Operation Tattooine: Fort Tuskan

[Apollyon]

A'den and his squad had touched down on the rundown fort named by locals "Fort Tuskan". Apparently this stimmed from this high Tuskan activity inside of the Fort, in the past. However, if Titus's reports were true, which A'den had no reason to doubt that they were, that activity had all but stopped. "Men, there is a chance that there will be minor Tuskan activity in the cavern levels of this Fort. They are to be treated as hostile and eliminated as such, make their deaths swift, if any torture of these beings occur I will react accordingly, am I clear?" A'den asked as he checked the ammunition in his blasters. "Yes sir!" Was the resounding response from his squads. "Then let's move in and set these explosives, then do a routine mop up of residual forces." A'den said as they entered the Fort.

The Fort was in shambles, rundown, decrepit, definately a fixer upper but it would serve it's purpose. A'den pulled out his holomap, the caverns themselves wouldn't show up on the scans, but the entrance to them would. A'den and his teams made their way to the mouth of the caverns, inside he could hear Tuskans speaking in their very odd language. "We are going in, suppressors on!" A'den ordered as he flicked the switch in his blaster rifle that activated the suppressor. "Pick a target and on three open fire, headshot and chest shots only we don't need an alarm raised. Cover each other and pick off any stragglers." A'den ordered before waiting a few moments and then signaling the count down with his hand.

There, was blaster fire from all directions, although it was silenced the light would no doubt draw attention from other tuskan raiders in the caverns. "Set those charges Demolitions one and two then we pull out and detonate." A'den ordered the two demolition experts. "Watch the entrances, cover those demo experts men." A'den bellowed out another order as he watched the two men get to work placing and arming charges.

The demolitions experts planted the charges without a hitch, A'den and his men retreated back into the Fort, without a casualty, they detonated the explosives and began the rebuilding of the Fort. It would take a few weeks for the reconstruction to be completed and then after that a few more for the repair yard. A'den had paper work on the assignment to fill out and plans for the relay they were to build to draw up...the fun work had ended, now came the boring stuff.

 

[Djak Mikos]

Jace Skirata grinned tightly, rolling his neck and dialing back a gauge on his flechette carbine. Verpine tech was inhertly silent, but the quietest weapon in the world wouldn't do a bit of good if its projectiles broke the sound barrier. His targeting came online, and he eyed the crosshairs in his HUD, settling them on the first raider's head. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ver'alor Fett count silently down. On the cue to fire, he squeezed the trigger, shifted aim, and fired again. Two dartlike flechettes zipped through the air at barely subsonic speed, piercing through bone, brain, and bone again before embedding deep into the wall behind them.

Jace muted his helmet with a glance and let out a cackle. Beautiful accuracy. Every raider fell silently, with instantly fatal injuries. Reengaging his comm, he moved with the rest of the squad in careful unison, covering all angles, to the cavern mouth. He took cover behind a stone outcropping and scanned his section. None showed--the raiders had all been killed in the first volley.

Back at the fort, he took charge while the Ver'alor began to process Ver'alor osik. The little things were all messed up, but the heavy walls were as structurally sound as ever. The little Sergeant started blocking all minor entrances and windows except for one in the back, across from the main entrance. There he set up security measures, motion sensors, laser tripwires, holocams, and remotely detonated mines, to alert him if any tried sneaking up on him from behind. The main entrance he similarly secured but did not fortify, not wanting to change any appearances from the outside. However, he did have his men dig fighting positions in the drifted sand inside the main entrance in case another Tusken party tried to enter.

Jace also sent out a signal to the ship waiting in orbit to come deliver the first of the new supplies they'd need--shield and power generators, as well as a metal-eating nanotech that, while too slow to be weaponized, would be perfect for clearing the fort's derelict tech. In short, the Sergeant kept the Ver'alor undisturbed, his first and most important duty.

 

[Apollyon]

"Sergeant, I am expecting a call from Mitya, she will want a full sitrep, keep the men busy and the base under repair. If Titus shows up tell him to wait and aid with the clean up I will tell you when to send him in. Am I clear Sergeant?" A'den asked Jace after dishing out his orders, while finishing his sketch for the orbital station.

 

[Djak Mikos]

"Clear, sir," Jace replied. He'd never worked with this lieutenant before, but he suspected that the man was a good soldier and leader. "The sonic mapping is still underway, but no faults have been discovered yet. I've set up room Bravo-19 as a briefing area, with Bravo-20 for staging. Estimated time of the first supply drop is 2245 Local Time. Will there be a time for munchings, or should I have them eat in turns as the opportunities present?"

 

[Apollyon]

"Men who work hard, deserve the right for full bellies Sergeant. I will not deny any man or woman that right, set up an eating schedule in shifts, three separate shifts for each three meals, each shift will last exactly one hour from its start point. During this period the ones who are off are aloud to do whatever they please, besides causing trouble for the locals and bothering those who are not off. Also, we will implement work times, I won't allow for our men and women to become disheartened through constant labour. They will work from sun up to sunset, then they are free to do whatever they please. If you have any other questions feel free to ask Sergeant...if not I must prepare my sitcom report for Mitya." A'den said to the Sergeant, his synthesized basic voice held a tone of peacefulness.

With that A'den waited a moment before starting his full report. "This is Ver'alor Fett requesting direct transmission to Ori'alor Mitya." He paused for a moment allowing the intelligence agent to verify his physical scan to match the one on profile of him. "I grew a beard...if that causes any issues let me know." A'den said knowing how strict communications with command had become.

 

[Djak Mikos]

"Copy that, sir," Jace held his salute till it was clear that the lieutenant was finished with him. He turned and strode from the command center, switching comm frequencies with rapid movements of his eyes.

"All right, Mandos," he announced. "Don't stop what you're doing, just listen. Munching starts in one hour, by turn. Each of you gets an hour to eat, rest, and conduct personal business. Also, we are green for going into town, though any misconduct will be punished. So no excessive drinking or unwanted attentions at the preferred gender. Try to behave, I'd rather train than waste time smoking you or filling out disciplinary paperwork. Keep me happy, so I can keep the lieutenant happy, so that things stay cool for you. Now, housekeeping begins at sunup, ends at sundown. What you do during the night is your business, as long as you're ready and able to do your job when the time comes. So far, it's a steady series of work days. I'll let you know when day passes become available. Any questions?"

"Nope," someone said.

"I'm glad you told me that," Jace said, his voice laced with cheerful sarcasm. "I'm sure your buddies are also glad to hear that they've got no questions either. For the last time: any questions?"

No one spoke.

"Your silence indicates perfect understanding. All right, back to work. Decide who's going on break when, and comm me with the first name in an hour. Don't muck this up."