Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2020 11:58:13 GMT -8
X-70B Phantom-Class Prototype Amaranth -- Medbay Lying restlessly on the medbay bed, Vesperia huffed and sighed and rolled her eyes with every additional bit of attention she received from her medic. However, it didn’t stop Dravleo from the ceaseless chanting under his breath, moving his hands cautiously over his lady’s body. At first, it had started with the frostbite that wreaked havoc over her fingers and toes. She had done a reckless thing, storming into Arkanian wilderness with hardly anything more than her leather to keep her warm. No matter his concerns, he dared not verbalize them.He swiftly dealt with the frostbite. However, the more he discovered from Vesperia’s expedition. Just as Kurpax assumed, she exuded the early signs of hypothermia. From a healing spell to a warming spell, he switched between the two without saying a word to her. It had the effects to be deadly when used in its intended manner of boiling one's innards, but Dravleo wasn’t an apprentice sorcerer. Reigning back its effects proved to be useful in cases like this, and it was his skills both as a pilot and a spellbinder that made him a top-choice for Vesperia. Getting a break from the students was always a welcome one, as well, even if it meant dealing with her malicious dramatism.“Are you almost finished yet?” Vesperia huffed, arching her back with a languid stretch so that his hands would press more firmly against her breasts.Still ever-silent to her antics and refusing to be interrupted from his spellwork, Dravleo gave her a look as his hands continued to climb up her body.“One of these days I’m going to force Kurpax to tie me to the bloody bed before you start working on me. It’ll bring a bit more heat to such a repetitious task, don’t you think?” Vesperia’s words were laced with a murmured laugh and she tilted her head to shoot Dravleo a grin to match. She laced her words with little enticements from the Force, hoping to fill his head with wicked thoughts. He still chose to ignore her, untouched by her feeble, delusional attempts. She was a powerful Sith, but a few variables were playing against her. She was weakened from the battle against her old friend, and the cold sapped her strength. What more, the pain killers he injected her with helped numb the discomfort but it also fuzzied the mind. All things in consideration, her illusions and mind games were easy to shatter. Without a word to her still, he moved up towards her neck and down over each of her arms. It was only when he was satisfied by his spellwork that he looked back towards his lady to address her. “I have a feeling that no binds or chains could hold you back to attempting to kill me if that ever came to pass, my lady.”Placing his hands behind his back, Dravleo met Vesperia’s mockery of a pout with a more emotionless and regal poise. The keyword in his claim was ‘attempting’ to kill. Although several of his fellow crewmates were also masters upon Iridonia, others were not and not Force-Sensitive, at that. If she came at them with her whip, they would no doubt fall all too easily without curbing Vesperia’s sick desires for a torturous death. However, he was skilled in more than just this section of sorcery that she requested him to utilize. If it ever came down to it, he knew that he would be able to hold his own against her, if not best her. She hadn't yet deciphered when to stop toying with her prey, which was why he believed she was unable to kill her target today.As though to reassure him otherwise, Vesperia cooed in her drugged state, “Oooh, we’re much too close for that, Dravleo. Where would I ever find another copilot and spellbinder with your special… talents?” “You would find another, as you found Mosethe. We’re all expendable, my lady, as you had so delicately put it.”Vesperia protested with a pout, “Not all of you. Just those non-Sith dogs who want to worship the ground that I walk on.” Seemingly accepting Vesperia’s assuring words that she would more than likely forget by morning, Dravleo nodded towards her. This time, though, he would play along, if only for an ulterior motive. Bending at his waist, he unclasped his hands from behind his back and ran his fingers through her dark locks. It was a risky move if the Vesperia he knew still lurked within there, but something told him otherwise. It seemed to pay off, the exhausted and drugged Sith woman seeming to melt under his touch, with the rumbling of a purr caught in her throat.“Nutki.” His whispered voice resonated not only within the air but the Force itself, wrapping the command gently within his lady’s mind. In such a pathetic state as she was in, it would be hard for her to resist its temptation. Sleep. She seemed to comprehend momentarily what he did. She huffed out a sigh in answer, her eyelids heavy from all that had come to pass.“...Fine.” Vesperia sighed but gave him no other resistance, Within mere moments, she had drifted to sleep on the medbay bed. She was quite a gorgeous creature when she was peaceful and harmless, Dravleo noted, but in a way, it also sickened him to see her in such a weakened state as this. An odd, momentary tug of war in his head as he watched for another few minutes to ensure she truly was asleep. Once pleased and reassured she would be back to herself come morning, Dravleo left to attend to his secondary duty -- to help Mosethe pilot this vessel to get them all safely back to the Academy. |
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Sunbringer
Member
Gathering intel and evacuating a team from Kuat Drive Yards
Posts: 53
Affiliation: The Son of Suns
Traffic Light: Blue
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Post by Sunbringer on Sept 21, 2020 12:46:41 GMT -8
[/b][/ul][/ul][/font][/font] *There is always traffic over Commenor. While not a commercial powerhouse in its own right, the system just so happens to be located at the junction of several important hyperlanes. Anyone wishing to disembark from the Hydian Way and travel to the Colonies, or the Mid Rim, or even certain reaches of the Outer Rim, is likely enough to traverse the Quellor Run or the Trellan Trade Route along the way. Where will those take them? Straight through the Commenor System. The planet itself has little to offer besides location, but sometimes location is all that is needed.*
*Amid the typical hustle and bustle of local freighters making their supply drops, of merchant ships trying to shave a few precious hours off of their delivery times, of tourists on their way to the wroshyr trees of Kashyyyk, a war fleet drifts. While most other ships in the vicinity seem to be in a hurry to reach their destination, this assembly of vessels appears to be content to lazily float along.*
*The fleet is called Solstice, and their affiliation is Thyrsian. This is not easily deduced; Thyrsus is not known for its own ship production, hence their navy is procured from a variety of suppliers. This is actually a subgroup of Solstice fleet, consisting of a single Liberator-class cruiser and three DP20 frigates, all currently bobbing along with weapons systems offline. For now.*
*The only sign of activity comes from the flagship, Orelon. Emerging from the hangar bay, two Helix-class light interceptors flanked by two T-65BR X-Wing recon starfighters disembark and zip their way to the edge of the system. Merging into the flow of space traffic, they set coordinates and within moments have made the jump to hyperspace. Their destination is Kuat.*{Continued in Kuat's Orbit}[/i]~[/b][/ul][/ul][/font][/font] *The rear admiral in charge of Solstice fleet, Lendran Emmenos, gazes from the bridge to the location from whence the four ships blinked out of sight just moments before. Arms crossed behind his back, he inhales through his nose and then turns his gaze away to address the head of the comms team.**To many, the Thyrsian species (and their Echani cousins) come across as taciturn. Subtle conveyances in body language that go unnoticed by foreign cultures always supplement their speech. In fact, such gestures often speak more than words. So it is in this case; the comms officer breaks into a grin at Lendran's command. The Sunbringer's navy will wage war on the galaxy. To these adherents of the sun, the dawn cannot come soon enough.* |
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Post by Linuy Findos on Oct 23, 2020 10:00:01 GMT -8
Border Regions on the Quellor Run - Cato Neimoidia system
With increased rebel activity being reported on the Neimoidian colony worlds under First Order control, the Fandango screened the surrounding systems with diligence. Given the recent reports, recieved from Froz, Captain Mars Julleus' Interdictor-class Star Destroyer was escorted by two Vindicator-class cruisers alongside 4 Ardent-class frigates in order to locate those, who were currently causing unrest within the First Order's borders.
Though Neimoidia was controlled officially by a First Order's gouvernor in order to keep everything in check, which could lead to an uprising of the Duros subspecies, the Imperials had less patrols around other colonies, including Cato Neimoidia, once another major seat of the infamous Trade Federation.
Theoretically these regions weren't part of the First Order's gouvernment, as they were ruled independently by local rulers - puppet leaders and former allies of the First Order, being rewarded with their own rulership as long as they swore fealty and tribute towards the First Order.
However only in theory, as practically the gouvernor of Neimoidia always ensured that the tribute was paid and Imperial law was upheld on these worlds in the form of private armies. Paid by influential families like the Tagges, the Kasalles and others, these worlds also contributed their part within the First Order's financial wheel, no matter the previous abolishment laws of slavery.
Captain Julleus barely knew anything about how things were managed on the ground, yet despite his admiration for Grand Admiral Kasalle and Grand Admiral Needa, he nontheless could only think of disgust in what ways the Imperial aristocracy of old still worked up to this day. Yet, he had no say in it... and after all an Empire had to finance itself somehow, no matter the corrupt elements.
His attention was disturbed, when one of the bridge officers informed him of unusual movements within the sector.
