone that the First Order sent after them. Pleasant and happy thoughts Seto, and don't think about what would happen if someone opened the flood gates.

"Nekghoul One, this is Nekghoul Two forming up on your Six, over." Seto called in, hearing that his forward comrade had already cleared the first checkpoint.

He continued to move carefully through the sewer floor, his footsteps never touching a large pool of water to keep his approach silent. Though something did give Seto some concern, something slithered and almost swiped at his foot but Seto simply jumped over and quickly continued on his way towards his comrade. Strange little creature that was, very strange.

Approaching his somewhat diminutive comrade, honestly Seto surprised himself with how little he knew of her except that she was young. The young Du Couteau heir resisted the urge to ask how she was holding up, "You find it strange that they hadn't at least laid some traps for us?" Seto asked Nekghoul One. Or maybe we did catch them on the back foot.

 

[Chubs]

Objective 1
Allies: [member="Omari Vyken"] | [member="Madelyn Lowe"] | [member="The Major"] | [member="Ursula Vizla"] | [member="Listib Hibin"]

Chubs nodded at the order, and began to press hurriedly for the roof. Chubs' breaths became shorter, and shorter as he pumped his fat little behind after flight after flight of stairs. He made cursorary glances into the windows, and balconies, as he passed, giving a report to each, "Enemy activity, focused on suppressing frontal assault." This was the same response he gave to each storey he ran past. The floors were increasingly filled with hostiles, all focused on the front of the building, rather than the flank. It was amateur hour. The enemy, laughable in how they hadn't anticipated the attack from the flank. Or at least recon, although the private would not reflect on this until the time came to compile an after action report.

Chubs pressed forward, and was halfway up the stairs upon hearing the intrusion on the fourth floor. He looked back, aghast. What had happened? Had he missed something? He watched as his comrades threw down the corpse, after the search for a commlink was completed. The expired rebel, made a hideous crack, as his bones shattered on impact. The sound made Chubs a little queasy. He did not let this stop him as he reached floor five, and paused. Enemy activity here, was a little more frantic. He spied a stairwell, and troops moving down the stairs. While there were a few engaging their fellow stormtrooper, via emplacements, most were streaming down the stairs.

"Enemy coverage of this floor, from the look, is clearing." Chubs informed his superior. "Seems to be reinforcing lower levels."

 

[Omari Ngao]

Objective [1]

The stormtrooper ascended the steps two at a time to catch up to the giddy private. Information was flooding into his HUD and his earpiece. Aerial Unit in the AO. Providing sensory data. It took a moment, but when it began flooding into their HUDs, Omari nodded to the third trooper with them, "Hold the staircase." And then he reached to open the door, beckoning the private to follow him in as he pointed to the opposing wall. "Cover your corners."

The HUD displayed a handful of hostiles on their floor, painted in their HUDs, but they were... Poor, insurgents, less than a militia, he thought as he recalls the one he killed on the balcony prior. Where they had shown up in their helmets likely wasn't accurate, not with bodies moving. Sights would need to be kept without proper IFF transponders. However, when one disappeared entirely from his helmet, he paused before he turned down the corridor, waving [member="Chubs"] on with him.

There was an open door at the end of the hallway and Omari determined that was where the hostile had disappeared. Picking up the pace as he moved down the hallway, when he crossed the threshold of the doorway, his finger poised over the trigger finger he was surprised to find the barely familiar woman, at least, according to her dossier's image, hefting a blaster and a body on the floor just a few feet away.

"Governor?"

To say he was surprised was obvious, even through the helmet that masked his features based off his stance, the slackened hold of the blaster before he re-processed the situation and turned back to Chubs.

"Cover the hallway, we got what we came for." And he opened up his commsline to the company commander. "Package recovered Captain. Hostiles still active in the AO."

