Welcome Home.

[Valkren Calderon]

"Lookout!"

Colonel Valkren Calderon braced, grasping onto a spare handle on the rear of the SGV as the warning was thrown out to the party. A shoulder-launched rocket flew directly over the hood of the vehicle, narrowly missing what contained the engine block. The explosive lodged in the wooden fence line directly to their left, detonating immediately and throwing about splinters and dirt onto the second SGV in the small convoy.

Usually, a rangers rules of engagement stated that they'd disembark and engage the attacking enemies until their convoy was deemed safe, but this was different.

They were on the clock.

The two jeep-like transports ripped through the combat-torn fields of Alderaan, using the pathways designed for farm vehicles and transports to make it between the larger cities and rural areas. Aside from the main fighting at the capital, small Sith landing parties had made contact with the planets security forces in many of the farms and mountainous terrain away from most of the civilization.

It didn't seem to be the Sith's initial attempt to attack these areas, just bad positioning by some of the security forces' inexperienced officers. In their attempt to get a drop on the invading forces, they mistakenly drew the much more experienced enemies into the open field of battle. This is what caused the conflict that was brewing inside of Valkren.

After another minute or so of ducking in the bed of the SGV to avoid shots, both vehicles pulled off to opposite sides of the road, stopping directly in front of the entrance to a prefab 'town' that acted as a living area for some of the new farm hands. Beyond the 'town' were a line of different family owned farms, spanning out over what would have been gorgeous hills at a time of peace. Yet now the hills were just covered in sporadic combat.

Valkren lifted his body out of the bed, planting his feet into the dirt before getting into cover. He looked down for just a moment to check his 'Firebolt' repeater, then to his kit. Instead of their usually full suit of katarn armor, he let his team pick their own load outs for this operation. He himself wore fewer plates of armor, the usual gauntlets, chest plate, helmet, and leg padding were all present over a layer of civilian clothing. Several security forces members disembarked from his vehicle, along with one other familiar face: Lieutenant Konrad Harris had chosen to go with Valkren on this 'side-mission,' and frankly go against everything the rangers stand for. In fact, only a select group of rangers were currently present in the small convoy. Valkren had given his entire team the option on wether or not to fight with the main force of defenders, or go with him. He made it clear that he would respect their decision no matter the choice.

Even with the Sith presence here, it was easy to know that the rangers could most be used at the capital, fighting against the main force of invaders. It was not an easy choice for Valkren, abandoning what could have been the biggest fight in his life, protecting the people of his home. It may not have truly been an act of desertion of abandonment, but it felt like that to the Colonel.

Just as the group they hitched a ride with disembarked and began to move back into the open, the combat picked up again. Muzzle flashes and blaster bolts were visible to the group as they peppered the vehicles, forcing them all back into cover on separate sides of the road.

"Bloody-" Konrad muttered as he was pulled into the cover of the jeep as the enemy rounds continued to pound their position.

"We're not going to be going anywhere with the pissy little strike force we have here, sir!"

Valkren took several breaths, before raising his head above cover to look where their 'bad guys' were at. He only had mere seconds before a slug sparked off of the hood in front of him, ushering him back into cover. The officer cursed himself under his breath, his mistake of bringing fewer numbers in an attempt to move through the farm grounds quickly was biting him back now.

"We need our people here!" Harris barked out, pushing himself into a crouched position behind their cover.

Valkren inched forward on his knees, making sure to stay low as sporadic fire still came in from several different directions ahead of them. He could see the security forces returning fire when they could, but it was risky against the skilled enemy combatants. Valkren would place a hand on the shoulder of one of their allied soldiers to let him know he was behind him, and to get his attention.

"Whats the status of that town and the farming compounds up ahead? Were the civilians evacuated before the sith got here?"

"Negative, sir! Enemy forces cut of security during evacuation attempts. Most residents were forced back into their homes. It's a nasty cross-fire they're caught up in according to reports!" The soldier responded before returning to fire back after a volley of shots from their attackers.