"Sir, unauthorized transporters are approaching the colony world. C-9979 transporters, content unknown. The vessels are guarded by roughly two squadrons of Porax-38 starfighters. They've spotted us and try to change course."
Captain Julleus didn't had to think long. Refugees.
Most likely refugees from rumored Separatist worlds in the Outer Rim. During the last weeks the ammount of destroyed Clone Wars vessels within the Quellor Run had increased immensely, while those interrogated stated, that they once served under a "Grand Confederacy" before the Blackguard overran most of their worlds. One way or another they were classified as rebels, given that some of these vessels still try to fight the First Order. And like those, who once helped the Grand Alliance, most of their members hated the First Order... if they were allowed to enter unchecked, they would sow the seed for a new generation of Neimoidian terrorists among the colonies.
"Close up to the ships and activate the gravity well generators once we are in range - and tell them to surrender or die, should they try to avoid us."
A pause followed as the Imperial ships came into closer range. So far the bridge officer called out the unknown ships, yet they refused ignorantly the Imperial orders. It seemed like the fear of what the First Order might find upon their ships was bigger than their wish to surrender.
Which most likely meant that they had battle droids with them - another thing, which was forbidden by the First Order for non-military members of the nation for a good reason.
"Sir, they refuse to communicate with us."
"A pity", Julleus only replied cold, as the Fandango activated the gravity wells in order to interrupt the refugee's pity attempt to flee into hyper space, "Send in the frigates to deal with this mess then."
The four frigates closed up quickly towards the C-9979 convoy, the first few shots actually hitting two of the Porax star fighters, two explosions following afterwards. Even if the transporters would intend to head towards Cato Neimoidia directly, the distance would be too large for them to actually reach it in time. Before that the Imperial ships would have done their job already.
Julleus was already seeing the case as closed, when he got suddenly contacted from one of the officers.
"Sir, we get a signal from one of the Kasalle Corp vessels. Six squadrons of starfighters attack their trade convoy near the second moon. They lost one of their frigates."
Julleus eyes widened in surprise.
Six squadrons!?
The Imperial captain was already certain that this was the desperate attempt of one of the Neimoidian rebel cells to actually bring down Imperial-alligned vessels or a foolishly orchestrated pirate raid, when suddenly another officer spoke up.
"Eight unidentified squadrons located near Koru Neimoidia, taking course onto one of our patrols! They request help!"
"Request from the Tagge cotton farms, bomber run on their local garrison and the shield generator protecting it! Four squadrons, their Mining Corporation TIEs are shot down!"
More than irritated the Captain was about to think of any potential orders, pondering whether they should send out TIE fighters to deal with this sudden ammount of chaos, when suddenly his thought process was interrupted by a horrifying sight.
As twenty-four entire squadrons of star fighters suddenly jumped out of hyper space, straight into the outer edge of the gravity well generator, the Neimoidian-driven Coalition forces under Captain Hatoo's command began to contact the refugee leader aboard one of the C-9979 transporters.::Scorpid-A reporting, the cavalry has arrived! Aglais is on their way to teach these imps a lesson, should they maintain their grav wells. Better hurry up while we deal with their incoming TIE fighters::
With a slight grin, Din Maggi's ship already passed by the first twelve fighters, as RZ-2 A-Wing Interceptors, T-85 X-wings and even a dozen of Y-Wings were quickly approaching the surprised Imperials. Supported by Maggi's own squadron of Porax-38 pilots, the Neimoidian trader and spokesman witnessed with delight and a warm cup of caf as the first Ardent-class vessel was drifting away heavily damaged from the first bombing run. Given the Coalition's recent support upon Senator Findos' naval forces and the ammount of Neimoidian recruits, willing to free the colonies from their Imperial ursurpers, the masqueraded convoy of seemingly former Grand Confederacy members was now slowly on its way towards one of their homeworlds, the first to be hopefully reclaimed from the Imperial Legions.
With Hatoo's setup upon damaging critical transport lines of the First Order with guerilla tactics, Senator Findos intended to restore their people's faith into getting rid of the First Order's influence over their worlds, for the Coalition would finish what the Grand Alliance intended to start.
Another Ardent-class came into view before it exploded within a fire ball, less luckier than the first one. To some degree it was hard to tell whether the Imperials could actually maintain the fight, as the first squadrons of TIE fighters were launched and both Vindicator-class vessels alongside their capital ship, the infamous Interdictor-class Star Destroyer came into firing range, yet Maggi was optimistic.
With the transporter's sensors spotting now a larger, approaching vessel from hyperspace, he was confident, that this skirmish would be over faster than it has started.
"Sir, unidentified vessel approaching from hyperspace! It's massive!"
Given his previous orders to send out all TIE fighters, Julleus had already the bad feeling that the whole situation wasn't over for he had now realized that he wasn't fighting regular rebell forces. His worst fears became truth, as suddenly the massive structure of the Lucrehulk-class battleship could be seen in the distance, closing up slowly towards the Imperial fleet. With the Coalition starfighters covering the refugee convoy from further approaches, Julleus himself regretfully stood next to the console, before he gave his next orders.
"To all ships and squadron leaders, abbandon the pursuit! The frigates are ordered to immidiately retreat, no matter the losses, TIE squadrons ordered to shield the Fandango and its escort ships. And shut down the gravity well generators! We will retreat towards the next Imperial space station and regroup."
"But Sir, what about the Kasalle convoy-?"
"This is a direct order, Lieutnant! Tell their commander, that they're on their own now or whatever. They're not part of the military forces, so it's their own risk."
"U-understood, Sir!"
Though the Imperials would still lose the second Ardent-class frigate to the incoming Lucrehulk-Battleship, it's imposing size and gunpower already indicating that it would be a tough nut to crack with Julleus' currently available navy forces, the First Order captain was calm regarding the situation. Once they were out of the system, they would inform Grand Admiral Needa and the High Command regarding the encounter.
One skirmish might be lost, but now the First Order would be aware of this new threat in the form of an enemy fleet carrier.
It would give the Resurgent-class Star Destroyers at patrol a nice task, should the Coalition repeat utilizing this maneuver once more... as in the end the Empire shall triumph!
"54 starfighters lost. Given the enemy's sacrifices it is still bearable... yet both the trade galleon and the Interdictor alongside it's escorts were able to escape. The convoy has reached the surface safely and unseen by imperial eyes, however it is only a small spark. The Imperials will return with a larger fleet, Senator, so we shouldn't remain. Everything else unfolding on Cato Neimoidia is now up to our guerilla forces."
Hatoo's report didn't surprise Linuy too much. As she took a brief look onto the planet, the proud world of monumental bridge cities, which she once visited in the past on happier times, it griefed her to already leave it behind once more.
With the cold war slowly unfolding within the border regions of the Corellian Coalition and the First Order, it would only be a matter of time until the steel leviathan of an empire would slowly show its true power and attempt to squash the Coalition. So far they had the element of surprise upon their side for the First Order would hardly be able to estimate their entire strength.
Yet there was hope.
"Our people will hear of what has happened to day and remember that we once lived free from the shackles of an Empire", Findos stated calm, as her wide eyes mustered the fellow Neimoidian, "They have heard of the Galactic Alliance's fall, have heard from the Siege of Dac and our defeat. But they will also hear from this fight, will hear that we shattered a company-owned garrison of Imperial-alligned sellswords. They will hear that our people still fight for their cause, not far and distant away within the Outer Rim, but directly at the heart of the purse worlds themselves!
Cato Neimoidia will decide one day, whether it will allow the First Order to take it's shackles, cover to another barbaric gouvernor like they used to in the past
or if they will stand up and join our resistance against the might of a titan. For our union will bring it one day to a fall."
Folding her arms before her chest, she eventually turned around, for she had seen enough.
"We will leave the system and replace our losses at Corellia, before we continiue the hunt. For now we will leave the Quellor Run.
But we will return.
And free our people one day!"
With these words the Senator left the bridge, herself solely briefly seeing from one of the command tower's windows as the Aglais jumped back into hyperspace.
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Post by Salvatore Kasalle on Oct 30, 2020 9:05:41 GMT -8
Cato Neimoidia - Capital of Zarra
With the dispatch of the Prakith Legion's first two cohorts to Cato Neimoidia aboard the Salvatore and the Jenia, Salvatore Kasalle's arrival within the capital of the planet was quite a pompous one, when he entered the palace building, which was supposedly rumored to have once belonged to Darga the Hutt. The luxorious meeting point was owned officially on paper by the gouvernment of Cato Neimoidia, yet served as the inofficial residence of Moff Emilio Lennox, Gouvernor of Neimoidia. Given the First Order's influence the purse worlds were treated as nothing less than vassals to the First Order's empire and inofficially as tributaries to the Neimoidian sector.
