Day of Reckoning

[Sergei Petrov]

ato Neimoidia was not known for its military might. Its economy flourished. The strings of trade were stretched to every corner of the known galaxy. The Neimoidians were a crafty species, and Sergei despised them for it. He was no smug xenophobe, but politics and bureaucracy was never a quality he enjoyed. For them, it was an inherent one. While a staple of the Imperial Republica, the naval officer believed the subtleties of bureaucracy was detrimental to their growth, expansion and sovereignty. It was why the Republic had fallen centuries ago. It was why the Empire remained as well, even if they were teetering on the edge.

But his idealogical opinions mattered not. The point was, Cato Neimoidia was hardly prepared for an inevitable Imperial occupation. If dissent was not quelled, the people could rise up and prevent the smooth territorial transition Sergei had hoped for. But without weapons? Even if they wanted to, they couldn’t without the means needed to do so. The Empire aimed to cut them off from those means. By emptying or destroying the only military barracks and armory in the colony.

Unlike the other missions, Sergei opted to personally see the objective through. Outfitted in a set of his usual armor save for his tinted helmet, the man was polished for combat. Slung over his shoulder hanged his blaster rifle and around his waist, several grenades, knives and his loaded pistol waited anxiously for use. As he sat in an Imperial transport, he stared impatiently in the distance at the speck that was the military station.

Compared to the Empire’s standards, it was a trash heap. However, he had no intentions of underestimating the enemy ahead. If he had, then he would have never brought a Sith Acolyte as his partner. A man by the name of Valar Dohaeris. Strange, but Sergei didn’t care. He only cared about how effective the Sith could be for the mission ahead.

As the ship discreetly neared the barracks, aiming not to alert the outside perimeter, the Imperial Agent stood from his seat and checked his belongings. When he was satisfied, he glanced over to Valar. “We’re touching down. Ready?”

@Nefieslab (DICE)

 

[Valar Dohaeris]

Valar wasn't entirely sure what the mission was here... alright so that was a bit of a lie.

He had thumbed through the mission briefing but he knew well enough that he wasn't here to be in charge. He was here to follow orders and, that by following orders, he was here to assist the Empire. There was no other reason for him being here and that was all there was to it.

The planet would be brought into the fold even if it had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the next phase of it's miserable existence. He checked over his equipment again before grinning a little bit at his ally for this mission. They were nearly there and the moment to unleash imperial fury on the enemy was almost upon them.

"Ready." he agreed as he drew his crossguard lightsaber but did not ignite it just yet, "I think it's time we showed them true Imperial Might."

It was about time.

@Deviant

 

[Sergei Petrov]

oth men were ready. As the shuttle settled down outside the military barracks with little difficulty and issue, an armored Sergei stepped out of the transport doors. His metal boots struck the concrete pavement with a thud. Expecting the other man to follow, the Imperial crouched low and inched toward the facility. He was featherweight. Like a speck of dust in the wind, he moved without feeling or sound and with deliberate care. The man was trained for moments like these. Stealth and speed were one of his defining traits as a soldier, disregarding his brilliant mind as a strategist.

At the outermost perimeter of the barracks, he immediately noticed a caught surveying his surroundings. It was nighttime and the sky was pitch black. Due to the neighboring cities, there was not a star in sight. At first, Sergei thought it was the best time to infiltrate the compound. However, he noticed the Neimoidian sentry examining with a flashlight, one attached to his blaster rifle. The Imperial groaned.

One second he was observing the guard for a moment of opportunity. The next second, he pounced. With an almost unnatural speed, he caught the alien by surprise from behind. Rather than choke them out, he used the knife in his right hand and slit his throat. Blood churned out and down the guard’s chest plate. Followed by some muffled gurgling, the sentry dropped to the ground and slipped into the cold embrace of death.

Successful and still in the clear, Sergei analyzed the area around him once more. This time, he noticed another gleam of light in the distance. Another guard. They weren’t far. Given he had just murdered the other and left their body to rot, he was sure the second sentry would discover the mess. Not just yet, but it was bound to happen. It was a dangerous gamble.

Unsure of whether to push on and sneak past the other guard or attempt to take them down to ensure nobody discovered the pair, the Imperial deferred to the Sith. With a silent glance, he gestured between the foe and the facility. Now, it was Valar’s turn.

@Nefieslab

 

[Valar Dohaeris]

Valar stepped out of the shuttle as they finally arrived at the military installation - though it was something of a joke to him to have such a place compared to the might of the Empire's own military by using the same words. It amused him to no end that the locals thought to call this place a barracks and an armoury. It amused him to think that they believed themselves to have something even slightly close to resembling a military.

What they had were targets for the Sith to enjoy destroying and nothing more.