Valkren turned back around after this report, resting on one knee next to Harris. His fingers tapped along the upper receiver of his heavy repeater, deep in thought to consider their next moves carefully. Perhaps the lieutenant was right, they'd need more manpower for this. Civilian lives, and his own family, would hang in the balance on their next decisions.

"This is Colonel Calderon of the first ranger special tactics unit, we're stuck in a bit of a situation here. We could use any spare silver forces to help evacuate civilians from a combat zone directly south of the capital. I'm sending coordinates now."

With that, he let his repeater hang from his chest rig, moving to focus on the information within his HUD. After he was sure he'd sent the correct coordinates, he'd look back to Harris.

"Now we play the waiting game."

[member="Vertigo"] | [member="Tyrell Caphey"] | [member="Roona Osmari"] | [member="Aubrey King"] | [member="Beltran Rarr"] | [member="Sigrid Forsberg"]

 

[Roona Osmari]

Roona had heard of Alderaan, she knew of the rolling rural splendor and mountainous regions.

And yet, this was not how she envisioned her first trip to the well-known world. On any other day, the landscape here would have been quite breathtaking. But today, the fields and hills were playing the uneasy host of a battle. As she understood it, the Sith had descended upon Alderaan – a brazen strike to the heart of the core.

Shortly following the warning call of one of their comrades, she heard explosion to their left side. Their vehicle rocked slightly but thundered on. From behind her visor, she glanced over towards [member="Valkren Calderon"]. When the Colonel had asked them to accompany him home, there had been absolutely zero hesitation on Roona’s part. He had become an important figure to Roona, both in her personal and professional life. She’d go wherever he did, if he needed her, she was there. After all, she knew that the Colonel would do the same for her – or any of the Raiders.

Hopping down, she felt her boots hit solid ground. Her kit was lighter than usual; the marksman sported the light shadow armor, supplemented with a couple of heavier pieces attached. This combination offered a decent amount of protection, but also kept her light and swift. Though her armor was different this day, her weapons were much the same – she stuck with her trusty rifle, shatter gun, and a small variety of hold-out options. But now, seeing the battle spread out before her, she hoped it would be enough.

The worry wasn’t allowed to stay in her mind for long.

Diving to cover, she stayed low to avoid the spray of fire. The odds were seemingly stacked against them, would their small team be able to pull off such a trying feat? As she crept forward, coming up towards Harris and Calderon, she paused to listen. As she listened to the exchange, her gaze shifted off towards the horizon, where there were farms visible in the distance. Roona imagined that there were many frightened families, a thought that tugged at her heart.

Roona gave Valkren a gentle slap on the shoulder, a sign of camaraderie and hidden affection. Just to let him know that she was there to support him.

 

[Valkren Calderon]

Valkren felt a hand on his bare shoulder where a shoulder plate would be if he was in full armor. His head tilted away from the direction of the farms, but he wouldn't need to turn around to know who it was. The name on his HUD that popped up was displayed as 'Echo,' Sergeant Osmari. Just knowing she was there gave Valkren the boost of confidence he needed.

The colonel looked back over the hood of the vehicle, and just as if the heavens opened up and presented him an opportunity, the were a sudden lull in the fire. Perhaps both sides were reloaded their weapons, or taking a moment to look to see where enemy positions were, or maybe it had just been a sign..

Valkren was going to take it.

The soldier pushed up and off of the hood, digging his combat boots into the dirt as he left around the jeep and began sprinting for the entrance to the prefab town. In this split moment, Lieutenant Harris went wide eyed as he witnessed the momentary connection between Osmari and Calderon. It seemed to Konrad like Roona had transmitted a whole plan to Valkren just by the act of touching him on the shoulder. He knew Calderon was 'courages' like people had always deemed him, but he knew his commanding officer was not foolish enough to run into a kill zone like he had just done.

"Oh, feth' it." Harris muttered this under his breath, before standing up out of cover to fire out a burst of bolts in response to the enemies that had just returned to their positions.