Looking around the lounge into which Salvatore was lead by one of the few Stormtroopers, guarding the estate, Salvatore could already see the holo image of the residence's host alongside other familiar faces from the Empire's aristocratic elites. Tagge, D'asta, Sienar, members from the Kuati noble houses... the heir of the Kasalle's wouldn't have been surprised if offsprings from the Tarkin, Pellaeon, Fel, Piett and Needa dynasties were also present. Others among them were representants of the Mining Guild and other Imperial private-owned estates, which benefitted from the Imperial protectorates.
The current conflict over their illegal buisenesses drew most of the imperial elites, who lived by the tradition of the old Galactic Empire into this meeting. Like Salvatore most of the present individuals were young, yet expierienced. Some of them wore like him the armour of their household, some even wore swords, vibroblades or batons at the side of their belts. In the end though, they had all similiar interests.
The holo image turned around towards Kasalle, as the bald face of Emilio Lennox mustered the newly arrived Household Commander. Moff Lennox and Salvatore had met in the past many times in order to discuss trade deals. The current situation wasn't necessarily different.
::Ah, look who has arrived. Kasalle, backbone of the whole defense operation... dutiful as ever!::
The corrupt gouvernor's laugh echoed through the launch, while some of the present nobles smiled about the brief joke. Salvatore barely cared, for this was typical for the Moff. Putting aside the cigarette, he had smoked the Moff began to adress the entirety of the gathered nobles.
::Gentlemen, as you might have been already instructed by your patriarch or whoever else suggested to you to send military reinforcements to the colony worlds in defense of your family's righteous property,
we have met here to discuss recent acts of terrorism upon private-owned facilities within the Imperial protectorate.::
The holo image got expanded, showing brief footage of the most recent attack upon the Kasalle convoy alongside a star fighter raid upon a local household garrison owned by one of the corporations.
::Attacks like these do not solely threaten your family buiseness but as well the interests of the Imperial economy - and thus also the interests of both the Emperor and the Imperial Military. Coordinated by the Corellian Coalition these terrorists presumably plan more than just sabotaging few factory complexes or sinking your freighters in space. With our naval forces having lost a prior engagement over Froz against this new threat against the Empire it is fair to assume that the Coalition plans to claim the border sectors as their own territory, threatening the First Order's borders directly.::
And your career as a planetary gouvernor as well, Emilio, Salvatore thought amused to himself, knowing that the corrupt Moff intended to utilize the present elites like chess pieces. A game, which benefitted the Kasalles for the moment.
In the end they were all pawns. All Salvatore had to hope for was that he would reach the other side of the board in this grand scheme, that was about to unfold.
"And what difference will we make?", a representative of the Mining Guild inquired sceptical, "It is the Emperor's job to keep our property safe, so why gather our private forces here? This is a military conflict, not a corporate one, if you ask me - and the Emperor has more than enough fleet assets to just wash away this entire Coalition once and for all!"
"Heck yes, House Tagge also donated funds for the construction and refitting of the Ars Moriendi, so just send in the big ships! Blast those insects onto asteroids like the petty mynocks they are!"
"Aye, just repeat what you did over Dac! Why does House D'asta pay taxes for your Star Destroyers, if they don't defend our property!?"
Salvatore kept quiet as the present nobles pretty much agreed on the Navy's failure within the entire affair. To some point he understood the arguments, but unlike most present company owners he realised that the First Order's hands are at the moment tied. Lennox wouldn't admit to the council either, that the First Order had no clue what the Coalition Navy could field, for their ships could rival regular ISDs easily. Recent secret reports even indicate that they might have more firepower available that could even become problematic for the more larger ships within the Empire - sending out just the big guns too overconfidently might as well result in unnecessary phyrric victories than a decesive battle, planned from a long hand, like in the case of Dac.
A shame they chose Needa over you, when it came to defending these borders, sister.
Moff Lennox realised that the assembled elites would probably lose track of the current discussion, if he didn't intervene, deciding to make another diplomatic approach.
::You are right, fellow Imperials, that the situation is outrageous and demands more aggressive actions from sides of the Empire::, Lennox eventually replied, as the furious voices grew silent, ::Which is why I propose the elites to fight, so that the Emperor has to act. With Grand Admiral Needa holding current command over the naval defense forces of the southern borders, we will do our best to fight back the rebels in order to stirr up the conflict. Kill their partisans, hunt them out of their holes and force them to arrive with larger fleets, more invasion forces - armies, which the First Order's high command can't ignore and where Arcavius has to send in the Empire's biggest line of defense and offense.
Just do your part in the whole ploy to show the First Order that war against these intruders is the only possible option and I will do my part in supporting your defense by the means of military forces within nearby systems. And thanks to House Kasalle, House Tagge and the Mining Guild, we can send in mercenaries, worth an entire Stormtrooper Legion, if we have to... wheras for any other assets you can grab upon this pity bridge sinkhole like droids, tanks and whatever the rebells throw at you... the winner takes it all.::
Salvatore smirked briefly, as the fellow elites began to agree with the Moff.
So it began, what his father had longed for. What a lot of elitists were longing for. The seeds of war were laid.
Now it was on their sides to water them up.
For the profit they would make in the future would be immense, should the skirmish operation become a success.
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Post by Linuy Findos on Oct 31, 2020 9:09:31 GMT -8
Cato Neimoidia - TaggeCo Ore Refinery
Captain Tael Voroo overlooked the jungle area, surrounding the large imperial refinery building carefully, which was supposedly controlled by a private corporation, known as the 'Tagge Company'. Given the architecture of the facility alongside the patrolling AT-STs, the stormtrooper-alike Z-X3 droid troopers, who patrolled the area, and the inhumane methods under which the household guards pressured the workers into their shift though, the Neimoidian saw barely any difference of what differed them from their gouvernmental body.
Although Cato Neimoidia wasn't officially part of the First Order's territory, it was a de jure vasall state of their Empire, where the Neimoidian ruling council was acting as puppets to Moff Emilio Lennox' desires since several years now. With most of their senators, including Senator Findos, having gone into exile after the Imperial influence became stronger on their homeworld, the Imperials had pretty much adapted the Neimoidian lifestyle for themselves, forcing most of the hives to train the younger generations of Neimoidians into obedient workers, who would fear even the sight of an Imperial Stormtrooper.
The traditions of the hives had always been barbaric, even during the times of Gunray. Yet, Voroo realized that things would become worse on longterm for the purse worlds have become a stable main source of border slaves already. One or two more generations and forming a resistance against the ursurpers would become nearly impossible.
Watching with his electrobinoculars the movement of their main targets within the facility, the Neimoidian captain knew that their mission was of greater importance. Should he and his partisans fail, the consequences would be dire, not only for his people, but for the Corellian Coalition with which Voroo worked together. Din Maggi, trader and diplomate under Senator Findos' employment had already warned him, that the Coalition can provide fire power and support from space in order to break through the First Order's blockade - yet an open war should be prevented for the border territories, including the systems on the Quellor Run, would likely become a hotspot within a future war against the First Order. The retaliation, Cato Neimoidia would have to pay in return would be immense.
Yet this wouldn't mean that the Coalition would simply watch, as these neutral worlds would rather route among the big steel leviathan.
In the end hope and freedom were virtues worth to defend.
"V-Squadron, where are you?", he eventually asked via com in Pak-Pak, observing the situation, "Kreehawk ready to strike?"
For a brief moment everything was silent, as solely the screeches of nearby kreehawks, an avian species native to the planet could be heard. Nothing out of the ordinary, even the local Tagge garrison with their few Miner Guild TIE fighters was just overseeing everything quite relaxed. Some of their soldiers were even smoking... perhaps their last mistake.
::Roger, Kreehawk is landing now. Keep your cover, Gravedigger!::
Before a pleased smile could form onto the Neimoidian's lips, the sudden silence was interrupted by a barrage of rapid-fire blaster shots upon the facility and it's guard vehicles, as a squadron of V-Wing airspeeders emerged from the skies in order to target the facility. Although one of the speeders was shot down by an anti-air cannon and the swift reaction of a Tagge guardsman, the garrison was in disarray, as the first AT-RTs either fell to the side or exploded within the barrage. Chaos was unfolding as the workers yelled and screamed in panic, fleeing into several directions much to the confusion of the guardsmen. Before more civilians were harmed in the process, the Captain gave the swift command to strike.
"Gravedigger, strike now!"
Within moments, the Neimoidian partisans stormed out of several directions in order to storm the building from several sides, supported by a few MagnaGuards and BX-series droid commandos. Joining with his group of freedom fighters, Voroo lead the charge against the southern front with two dozen of men and droids, two other groups striking from the north and northeast in order to ensure, that the Imperials wouldn't be able to escape. The first TaggeCo men died within several blaster rifle shots, while a rocket launcher quickly disposed of a remaining AT-RT walker. With the wet mood below their feet getting bloody, the resistance leader knew that the operation was currently in their favor.
