Ask Nikto Karnation

[Levik Karn]

[ MISSION BRIEF ]

Kron Kral is a Nikto with noted anti-imperial political viewpoints. He was trained by the Empire and succesfully passed the trials of former Sith importants like Warmaster Caelestis and the First Blade of the Sith. He has a noted talent for blade-fighting, tracking and jungle warfare. The Imperial Security Bureau had received information that Kron is right now on the planet Wayland to gather and train men for an militia with the intent of causing harm on the Imperial principle. Find him and take him out. For the Empire​

____________________________________

The Commander was parked next to similar-looking shuttles as the Imperial Peacekeepers descended on an isolated patch of open field in the continent-spanning jungle of eastern Wayland. Commander Karn was looking at a holographic image that seemed to be a sector of jungle nearby while two of his lieutenants spoke him through the received intelligence. "Last intel suggests Kral made his base camp out in here this sector," Lieutenant Lorso pointed his finger at the center of the holographic map. "How professional are the defensive placements?" Commander Karn asked as he wondered whether they could simply advance and overrun this so-called militia. If they were merely a gang of malcontents with barely any training, then all this planning was just a waste of time and Kron Kral was the only one they had to worry about. Unfortunately, his lieutenant grimaced; "We don't know. Kral himself is an expert so we're expecting traps all around the base, but when it comes to his recruits we just don't know."

Levik was starting to get more and more frustrated. He worked more with Imperial Knights these last couple of months than he had with the intelligene division of the Security Bureau. It seemed they were content with giving vague estimates and then just letting the men and women on the ground figure out the rest. Usually that worked, but now Levik felt like he was sorely lacking vital intel. "Commander," one of Peacekeeper sergeants approached them and pointed towards the sky, "Imperial shuttle incoming, sir."

Maybe the ISB figured they'd bring the intel in person? Whoever was overseeing the Ojoster Sector -someone Levik as the peacekeeper commander had never even seen, as the ISB higher-ups didn't typically leave the Raxus stronghold- apparently wanted one of their own on the ground as well. Was it because the intel was valuable and this was the fastest way to get it here? Did they send a rookie to learn the ropes? Or did they send someone to keep an eye on him? Questions Levik really wanted an answer to.

@Xorism

 

[Guinevere Delevigne]

When her shuttle made its final approach to the waypoint, Guin wasn't really sure what to expect as a welcome. The fresh intel that they had uncovered wasn't likely to be received favorably by the commander, and the nature of it meant that it was unsafe to deliver normally. Further matters complicated the operation which would be revealed in time but for now, she would do what she could to assist.

Disembarking with a slow methodical step the lieutenant took a brief moment to look across the landing zone until she identified the man she was looking for. "Commander Karn. We have something for you." as she spoke, she pulled a small datapad out of a small bag clutched close to her body and weapons.

Classified Report
>>Suspicious increase in activity on Wayland prior to arrival. Take precautions against the possibility of an inside mole. Reliability of intel:

An intelligence officer is deployed to assist and recover any classified material located.
//end report

Guin waited quietly while the man looked over the brief message.

@Eccles

 

[Levik Karn]

Her uniform was obviously one of the Imperial Security Bureau's Intelligence devision and she walked with the same slow and overconfident tred. Most of Levik's peacekeepers turned to watch her arrival and look at how she approached their Commander with a datapad. Most of them merely shrugged, but having a young woman of her frailty around was a risk they couldn't help but note immediately.

Commander Karn on his turn thought the same. Perhaps an Imperial Knight was more useful to take along on missions, but when he read the report that doubt immediately changed, "Kriff," he uttered as he handed the datapad over to Lieutenant Lorso, who responded with a slow whistle. "Good you're here, Lieutenant."

Levik motioned for her to look at the holographic map, "Might as well bring you up to speed then," he wasn't convinced yet she'd be a useful addition to their strike-team, but when an order like that came from Raxus he really didn't have a choice to protect her and if need be, sacrifice his entire unit in order to make sure she got out of the jungle unharmed. "Our intel suggests Korn Kral and his militia are camped around here-" he motioned roughly for the same area of the map that Lieutenant Lorso had shown him earlier, "We chose shuttles and a limited sized unit to ensure the element of surprise, but-" he looked at Lieutenant Lorso, who had shown the datapad and its report to the other lieutenant as well, "-if your intel is correct they'll know we're coming."

Which meant that he could have simply parked an Imperial frigate in orbit and launch a thousand soldiers into the jungle while providing ample air and battery support. Now he had three squads of twelve peacekeepers. Sure, most of them had been veteran sector rangers in what became Imperial space and they could be counted on to best an ill-trained militiaman any day.. but against a sniper and master trapper who knows you're coming? Levik let out a long sigh as he considered the options..

"The obvious approach was at night when most of them sleep, but that's a no-go now." Lieutenant Lorso nodded an relayed the order to remove night vision goggles from the list of equipments the men needed to pack. "It'll be harder to spot traps at night and they won't be sleeping anyway. Instead, we'll approach from here-" he pointed at a ridge in the jungle that provided some high-ground and was an likely spot where the militia stationed snipers, "-here-" the base camp was estimated to be in a valley close to a small stream of running water. One team would follow that stream, "-and here." The direct line from their current position to the base camp. If they did have a mole, then it would expect that the Imperials were underestimating them and could simply decided to march out in a direct line and.. right into their traps. "Lieutenant Lorso will take the ridge, Lieutenant Onn the stream and Lieutenant-" he paused, realizing he hadn't asked for the intelligence officer's name, "-will accompany me in the direct approach."

