Bring the Rain

[XT96]

.

The assault on Naboo had begun as Sith Intelligence identified a former Rebel base suspected of being abandoned and had deployed forces to seize it for Imperial usage. As a majority of the combat was occurring near the front gates with suspected skeleton crews of remaining Rebels, a specialized team was deployed to the rear perimeter in efforts of planting signaling beacons for Imperial capital ships. The heavy battle droid was one such soldier assigned to this role along with another Sith Operative.

The duo had arrived via transport vessel in thickness of nightfall, only pale moonlight guiding them as they made their way towards the perimeter wall. Ample forestry of Naboo surrounding their figures and even the hulking Goliath was seemingly well concealed and appeared out of sight. It had activated its stealth protocol which silenced the noise from his chassis and eliminated all LED lighting schematics on its armored frame. A Javelin Heavy repeater was strapped to its back while four fragmentation grenades attached at its waistline; the single arm canon was primed with unlimited ammunition, prepared to unleash death on those that opposed it.

It remained speechless for now, its directives indicating that its companion had been fully debriefed and thus there was no need for useless chatter at this time. Their current position was approximately 25 meters from the first beacon near the base' perimeter wall.

@Denzein

 

[Harren Skaalvarg]

Even if one were to notice the hulking battle droid making its deceptively quiet way between the moonbeams that sifted through the boughs of the surrounding forest, it would appear to be alone. Stealthy, foreboding and heavily armed, one might be forgiven for thinking it'd been sent to fulfil some nefarious purpose all by itself - it certainly looked dangerous enough to.

That assumption, while easy to come to, would be a death sentence. Harren Skaalvarg, a barbaric sith acolyte of Deucalian stock, stalked along behind tree trunks and into shadows, close enough to hear and be heard by the massive droid, but far enough away that spotting one might not mean spotting the other. He moved with a confident lope, like a wolf on the hunt.

Dark nights in the wilderness were Harren's home turf, he was very much in his element.

As ever his hair was bound into a thick rope of braids and dreadlocks, though now it featured a number of dark grey feathers - little fetishes Harren had taken from Naboo to bring himself good fortunes in the fight to come. He'd also applied war paint to his pale face - deep blue woad around his eye sockets and dragged down into his thick beard. He looked every inch the savage, the predator, the Deucalian.

This was his first true battle. The thunder of artillery and ship to ship cannons was exhillerating, and Harren knew this was a place he could very well meet his End. He'd dressed accordingly therefore, for if this was the night he went to the halls of his father he wanted to look the part.

He was spoiling for the fight to come... Assuming there was anyone there.

Superstitious rituals aside, Harren had opted for light sith armour, matte and unreflective. His lightsaber, simple durasteel but the shine dulled with dirt, hung at his waist - along with his usual deucalian hunting knife. In addition he carried a second knife, this one a vibro weapon, and two fragmentation grenades. Initially he'd not thought to bring them, but after seeing the amount of ordnance his droid companion was packing he'd almost felt jealous. The beacons they'd brought, compact devices that emitted a signal for the fleet above, were stowed in slimline pouches on Harren's thighs for easy access.

25 metres out, and still the pair operated in silence. Watching from the shadows cast by one of the larger trees close to the wall, Harren waited patiently. He scoured his surroundings, looking for any sign of potential resistance. The force quietly seetheed under the surface of his skin, ready if he needed it.

The obvious plan was for him to go to the base of the wall and set the beacon, while the droid performed overwatch duties. Harren stole out under the cover of the shadows up to the curtain wall, opened up a pocket and began setting up the first beacon. All the While he was expecting to hear shots, for the hairs on the back of his neck to raise as someone approached with a knife, or worse. He was ready to spin and defend, or even run for cover, at a moments notice.

It was time to bring the rain.

 

[Karen Haras]

Karen was making her retreat from the rebel base, it was high time she finally abandoned the base she'd called home for the recent months. The empire had once again struck, with unnecessarily overkill. The amount of rebels still present in the area did not warrant the massive strike the empire had come down with, and the innocent lives of civilians and bystanders would likely be wasted in droves.

Evil fools... Karen exclaimed as she hopped from building to building, she wasn't trying exceptionally hard to maintain stealth, but the lackluster imperial forces who's power only came from their superior numbers and not any sort of measurable skill in any one unit were incompetent enough that Karen had made an almost clean get away...

That was until she hit an area near the rear perimeter wall when she was smacked in the face, a presence.. a highly, unusually Evil presence. Sith spit... Karen whispered to herself, simultaneously floating her twin sabers from their holsters to each of her hands. She honed in on the presence, it was outside the wall, Karen slowed down, almost stopping, she crept forward watching, and waiting, what would happen next was going to be important..

 

[Karacaldra Von Kedisy]

Karacaldra could hear her blood pumping in her ears as she ran down the hall, heavy footsteps from her large and armored frame resounding as she traversed the base, helping rebels with evacuations and clearing hallways if need be. The entire assault had been a blitz, and it didn't take a tactical military mind to see how badly outnumbered the rebels here were.

Victory may not be an option outright, but the alliance could slip away with minimal casualties. That alone was enough of a driving force as she felt the anger against the sith push her forward. She wore her Brutus Assault Armor, which slowed her running a bit, the heavy plates of the heavy armor keeping her protected but limited her manuverability. The 8 ft. tall Togorian had her Beviin Light Repeater as well as a WESTAR-1 Blaster Pistol at her hip.