Valkren's movement seemed to spark some inspiration from the security forces, several members running from the cover of their jeeps to move into the town with the colonel. Two were cut down by the return of the entrenched Sith forces. Up ahead, Valkren had arrived to the steps leading up into the raised town. The black armor of a Sith trooper shimmered as it appeared at the top of the stairs, bringing a blaster around to the colonel's position. This time around, Valkren was prepared for a surprise like this. With his heavy repeater already at the ready, Valkren stopped advancing up the stairs so he could shoulder his own weapon at the newly arrived enemy. A quick burst of bolts slammed into the trooper's chest plate, the body crumpling down the staircase. Valkren side stepped the falling body and continued up the stairs, with security forces close on his tail. While Harris was doing his best to navigate the vision of the dug-in enemies, Valkren reached the platform that supported all of the prefab buildings.

What he found at the other end of the courtyard was something he very-well should have expected. A string of five Sith soldiers had set up along the far end, using several food crates and other farming supplies to make a short wall of cover. It was easy to see the small group of Sith that had been separated from the main attack force had devised a plan to trap any Silver forces into an easy fight until their back-up arrived.

They played Valkren perfectly. A much heavier armored Sith visibly planted his foot onto one of the crates, heaving about a rotary cannon of his or her own. A rain of red blaster bolts peppered the top of the stairs, causing Valkren to dive to the side as the security forces were torn apart and forced back down. Calderon slammed into the ground, right on top of his repeater, he could feel the collision and something wrong with his chest kit. He assumed it was something to do with the sling for his weapon, which might have turned out to be a good thing.

In his current situation: on the ground, in front of the enemy position and wide in the open, the lighter he was the more chance he could avoid being made into Swiss cheese.

Just as the heavy Sith trooper began to turn his weapon onto the fallen colonel, Valk' released his repeater and kicked up once more, scrambling to throw himself at the weakened door to his side so he could find cover. With surprising ease, Valkren shoulder bashed himself through the door and into the darkness that was the small living quarters. Rushing in, he lost his footing, slamming onto the floor and door he had just blasted through. His helmeted head raised to meet two pairs of on-looking eyes.

Two young children sat there underneath the table in the far end of the room, an older brother was holding what seemed to be his younger sister, shielding her eyes in preparation for something horrible to come.

[member="Roona Osmari"]

 

[Roona Osmari]

The moment seemed to stretch out before Roona.

It was likely an effect of adrenaline, or so she had heard. But she witnessed all of it in detail – silent air as the shots ceased momentarily, the burst of confidence received by Valkren, and the look given in her direction by Harris. And then, the next moment crashed against her like waves upon the shore. The colonel was already in motion, Roona would soon to follow.

There was a sudden swell of courage.

All around them it seemed that their comrades were springing back to life, renewed. But, of course, their enemies had taken the lull in battle to prepare as well. The shots resumed in an instant, but Harris was already firing upon their positions. Drawing deep, Roona fired of three shots in quick succession – and used her Ysannan skills to direct all three projectiles to their targets. It was something she did not do often, for she did sacrifice some precision when working this way. However, it was enough to buy her some time, and an opening to move through.

Out of the corner of her gaze, she spotted Valkren blazing a trail towards town, Harris following close. Even moving as swift as she was, Roona remained several strides behind them. Bringing up the rear, the sergeant could see that the local forces and security men seemed to be faring well now, and were keeping the enemies in the fields sufficiently pinned down to their current locations. Easing her way up the stairs to town, she cursed as a spray of blaster fire pummeled the ground at the top of the hill.

A shiver of panic was quickly suppressed, watching as Valkren evaded the enemy fire and then disappeared – into shelter or behind cover, Roona hoped.

Crouching down, she crawled her way up the stairs. Moving to the side, Roona lowered herself down and let her belly press down against the grassy hill. Peeking up, she spotted the Sith soldiers behind a make-shift barricade. Through the scope of her weapon, she watched as the helmet of a Sith soldier fell into her crosshairs. Roona knew that she would have one shot, maybe two, before the enemy became aware of her presence and position.