He followed Sergei's lead and didn't immediately announce his presence and nodded when his fellow Imperial gestured to another guard. It was time to try his own hand at stealth it seemed. Reaching out with the Force, Valar grabbed the guard's head and twisted, breaking his neck almost instantly and letting the man's body fall bonelessly to the ground. There was a little thump from the body hitting the ground but it didn't seem to have alerted anyone for now.

Moving forwards, he routed around inside the pockets of the guard Sergei had killed before securing what he wanted, a key card that would allow them to pass through the security gates without causing alarms. He tossed the card to Sergei and moved up to the front gate, taking cover by one side of it with his blaster pistol now drawn in his left hand, ready to lean out to provide fire if it was needed.

@Deviant

 

[Sergei Petrov]

nother successful kill and an entry keycard? Everything was going as planned and more. Sergei was glad to have brought along the Sith Acolyte, Valar Dohaeris. Bizarre as his name was, the man was proving quite proficient. One neck snap and a dead guard later, the Imperial already knew he was going to like the man very much. At least, in terms of the mission.

Little did he understood how unbearably frisky and long-winded the man could be under different circumstances. That was a story for another time, however. What mattered now was blowing the barracks sky high.

Pressed close to the ground, he raised a hand and two fingers snatched the keycard mid-air. The gate was guarded, as most military installations were, much to the man’s disappointment. He half hoped and expected the barracks to be absolutely barren of genuine security given the world’s condition but that was just too low of expectations. The Neimodians were not all so stupid. Even if they did look like a walking wad of green slime with eyes.

He snuck toward the gates and leaned against a thick concrete wall. Although his compatriot may have had some luck mounting the barrier, Sergei was no Sith. Neither did he bring a grapple gun, so for him, the best way into the installation was the only way in. Fortunately, he had a keycard, a trained Acolyte, a sharpened knife in his hand and a clueless sentry by the entrance.

With a smug grin, he fiddled with the blade until it was perched between a thumb and two fingers. He brought its razor edge toward his face and breathed slow. His eyes narrowed on his target. A second later, Sergei hurled the silent weapon through the air-- and right past the guard. While they failed to notice its very clear glint in the air, they did notice the noise once it clattered against the pavement.

“Shit.” He hissed and watched the sentry drift toward the blade. When they noticed it, they would surely trigger the alarm. Sergei didn’t have another trusty knife either, so again, he was forced to defer to Valar for assistance.

@Nefieslab

 

[Valar Dohaeris]

So far so good.

Which, naturally meant that it was time for things to go sideways. It was just something that was something rather obvious in it's own way. When you were going things too smoothly it was just natural that the Force, or the Galaxy, corrected itself by giving you some bad luck instead.

Seeing Sergei's stealth attack fail, Valar cursed as he had been preparing to leap the barrier instead of getting ready to do he own stealth attack. He didn't even have anything to be stealthy with... muttering to himself, he leaned out and fired once with his blaster pistol. The blast missed and the guard spun around, looking wildly around but not seeing either Sergei or Valar.

Even as Valar moved up closer, sticking to the shadows to remain unseen as the xeno reached for his com link.

They might have a second chance... or they were about to be warmed. There was likely no two ways about it.

@Deviant

 

[Sergei Petrov]

ow did both men manage to get themselves into that situation? The operation was in motion. The plan laid out. The strategy and destination clear before them. Taking down two sentries, finding a security keycard, remaining stealthy throughout. Everything had gone well. At least, until the guard at the entrance. Each man decided to take a turn against him. A hurled blade, a missed shot. The sentry was now alerted, enough to flag down reinforcements and warn the whole compound. Sergei could not allow it. Not when they had yet to even pass through the first gate.

“Mother of Moons,” he spat, visually upset. The Imperial officer was not sure whether to blame his own stupidity or Valar’s mediocre aim with a blaster for their fumble, but it mattered not. He would salvage them both from this mess before it became any worse. Plucking the blaster out of the Acolyte’s hands, he took a quick aim and fired. A plasma bolt connected with the guard’s face a split second later. His body dropped, saving them from a lockdown and from being locked out.

Handing the blaster back to Valar, Sergei grunted and moved on. He was surprised the shot made its mark, and he was proud for it. Another much needed boost to his ego and confidence with the mission going forward. Although their shenanigans would cost them later, as other patrols would eventually find the trail of bodies each man left behind, their deaths still gave the pair a window of time to pass through, albeit a short one.

Shoulders relaxed, Sergei was glad he didn’t have to grovel and crawl his way toward the entrance. Flashing the keycard, perched between two fingers, he walked up to the gate and swiped. A welcoming beep followed, as did an open door. A smug grin displayed across his face, the naval officer waltzed into the compound without a problem. For now, at least.

There was still quite a ways to go. He trusted his partner Valar would not cost him this mission down the road. He may have proved his worth by his first kill, but his following mistake threw that into doubt. Then again, Sergei wasn’t perfect either. For the most part.