Yet that was likely to change.
Calling in the AT-STs, the TaggeCo soldiers tried to regain controll over the entire situation, while the first Miner Guild TIEs were launched to hunter after the airspeeder squadron.
A foolish attempt from Voroo's point of view. Even if the starfighters would catch up with the squadron, they would stand no chance against these atmospheric fighters. Probably the garrison commander was too desperate to realize this - yet their overconfidence would lead to their death eventually.
At first it seemed like the TaggeCo was capable of at least regaining controll over the facility with the help of their three AT-ST walkers, given that the partisans were spread out and partially shot within the attempt of storming the barricades around the factory complex.
Hiding behind one of the cargo containers, which shielded them from the heavy blaster fire temporarily, Voroo watched as two of the droids were melted down to crips by the walkers. Probably now would be the right moment for the cavalry to appear.
Then, with a blast, one of the AT-STs exploded, it's entire top structure being destroyed by missile impact.
The movement of the TaggeCo soldiers halted, as Voroo's secret weapon, the T3-B heavy attack tank, sent by the Corellian Coalition recently, was emerging from its bush cover, the precise shot taking down the walker with ease. Before the sellswords knew how to react on this twist within the battle, Voroo gave the command to open fire from behind the container upon enemy infantry at will.
Within seconds the battlefield became a slaughter with the TaggeCo taking most of the losses. Although eight of the partisans died alongside few Neimoidian workers, who were shot by their overseers within the turmoil, the Imperials lost their next walker towards three well-placed rocket launcher attacks and most of their infantry units.
Eventually the battle was over within the next ten minutes, as the garrison surrendered to the partisans. With the destruction of the last ZX-3 droids the facility would eventually be secured.
Voroo got after he sent the remaining mercenaries into the cells, where they kept before the workers the brief confirmation from the Kreehawk leader, that all Mining Guild TIEs were taken care of.
The next half hour was used well to not only free the workers and sent them with two C-9979 landing crafts into safety, but as well to transfer quickly some of the produced rescources onto the cargo ship. With the refinery's materials, Voroo would be able to replace the fallen droid units easily, perhaps even be able to add more onto the partisan's army. Yet haste was required, for the Neimoidians knew that the First Order's allies would strike quickly in order to bring retaliation upon their enemies.
When one of the scouts reported already, that a squadron of a new TIE fighter type was sighted at the horizon, bearing the markings of the Kasalle Company, Voroo knew that they had to leave. As the landing crafts left the Mining complex as quickly as they descended upon it, the explosive charges, spread across the entire refinery were detonated. Nearby villages and bridge cities would be able to see the smoke even from the distance as much as the TIE Harbinger squadron, which was dispatched to hunt after the partisans... |
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Post by Salvatore Kasalle on Nov 3, 2020 5:17:45 GMT -8
Cato Neimoidia - Above the jungle's roof
Leading the charge of the TIE Harbinger squadron in pursuit of the rebells, who had dared to attack another facility of TaggeCo, Commander Salvatore Kasalle was in a relaxed mood, as he saw the Trade Federation transporter rise from the smoking ruins of what was once an ore reffinery.
Well, this time things are about to change.
Though recent attacks of the so-called partisans had thus far resulted in quick, fast victories, none of the present company security forces were prepared for potential warfare, unlike the Kasalle Company. It was for Salvatore and his wingmen no problem to exchange their stormtrooper armour against a pilot suit, when they head of the partisan's attack upon the facility, as they were more than regular soldiers. Having worked his way up over the years into the Braxant Legion, Salvatore knew from past expieriences that the more adaptable a warrior was, the more likely he was to win. He should be aware of both his strengths and his weaknesses.
That way the Mandalorians were able to once conquer the galaxy and in a similiar way these doctrines were also necessary for the First Order's elite forces.
To share this knowledge with his own troops in case the household came under attack was thus the best thing Salvatore could do next to his private pilot lessons.
A good commander lead after all by example.
"Alright boys, airspeeders ahead", he told his men calm, as he saw some of the partisan airspeeders head into their direction, "Remember that you fly no regular TIE and that this is not a simulation. Understood?"
::Aye Commander!::
Followed by three additional triangular TIE fighters, the atmospheric TIE Harbingers eventually engaged into combat with the V-Wing airspeeders, resulting in Salvatore's first successful hit on an enemy pilot. Pleased the Company heir noticed, that the damaged vessel was crashing with immense speed into the vast jungle landscape below them, leaving behind a slight fire trail until impact. Another V-Wing fell prey to the initial assault of the Harbingers as well, as one of the following TIE flight groups landed a good shot on another airspeeder. Two gone, ten more to go.
Kasalle was already considering if they could get into closer range to already sink the escaping C-9979 landing craft, as suddenly blaster shots rained down on the right wingside. Taking an immidiate evasive maneuver, Salvatore cursed, as he saw that one of his wingmen had worse luck than him and had to immidiately land if he didn't want to lose his life and the starfighter. Well, better saving one company asset the cowardly way than losing it straight away. Given his flight path the pilot would probably make it.
Yet Salvatore realized that two of the partisan airspeeders were straight after him, while the back of his wingside was smoking.
"R5, fix it", he solely commanded, as he performed an barrel roll in order to force the attacking vessels in closing up towards him.
The integrated Astromech unit realized the damage committed upon the TIE fighter easily and did its best to repair those parts of the wing, which were damaged. Like an X-Wing, the TIE Harbinger could rely on fast support by the droid in multiple ways - a feat for which Salvatore appreciated the engineer's approach of design.
Five times the cost of a Mining Guild TIE - five times more efficient though.
Eventually making another fast turn, where he dodged the rapid fire of the pursueing V-Wing air speeders with ease, the Commander hit immidiately the breaks as he was in mid air to eventually complete the surprise, causing the enemy air speeders to launch past him.
A foolish mistake.
With the crosshair targeting after a few beeps on the radar the first airspeeder, Kasalle's TIE Harbinger destroyed it within mere seconds before it could dodge the attack. The other pilot was more lucky, as the individual took a direct dive towards the surface in order to fly through the dense tree tops. With ten remaining TIEs on the pursuit, the partisans remaining five airspeeders eventually retreated, realizing that they stood no chance against the entire squadron.
One of the flight groups already attempted to follow the rebells, when the commander realized suddenly why these fools had committed this suicidal attack.
"Aboard any pursuit and focus on the freighter! Has anyone kept attention to where it went?"
::Aye sir, last time sighted near the spirals north of us. But... they're not there anymore!::
Salvatore silently cursed. Idiots!
The C-9979 couldn't be far, that much he knew, but the distraction by the V-Wing airspeeders had given it enough time to make its way to one of these massive rock formations, across the entirety of the jungle, at worst to a hidden cavern or a faster vessel. Even worse, due to the dense foggy nature of the rainforests and the huge ammount of rock formations, the brief distraction by the V-Wing airspeeders made it also hard to figure out into which direction to head next.
Either way it meant that they had to split up the group, if they would have to pursue. Which was never a good thing, if they didn't knew the full strength of their opponent.
"Then it seems we'll return to Zarra and report to the young Tagge what is left of his facility. Scout the nearby area for any threats until Gamma-3 has fixed their fighter and then return to base.
We've had a good hunt after all."
Eventually after ten minutes all TIE Harbingers would leave the area, returning towards the capital city.
A facility was lost, yet the companies would rule the skies. Even if the partisans would be able to replace their V-Wings, similiar raids like the one before would now become harder, as long as there were TIE Harbinger flight groups available.