But it was a risk that she would take.

Green eyes narrowed. And then, her finger pulled the trigger. The Sith soldier crumpled, his body slumped against the barricade, part of which toppled from the dead weight. While some of his Sith counterparts began to dive behind what remained of their cover, Roona took the opportunity to catch one more of them unaware. As he turned, Roona’s shot found its mark. One more fell to the ground.

Now, they only needed to keep picking them off… one by one.

[member="Valkren Calderon"]

 

[Valkren Calderon]

The colonel shuffled to his feet slowly, holding a single finger against the facemask of his visor to imitate the 'shush' motion to the two children. Their eyes glued to the armored special forces officer as he rose from his position, Valkren had little time to adjust in his new position. Without a proper primary weapon, he'd have to rely on his side arm for now. The colonel slowly slid out of the light that was shining through the hole he so rudely put through this kids' door and into the darkness in the corner of the room. He unclipped a thermal detonator from his belt, priming it and engaging his communications at the same time.

"Echo, Harris, I've got non-combatants on my position. Building on the right as soon as you enter the courtyard." He'd lean his head around the corner for a moment, peaking up toward the barricade. It seemed like the numbers had thinned from five to three, most likely Echo's doing from whatever position she claimed.

Just as one of the three Sith troopers became cocky and began to advance out of cover toward Valkren's position, the detonator was lobbed around the corner by the colonel. The enemy soldier spotted the device, and slipped directly where he stood, scampering back towards cover as the throwable ticked away. Unfortunately for the allied party, Calderon's detonator only reached far enough to keep the enemies behind their cover, as all three were still remaining after the smoke had cleared from the explosion.

As Valkren returned to his cover, fishing out his blaster pistol to watch the only exit he had, the Sith soldier with his rotary cannon broke away from the two others behind the barricade. He lugged the weapon across the courtyard quickly, and moved into the house sharing a wall with Valkren's building. What Valkren didn't know was that the wall in-between the two of them was unstable due to grenade the colonel had just set off.

After a moment of scanning, the Sith soldier found a suitable place to shoot, and he did. The rounds burst through the wall, flashing red bolts illuminating the room as they cut through causing Valkren to dive to his stomach again. The screams of the boy and girl drew his attention though, encouraging him to crawl forward and put his body in-between the source of the fire and the two children. Warning lights flashed all about his HUD as the red streams missed the top of his helmet by inches.

"Need some help here!"

Harris and the security personnel would be little more free to move, due to the heavy Sith trooper that took his focus away from the entrance to the town.

[member="Roona Osmari"]

 

[Roona Osmari]

Roona’s sharp eyes shifted toward the structure that now sheltered the Colonel, but her gaze narrowed when she heard Valkren’s voice informing them that there were non-combatants inside. This complicated matters greatly. While Roona’s heart was not uncompassionate by any means, civilians and the like could be difficult to protect while they were already in the middle of a battle. A moment later, she saw a thermal detonator tossed out from Valkren’s position.

Her gloved finger tightened around the trigger but paused as her sight became obscured by smoke.

Glancing to the side, she could see Harris and the security team begin to creep forward. They could use this chance to take the Sith troopers by surprise. Slowly, Roona pushed herself up slightly to crawl her way up and over the small hilltop. Her form froze for a split second, flattening to the ground as a Sith soldier stomped his way towards the building adjacent to Valkren’s cover. And in his hands, a very familiar weapon – the Colonel’s own rotary cannon.

Anger bubbled up inside Roona at the sight of the Colonel’s weapon in the hands of the enemy.

“Take care of them,” She spoke into the comm, her voice would find Harris. Briefly making eye contact with her comrade, she gave him a nod. Harris and the security team would draw the enemy fire and hopefully take them out. In the meantime, Roona pulled herself up and bounded towards the small house. There was smoke beginning to billow out, and she could hear the crackle of flames growing stronger. Pausing just outside, she drew her rifle up and drew upon her inner strength. Pulling the trigger, the bullet would curve around the doorway in a graceful arc and connect with the enemy’s neck.