[member="Madelyn Lowe"], [member="Ursula Vizla"], [member="Listib Hibin"]

 

[Kyrel Ren]

https://youtu.be/NxLlnyLa7Xo​

​

​

​

Location: Jedi Temple, Lothal​

Objective 4: Return to the Temple, and recover knowledge from the Archives.​

​

​

Lothal, a planet the First Order tried to siege for wars and was fought in two wars over it. It had at last finally fallen and under the banner of the First Order. Kyrel as walked to the steps of the entrance of the temple, he could feel a certain coldness, and in that moment as the door opened, he had felt as if ghosts had inhabited the Temple halls. The day the Galactic Alliance fell, so to it had the New Jedi Order. The Knights of Ren launching a purge of the Jedi led by Sieger Ren himself. Kyrel couldn't help but think on that night as he entered in, scorch marks and the smell of ionized air had hung thick throughout the temple. He could still hear the screams and cries of Jedi. He still remembered the cries of younglings as he cut them down, traveling down the halls, the coldness still followed him. The blinding light that had acted like a beacon had all but been extinguished.​

​

Most of all he remembered feeling his connection to Sieger had been cut off, and not only was it him, but it was both Decitus and Ara Zambrano as well, after murdering the Jedi Children, he had felt fear and panic fill the entirety of his being. He had thought them dead, but even as he looked now, corpses and skeletons remained, clad in Jedi robes. He did not once see corpses that could have been similar to the Supreme Leader, or to his fellow Ren. He had looked for hours and still could not find a body. He couldn't have ruled them out as dead no, but it was strange the connections, the bonds that he made since he was a Disciple disappeared. A part of him still lingered to know why. To this day he still wished to know how or what happened, but the empty halls of the dead didn't grant him an answer, only silence.​

​

While Lothal had grown restless under First Imperial Occupation and heard reports of rebellion amassed by a group of surviving Jedi. Normally to the former Enforcer, now Steward of the Ren. He would have been one of the first ones to deal with the threat. But he had meant to come to the Temple. What he desired there was the knowledge they had, and more so how to deal with the Jedi that remained in hiding and survived the Purge. As he made his way towards the Archives through the destroyed rubble, he could feel eyes on him. Someone or something was watching him.​

 

[Madelyn Lowe]

Blackness quivered on the edge of her vision, shifting and threatening to overwhelm her. Madelyn clung to her consciousness, barely, through waves of agony. With one hand she hefted the blaster rifle, barely able to lift it let along shoot with one hand. Her injured hand, the thumb sticking out at a bizarre angle, was tucked flush against her belly, jarring with her every movement.

A moment later, after she'd struggled to her feet, the door burst open, causing her to yelp, stumble backwards, and raise the blaster towards the intruder. Casting a wild eyed look at the figure ahead, it took a few seconds for her brain to kick into gear, to recognise that this was a stormtrooper. And that meant rescue.

"I... Uh..." Madelyn was somewhat at a loss for words. Unable to express her gratitude. She swallowed heavily and gave a muttered "Thank you" to the soldier.

"We need to get out of here now. There are 5 others on this floor, more in the others and the surrounding buildings. If they discover what's happened." Madelyn shuddered. It was good to be free from her confines, to have a soldier here in the familiar, comforting garb of the Order. But they weren't out of the woods yet.

[member="Omari Vyken"] | [member="The Major"] | [member="Chubs"] | [member="Natasi Fortan"] | [member="Listib Hibin"]​

 

[Listib Hibin]

Objective I: Rescue the Governor​

The long groan finally ceased as Listib slowly leaned up, still sore from the fall. There was only three floors in this entire building but it feels like twenty he went down doing that stunt. Very slowly, he got up as his headset went a bit haywire for a moment as he smacked the side of it. There was some information feeding through but it was completely scrambled and it was long overdue to fix this damn error. Now however, he must rely on his Wallscope to check the area around him. Very slowly, he pulled it out and aimed upwards as he started to get a few readings on the complex. He noticed a lot of signatures up top as the formation looked familiar to him as he noted these must be the stormtroopers that were sent in to recover the Governor...meaning his mission was half failure, half success though he would like to get a bit more out of it. Looking down however, he noticed a large swath of ugly signatures of various types. When looking up, he can tell a variation of uniform, down below it was a mismatch of the uglies. He counted four of them as he quickly put away the Wallscope and jumped into one of the many rooms in the place. It was quiet as four made some noise up the staircase and then swore. "Damn stairs is blown apart! Fire escape, take that one! Move up now, go go! We cannot let the Governor escape!"

