Ask Aftermath of War

[Wodan]

It had been three weeks since the first Imperial troops had landed on Tangrene, the craggy mountainous world had been sat idly by on the borders of Sith space for too long. Every piece of ground, every rock it could mine, every soldier it could recruit was needed now to keep the Empire marching forward. A hail of high atmosphere turbolaser has softened up much of the planet's defences allowing the landing parties to sweep across most of the planet’s centres with ease.

To Imperial Command it looked like another simple easy win, the planet’s government surrendering after only a few hours of combat. But any celebrations were premature, the people of Tangrene were not ones to roll over lightly. Reports were now coming in that preparations had been made for months to continue to resist the Sith Empire once the official government fell.

Guerrilla warfare had erupted across the planet, concentrating on Imperial supply depots and communication installations. Command was split between civilian crackdown, orbital bombardment or sacrificing more men to quell the uprisings.

That is where Wodan, Carelion and their squads came in. Lieutenant General Ney, the voice on the Command Council who was trying to avoid a bloodbath had tasked the two Sith Acolytes and their respective squads with achieving some visible success against the Guerrilla fighters on Tangrene less he lose the argument and wanton slaughter be unleashed across the planet.

This was Wodan’s first time in command of soldiers since Atravis, some nerves still fluttered inside him. But his time with Altair on Ziost after the fact had helped him overcome some of his mental frailties. Wodan wore IDF Armour, the heavy armour restricted some of his movements, but in the dense streets of the city he was more likely to get hit by shrapnel than a lightsaber he needed to dodge out of the way of. Plus it also allowed him to blend/fit in more with his men.

The two ten man squads and the Sith commanders were inside a desolate building to the East of the city. A small holo-map was displayed for them all to see, a bearded man’s face popped up from one side, Commander Ney. “Orbital imagery has identified that a number of resistant fighters are moving resources out of an underground shopping complex roughly on these coordinates.” The map moved slowly from their location to the shopping complex. “We are unable to strike as the complex is built under a number of residential buildings which are still occupied by civilians. Your Mission is to head to the complex, confirm ‘if’ this is a resistance centre, then report in. If the resistance numbers are limited, you will then receive confirmation to attack. If you are outnumbered you will retreat and a larger force will be assembled. Any questions?

@LouJoVi

 

[Caerllion of Cyfnos]

Tangrene wasn’t a planet with much vegetation. It was mostly covered by craggy mountains, with some woods scattered in some areas. During the invasion of the Sith, even these green places became sparse. The Empire had bombarded the defenses of the world, causing fires to spread across these areas.

Being an Annfyn, Caerllion was naturally concerned with the destruction of the environment. His species had developed ways to live in Annwfyn causing the minimum of damage to its environment. For many, watching the destruction that was left in Tangrene would be difficult to deal with it.

However, Caerllion knew that he shouldn’t feel affected by what was happening around him. This destruction was necessary to secure the surrendering of the planet. Here he was a soldier to help with the invasion, not to give his opinion as a conservationist.

He and Wodan were on the planet to help the army to fight against the rebellious forces that remained on the planet. While the government already accepted defeat, some of the population decided to resist against them. This was the stupidest thing that they could do and would only delay the inevitable.

The Annfyn was with the Sith forces in one of the buildings of the capital city of Tangrene. They were watching Commander Ney explain the situation. Like Wodan, Caerllion was wearing an IDF Armor. He paid close attention to what was being said, while occasionally looking at his fellow Acolyte. After their last mission together, he wondered if the Firrerreo would be capable of dealing with what they were going to see in the field.

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

Wodan looked around at the near two dozen assembled men. Most of them met his eye which was good, their confidence helped fill the lack of it within the Firrerrian. He gave his Sargeant a stiff nod and looked down at the floating blue head of Commander Ney. “No questions Commander.” With that the Commander dismissed them and the soldiers quickly stepped away from the circle to ready their gear.

As the men went about getting themselves ready for the operation to come, Wodan stepped towards Carellion. He gazed into the Annfyn’s eyes, a prepared plan set in his head, allowing him a little more confidence as he spoke to the Acolyte. “I’ll take the North Eastern road, if you want the South Eastern?” He replied, both roads ran close to each other so if something happened they could support, but far enough that the resistance fighters would have to split up to deal with both of them.

“You look weird in armour Carellion, I feel it's a bit too harsh for your face.” He said with a smile. One of his soldiers placed his own combat bag next to him and Wodan gave the man a nod. The Firrerrian had brought his spear as always but also equipped himself with the standard rifle and blaster of the rest of his troops. Atravis had taught him that the limited range capability of the Lightsaber and The Force could be painfully exploited by their enemies.