It wasn’t a clean shot, but it made the soldier stumble backward. Unfortunately, his finger seemed to be stuck on the trigger – sending a few more rounds into the wall, further weakening the structure.

Swearing, Roona stepped in and fire a round from her shatter pistol – finishing the job.

Scrambling back out and into the next house, she could hear the cries of frightened children. Kark, kids… with the smoke growing thicker and the flames higher, the supporting wall was on the brink of collapse.

“Hurry!” Roona shouted, reaching for the hand of one of the children. “We need to get out, now!”

[member="Valkren Calderon"]

 

[Valkren Calderon]

The heavy Sith trooper was caught completely off guard, the round from Echo's weapon seemingly coming from nowhere as it whipped about the corner and slammed into his neck. It was a kill shot for sure, but it took a moment. As the soldier gasped for the air he couldn't reach and began choking on his blood behind his facemask, his finger was still on the trigger. Sending a continuous hail of rounds through the room Calderon and the children were concealed in.

The steady fire would continue until the Sergeant stepped inside the adjacent building, delivering a finishing-blow to the black-armored trooper.

The weapon fire would cease, signaling Valkren that it was indeed time to go.

Roona's sudden appearance in the doorway, just like a saving grace, would further reinforce that it was time to go. Valkren pulled the boy away from his little sister, moving him to where Echo group grasp his hand. The colonel then pulled his knees under himself, moving to get up off the floor and move towards the exit, but grabbing the smaller female child from underneath the table first. He'd pull her up in a bridal-style carry just so he could move quickly to the door, bursting through the billowing smoke from the destroyed house.

Meanwhile, while Echo and Calderon were busy solving their own issues. Lieutenant Harris and the remaining security forces had easily cleaned up the remaining two Sith soldiers. Infact, the pair of rangers emerged from the destruction just in time to witness Konrad lead their allied forces toward the barricade, and sweep the remaining two enemies with a quick succession of shots from their own blasters.

A few of the security forces' members made their way from their finished engagement to the pair of rangers to relieve them of the children. Valkren panted, removing his helmet after the girl was taken from him, coughing violently due to smoke inhalation. Usually their helmets and armor systems would do magic with ventilation and recycling, but due to his pick of a more lighter-loadout, his armor was practically unfinished.

As he heaved mucous and tar-like material up, Konrad stepped over to the two, looking forward to the fields they'd still have to cross to reach Valkren's homestead. There were intermittent firefights all along the path they'd have to take on foot..Meaning that they'd probably stop at each one to clear the Sith from the hillsides before actually reaching his home.

"We're not making any karking progress here, do we have any air support for transportation on standyby?" The lieutenant turned to the others as he asked, even though Valkren was still currently busy trying not to dry heave anymore.

The colonel wiped the corners of his mouth, picking up his helmet again and straightening his posture to regain the air he had lost. After gasping for air for a moment, he'd speak up.

"I haven't heard anything else yet from our people. The fighting at the capital might be too hot to pull support from.." He glanced over at the hillside, his old home only being several farm plots away, but still a long journey by foot.

"Echo, see if you can reach King. She may be able to pull off and support us. If she can't..I don't know, I'll make it worth her while with leave or something."

[member="Roona Osmari"] | [member="Aubrey King"]

 

[Ellin Calderon]

Location: Calderon Estate

Sometime Before Current Events​

The day had started out simple enough, Ellin spending her morning helping a few hands repair one of the auto-tractor, one of the fuel cells had been ruptured from old age, causing the whole thing to break down from a mini explosion within the chassis.

"Ugh, maybe they'll finally listen to me next time instead of being so cheap all the time," she growled as she held up one the busted fuel cell. It was completely charred, about half of it blasted away during the explosion. Much of the underside of the auto-tractor looked the same way, a mess of twisted durasteel and melted wires. "So fething stupid, now we have to replace the whole damn electrical system."