And of course, across from the pistol, was her own large-sized vibro-blade. Secretly, she hoped some sith would come through the rear as she met up with one of the other rebels, who seemed to come to a halt and pull out two familiar objects. Lightsabers, which meant this one was a jedi. Karacaldra read her face and body language, and could tell something was up. Her ears pressed against her head beneath the helmet as she turned in the direction Karen was facing, walking up to the Jedi's right side and priming her heavy repeater.

The tension was in the air now. She could practically taste it as she looked out to the landscape the jedi was so keenly looking out towards, eyes scanning for any form of movement, or for the familiar red light of the sith's iconic weapon of choice.

 

[XT96]

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The autonomous terminator was not force inclined and thus could not sense any sentient signature from the Jedi however that disadvantage was also its own advantage given that it was a mechanical construct, not only did it not have any force signature, it had no living being signature neither. The Droid continued to remain hidden as no color schemes were visible on its chassis and its steps muffled by the wall thickness as well as the other noises from evacuating Rebels. For now, it remained under cover of rocks and brushes, out of direct line of sight from onlookers at the outpost base. Its location was approximately 20 meters from the position of the first beacon plate, providing overwatch to its Sith partner as he would be planting.

@Denzein
@Mad Dog @Cainhurst Crow

 

[Harren Skaalvarg]

As the force user on the other side of the wall could sense Harren, so could he sense her. She was not anything like what he had felt before through the force - the life form accompanying her was just another blunt instrument, probably a soldier of some description, but she resonated in a way wholly alien to the Deucalian.

She was no sith, that much was clear. Could this be a Jedi? He'd heard much of them since their return, and was eager to face one himself.

Unfortunately this was not his mission, he could not follow the yearnings of his heart for now. Drawing his own force deep within himself to make it as difficult as possible for the Jedi to sense him, he quietly finished setting up the beacon in the first of the three points across the perimeter wall. The droid would no doubt know he was done the moment the thing began its silent broadcast up to the fleet, and Harren trusted it to continue covering him as he worked. They had two more points on the wall, one 25 metres to Harren's left, and another a further 25 metres beyond that - once those beacons were set the pair of them could withdraw and let the fleet do the rest. Should the wall get struck in those three points it would be rendered useless, and the base would fall almost immediately afterwards leaving those inside precious little time to escape before their hangars were overrun and their escape ships trapped.

As stealthily as a nocturnal predator on the hunt, Harren slithered along the base of the wall, heading left. He was damn near silent, as well as suppressing his presence in the force as much as he could - and was relying upon the background noise of the battle around them to cover any slight sounds he might make such as breathing, or his heart pounding in his chest. After he reached the next point, again he silently took out another beacon and began to set this one up as well. The droid, no doubt, would remain in overwatch the entire time - but that didn't stop Harren from continuing to expect an attack at any second. He was ready for this to go wrong, he almost hoped for it as that would at least mean a straight fight and he did so loathe sneaking. He was a coiled spring, ready to leap into action at any second.

Sweat beaded on his brow, more from the tension in the air than any actual exertion. Halfway there.

@Faded Truth @Cainhurst Crow @Mad Dog

 

[Karen Haras]

Karen had put an arm out to signal to slow the movement of the approaching rebel behind her, they'd met in passing before, once, no words were exchanged, but Karen recognized her. It wasn't like there were a lot of people living here to begin with.

Whispering, Karen said, Sith spit.. just on the other side of the wall.. who ever it was had just begun actively concealing itself, making Karen lose track of it, but she had already caught his presence, and the general direction it was moving, and since it hadn't come over the wall, she assumed it was continuing in the same direction.

Moving closer to the wall, Karen placed a hand on it, we need to get on top, are you with me? She whispered to her fellow rebel, offering her a boost, Karen would be able to hop up to the top herself, but doubted this one could do so as gracefully.

Once she had gotten her to the top, Karen would launch herself up as well, sabers deactivated until incoming fire, or enemy force powers were observed.

 

[Karen Haras]

Spinning on her heels, Karen began running, full speed to the area area of the base exterior wall between the melee of rebel troops, and that blasted Sith.

[EXIT THREAD]

 

[Karacaldra Von Kedisy]

Karacaldra ran forward, about to join the Jedi as she sped off when her ears caught the sound of someone calling. She paused, listening again, and then heard it much more clearly. Down the hall towards the hangers, someone was calling for help. The rebel turned to look, seeing the glow of a fire as the battle raged on.

The togorian was torn for just a moment when she heard another cry, growling as she rushed forward to help. The alliance were preparing evacs, and the hanger had begun to catch fire, one person pinned by a dropped piece of the ceiling as she gave them aid. She aided the others here, working to get them properly ready to get out of here. A base could be replaced, but the people, could not.

[Exit Thread]

 

[Harren Skaalvarg]

Harren felt the presence of the two enemy combatants leave, and his heart sank. Apparently this was not the night he'd be facing off against his first Jedi. He returned to his work, finishing up the second beacon, then sneaking over to the third site. All the while he assumed the watchful sensors of the battle droid behind him were on overwatch, ready to hose anything that did decide to come over that wall with withering blaster fire.

It wasn't long before Harren had the final beacon in place and was falling back. He reached the droid, and nodded wordlessly to it - the signal that all was in place and the fleet could be informed that they were ready for the next stage of the offensive.

Mission accomplished.

/exit thread

 

[XT96]

.

XT96 was merely watching as protection for the Sith Acolyte, standing in cover with its heavy armaments as the Deucalian managed to complete the mission solo as no feasible opposition dared challenge the two of them. WIth its objectives met, it ushered a series of incomprehensible noises and beeping alerts from its chassis before turning around and scampering back to the mobilized base. It had been several days since an oil change and the Droid was feeling like it needed some lubrication.

/ end thread