@Nefieslab

 

[Valar Dohaeris]

Oh for the love of the Force...

The guard was finally down.

Accepting the blaster back, Valar would have made a choice comment about it had his own aim not been so incredibly bad. Instead he just kind of shrugged and accepted it as something that he probably deserved. Making such a terrible shot was licence to get his blaster taken off him.

If Sergei had missed the shot as well he would have laughed but it seemed that the agent had far better aim than he did... which both made sense and wasn't actually that hard all things considered. He gestured for Sergei to step into the base before him before following in the wake of the naval man.

Rolling his neck, Valar headed off towards a thick-walled building off to the side that was, to his mind, clearly the armoury. It was separate from the rest of the buildings to keep it from causing too much damage with an explosion but the way he was going to use the equipment inside?

He doubted it would work for long.

"Might be going loud." he told Sergei bluntly, "Grabbing the explosives."

Valar stalked right up to the armoury and stabbed his lightsaber right into the door, beginning to cut through the lock mechanism but setting off an alarm as he did so. Sergei might have words with him about ruining their stealthy approach but he honestly didn't care.

@Deviant

 

[Sergei Petrov]

o guards, no sentries, no problem. In spite of the miserable misstep with the earlier watchman by the gate, everything else went according to plan. The barracks was as lazily defended as the rest of the planet. Once the armory was disposed of, it would take a matter of hours to rip the colony from the hands of the treacherous Neimoidians. A matter of days to appropriate the valuables, process the traitors and make an example to others seeking to undermine the Imperial Republica. Right on schedule. Without a doubt, the Empress would be pleased with the results of the operation.

No more than Sergei was now. He may have felt Valar was a rather mediocre partner after their earlier blunder, but he was glad to have him at his side. Proud to know there were other Imperials willing to throw themselves on a line in service of the Empire. Satisfied that the Sith Acolyte had come prepared to blow the entire facility sky high. Then again, his faith in him faltered once more when he decided to blow their cover instead.

Alarms blared. Red lights flickered above. Sergei grunted, clearly having lost all feeling of understanding with the Sith. They could have slipped in, armed the munitions, slipped out, and observed the spectacle from afar. Now, he was certain they would have to fight through half the military of Cato Neimoidia. Then again, for that kind of world, it wasn’t saying much. Sergei just wasn’t happy to see his covert plans being derailed on such short notice.

Not bothering to argue, knowing Valar could care less, he watched the other man dive his lightsaber farther into the lock. With the security controls destroyed, Sergei marched up to the door and smashed it open with a kick. Warning lights continued to flash, illuminating the antechamber they barged into. By good fortune, there were no guards waiting to ambush them either. The two men were alone, and surrounded by a warehouse of munitions.

He saw their opportunity. Motioning Valar to enter with the coast clear, he then gestured to the crates upon crates of armaments and ammunition. “Jackpot.” He said, lips stretched into a smile. Expecting the Sith to begin arming the charges, Sergei decided to go on the lookout. Guards could be approaching any moment. They needed to be prepared for an attack. As well as an escape.

@Nefieslab

 

[Valar Dohaeris]

They had secured the charges pretty quickly and Valar was glad of it - not because he was worried about the enemy reinforcements so much as he was worried about not getting to enjoy the explosions if they didn't find the charges quickly. Arming them wasn't hard. Military hardware was made for the stupidest of people to understand so it tended to be pretty much universal, drawn in pictures rather than words.

Front to enemy etc.

Setting up the charges with a timer and a detonator, he didn't plan on using the timer at all. The timer was just in case they didn't manage to use the detonator themselves. Moving out of the armoury, Valar quickly and efficiently began to attach the charges to the walls of the target buildings either by hand or by using the Force. Naturally, it was at this point that reinforcements began to show up, when Valar was busy working on the finishing touches to the charge on the main building.

"Ten incoming." he reported to Sergei, "Keep them off my back while I finish the rigging and I'll assist when I can."

He tossed the agent a copy of the detonator for the charges just in case.

@Deviant

 

[Sergei Petrov]

atching the copy of the detonator, Sergei struggled to tuck it beneath his armor. No way did he want to drop or lose the trigger, else he risked blowing the barracks earlier than either man would have wanted. The last thing he wanted to be was an ash heap among one of the ugliest worlds he ever visited. If there was one place he wanted to die in, it was of old age and in a lavish bed with a spectacular view. Not on the battlefield and certainly not because of a cheap mistake.

At receiving the warning from Valar, the Imperial brandished his Javelin Light Repeater. Attached to a sling over his shoulder, it was quick and easy to manage and control. With the enemy descending fast upon the two, Sergei rounded the corner and unleashed a barrage against a handful of them. As Neimoidians with little to no combat experience, he expected them to collapse right then and there.