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Sunbringer
Member
Gathering intel and evacuating a team from Kuat Drive Yards
Posts: 53
Affiliation: The Son of Suns
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Post by Sunbringer on Nov 23, 2020 17:18:57 GMT -8
[/b][/ul][/ul][/font][/font] {Continued from Kuat Drive Yards}[/font][/ul] *Severyn's transmission from Administrator Voss's office comes in audibly on the bridge of the "Orelon" for Lendron Emmenos and everyone else to hear, unmistakably. A frown crosses Lendron's visage at the two words.*[/font][/ul] *The communications team is already on it. The vanguard of Solstice fleet consists of the flagship, "Accrete", a Majestic-class heavy cruiser, accompanied by four Corona-class frigates. They're stationed by Cato Nemoidia, with the ten Celestial Guardians having assured the rear admiral that it would not be necessary to bring the full might of the fleet to bear on Kuat. But keep them nearby, just in case... right?*
*The Equinox and Perihelion fleets are further away, overseeing a mission on Trandosha. Equinox fleet mirrors the Solstice fleet, as the name implies. Perihelion fleet consists solely of the "Luminous Flux", a Dauntless-class heavy cruiser, and its starfighter complement. Consequently, Perihelion fleet is often dispatched to accompany one or the other of the two other fleets. It is the flagship of the Sunbringer himself, but Sunbringer is not on that vessel at present. His only words to the Sun Guard were that he had certain other matters to attend to for the present time, and that Nola Jir would be temporarily given full authority of the Thyrsian forces until he was to return.*
*Comms team transmitted the message from Severyn, as well as the survey scans undertaken by the T-65BR escort fighters from when they were in the system. That intel was over two hundred and thirty minutes old at this point, but that's better than nothing. Rear admiral Emmenos appends an encrypted comm indicating grid coordinates where he intends for Solstice fleet to jump in, and suggests a complementary set of coordinates for the combined Equinox and Perihelion fleet to arrive. He calculates a few minutes for the rendezvous of Solstice fleet, and nearly forty-five minutes for the bulk of the Sun Guard navy to arrive over Kuat. In other words, it will be the responsibility of Solstice fleet to extract the Celestial Guards from the Kuat Drive Yards, and the second wave of the fleet will serve to mop up the remaining First Order forces and secure exit from the system.*{Continued in the Kashyyyk system}[/b][/ul][/ul][/font][/font] *The litany of comm transmissions from the advance guard of Solstice fleet reaches the "Accrete". The captain of the vessel, Dor Shomman, signals for the ships to prepare for immediate departure of the system. Starfighter squadrons on flight assignment around the fleet in the planet's well are hailed to return to their carrier ships, with pilots to remain in their cockpits for rapid re-deployment. Each Corona-class frigate carries 36 starfighters, while the "Accrete" carries 60. Return to the ships is not strictly necessary for any but the K-Wing fighters; nonetheless, the order is given. Two jumps to hyperspace will be made, the crew members are informed. They'll follow standard hyperlanes and aim to emerge along the tangent edge of the Commenor system, in order to make the subsequent jump to Kuat with a minimal amount of realspace manuevering once in the gravity well. Dor tents his fingers before his face, gazing towards the Quellor star. As the starlight blurs into ribbons as the ship engages its hyperdrive, he mentally recites a short prayer of protection for the Celestial Guardians.* |
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Post by Salvatore Kasalle on Nov 29, 2020 5:07:07 GMT -8
Cato Neimoidia - Capital of Zarra
Days after the attack on the Tagge mining facilities, the hangar site of the Kasalle Corporation was bustling as Commander Salvatore overlooked the repairs and maintainance duties himself. A Neimoidian servant approached him after a while, offering him cowering a holo projector before he eventually took his leave.
That's how they should all end up. Dutiful, broken, in service to the Empire.
Salvatore made sure that the servant had left before he activated the transmitter. It didn't surprise him too much to see the familiar face of Emilio Lennox himself.
::Baron Cors was found according to my reports by his own men... unfortunately. The Partisans killed him, including his son and their bodyguards. Seems like their expedition ends with their career. You know what that means?::
"New assets for the company, as we will buy the inheritance.", Salvatore added stern, partially amused, "Cors never paid his debts towards us and his leftover men get better payment and drill within our ranks."
If Moff Lennox despised Salvatore's cold nature when it came to the death of his ally within the conflict or shared his view point, he didn't really tell. The gouvernor of Neimoidia swiftly continiued with the actual reason he transmitted the message.
::Cors' death is solely a warning to us all that these Partisans are extremely dangerous, while negotiations with them are impossible. Like the rebells I wish to see this rathole burnt to the ground. And I want to see results, Kasalle. Your Company fares so far the best against the attacks, given that it is the wealthiest. It would be a pity if I'd have to report your baron father a similiar fate as I told you.::
Telling this an ex-Braxant Legionaire is like growing Tatooine into a lush forest world, Emilio.
The son of the Kasalle dynasty wasn't necessarily insulted by the Moff's reasoning but instead kept listening, as further data was sent to him.
A route on a map. An imperial complex on the planet. Not company-alligned.
This was Lennox' buiseness on the planet.
Interesting...
To some point Kasalle had already wondered, why the Moff hold quite an interest within Cato Neimoidia aside from the slave buiseness. Yet he presumed that something must be going on there, as he had never heard of this garrison. Of course he didn't. The Council, which currently ruled the planet was First-Order-alligned, yet there was no official presence of the First Order on the planet.
Those men are certainly on Lennox' direct paylist.
A train lane was shown on the map, leading towards one of the Neimoidian bridge cities. Tarko-Se.
Another gouvernor's folly.
::I wish your company to keep an eye on this 20-T Railcrawler conveyex transport, Salvatore.::, the Moff solely replied stern, ::Unlike the rest of these company clown armies, your forces are disciplined and trained by the doctrines of the Imperial Military. My men are capable enough to keep the cargo safe and the train itself should outrun most of the Partisan's arsenal. Nevertheless I wish to roll safe.
The TIE Harbingers, which your dear sister produced, might prove themselves worthy once more, as I have read your last report.::
It didn't take long for Salvatore to think whether he would agree to the deal or not. He had a mission here.
And the outcome of the train escort might give him more hints regarding the target.
"I'll send a squadron, Emilio."
The Moff smiled, pleased regarding the answer.
::In that case, I wish a good hunt. For the winner takes it all.::
The transmission ended and briefly in thoughts, Salvatore looked towards the datapad, as he thought about something.
"Indeed, Emilio... the winner takes it all."
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Post by Linuy Findos on Nov 30, 2020 6:41:00 GMT -8
Cato Neimoidia - The Conveyex Raid
Under Lon Seema's command the two Turfjumper-squadrons of T-47 airspeeders was flying alongside the shadows of the massive railway, that was supposedly utilized by the imperial garrison, hidden within the lush jungles of the forest world. According to informations, brought from the Partisan's intelligence network, a 20-T Railcrawler conveyex transport was spotted, leaving the old Imperial railway station of Tarko-se in order to head towards one of the old facilities. Although the facility is left officially by records of the gouvernment, the pursueing V-Wing scout had found out that there were still lifesigns atop the wall of the garrison. Stormtroopers of the First Order patrol the area.
Actual Stormtroopers.
The female Neimoidian partisan leader figured alongside Captain Voroo that whatever the Imperials had hidden within the facility must be of high importance, if they wanted to smuggle it by the old train network towards one of the cities. Therefore the train had to be stopped and the cargo obtained. Or at least what portions could be obtained.
Raiding a Conveyex transport wasn't an easy task, given that the Railcrawlers were usually armed. Followed up by three squadrons of V-Wing airspeeders, the one Turfjumper-squadron had to ensure that none of them would be hit, when they would deliver the first batch of cargo. Too many mistakes and the operation would fail - thus only the best pilots had been chosen among the Neimoidian ranks to carry out this task.
The train's front was now slightly in range, the dense fog of the rain forest covering the airspeeder's attack run.
"Now!"
Seema's command went straight through the comlink of both the Turfjumper squadron and Kreehawk division, resulting in the swarm of air speeders descending upon the snakelike train.
Immidiately the Conveyex garrison opened fire as two turret sections of the train began to shoot at the air speeders, hitting one of the V-Wings straight away. Already one sacrifice for the higher cause.
Seema's airspeeder closed up to the train, before she gave the four passengers, hanging at the sides of the T-47's laser cannon's the order to jump down.
Swiftly, the BX-series Droid Commandos descended onto the craft, as just narrowly the airspeeder bypassed the train on lower speed, three of the BX-series battle droids surviving the fall onto the second cargo pod. While she flew away, she could already see as the rest of the squadron deployed their batches of these versatile droid commandos onto the train.
A lot of them exploded within this kamikaze landing operation - wasted without any money, that was put into their production, valueing up this sacrifice.
But considering the loot aboard the armored train it was worth it, for the most of them survived. Three additional V-Wings were also lost in the process, yet all the T-47 airspeeders made it out luckily.
Much to Seema's relief, as the latter would be vital for the later plans upon the heist.
Now though the air speeders had to retreat back into the rainforest, as the operation would enter the second stage.
The seed was planted, now it was on the side of the BX-droids to secure them the Conyevex. |
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Post by Salvatore Kasalle on Dec 1, 2020 5:24:55 GMT -8
Cato Neimoidia - The Conveyex Raid
As the speeders passed by, the Imperial Colonel aboard the Conveyex train stood stoic next to his two subordinates, who were driving the vehicle. Several red dots were seen on the sensors of the serpentine vehicle, which were supposedly dropped from the airspeeders. More than swiftly the middle-aged officer commanded the four First Order range troopers behind him to get the situation checked, before he activated the comlink.
"Commander Kasalle, we're under attack as predicted by the Moff. You know what to do.", he solely said, gritting his teeth in light of the current situation, "Situation otherwise under controll, over."