@LouJoVi

 

[Caerllion of Cyfnos]

”No questions.” Caerllion said, after Wodan answered the same to the Commander. There wasn’t much for them to say or ask beyond what was already told. Now they needed to go and deal with this resistance. If they destroyed them fast, there would be less change for it to become a full rebellion.

As soon as Commander Ney finished talking, the soldiers went to prepare for what they were going to do next. Then, Wodan asked if Caerllion wanted to go through the Southern road. For a moment, the Annfyn stared at the Firrerreo. While it was a good idea, the Acolyte still remembers what happened during the last mission that they split. He ended up covered in mud, while the other Sith was crying in a corner.

“Yes, I can go through here.” he said, after deciding that splitting would be for the best. At least this planet didn’t seem to have marshes full of mud. Hopefully Wodan wouldn't going to have a mental breakdown, because he wasn’t going to help him.

After the Firrerreo finished talking about his face and the armor, Caerllion raised an eyebrow. He wondered what the other Sith were wanting to say with it. “Really? I could say something similar to you. The armor makes you look even more cute.” the Annfyn winked at the Firrerreo, before turning to prepare for what they were going to do.

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

“Private Moody, did say he brought out the colour in my eyes.” He replied back with a smirk. Holding out his hand he wished the Annfyn good luck on their mission. The Firrerrian was determined to erase the failure of Atravis, the mission here was very much success or death for the Acolyte. Once their little goodbye was complete Wodan would go about checking his own gear quickly, including the armour he already wore, his helmet and weapons.

Once all was good he gave the Carellion one final nod, placed his helmet on and called for his squad to move out. His spear was attached to the mag plate on his back, the Acolyte carrying the standard issue blaster in both hands as they moved into the streets.

Turning right, he headed towards the North Eastern Road, third in the row, his best scout up front, followed by the aforementioned Private Moody, a few places behind him was the squad Sergeant William Anson, with the second best scout taking up the final position in the line. They followed the road out of the meeting point, sticking close to the wall for the best cover, their eyes darting across the cityscape as they moved. A few speeders trickled by, their riders purposefully keeping their eyes straight ahead to not pull the attention of the Imperial Squad.

The lead scout, Burrard, reached the junction with the target North Eastern Road. Checking round the corner with Moody, it was all clear and the rest of the squad moved into position to begin the march down the road. “We are in position, once you're ready we will start our approach.” He called over the Comm to Carellion.

@LouJoVi

 

[Caerllion of Cyfnos]

Caerllion laughed with Wodan’s answer. “Maybe.” the Annfyn thought that the Firrerreo seemed to be someone very different from their last mission together, when the other Acolyte was crying and needed Altair’s help to calm down. Perhaps this time it would not be necessary and he would not have another mental breakdown.

He shook the Firrerreo’s hand and went to prepare to leave. This time the Annfyn had took the time to learn more about the soldier that he was going to work with. Caerllion didn’t want to have a repeat of Atravis, where they had nearly no respect for him. Even if it wasn’t his fault that people had such strange names that made it impossible for him to remember.

After picking what he would need to use in the mission, Caerllion walked with Wodan out the building. “Try to survive. I hope to see your cute face again.” he smirked at the Firrerreo, before parting ways. As they had agreed, the Acolyte walked toward the South Eastern Road. Beyond his lightsaber and armor, the Annfyn was also carrying a blaster. While he could use his magick, the young man had decided to be prepared for anything.

When he reached the road that led to the South East, Caerllion waited for the return of the scout. Once the soldier arrived, he informed the Acolyte that the path was free. “Understood, we are going. See you there.” he said to Wodan, before starting to move toward their target. Hopefully, this time there would be no marsh on their path.

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

Carellion’s reply came through the radio, with a stiff nod to the rest of the squad. They stood up from their positions and began moving down the street towards the target building. The team around him moved efficiently, checking corners and blind spots as they went, heads on a perfect swivel to not be taken by surprise.

“Checkpoint one reached.” He said over the radio, to both Carellion and the small team which was managing their progress from far above in orbit. Wodan only just about received a reply back from command when blaster fire rang out across the street. The Acolyte and his entire team moved to any cover they could find. Two went behind a nearby car, others moved into door frames or the large metallic bins which littered the road.

A thermal detonator exploded in the middle of the road, sending shrapnel and debris across the battlefield. Some small fragments clattered into his armour but it held firm. “Bravo team, have contact.” He called over the radio before trying to return fire into the windows above.