"You know how expensive that will be?" Hammond called out, crouched on the other side of the auto-tractor disassembling a wheel. "More than this old clunker is worth. You're better off selling it off for scraps."

Ellin sighed. He was right, but her family wasn't exactly rolling in the credits either - they were competing against megacorps on and off-world for ever-shrinking profit margins. The machine was too valuable to give up but too expensive to repair at this point.

She wished Valkren was here. He knew how to work their stingy parents. They just looked at her as a know-it-all that just had book-smarts, but now they had no choice but to listen to her now.

At least she hoped.

She set down the fuel cell on the barn floor and stood up to grab a drink of water from her canteen.

"I don't know, maybe we can figure something out. Find some spare parts at the scrapyard to tide us over?"

She winced a bit as she felt a ping at the back of her head. It left her frowning - usually, that was a bad sign. Though she relaxed, chalking it up to her current stresses.

"Maybe, first we gotta see exactly how ba--

He was interrupted by the sudden blare of air sirens.

Ellin froze. That was never a good sign. Alderaan seemed like a beacon for all the troublemakers of the galaxy. Sith, Mandalorians, Imperials, and more - they all wanted a piece. Just who had come to attack them today.

"Chit, c'mon!" She explained, practically tossing away her canteen. "We need to gather everyone up and get to the shelters!"

Now jittery from adrenaline, she rushed out of the barn, only to seize up again.

She came face to face with several Star Destroyers breaking through the atmosphere, exchanging fire with ground batteries in alternative hails of emerald and crimson beam fire. Around each Star Destroyer was a swarm of fighters and shuttles.

So it was the Sith today.

Feth.

They were all going to die.

[member="Valkren Calderon"] [member="Roona Osmari"]

 

[Roona Osmari]

The children cried out as they were separated and pulled briskly from their hiding place. Grasping the boy’s small hand, Roona was forced to give him a good yank in order to free him completely. As his sister was scooped up easily by Valkren, they made for the exit – and just in time, too. A portion of the wall began to crumble, the sound of cracking, burning wood followed as it collapsed in.

With the small boy now clinging to her side, his face buried against her, Roona turned a quick glance down at him. There was fear etched on his young face, a painful sight to anyone with a heart. Her gloved hand gave the boy’s back a reassuring, but awkward pat before the security forces came forth to take over. Once relieved of her charge, she too pulled her helmet off – breathing in the clean air.

Her gaze shifted to Valkren, instantly concerned as she heard him coughing. He’d inhaled far more smoke than she, as her own presence inside the burning building had been rather short. But Konrad was there in a snap, so Roona’s face turned stony once more.

Based on the Lieutenant’s words, the situation was definitely not improving.

“Right,” Roona answered with a swift nod, and stepped to the side to contact the young fighter pilot. “Onxy leader, come in – ” She spoke into her comm unit, there was light static on the other end. “We’re in need of air support at the following coordinates.” Roona listed, hoping that Aubrey was receiving her on the other end. “If you are able to break away – we’d appreciate it.”

With a glance out towards the horizon, she wondered what the scene was like at the capital.

Perhaps, she didn’t really want to know. Gaze flickering between Valkren and Konrad, her brows lofted hopefully. Now, they could only wait and see if Onxy leader came through..

[member="Valkren Calderon"], [member="Ellin Calderon"], [member="Aubrey King"]

 

[Aubrey King]

Location: Alderaan Orbit

Onyx squadron was now in the middle a furball to end all furballs. Hundreds of Coalition and Spacy pilots were now locked in mortal combat against the Sith and their ilk, screening for friendly forces.

All through the mess, Aubrey bobbed and weaved through vast fields of debris and starships alike, occasionally turning an enemy fighter and dropship to slag. Today was her lucky day, having Allyson back as her trusty wingman.

"I see heavy bombers trying to break for the surface," she noted aloud from sensor readouts output across her holodisplay.

If even a couple those heavy bombers made it planetside, then they could easily level city with their massive payloads.