Kasalle Convoy Galleon Jenia, in lower atmosphere over Tarko-se
Standing aboard the hangar deck of the redesigned Venator-class Star Destroyer, the Commander was already present in his pilot suit, given that this was something the Moff had predicted to happen.
It was also interesting to know, given the vast ammount of intelligence their enemies possessed. Although it was clear that the Corellian Coalition somehow monitored the Partisans on this planet it was nontheless surprising how efficient these soldiers fought, as they even dared to intercept an imperial armoured transport train as if it was nothing.
Impressive, yet foolish at the same time.
"Understood, Colonel, squadrons are on the way", he briefly stated, before he went towards his own atmospheric fighter. With the Harbingers having proven their worth already against the V-Wing airspeeders, Salvatore would bring in two squadrons of these fighters in order to support Moff Lennox' operation, whatever it was.
So far no further details about the cargo were dropped, when Salvatore had recieved the frequence of the 20-T-Railcrawler crew before their initial departure at Tarko-se. Interestingly enough the Moff had even kept an Acclamator-class carrier ready to recieve the freight instead of asking Kasalle directly if they could deliver the freight for them safely to Neimoidia.
Leading to many interesting conclusions of what might be aboard that train.
Perhaps I will find out during my mission.
Taking flight, the TIE Harbinger eventually left the hangar, followed by his wing men.
The hunt was on once more.
Far south at the Conveyed transport
As the Rangetroopers were leaving the hatch to check upon the situation, they were barely prepared for the vibro blades of the three BX-commando droids. Solely to the swift reaction of the two remaining troopers they were able to shoot one of the assassins, before drawing their own Z6 riot controll baton. Similiar fights had broken out around the train as both droids and designated Stormtroopers battled for controll over the turret sections of the train. Taking a few turns, it was mainly due to the magnetic gription boots, that the Rangetroopers could hold their ground against these tougher opponents, created during the Clone Wars for multiple tasks, similiar to this one.
Although some of the commando droids fell within one of these train turns into their doom a good portion of the range troopers fell towards the blaster fire.
The struggle between the four combatants on the front of the Conveyex held on for several minutes, before one of the droids decided to help out their comrade, overwhelming the third Stormtrooper with a swift slash into his neck. Outnumbered the last remaining soldier tried their best to stand his ground, before he was executed with several swift blaster shots of an E-5 blaster rifle from the distance.
The droids were winning ground, as the train continiued on with its journey.
All that stood between them now and the Colonel was a thick durasteel door layer.
As it was expected by the Partisans.
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Post by Linuy Findos on Dec 2, 2020 10:16:30 GMT -8
Cato Neimoidia - The Conveyex Raid
"Range team, state the situation! Range team, can you hear me?"The Colonel was somewhat nervous, believing so far into the abilities of his troops to dispose the droid threat as the situation seemed to calm down and the ammount of blaster fire was going down for the moment. At first there was no answer until one of the familiar Stormtrooper voices reacted to the Colonel's call.
::Roger, Colonel. Situation is under controll, you can open up the door.::
Moving his hand towards the code cylinder, the officer took it, before he suddenly stopped, having a bad feeling about the overall situation. Something didn't seem right.
"To whom am I talking?", he inquired, wishing to know the ID of the Rangetrooper, while looking onto a monitor, which showed the movements within the hatch area and before the steel door.
::RN-57B, Sir!::, the soldier reported diligent, partially even confused, ::You sent RN-57A and me outside, the rest of the team is dead. Over.::
Looking onto the camera, the imperial officer was relieved, as he saw the two Rangetroopers on the screen, knowing that their ID was correct. False alert, as it seemed.
"Alright, I'll let you in."
The code cylinder deactivated the door protocol, as the heavy durasteel door opened up. Swiftly the Stormtroopers went inside, while the Colonel was closing up the door in order to check with his subordinates the overall situation on the train.
A mistake, as it turned out to be.
"R...Roger, Roger!"
Felled by the Stormtrooper's blaster rifles all three imperial officers were executed before they even had a chance to react. The disguised BX-droid commandos were swift and precise when it came to assassinate their targets. One of them took of their helmet in order to save up the voice modulation of the Colonel. Pulling aside one of the officers, the other commando droid would eventually scan the terminal, before he would decide to put the train on halt.
The Partisans had stopped the Conveyex convoy.
Seeing from the distance that the train was finally stopping, Lon Seema got more than excited. The train was now ready for raiding.
The airspeeders immidiately went towards their target destination, as the plan had entered its third and final stage: To steal the cargo.
"Alright Turfjumper, prepare the tow cables and be careful. We might have won for the moment, but they might send reinforcements soon enough."
Seema's warning was proving to be right, as one of the laser turrets was still firing upon the incoming wave of airspeeders straight away. While the Kreehawk Division would draw their attention upon the turret by bombarding it with rapidfire blaster salves, the Turfjumper squadron split up into six teams of two T-47s in order to slow down over different cargo containers, once the had launched the tow cables upon them.
With the surviving droid commandos on the ground, the targets were chosen carefully in the heat of the operation, as the transport alone would be a huge risk, even for a professional team that had trained on a similiar situation at the Santhe Shipyards.
One mistake and all airspeeders tied to a container would suffer for the consequences, even if their combined efforts would be enough to manage a 12 meter long cargo container.
So far things seemed to go well as within minutes the first container was abducted by two of the airspeeders. Just narrowly blastershots from the train turret missed the slowed-down aircrafts - before the turret itself exploded by the sheer might of the other train turret firing upon the vessel.
Seema sighed in relief.
Everything's good. Five more to go.
She already gave her co-pilots the orders to tighten up the tow cable in order for their team to manage the container, as she suddenly saw small H-shaped dots in brief distance of the fog. The face of the Neimoidian captain went pale immidiately, as she realized that her worst fears became within moments reality.
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Post by Salvatore Kasalle on Dec 6, 2020 6:57:27 GMT -8
Cato Neimoidia - The Conveyex Raid
::To incoming fleet, we have the situation under controll. I repeat: Situation under controll. You may return to your base. Roger!::
The voice of the Colonel went through Commander Salvatore's comlink, as the TIE Harbingers were heading towards the last reported location of the transport, the dense forest fog clouding the sight of the squadron in the distance.
An odd call, which Kasalle distrusted immidiately. To some point it lined up with his previous words, that the Conveyex convoy had the situation under controll, yet it seemed odd to repeat these words once more, just to tell them, that they're not required anymore. Moreover, the Colonel knew the Commander.
He felt reminded of the battles at Muunilinst and Mygeeto, where the forces of the Banking Clan tried to distract the Braxant Legion with false calls from BX Commando droids - and given, that the Partisans were noted to be in possession of droid forces it was more likely that their assassins had taken over the train.
Deactivating the com line towards the train, he informed the rest of the TIE squadrons.
"Ignore this call, as it's an enemy ploy. We'll proceed as planned, presume though that the train was taken over by the Partisans."
With his wingmen confirming the command, the Harbingers continiued on.
After a while, the R5 unit aboard Kasalle's TIE Harbinger would notify him of several targets sprawling out across one large target, presumably the train. They reached their destination, being greeted immidiately by the rapid fire salves of various V-Wing airspeeders incoming. Pulling a hard turn, Salvatore and his two wingmen dodged the first salve as the airspeeders tried to pursue the atmospheric fighters.
Dodging several shots, Kasalle noted several events taking place around the stopped rail transport, as there were also another type of airspeeders present. T-47s. Snowspeeders, as some Imperials, who knew about the legendary battle of Hoth would state.
The more interesting part for Salvatore was the notion though how the Partisans utilized these air speeders - similiar to how the Kasalle Company utilized them. Instead of weaponizing the tow cable, they were actually utilizing it for its original purpose of cargo transports, having linked it with the containers, whose locks on the other side the droids were removing.
More clever than it is for their own good.
"Dodge dogfights with the V-Wings as best as you can, we'll have to stop these T-47s."
With the order given out in a swift aileron turn, the TIE Harbinger would take a dive under the railway to get rid of their pursuers. The maneuver went well, even though one of his wingmen's R5 droid got shot by a well-placed shot. Unfortunate, but not tragic.
The TIE Harbingers eventually descended onto the train again, dodging the slow shots of the train cannon, before they would lock their targets upon one of the T-47s, attempting to steal one of the containers. The airspeeders were already midflight, when Kasalle shot the first down, bringing an end to both of them, as within a chain reaction the weight of the container would pull down the surprised Neimoidian pilots, as it crashed into the jungle.
Where the Empire had failed, the Kasalle Company mercenaries were striking back.
Already quite relaxed, Salvatore had to admit, that this battle threw him back into the same thrill, he had felt during the siege of Harnaidan.
This was the face of war.