The four men would start rushing into the second room on the left as they started to file in, Listib was crouched down with his Wallscope as he watched the four enter the room, checking for hostiles until noting an all clear, proceeding to go to the window. "Think it over, we need to leave or execute our hostage after this, else we ma-" Before the sentance was finished, a splinter of blasterfire went through the wall, a tri-shot blast from the Acclimator as one near the window shattered through it and onto the fire escape with a loud thud. The three turned and fired at the wall the blaster fire came from as they kept firing until their power cells ran out. Slowly they reloaded, looking over at one another. "We got it?" Then the wall exploded forward into a shower of dust as Listib came through, aiming the shotgun and pulling the trigger once at the nearest person as the alien flew back into the wall, the other two aiming right at Listib. Throwing his weapon at the guy on the right, he fell backwards from the impact with him running at the other alien, kicking right at the knee and unsheathing a viroblade to stab right at the back and turn around, hearing the blaster fire erupt as he used the alien as a human shield. When the distinct click was heard, he charged forward with a yell and then stabbed downwards with the viroblade onto the other man, two bodies now stabbed together though one was still breathing. Letting go, he walked over towards the shotgun and picking it up, turning to unload a tri-shot into the still breathing male, the alien now staying still with his pale red eyes.

He did not note what aliens were killed, though he did notice some unusual apparel on the troopers as he turned on his video hud to document what he was seeing. Right as he turned to the door to note what he would call a kid...actually a young adult holding one of the RPS launchers directly at him and was trembling. Noticing, he would slowly put away the shotgun and pulled the viroblade out of the two bodies as he slowly spoke with one hand raised up though very carefully, kept walking forward.


"Easy there...that has an explosion radius to kill both of us in the room...no need to p-"

"STAY THERE! You move...you get blown up!"

"Yeah and you go with it...come on now, let the launcher go...this is not a fight you want."

"Yes it is! I will be a hero!"

"A dead hero with a burnt body under rubble whom kidnapped a Governor for political gain, that does not sound like a hero, sounds like a puppet."

"I am telling you to back off! Stop coming closer!"

"Kid, you are not this kind of material..."


After taking several more steps, his chest was now right at the RPS straight at his own chest, staring down the kids eyes as he trembled, he was human through and through and was shaking even more. Very slowly, Listib lifted the Launcher very gently out of the kids hands and carefully put it to the side as he looked in shock at Listib. Very slowly, he started to cry as in Listibs mind, a conflict of interest showed. His objective was to kill all hostiles on sight though the person is no longer considered a hostile and more so, is considered a juvenile brainwash attempt. Very carefully, he wrapped his left arm around the male, finally estimating him to be at least sixteen as he waited for him to calm down as he formulated some form of plan.


"Easy there kid...easy...what is your name?"

"M-Makil."

"Ok...Makil, I need you to answer some questions...first, who ordered the Governors capture?"

"Resistance Group down below the city...I do not know the name, said it be best to get her to tell the people the truth."

"Their truth I assume...how did you get here?"

"I ran into them, they gave me a blaster...said to fight or get shot by all of you, said it was the only choice!"

"There is always a choice...listen, your confused, we are getting you extracted but I need to know where the main database is in the building, do you know?"

"The commander has a datapad, he was in the exo-suit."

"Yeah he no longer exists...where else?"

"Umm...there is room on this floor, right over there."


He was then escorted towards the room in question as it was locked though a swift kick broke the door down. He never liked older apartment buildings though they had their perks during an operation. Walking over towards one of the large central computers, he would lean over and tap the keys to ensure it works. Looking at Makil frequently, he would start tapping the controls with one hand with the other ready to pull out a weapon if need be.


"Take off that jacket, you are no longer working for them."