"Onyx-2, let's go. I'll crack the shields of the heavies, then you follow up with a missile strike. "

She tugged on the yoke to pitch her X-wing into a loop, then gunned her thrusters for a rapid descent. She narrowed the focus of her jamming on the quartet of bombers, then made it rain with her Tenjins at quarter power. All the bombers were hammered by ion torpedoes traveling at near relativistic speeds.

Their shields all shimmered brightly, a sign that they were weakened. While still spewing ion torpedoes, she let one of the bombers have it with a stream of blue laser fire. That resulted in a huge white explosion of energy as its payload of bombs was prematurely triggered, pelting the other bombers in the formation. Now it was up to Allyson to finish up the job.

"Priority tasking for Onyx!" Her CAG called out. "We need you to cover a Luna flight on their way to the surface. They'll be in your zone in two minutes."

"Roger Talisman," she replied. "We're tied up at the moment, but we should be able to cover them."

"Onyx, whatever you got going, wrap it up and fall back on me. We got a date with some haulers."

She hated babysitting dropships, and the target they would paint on Onyx, but orders were orders. She would oblige and get those Lunas where they needed to be.

[member="Roona Osmari"] [member="Valkren Calderon"] [member="Allyson Locke"]

 

[Allyson Locke]

To be in the cockpit of a fighter once again made the Corellian feel alive. Here she could forget everything, all the hassles of her job and life – it was all out the door the moment the cockpit shut close. It had been a bit since she had flown with Onyx. Aubrey seemed happy to have her back and Allyson was happy to be back.

Their current mission had her doing what she loved to do, dog fight. The X-Wing she piloted spiraled through the combat zone, dodging fire and maneuvering behind other fighters. Quick and small explosions erupted around her as she flew about. Despite her antics, her eye was kept close on her squad leader and wingman. The woman flew well, and Allyson enjoyed the fact she didn’t have to baby sit her, couldn’t say much for some of the other pilots she flew with in the rogues.

Onyx two came up behind Aubrey and finished off the bombers, as she decided to show off, Onyx Leader decided to come over the comms. They had a new objective and it was to help escort. There was more likely a combined groan from the rest of the group as they all weren’t fans of escort missions. Peeling off, Allyson fell in formation with Aubrey and headed toward the meeting point.

“I think I shot down more than you Commander” Allyson’s voice chimed over the radio as she sung her own praises. She enjoyed poking at Aubrey, she enjoyed the Commander’s company and she did her best to try and keep things light hearted. “How far are we following them in”

[member="Aubrey King"] [member="Roona Osmari"] [member="Valkren Calderon"]

 

[Valkren Calderon]

Colonel Calderon heaved again, wiping the corners of his mouth soon after his coughing fit was over. He still rested with his elbows on his knees, hunched over. The Lieutenant moved toward Valkren just as Echo began calling out for their transport.
"Look, I know I said I was with you til' the end on this personal journey of yours..But we're starting to cross some lines, pulling Onyx from the fray. Alderaan security could use their help up there, I'm sure of it."
Valkren glanced up at Konrad, attempting to make eye contact but failing due to the helmet that the lieutenant still sported. He'd shift his gaze back out toward the horizon, where his family's farm rested.

Konrad could obviously see that he wasn't getting through to his friend, speaking up once more in attempt to make their commanding officer realize just how much of a risk he was taking. He'd lock the fingers on his right hand underneath the shoulder plate on Valkren's body, helping the colonel straighten his posture once more as he finished gasping for air.

"You might be a colonel and everything lad, but that won't stop top brass from ripping you a new one when they find out. This isn't one of our ops..Now I want to help your family, I really do - but this is Alderaan we're talking about here!"

He glanced over to Roona, his expression behind his visor would be one searching for answers if she was able to see Konrad's face.

"Talk some sense into him Echo!"

The lieutenant's harping was interrupted by the roar of a Luna drop ship overhead, attracting the attention of the rangers and security forces alike. The Luna moved to an open area just beyond the group of soldiers in the destroyed living units, lowering its ramp as it descended to the grass.