And, for the most part, that was precisely what happened. Not as the Imperial may have hoped, but his first volley of shots landed true. Several approaching guards collapsed into the ground. Charred holes in their chests, wisps of smoke rising into the air, a few gasps from the others. They screeched to a halt, dove for cover, and commenced the start of a precarious firefight.

Sergei was able to mow through another pair of sentries with his next volley but struggled to rack up a streak. However, he was successful enough in fighting them off while Valar finished placing the charges. He hoped the other man would hurry up though so they could fall back and watch the fireworks. With the fall of the barracks, Cato Neimoidia would be theirs.

Of course, Sergei needed to get out of there alive first to see it.

@Nefieslab

 

[Valar Dohaeris]

Explosives were something that Valar liked to watch from a distance but it seemed that today he was doing well enough up close as well - Sergei made sure that none of the attackers actually got close enough to take even a single shot at him and that meant that he was able to attach the explosives in the best places.

It wasn't exactly taxing to stick a bomb to a wall when the bomb came equipped with an adhesive on the back designed to help it stick to walls.

He wasn't about to mess that up. With the last of them attached, he knew that he was done here.

"We're done here!" he reported over his com line, "Let's get out of here."

Of course that was the exact moment when everything decided that it had to go wrong and everything started to go wrong with the arrival of a light tank, which burst onto the scene. Valar blinked at the tank for one moment.

"... that wasn't in the briefing."
http://www.thestarwarsrp.com/forum/index.php?threads/dice-day-of-reckoning.86607/#post-1482725http://www.thestarwarsrp.com/forum/index.php?threads/dice-day-of-reckoning.86607/#post-1482725

@Deviant

 

[Sergei Petrov]

hat the hell? One moment, everything was going fine. The explosives were armed, the guards were delayed. Sergei managed to kill several of the enemy bunch, providing more than enough time for Valar too finish and for the pair to make a quick retreat and watch the seeds of their sabotage bear fruit. The next moment, a boot stepped out of nowhere and smothered those seeds in the form of a light tank surfacing out of thin air. That was not in the briefing. In fact, Sergei never even knew the colony possessed weapons of that caliber and size.

“Oh shit, oh shit—“ The naval officer immediately ran out of his cover. Although he was left susceptible to continued attacks from the guards, now emboldened by the arrival of armored reinforcements, he made sure to use his gription boots for greater maneuverability. Sidestepping one volley after another, Sergei had little to fear about the troopers. As for the tank? Not so much.

A shot fired out of its speared barrel. An explosion followed, tearing through the space where he once stood. While he managed to escape from the center of the blast radius, the concussive wave shattered his balance and shards of shrapnel smacked against his armor. The strike was ineffective, however, and did little to damage his resolve. Well, maybe a little, but Sergei was confident he could overcome the newfound threat.

“Extraction, now!” He cried out into his comms, beckoning other Imperial forces on standby to save him. Not that they would yet. A quick escape was thwarted, and honestly, he wanted to blame Valar for it, even if he had nothing to do about it. Locking eyes with the other man, the Imperial Agent realized if they wanted to leave, they needed to handle the tank first. In others words, he would have to handle it. Like always.

Sergei twirled around and made a beeline toward the enemy vehicle. Letting go of his repeater and allowing it to dangle from the sling on his shoulder, one hand opened the pouch on his waist and the other seized what was inside. With his boots, he slid from side to side, narrowly dodging continued attacks. A tank shell tore right past him and exploded a dozen meters behind.

Once he reached the vehicle, he unveiled the object in his hand: a grenade. As the tank was light and an enemy soldier was set on the gunner’s position through an open hatch, Sergei had the perfect opportunity. Throwing the grenade into the small opening, he continued his run. Another explosion followed, shredding the insides of the tank. Smoke billowed out. Then, the Imperial turned to face Valar, a smug grin placed on his features. “Easy.”

@Nefieslab

 

[Valar Dohaeris]

Well extraction was exactly what he wanted so he wasn't going to complain that Sergei had called for it. The two of them needed to get a move on that much was for damn sure. The tank was a bit of a stickler though but he gestured for Sergei to take a run at the damn thing if he wanted.

Valar would take a crack at it but he got the impression that Sergei would probably not be happy with him even if he did manage to peel the thing open by a god damn miracle... and then the naval man decided to say "kark it" and managed to get a grenade in through the hatch, killing those inside the tank with ease.

The Sith stared at the Jedi as the dropship to pick them up arrived, light repeater fire shredding through the last of the guard who had lingered.

"Show off."

With the tank gone and the guards dead, there was nothing to stop Valar and Sergei stepping onto the dropship and getting flown away. As they were leaving, Valar would hit the detonator activation button and the base would explode before the main buildings began to collapse in on themselves from his positioning of the explosions.

/End Thread
@Deviant