The kid responded by removing it, Listib still typed as he saw information as he tapped the side of his visor, just the video portion as he showed the layout of the room and then turned it back off, plugging in a small flashstick to upload all the information. Within half a minute, he had downloaded everything and as he unplugged it, he noticed a few commands based on jamming technology and oddly enough, it was locating a jammer above them. Taking the chance to possibly terminate an annoyance, he accepted the command to jam the jammer as a loud CLANG was heard followed by cranking from below as the survillence feeds started to work again and his HUD was no longer jammed, as well as communications. He opened up a channel as he hopefully got the Stormtrooper squadron above him.



"Testing...Testing...this is LH-4241 on frequency. Come in to commander in the apartment building. Is the Governor secured?"


As he waited, he would motion Makil to go forward first as he checked his corners and awaited his response.

Objective IV Completed, Data Recovered​

.....Processing....
New Objective​

Escort Makil Out Of Combat Zone​

 

[Chubs]

Objective 1
Allies: [member="Madelyn Lowe"] | [member="The Major"] | @Omrai Vyken

Chubs followed the proceedings and movements of the sergeant. When the two arrived, after having stalked the insurgent, he watched the Governor, his heat beating in anticipation. His heart beat at what felt like a thousand times a second. What had they walked into. However, with confirmation this was the target, Chubs relaxed, at least relatively. While Sergeant Vyken loosened his grip on his weapon, Chubs' holstered his , and saluted, quite vigorously. "Governor Lowe!" He barked, like an obedient guard dog. The soldier then paused, in that position, until Vyken gave the order to cover the hallway.

Crouching, Chubs took point, at the doorway, and scanned it. His brown eyes watching for any movement. He listened to their conversation, and was tempted to bite his tongue to the governor and his new CO. However, with the VIP in hand, and the need for an immediate evac for her safety, Chubs decided to contribute. "Sir," Chubs began, he was still glued to the stairs, but spoke in a soft tone. It didn't carry with it Vyken's authority, nor the grace of Lowe, "We should clear an LZ on the roof, ask for an immediate extraction of the Governor." he suggested, "Otherwise we'll have to drag her through an escalating warzone."

 

[Omari Ngao]

Objective [1]

"Just doing our job," he replied, almost mindlessly to the given thanks that the Governor had offered to the duo.

Eager to please, was [member="Chubs"], Omari realized. But he let the Private's enthusiasm slide this one time, undoubtedly a mistake his pessimistic conscious whispered in his mind. Hostage recovered, there was still much to do, and he typed away at its miniature keyboard, casting some of the information in his cluttered HUD to its wrist mounted counterpart display and he raised two fingers to the Governor almost as soon as she began speaking. "We know." Blips were still showing in his wrist-display and he gauged distances before closing it. Trusting his second to be doing his job properly, he looked behind him to the Governor as someone, [member="Listib Hibin"] began speaking on an open frequency. Great. That's one way to do it quietly. There was a thought to opening the wrist display, but he knew the insurgents would be coming back to secure the Governor's makeshift cell.

Swiping at his utility belt and lifting his secondary communicator, he cursed quietly to himself as he handed the earpiece to the government official. "I'm going to need you to follow behind him," he says, nodding back in Chubs direction. Pointing to the communications device, he says, "Governor. Your job is to be silent." His hand dropped and switched the firing mode back to lethal. "Let's move, Private. Get us to the roof."

Having given the governor the earpiece, she'd be in on their comms, and so his outward vocabulator was muted.

"Dee Enn One Four Nine requesting evac on top of this frequency's location."

[member="Madelyn Lowe"]

 

[The Major]

Objective 1
A balcony close enough and not so close.

Hi-jacking comms wasn’t exactly what was done here; friendly cooperation between different agencies was a common enough occurrence. It just so happened that the detachment of the Bureau reporting to this incident didn’t have proper time to clear all the back channels and approvals. So while the Major tensed her wrist and pushed the bolt back close, she knew that her hand would have a proper workout throughout the evening after she would have to drum up a number of reports for at least seven different superiors who would probably take umbrage with her operating without clearance.

Better to write out apology notes and post action explanations than to beg for permission first.