Valkren pulled his helmet back over his head, visor flashing blue momentarily as his heads-up-display kicked in. He'd shift his gave to Konrad, then to the both of them.

"I'll take the heat for it. Now are you coming or what?"

Once onboard the Luna, Valkren informed the pilots of their destination. With it only being a few minutes away via air transport, the pilots chose to remain low as to avoid many of the enemy fighters headed for the capital.

"Calderon, sir! You're going to want to take a look at this!" The crewchief that was strapped in on the lowered ramp called out through their comms, making the colonel cautiously lower himself to the airman's position. He'd point a finger out in the distance, and trailing the luna transport happened to be two Sith transports. It wasn't clear if they were actually following the Luna, or just moving to the same destination as their vessel. Both scenarios were equally undesirable to the group's objective. Those transports were carrying platoon-sized strengths of Sith troopers, he was sure of it. There'd be no way they could hold out during an onslaught like that.

After requesting to be patched in with their escorts, Valk reached out to Onyx - using the same channel that Sergeant Osmari did.

"Onyx lead, this is Colonel Calderon. We've got enemy transports headed for our LZ, if they put those soldiers on the ground there's no chance in hell we're completing our objective, how copy?"

Before the colonel could get a proper answer, their own transport came upon the landing sight. After a quick flyby and circling the area once, it was clear the battle had not overlooked his home, blaster fire from the buildings and fields told him that the workers there were still putting up a fight.

His family was still putting up a fight, like they rightfully should.

Due to losing his primary weapon in the previous firefight, Calderon had to 'borrow' the crew chief's LPD-14. He didn't originally have the time to properly get acquainted with the weapon, but now he really had no time for it.

Once their transport touched down just on the outskirts of the main compound, the danger of the firefight they just entered was clear. The Luna attracted a lot of agro straight away, and it wasn't unexpected. The big bodied transport immediately begun to receive small arms fire from many of the Sith troopers who were previously engaged.

Rounds peppered the sides of the transport while the pilots turned it so the team could disembark safely. Valkren trotted down the ramp, Lieutenant Harris on his heels as they turned about to face Valkren's old house. He recognized where they landed, there should have been a gate just where the nose of the Luna rested. It should have been tall, old but still functional, and would have had the Calderon name proudly hanging from the top.

At least, it should have still been standing.

[member="Roona Osmari"] | [member="Ellin Calderon"] | [member="Allyson Locke"] | [member="Aubrey King"]

 

[Roona Osmari]

Roona stood silent, arms crossed as Konrad had words with Valkren. In truth, she was slightly surprised at the tone presented by Konrad. But still, she understood his concerns. They were here alone; this was not an official mission. Even so, she had a feeling that their friends in the Silver Spacey would jump to help. If there were issues because of it, Roona was prepared to face the consequences. Her helmet turned in Konrad’s direction when he addressed her, the blank face of her dark visor betrayed little – just like the actual expression hiding just beneath.

She had been ready to respond when Valkren answered. It wasn’t long before their transport was ready, and they were boarding. Roona settled in with the others aboard, while the Colonel tended to the business at hand. Out the small viewport, she could see the rolling hills of Alderaan. It was picturesque, minus the smoke and fire in the air.

Once their transport set down, she followed her two fellow Raiders out.

Green eyes roamed the surrounding landscape for a moment, a place that should have been pastoral and quiet. There were pastures and rustic fences, and great expanses of fields. In that brief moment, she could almost see a younger version of Valkren out working there. Her gaze shifted to the present-day Colonel, the faintest hint of a smile on her lips. Not far, there was also a charming farmhouse, though today it was shadowed greatly by the storm of battle.

“Home,” She whispered, more to herself than anyone.

It was very different than her own family home on Ossus, but the feeling inside was the same.

[member="Valkren Calderon"] | [member="Ellin Calderon"] | [member="Allyson Locke"] | [member="Aubrey King"]