@LouJoVi

 

[Caerllion of Cyfnos]

While Caerllion walked through the street with his troops, he watched his surroundings. It was the typical warzone that he had seen during other missions. There were ruins of collapsed buildings, remains of speeders and other things that were left behind during the battle. If it wasn’t for the state of destruction, the Annfyn could say that it was once a common suburb.

He was thankful for that. Being in a suburb meant that there would be no marshes or mud for him to fall into. For Caerllion it was already a victory.

Their crossing through the destroyed suburb happened without any problem. Apparently the enemy had left this part of the city, probably moving close to their target. If it really was the case, they would find a greater resistance soon. Caerllion preferred to face them soon, but in small numbers rather than later and in large numbers.

“Understood, we also reached the first checkpoint.” Caerllion answered Wodan through the radio. His team had reached what seemed to be a square that was now full of rubble. He had sent some of his men to search nearby buildings for signals of danger, but so far nothing was found.
Then he heard Wodan announcing through the radio that his troops had made contact with the enemy. Caerllion remembered what happened last time and how the Firrerreo lost all his men and entered in shock. A small spark of concern appeared in his heart. This time Altair wasn’t here to help him.

Picking his radio, Caerllion talked directly with Wodan. “Understood. Do you need backup?” if the Firrerreo agreed, the Annfyn would move with his troops to approach the rebels attacking the other Acolyte from behind, so they would be between the two.

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

It was a lot of indiscriminate shooting, blaster bolts came down randomly from the windows, the shooters were too afraid to put their bodies on the line. Then when the blaster shots ended, his own troops would fire back into the windows knowing full well that they wouldn’t get the shooters who were hiding far back into the room letting their blasters cool.

It was a way to delay them not to outright kill them, there were only three or four shooters at most. Carellion’s voice came over the comm as Wodan was unleashing a barrage of blasts into a nearby window. Switching out for another solider he shuffled back from the direct line of fire. “Negative, I think they are just trying to stall us. Move on to the target, they might be trying to get away.” He replied to the Annfyn, before turning back to the fight.

“Sergeant Anson, tale Burrard and Moody and get into that building. Clear it out.” Wodan called over the internal comm, pointing at one of the buildings that shooters were in. The Sergeant gave him a nod and began gathering the other two soldiers. “Cover the Sergeant.” He shouted to the others as the three began their sprint to the door.

@LouJoVi

 

[Caerllion of Cyfnos]

”Understood. We’ll proceed according to the plan.” Caerllion answered Wodan, before turning the radio off. Given their last experience together in combat, he wasn’t sure if the Firrerreo was capable of holding his own against an assault. Without Altair being here, no one would be able to rescue him if he had another breakdown

Well, Caerllion would try to help, but he doubted that he would be of much help. The Acolyte could be considered someone prideful, but he was aware that his abilities were limited. He was still learning how to properly command troopers. If he tried to save Wodan while the other was having a breakdown, there was a great chance that the two would end up killed.

Then, the Annfyn decided to trust Wodan’s judgment and proceed with the march toward the target. After his men returned with news that the last buildings around the square were empty, they resumed the walk. This time Caerllion was walking in the front of the group, with Maxwell being close to him.

Differently from Wodan, the Annfyn found no resistance. Their path was clean of any rebel, making Caerllion feel relieved with the fact that so far this mission was being easier than he had expected.

Of course, his relief came too soon. When they arrived close to the target, Caerllion was able to see the reason why there was no opposition to him. The rebels had turned the place into their base, impressing the Annfyn with how they were capable of turning it into a small fortress. There was even a mobile turret.

The Acolyte ordered his men to hide and picked his radio, making contact with the team in orbit and Wodan, if he was still alive. “I reached the target. It’s worse than we expected. There is a great number of rebels here and they also have a mobile turret. We’ll need reinforcements to take control of the place.”

Hiding, Caerllion was able to see how the enemy pratoled the place, while some remained at the weapon. It was as if they expected to have a last stand here. Suddenly, an explosion in a nearby building made some of his men fly. In some way that he didn’t expect, the enemy had come from behind them. “We were being attacked!” he screamed through the radio, before another explosion shook the building near him.

While debris started to fall, the Acolyte thought how it could be happening. They were careful during their approach. How did the rebels know where they were going to hide?

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

Blaster ripped out across the street as the rest of his squad made cover for the three brave souls who charged into the building not knowing what fate they would meet inside. Once they broke through the door, the rest of the squad retreated behind cover to let their weapons cool or reload. Blaster fire came back in their direction pinning a few of them down.