For now she could indulge in the perfection of her work, proud of how quickly the intrusion team had managed to recover the target and request evac. The dropship doing lazy circles over the building was close enough, so it dipped down on the behest of one of the other agents currently working comms in the apartment. Some of the remaining terrorists had taken exception to this new noise as the transport neared the roof, and a number of heat signatures were converging on both the holding room and roof. With a controlled sigh, there was now one less combatant after the freeshooter sighted and fired again with a satisfying…

!VVWEEEEEE!​

[member="Madelyn Lowe"] | [member="Ursula Vizla"] | [member="Listib Hibin"] | [member="Omari Vyken"] | [member="Chubs"]​

 

[Marriskcal Lati]

Praetorian Initiate
Objective II
Callsign: Nekghoul 1
Equipment | FO-07K Multi-purpose Assault Armour with Repulsorlift Technology, Vibrorapier, Training Lightsaber, DE-39 Maser Rifle, Throwing Knives, Binding Wires, Injector Pens filled with Lecepanine
Location | Checkpoint 1 (Catchbasin), The Sewers, Lothal
Allies | [member="Castor Ren"], [member="Seto Du Couteau"]
Status | This is not a test, is it?

[SIZE=11pt]Marriskcal relaxed when she heard that Nekghoul 2 was closing in on her location. While the initiate knew she has to get used to working alone and relying solely on her own abilities, it was always a relief to know that she has someone she could depend on. Even if it came in the form of another unfamiliar brother. But considering she has lived a sheltered life on Skye, never leaving the planet even once up until the past month, it was not unexpected.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]When the other appeared in her field of vision, the blonde smiled up at him, despite the helmet obscuring her features. While a part of her wondered at the lack of protection, Marriskcal was mostly glad that she was able to learn and remember his features along with his faintly familiar signature. Have I met him before today? If she did, she could not recall it. And the knowledge was slightly troubling. Keeping her presence sharp and alert for the rest, the youngling took a closer step towards the other.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]At his query, Marriskcal paused and tilted her head aside, contemplating his words carefully. What Nekghoul 2 has brought up was reasonable, and it has certainly crossed her own mind as she was scanning the checkpoint. But as the query came from a more experienced brother, the initiate gave it further thought. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“Well…” her voice was hesitant, as Marriskcal wondered if the other was testing her confidence in her abilities or the other was genuine about seeking for her opinion. “It did come to mind, but I feel that due to the assault by our forces, they may not have time to trap every area in the sewer systems.” No, if she were fighting on the losing side and desperately trying to look for an escape, she would not expend the time to set traps or ambushes in every area or tunnel. Instead, she would pick the best locations where it would cause maximum damage with minimal effort.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Detonation devices were still a possibility.

“Also, as they have lost the battle and our military has control of the planet, I would assume they are running low on supplies. It would make more sense for them to set the traps closer to their location.” The deeper they got, the less tunnels and areas they had to navigate. Therefore, the Order of Ren would slowly find themselves with less choices on the paths they could take to reach the pumphouse. But it also meant that those same paths would be the best place and time for the heretics to press their last stand.[/SIZE]

 

[Chubs]

Objective 1
Allies: [member="Omari Vyken"] | [member="Madelyn Lowe"]

"Siryessir!" Chubs barked back, with near unprecedented zeal. He then looked at the Governor, "Follow close behind ma'am, we'll get the job done." He informed his better. The stormtrooper, flicked his rifle to its nominal, lethal setting, and began to lead the two, himself hunched over slightly. The trooper prepared to move past the staircase, when he heard movement. The rushed movement of two sentries pressing up the stairs. With no care for his own safety, he leapt right on it, and let rip. Chubs had taken two unfortunate guardsmen by surprise, and the two, whose brains immediate fried with their contact with his bolts, fell. Dull thuds continued as the corpses tumbled down the creaky stairs.

Usually, Chubs would have felt shocked. A little surprised, or even slightly awful that he had ended the lives of these people. But on the other hand, he felt emboldened. Empowered, and most of all, proud. He was going to get the Governor out, no matter the cost. He was no longer scared farmboy, turned soldier. No, he was a professional. A man who would let nothing stand in his way. As the rebels below discovered their comrades, Chubs broke into a sprint, leading the Governor, and his superior to the two soldiers entry point.