And the eldest heir of the Kasalle line was enjoying the machine slaughter, which he witnessed. |
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Post by Linuy Findos on Dec 9, 2020 5:36:58 GMT -8
Cato Neimoidia - The Conveyex Raid 
Four valuable men and women, already lost with a few single shots.
Though Kreehawk Division was doing their best to shield the rest of the T-47s, Lon Seema just narrowly dodged the shots of an incoming TIE Harbinger, before the vessel pushed through next to her, chased by one of the V-Wing airspeeders. In the distance the remaining train turret, occupied by the Partisan's droids was firing upon the fast moving targets, one of the laser shots actually shooting down an unprepared Harbinger.
::Turfjumper-1, cargo is ready to fly off. Roger Roger!::
Finally!
Lon Seema felt alongside her co-pilot already like a sitting duck, but as her squad mate and her finally had the opportunity to flee with the cargo, she didn't hesitate too long and gave the order to fly off. Maybe for the better as one of the remaining airspeeder teams recieved a shot on one of the speeders. Although it was still flying, Seema feared that their engines might give them trouble on the later run. Five containers.
They might actually get away with five of them, if they utilized the momentum right.
"BX-leader, we emptied the train. Now it's onto your side to do the rest."
::Roger Roger! It was an honor serving you.::
With these words, suddenly an explosion went through the railways, as the charges, deployed by the Commando droids would result in a chain reaction, where the Railcrawler exploded midair, as it's wreckage was descending upon the river. While Kreehawk Division kept the TIE Harbingers busy, the train itself was sacrificed in order to ensure that the First Order and their allies wouldn't benefit from the remaining cargo at all. Steal, what you got, destroy what your enemy could utilize against you.
Pursued by another Harbinger flight, the T-47 airspeeder hurried up with it's team mate to descend into the rainforest dense fog clouds, closer towards the surface in order to distract their pursuers. Right now they had to split up the groups in order to cover the safe retreat of the fellow Partisans.
Time would show if the Kasalle Company's goons were bold enough to pursue. |
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Post by Salvatore Kasalle on Dec 27, 2020 6:12:54 GMT -8
Cato Neimoidia - Aftermath of the Conveyex Raid
Shaking off another batch of V-Wing airspeeders by taking a faked barrel roll in order to get behind the back of his fast persuers, the Household Commander remained supreme, taking down the next two Partisan vessels as if it was nothing. Within the heat of the battle it seemed at first as if the Kasalle Company could turn around the tides of battle, when suddenly the entire train was shaken by explosions, detonating simultaneously on all ends, the burning wreckage descending into the below river.
Realizing the danger, Kasalle briefly ordered a retreat in order to get most of his wingmen to safety. Within a matter of a dozen seconds the Harbinger squadrons regrouped, 20 starfighters out of the original 24 remaining. Half of the V-Wing airspeeders had been shot down alongside two pairs of T-47s. After a few minutes it became obvious though that they were losing the trails of the Partisans once more. Some V-Wings could be spotted within the far distance of this fog-ridden landscape, but the rest of the T-47s have utilized the cover of the rainforests too well. Sending his own Harbingers one by one after them seemed like an unwise idea, as Salvatore owed the First Order and Moff Lennox only as much as he could afford from his own pocket.
"Abbandon the hunt and secure the locations where the containers dropped off", he briefly ordered his men, "And send the Jenia towards our coordinates..."
After a while, Salvatore had landed near the first container, which they had shot down, the TIE Harbinger utilizing it's vertical wings to perform a landing, dropping down like a landing helicopter. Surrounded by two other Harbingers, Salvatore left the cockpit, dressed clad within his samurai-like pilotsuit and a E-11 Blaster rifle. As the Kasalle household troopers entered the area around the cargo container, the various sounds of the Neimoidian jungle landscape echoed through their ears, as wildlife was everpresent within the lush forest areas of this fascinating, yet foreign world.
::Sir, we secured the other container::, an intercom voice from another of his soldiers reported towards the Household Commander, ::Most of it is armour and weaponry. Seems like this outpost was a weapon manufactury.::
That was it? Just weapons for the Empire?
"Understood, send the Zeta-class shuttles in, once the Jenia arrives. Search further and inform me if you find anything interesting."
::Aye Sir!::
As his own men were already on the job of getting access towards the inside of the crashed container before him, Salvatore was suspicious, when it came to the overall operation.
On the one hand it was of course a bad sign, that the First Order would lose a train transport, full of weapons and other goods, a rebel organization could
utilize against imperial authorities - but an ordinary weapon transport wouldn't require a secret imperial train transport from a non-registered First Order base on a planet, that was solely sworn to the First Order by the means of it's souvereign puppet gouvernment.
Blaster rifles can be build across the entirety of the First Order's domain with worlds like Adumar having even a reputation on engineering special kinds of weapon systems. Cato Neimoidia was just a backwater world, whose natural rescources get harvested by the companies, while being sent towards imperial space for manufacturing immidiately.
When Emilio initially gave him informations on that train and from where it came, the heir of the Kasalle Company was already aware that the Moff had probably his own private project ongoing on this planet. If he only trusted the Kasalle Company with it, having his own Acclamator-class transport ready at Tarko-se to make it look like an ordinary imperial transport from an allied world, it must be something very important.
Perhaps even something the ISB wasn't even supposed to know, making the affair even more interesting.
As the time passed, Salvatore tried to think of any other information, the Moff or his goons on the train accidentally spilled towards him, when the hatch of the Container was finally opened up.
This took quite some time, making Kasalle hope, that it was perhaps what he was actually after.
Taking a look inside, steam from the heated up inside of the container engulfed the three pilots, as they entered the container themselves. With a length of roughly 12 meters the container wasn't necessarily large, but had nontheless quite some space to offer - and as the lights atop the blaster rifles were looking around the room, a slight grin formed on Salvatore's face, when he realized what he was seeing.
Oh Emilio... you're so much in trouble now, if the Emperor ever hears from this...
"Kasalle towards Jenia, there's a slight change of plans", Kasalle said more than pleased into his intercom,"Send all the shuttles to our destination and take care of the other container later. Seems like we shot down one of the treasure boxes."
The confirmation of Kasalle's orders being noted by the Company captain followed immidiately afterwards, as Salvatore approached one of the oil-black, silver-plated figures within the row of deactivated charging stations, looking fascinated upon the pair of red photoreceptors, that was featured upon a stormtrooper-like armour.
Now the hunt would become more interesting. |
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Post by Salvatore Kasalle on Dec 6, 2021 5:09:24 GMT -8
Cato Neimoidia - Heist on the Palace
::Commander, we recieved an incoming transmission from the Moff. Shall we send it through?::
"Understood, Captain. I'm available right now."
Retreating into the office building, next to the massive dojo area, where several Household Guard trooper regiments stood ready, Salvatore Kasalle opened a new channel on his comLink, while his eyes remained fixed upon the portable holo emitter on his hand. Dressed clad in his samurai-like armour, the Household Commander was searching for a quiet corner among the Kasalle's military complex on Zarra, as the blue holographic figure of the Moff was emerging.
::Greetings, old friend::, the man, known as Emilio Lennox, Gouvernor of Neimoidia stated firmly, ::It might please to hear you, that preparations for our project are still continiueing as planned. According to my intel, single ships have left the Kuati Dockyards by demands of higher authorities. The Emperor is already making his moves.::
More than relaxed, Salvatore sat down on a chair in the corner of the bureauesque room, mixed with the typical Neimoidian interior design. To some point it looked exotic in a nearly hideous way, where sterile, white human architecture blended in with the more colourful textiles on the walls.
"And lets my sister deal with the Corellians", he concluded smug, yet unmoved, "Shame, nearly began enjoying this little hellhole after so many months, Emilio."
The Moff's amusement over the comment was only visible for a brief moment.
::The war is by now just a matter of time::, he stated, sounding now a bit concerned, ::I'm however worried that a mere battle like on Dac won't do the job this time. The Coalition spans a large territory and with each passing day, these partisans grow in strength, no matter the orbital defenses. Something like the failure of the Conveyex transport shouldn't occur again.::
Emilio's concerns reminded Salvatore on what he found back then, when his men defended the remnants of the train's cargo. He never spoke with the Moff about the deactivated Dark Troopers, that he had seen nor what he actually presumed the installation from where they came to be.
Not that it necessarily violated the Imperial code, that the Moff was creating his own assets on a world, outside of the First Order's range - more interesting was rather the fact, that he had tried his best to keep the operation as a secret.
"I presume then that you have still orders for us", he therefore answered, "Next to the Mining Guild we're the only ones with stationary forces left after the Tagge heir was assassinated by the clankers a week ago, just for your information. The Guild's representative also ponders to leave Zarra for good, so... better let it be something good."
There was visible annoyance on the face of the Imperial, something that nearly made Kasalle smile.