Wodan couldn’t hear anything from the building and just had to wait and hope that the men could clear it. About two minutes after they entered, blaster fire could be seen in the window. A moment later fire once again reigned out of the building but this time into the other resistance fighters. It didn’t take long for Anson and the others to clear the remaining enemy forces from the battlefield.

Within five minutes of them entering the building the fighting had ended. “Casualties.” He called out as they all began to exit cover. “Burrand, took a shot to the arm in the building but he is ok to continue.” Anson replied as they exited the building. It was at that moment that the radio crackled into life, Carellion had reached the target and was now under attack.

“Alright boys, no time to rest. Charlie Team is under attack, we need to get to that building pronto.” Without a second thought the group moved into a combat patrol and began making their way forward. “Carellion, we are out of combat, do you need backup?”

@LouJoVi

 

[Caerllion of Cyfnos]

Hidden behind a pillar, Caerllion could hear the sound of blaster shots from both his men and the rebels. He was still surprised with the fact that the enemy had detected their approach. The Annfyn had been careful to remain hidden with his troops, not coming to the open until they were close enough. It didn’t make any sense!

A shot of the turret caused a building close to him to explode, sending debris through the air. The Acolyte hoped that it didn’t kill some of his men. If he lost many troops here, the Annfyn could say goodbye to any chance of attacking the base. To be honest, his concern about the loss of men was because he was growing a bit fond of them. He was even starting to remember their names.

“Yes, we’ll need a backup. They have a mobile turret, maybe you can move behind and take it.” Caerllion answered Wodan through the radio, before turning to throw a ball of Korriban magick at an approaching rebel. It set the enemy soldier on fire and he fell in the ground while the flames consumed him.

The Annfyn could try one of the more complex spells that he had been practicing, but doing it would cost too much of his energy and he could afford that during a battle like that. His only hope was to make his troops held the ground until backup arrived.

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

Wodan was breathing hard as they moved as quickly and safely as possible through the city streets. The last thing they needed was to fall into another ambush, but time was of the essence. He could hear blaster fire in the distance, interspersed with the sounds of explosions, there was more than just handheld weapons fire. Someone or something was laying waste to their opponents.

Rounding a block corner, Carellion’s voice appeared on the Radio. It seemed that someone was on the other side, which was not a good thing. They were about two blocks away, but they needed to move smart now, if they came out on the wrong side street they would be caught in a crossfire which would guarantee their deaths.

“Keep moving, we need to get behind the enemy.” He called out waving them further down the street before they cut to the right. From the small alley they could see the turret emplacement ahead of them. “PIPE!” He called out, one of the newer members of the team, scampered forward with aforementioned Pipe, Wodan took the weapon from the private and took aim with the weapon. Hoping The Force would help guide his shot, with a slow pull of the trigger, the explosive rocketed out of the tube and smashed into the side of the emplacement.

Dropping the useless part of the PIPE to the ground, he looked round to the squad. “Three stay here, put covering fire down this alley into the emplacement. Rest of you come with me.”

@LouJoVi

 

[Caerllion of Cyfnos]

While the backup didn’t arrive, Caerllion and his men were forced to continue fighting. The rebels had forced them to retreat close to an old building. The good side of this situation was that they were now out of the range of the mobile turret, with the enemy needing to move it to another place if they wanted to hit them.

Unfortunately, having retreated here left them basically trapped. His troops were using pillars and debris that fell out of the building as barriers to fire against the rebels. Caerllion was doing the same, using it as cover while he threw balls of Korriban magick at the enemy.

Then, he heard an explosion. “Their turret was destroyed! Our backup has arrived!” Maxwell's voice announced over the sound of several weapons being fired. While the soldiers cheered, Caerllion felt relief wash over him. Now they could fight back and win this situation.

With the destruction of the turret, the rebels started to panic. Some of them turned around to deal with the Sith that had approached them from behind. This made the number of soldiers firing at Caerllion’s group decrease, giving them the opportunity to counter-attack. Slowly, he and the troops would be moving out of their hiding spot and pushing the rebels back.

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

The rebels were currently pinned on two sides, Wodan was planning on making it three. Completing the encirclement and wiping out the rebel element, he hoped the physiological effect of removing an entire group from the fight would make others think twice about continuing the fight.

Wodan twisted round the corner, a rebel was about four feet away, fear shot through his eyes as the Acolyte unloaded a trio of shots into the man’s chest. Before the body fell to the ground he was back on the move, time was off the essence, rebels would be retreating back to their compound. “We need to make sure the encirclement isn’t broken, keeping an eye on our rear is as important as removing these rebel scum.” He said as they emerged into the rear lines of the rebels.