"Sir, you take point." Chubs said, it was an acknowledgement of the fact he had now alerted the enemy to their presence. "I'll hold them back and cover your retreat."

 

[Suki Klev]

Objective 2: Flush out the rebels and identify monster
Allies: [member="Castor Ren"] [member="Marriskcal Lati"] [member="Seto Du Couteau"]
Post 1

The citizens of Lothal did not seem too touched by the conflict in recent months between the Galactic Alliance and the First Order, but under the surface, Suki noticed a wariness with which they conducted their business. Yes on the outside they were affable, but information had been difficult to come by regarding any rebel cells that remained rooted in. The cityscape held physical signs of war still, bombed out buildings and stubborn fires burned. Acrid smoke clogged nostrils and clung to the fabric of clothing, soaked into hair, and after about two days in the city, Suki felt as though she smelled ever-presently like gasoline.

The inexperienced agent monitored the FOSB frequency and noted that three operatives were already in position. She would only be called in as backup in case they ran into trouble. It would be suicide for Suki to go up against Jedi as she had no real defense against the Force. Technology could handle that eventually, but for now she’d relay information to the team on the ground.

With the operatives underground, Suki had nestled herself into an abandoned building near to the sewer entrance, on one of the lower floors as she needed to be as close to the ground as possible. Using an EnhanceScan, she monitored the lifeforms in the tunnel. The Ghoul Team had been tagged with electronic identifiers so that the black-haired agent could weed them out from the rebels. And sure enough as the operatives in the tunnels predicted, a small mine exploded, not right next to them but close enough to hear and feel.

“Ghoul Team, this is Ogre One. There are still twenty lifeforms at the pumphouse, no one injured in the detonation.” Suddenly her attention was drawn to movement at the explosion site. Something moved quickly into the view of the scanner, something big. “Um… also… you have company heading east to west towards Ghoul Team. It’s long, about eight meters.”

Suki knew she must have sounded daft, but some kind of creature had been awakened by the noise, and now the operatives had more to contend with than just Jedi.

“Hold on tight while I run the imagery against another database."

It would certainly help to identify what it was and just how dangerous or poisonous it happened to be.

 

[Arahael]

Objective: Taking the city, securing hostage area
Allies: [member="Suki Klev"] [member="Chubs"] [member="Omari Vyken"] [member="Madelyn Lowe"] [member="The Major"] [member="Listib Hibin"] [member="Ursula Vizla"]

The regiment had been spread around the city center, experiencing heavy fire from the local resistance. Despite this, the ever-present sound of blaster fire was getting less frequent as the battle went on. Stopping at the side of a main street, Max unfolded a portable command terminal that he was carrying. Blues, greens and reds flickered across his white armor from the terminal, displaying local troop movements as operation unfolded. He had ensured that some troops were position to secure the area known to contain Governor Lowe as a hostage. Ordinarily, he would lead a team to assist in rescuing the Governor, however with more coordination required than usual, he was happy to let others do so.

"Regiment, regiment. This is Battalion Commander. The VIP has been secured."

Max folded the terminal quickly, readying his blaster once more "Copy Battalion Commander, secure the interiors and any intel you may find, out."

Looking further up the road, past the smattering of dead bodies, he could see one of the other assault battalion CO's of his, enthusiastically gesturing to another officer. Slinging the portable terminal and now two-handing the blaster, he jogged up towards him.

"Major! You're clear to begin a more aggressive push. We're making good progress in other areas. I presume we've made it far?"

The officer began to respond "We-", rapid blaster fire broke out towards one of the buildings lining the street. The source, it turned out, was a quick-thinking officer. The results, thankfully, an armed rebel dropping to the ground by a doorway.

Glancing back to Max, the Major resumed "Almost secure, Sir."

 

[Dirk Bannahan]

Objective 3
Is this the real world?