Men like Lennox still thought of them like an asset, they could simply command and order around, just like their regular Stormtroopers.
A shame that the mercenaries had standards. Yet it would for certain be something important, should the Moff raise the rewards.
::I hope your father will put good use to the additional funds I'll send over after this transmission as I will need your manpower::, the Moff eventually explained non-chalantly, ::Chairman Xant from the Imperial Banking Guild will arrive today at the residential palace, discussing laws to be passed with the current puppet gouvernment.
It doesn't take a mastermind to figure out that the Partisans might already be aware of this important visit and that they might try to sabotage it. Perhaps even conduct some other mischief in the meantime.::
"I understand. My men are ready for the task."
Another warning look of the Moff crossed Salvatore's calm look.
::I hope they are. Keep the damages minimal and execute anyone you must - yet nothing should happen to the chairman. I hope you understand the gratitude of this mission.::
"I do, Emilio, don't worry."
With the image of the Moff slowly fading out, Salvatore knew immidiately why the Moff was worried. If the Chairman was killed or captured by the Partisans, the ISB would certainly track down the whole affair towards Lennox and perhaps also find out more than he did.
And no matter the upcoming war, the First Order didn't accept any affairs or corrupt tendencies within their own ranks, especially not from a planetary gouvernour with a lot of influence. To some extent however, Salvatore was curious regarding the plans of the chairman.
Perhaps the expedition to Cato Neimoidia would find an interesting climax within the ongoing guerilla war, that was plagueing the Quellor Run for months now.
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Post by Esthh Krazhmir on Feb 28, 2023 14:10:01 GMT -8
Enalah.
The matalok dropped out of hyperspace and moved to the planet. It was a very green world, full of life and very wet. Its grasslands were constantly swampy and its seas and lakes were both fresh water. The matalok was after a specific animal on this planet, and it did not have long to wait. Even as the large ship was descending they could be seen. Helas. Thousands of them. Eel-like animals that were a meter or two in length flying, or floating about in groups of roughly a hundred, soaring through the insect clogged air with mouths wide open. The Helas had no wings and a number of them seemed to move towards the matalok as it neared the ground. Soon the creatures were swarming the ship and didn’t seem to become disinterested until the dovin basals relaxed from their work.
The landing site was was well chosen. The matalok sat on the edge of a sea with vast plains with scattered clumps of trees on the land side. Esthh had chosen the location not just the best location, but the best location based on time. It wasnt difficult, it was well documented information. The location on the planet happened to coincide with the mating season of the Helas. The sea was busy with females laying eggs across the water, and males diving into the water. The shapers wasted no time in getting to work, taking samples of the air, the soil, water, vegetation, the insects and plants. Samples of everything were taken and eggs and gametes gathered separately as well as fertilized eggs. Capturing adults didn’t seem like it would be much of a problem. Capture tentacles from the blast boats and grounded coralskippers easily grabbed their prey as the creatures seemed to react to the dovin basals disturbance of gravity fields. This operation took relatively little time as these creatures were documented and plans were easy to make and the creatures were abundant.
Esthh looked about standing in the wet marshy grasses and thought to himself that this would be a beautiful place to live. Except for the simple fact that one inhaled half a dozen insects with every breath, or near enough to half a dozen. They would likely be trying to track down and remove insects for weeks inside the ship. A day and a half later they moved to a different section of the planet, one that had the opposite time of the year and collected more samples, ensuring that the biological needs was well established. Then with hundreds of the two meter long beasts nestled into hibernation stasis pods the matalok climbed away from the planet, leaving it in peace and jumped to hyperspace.
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Post by Esthh Krazhmir on Mar 10, 2023 11:07:02 GMT -8
Ophrideraan.
A matalok dropped out of hyperspace above a planet with two moons. The planet was an arid one, and appeared brown and gray from orbit, dirt and rock. Normally such a planet would have little interest shown in it except for mining operations...if the planet had such resources. This one did not.
The matalok dropped into the atmosphere, towards the only detectable source of water in a massive sink hole or drilled hole into the surface. As the matalok descended, flying creatures could be made out, and the further the ship settled towards the ground the clearer and closer the creatures flew to the matalok. They were snakes. Winged snakes. Huge winged snakes. The matalok settled down into the massive hole, now positively alive with wheeling serpents. The ship set down at the edge of the bottom of the sinkhole, in an area that seemed stable.
A group of humans emerged from some structures and walked towards the ship as Esthh and a small entourage walked out of the ship to meet them. Flying serpents circling or landing with their riders watching with excitement. The excitement of the the humans seemed to diminish as the warriors approached. This wasnt what they had expected of outsiders, and these aliens looked intimidating. Still the galaxy was a big place and the last outsiders had set them free from their chains of the Serpent Masters.
“Welcome to Ophrideraan! I am Esikial,” said the apparent leader.
Esthh gave him a slight bow.
“Greetings. I am Esthh Krazhmir, commander. I am here because I am interested in your mounts, and I am willing to trade to obtain a number of them.”
Esikial wasnt sure of what to make of this request, but it sounded good if a little strange.
“I...think I can agree to this on principle. What do you have to trade?”
“What is your greatest need? From the looks of things this place is lacking in surface water. We have creatures that can bore wells and pump water to the surface and nurture fields and gardens. Or perhaps new foodstuffs to grow with excess water.”
Esikial paused.
“I will have to consult with the others.”
“Do so. In the meantime may I have a tour and be allowed to examine these creatures?” Esthh waved his hand at a nearby serpent.
“Of course. Askeloon. Would you escort our guests please while I consult with the council.”
Askeloon nodded.
“Of course.”
Esthh nodded and turned with the shaper to examine the creatures, running their hands across the beasts and talking with the riders as they started examining them from nose to tail.
An hour later Esikial caught up with them in the breeding grounds where there were dozens and dozens of eggs, under the careful watch of adult serpents and their riders.
“Magnificent creatures,” remarked the shaper.
“Indeed. Let us see what our hosts have to say.”
Esikial came up to Esthh.
“The council has agreed in principle. What are you asking and offering?”
“I am asking for four adults, two male, two female of good stock, twenty young of good breeding and genetically varied stock, and one hundred fertile eggs, likewise from varied but good stock. What I am offering is drilling and pumping biots that can take over the work of much of your run down equipment. These biots are self sustaining with minor assistance and can reach much further and bring up much more water from the ground. I estimate double what your mechanical pumps are currently able to perform. Finally I can offer biots that can pull water from the air, allowing you to capture water that is lost to the atmosphere. These things out to provide triple the amount of available water. Allowing life to become more comfortable or to expand your own families. With time you could allow the whole of the planet to become green and full of life. Within reason to the natural creatures and plants of course.”
Esikial was taken aback. He had never considered this amount of water being available before.
“I can accept this arrangement. We have a deal. Would you like assistance in selecting beasts and the use of their control devices?”
“Please.”
A week later as the biots began producing water, the flying serpents and eggs were loaded onto the matalok, and the Yuuzhan Vong left the planet.
………………
Neimodia.
A matalok dropped out of hyperspace and moved into orbit lowering itself into lower orbit and four transports dropped out of the ship and headed for the surface.
On the surface the transports moved to farming areas and near the harvester beetle nests, nearby were the controlling community areas of Neimodians. Esthh approached the local controller and offered to buy a starting colonies worth of eggs of harvester beetles. The controller was afraid of the Vong warriors, though Esthh again made the argument that the Vong were transitioning to peace, despite the hatred that was in the galaxy. In order to keep peace and not force the Vong into piracy or warfare, it would be best to work together and allow them to build a peaceful economy, and harvester beetles would be a start in that direction away from slave labor...that could only be obtained by warfare...and there would be great profit sitting in front of the controllers hands. The controller had to agree to this point, staring at enough credits to buy his way off the planet if he so wished it. It was also difficult to argue the Vong’s point. There hadnt been threats like he had expected.
The shapers and warriors assisting selected a number of eggs and took samples of more discretely and learned the proper way to take care of the creatures from egg through genetic sustainment of operating colonies and genetic stability. Not long afterwards the transports headed back to space and docked with the matalok, and the ship once again jumped to hyperspace.
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Post by Esthh Krazhmir on Mar 12, 2023 18:14:12 GMT -8
Mrisst.
A matalok dropped out of hyperspace and moved towards the planet, slipping into the atmosphere not long afterwards.
The matalok set down in a forest of massive trees, trees that were nearly as tall as the matalok was long. This was what the Vong had come for. Spirepine. A huge tree, much larger than the average in the galaxy, only one other that Esthh could think of, and they were still going there for a hunting expedition. Kashyyyk. The shapers took cuttings from hundreds of trees and gathered cones and seeds from a thousand more. The matalok moved back into space and jumped to hyperspace.
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