Taking cover behind a partially destroyed hoverbike, he levelled his blaster rifle and began firing. “Carellion, we have them from two sides, time for you to close the trap.” He called through the comm.

@LouJoVi

 

[Caerllion of Cyfnos]

With the rebels in panic because of the sudden destruction of the turret, Caerllion and his men gained the upper hand on their side of battle. Still using the debris around them as cover, they started to fire against the rebels. While his soldiers fired against them, the Acolyte used Korriban magick to blast the enemies.

“Understood, we are going to do that now.” Caerllion answered Wodan through the comm link. He signed for his soldiers to continue moving, so the rebels would be pushed to where the Firrerreo and his men were waiting.

While by this point they weren’t so much in panic anymore, the rebels had lost much of their advantage. Without noticing, they had been trapped between the Sith forces and were slowly being guided like sheeps to be slaughtered.

Caerllion and his men would continue forcing the rebels in position, until they reached the proper place. When the enemy was below a particularly very damaged building, the Acolyte signed for his soldiers to stop. He threw a ball of Korriban magick against the structure, which exploded and several large debris fell over the enemy.

“Now!” he said to Wodan through the comm link. The rebels were scared and confused and it was time for Wodan to attack and eliminate those that remained.

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

The massacre of the remaining rebels was violent and efficient, to a man the Imperial forces gunned them down. Each receiving a multitude of blaster shots as their bodies crumpled to the floor before their combined might. The Sith Troopers would advance with every death to the point they were starting to have to factor in fire from friendly troops on the other side of the fight.

Once the final blaster shot was fired and the smoke began to clear, Wodan stepped out from behind the cover, making his way over to where Carellion had advanced to. “Nice to see it's not only me who needs saving.” He replied with a jolly tone, the Firrerrian was full of adrenaline and relife at surviving another combat. This was the time where he was the furthest from the shaking wreck of Atravis.

The soldiers around them were clearing up the carnage they had wrought. A few extra shots into bodies which still twitched, power banks removed from blasters so they could not be used again by the rebels. “We best move on before they have time to send out another attack. Probably best we stick together this time.”

@LouJoVi

 

[Caerllion of Cyfnos]

With the support of Wodan and his troops, they were capable of crushing the rebels easily. When the number of enemy men that fell dead increased, those that remained alive started to panic and tried to run away. Unfortunately for them, they were completely trapped between the two Sith forces.

After some more shots of blaster and well aimed magick spheres, the rebels would have been annihilated. Now they only needed to regroup and prepare to invade the base. Wodan’s comment made Caerllion roll his eyes playfully. “Well, you could have saved me from the mud back in Atravis, too.”

“I agree. We should proceed and storm the base immediately. The rebels can bring another of these turrets.” Caerllion said, this time being serious. They shouldn’t give time for the enemy to recover and attack again. “Since we are going in a large number, I think that we can use the buildings as cover to make a stealth approach.”

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

“I heard mud baths were good for the skin.” He chuckled back at Carellion. Looking further down the road towards their target, he could see the highrise building in the distance, probably four maybe five blocks away. They needed to be quick less they get ambushed again, or worse the rebels get away.

“Speed is our friend now.” Wodan replied before turning to his men. “Form up, we need to make it double speed to the target, weapons are hot, shoot anything which looks a threat.” There had been enough explosions and weapons fire that the innocent populace would be hunkered down now. Only rebels would be popping their heads out into the battlefield.

The soldiers were quickly prepared and ready to make their advance, with a nod they began. Making quick work past the first three blocks, no resistance was met as they turned the final corner.

@LouJoVi

 

[Caerllion of Cyfnos]

Caerllion playfully rolled his eyes with Wodan’s comment. “Maybe it’s why my skin became so smooth after this mission. Perhaps you should try a mud bath with me next time.” while it was a joke, the Annfyn would not mind going in a spar to do something like that. After all these missions, he really wanted a moment to relax.

While Wodan talked to the troops, Caerllion did the same. “You heard him. We need to be fast and end these rebels at once.” he said to his men. “We are close to their base, soon victory will be ours!” the soldiers cheered when he finished his speech, leaving the Annfyn surprise. Did he really do a motivational speech?

When the soldiers were prepared, they advanced toward the rebel base. Thankfully, there was no more resistance in the next blocks. If someone asked Caerllion’s opinion about the lack of rebels, he would say that they had retreated in the base and were preparing their last stand.

Indeed, it was exactly what happened. When the Sith reached the base, they would see a large number of rebels waiting for them.

@Braden