Nope. A stormtrooper shook Racosidae until she roused with a dazed nod, and understanding her predicament did something most didn’t and helped her up to her boots before racking the charging handle of his blaster rifle. Bereft her lightsaber: it lost in the battle upon the surface she had to rely on a hold out pistol for the interim until something more substantial could be procured, and it wasn’t such a simple thing to get a replacement. No, until they could build their own the Ren were expected to use whatever was on hand, and it wasn’t like they were married to the iconic weapon. Call it a matter of interpretation -but she never got the impression that some jedi weapon made or broke a person. Especially not her.

Moving out of the shuttle that thankfully wasn’t scrambled to bits like the last time, the Ren languished behind the other troopers who double checked the area before marching up to some deck officer and his sentries. They exchanged some curt words and exposition before a mighty rumble on deck sent everyone tumbling down to the floor. This included one young woman, trained in the arts of the Force, who faceplanted with the grace of tossed wet dough while everyone else managed to stay on their feet. It took a few seconds for the troopers and other Ren attached to this mission to process whether or not they should be concerned about their comrade laying so still upon the deck.

[member="Felix"]​

 

[Kyrel Ren]

Objective: 4- Explore the Temple, and discover Knowledge.
Location: Lothal, Jedi Temple.

Kyrel kept wandering slowly throughout the halls, the corpses of what remained of the Jedi covered almost every step, along with that of Stormtroopers that had aided the Ren in assaulting the Temple, and all the while his mind drifted back to that night. The screams, the begs and cries of the children he had cut down. Something that even he would never forget. There was nothing but an errie silence as he made his way to the archives. He heard a voice he had not heard in perhaps months. It sounded as if it only was an echo. "What brings you to this place my son.. When all that was once full of life and knowledge, is nothing more than death." Kyrel growled as he hated the voice in his head. "You are wrong Mother, what brings me here is not death, but as you said, what brings me here is knowledge." The ghostly apparition of Miran Kyrel appeared more visibly. She had but a disappointing look, but a loving one that a mother could bestow upon her son. As she attempted to touch his masked face with her hand. Kyrel, or then Thomas did not move and only stood there for a moment as she continued. "Look what has become of you Thomas, nothing more than a pawn of evil. I never wanted this for you, I never wanted any of this for you. It's never too late to turn back, to become something greater than this. You can still be a good man."

For a moment all Kyrel could do was look at her, not saying a word as he gave into her touch, before rejecting it. Growling as what was Thomas retreated and Kyrel Ren took hold once more. "Enough! You are dead, you have no say now Mother. This is all there is, look your precious Jedi Order is in ruins." He said emphasizing his point by pointing his hand all around at the destruction. "One day you will learn that your son is gone. Only Kyrel Ren remains." She frowned and as she disappeared, her voice retreated back as an echo. "Remember my son even in the dark abyss, a spark will always remain."

Kyrel shook his head, as he didn't bother replying to the words of a dead woman. He made his way into the archives, which was reminiscent of familiar archives like the one seen on Coruscant. Accessing a nearby terminal, he spent the next several minutes trying to find what he was seeking. Then, at last, he had found it, a record of every known Jedi that was part of the Order, prior to the attack on Lothal. Something to which he would use to great effect. As he inserted a datachip inside, he heard a blade behind him activate, as he dodged to one of the damaged holo-book cases. As he heard a feminine voice. "For all the suffering you have brought, I will make you pay Sith."

 

[Omari Ngao]

Objective [1]

Through his helmet the Sergeant watched [member="Chubs"] handle the insurgents, his blaster leveled in their direction even while he looked down the path they had just come to cover their flank. Seeing as it was clear by the time that the private finished the scuffle, Omari growled out his next command. It was the final leg of the mission. Get to the roof and get everybody out. That was his mission. Not what his superiors told him. That came second.

Everybody comes home. He thinks to himself. I already lost one trooper.

"Naw."

The larger form of the sergeant stepped past the Governor for a moment to push firmly push the trooper on ahead of them.

"Keep it pushing. There aren't any heroes in this squad, Private."

[member="Madelyn Lowe"]