@Xorism

 

[Guinevere Delevigne]

Good, she thought to herself. At least this commander didn't think so immaculately of himself that he would outright dismiss the intel and believe foolishly in the quality of his own men without question. That wasn't to say that the intel was perfect, of course, there was the possibility that it was just a coincidence and they had nothing to worry about but that was one thing that the ISB excelled at - worrying about every possibility.

Taking the mission in stride, Guin looked over the briefing with a certain interest and took mental note of everything seen. The commander appeared to improvise and adapt well in adverse conditions which was another plus to his name. Military stratagem was not her forte and so the blonde would not normally have added her two cents, but putting her on the direct approach pushed her to do so.

"Lieutenant Green, how exactly do you propose flushing out potential moles?" Her face was mildly annoyed, but otherwise still. If the intel was wrong, the direct approach could be quite dangerous still, although if they were correct and they did in fact have a mole, what was to stop them from feeding intel the very minute they left the base camp?

@Eccles

 

[Levik Karn]

Commander karn turned in the direction this intelligence agent was speaking, but saw nothing, so then he turned the other way and saw only his trusted lieutenants that were already informed that there was a more in the first place. "I'm not sure you understand what we do here," he smiled, but his tone had a hint of derisement, "we go mobile and kill the dissidents. If any moles survive the battle they'll go to the special room back home and your people inject the special juice in them," the only thing Levik could do right now to counteract a mole was to attack right away. They'd be an operational comms only, so a mole sending messages while enroute through the jungle would either get spotted by the man next to him or walk throat first into a tree.

Besides, the harm was already done and the Empire didn't allow them to just abort the mission. There were civilian lives at stake, and more importantly, Imperial assets worth more than a couple of peacekeepers. This Imperial agent would either get in line or not at all.

Lieutenant Guinevere and her imaginary lieutenant Green would join the Commander's team in the direct approach. "Give the orders," Levik told the two lieutenants that lead their own teams, "Closed comms line. Us four," for some reason her decided to include Guinevere in case she had relevant intel during the operation. "No one else. Don't get shot and don't die."

The two lieutenants nodded at him before saying "For the Empire," in unison and leaving to get their respective teams underway. Levik wanted to berate the lieutenant for undermining his authority in front of his men, let her feel the difference in rank as mandated by the Imperial principle, but he didn't. If Kalique Demici showed him anything it was that he had a soft spot for blondes. Apparently. "We move out now. Get a rifle from the rack if you didn't bring one."

Two minutes later Levik and his team was moving through the jungle at slightly faster than walking pace. Their ETA to Kron Kral's camp was roughly ten minutes and an estimate of twelve to fifteen minutes for the other teams. If the intel was correct and they were expecting them, then shit would get really hairy for several minutes before they had any chance of defeating this militia head on.

@Xorism

 

[Guinevere Delevigne]

Whether it was the jungle climate, the stress of what he had just been briefed on or he had simply misheard, she wasn't sure. The fact that the commander had clearly asked for her name, which she provided albeit a fake operational one, and then acted strangely was something she chose to ignore.

Nodding at the mention of grabbing a rifle, Guin made her way over to the rack and picked out one of the blaster rifles. She wasn't going to argue with the commander during the operation, as it was entirely his command but she would be taking mental notes.

Following close behind him as instructed, the lieutenant kept her eyes peeled for any would-be ambushers lying in wait.

@Eccles

 

[Levik Karn]

THEME​

Lieutenant Lorso had a tough hike up to the ridge and went at a slower pace than they could, due to the activated cloaking devices on their armor. There was always a risk that the enemy used infra-red googles or scope to spot them, but the militia would be getting the first shot in regardless if that was the case and now the imperials at least had a chance to catch the sniper ridge off guard.

Lieutenant Onn and his team followed the stream, likewise cloaked by the armor, and at an equally slow pace. They had to step slowly to make sure the footfalls of a dozen peacekeepers hitting the shallow waters of the stream wouldn't be noticed at a distance. That was surprisingly difficult to do.

Commander Karn took his men -and agent Guinevere- to take the frontal approach and 'fall into the militia's trap'. They were the only ones not using their cloaking devices and had a higher pace than the other teams. It was inevitable that they'd come under attack and they were all prepared for it. As they advanced they scanned for spots to potentially dash to for cover. A fallen tree, or a rocky incline.

[OOC: roll outcome: partial succes]

The peacekeeper up front of Levik's party suddenly stopped and held up a hand, prompting to Commander to relay it to the entire group of twelve armored peacekeepers and the agent. "Hold, get ready-" he heard himself add that last part in anticipation of a sudden 'surprise' attack. Yet, as they waited, nothing seemed to come and after a few moments the commander let out a sigh of relief. "-continue," he told the front peacekeeper and just as that man took his first step again, a wire snapped and two sharpened sticks fell from one of the nearby trees and pierced him. Blood spewed as the splintered wood launched itself through arteries, splashing it all over the man that was walking behind him.

Faintly, Levik heard a beep-beep and then another. "At them!" someone shouted and barely a second later two frag genades exploded close to the Imperial formation. Two peacekeepers in the rear lost their limbs almost immediately as shrapnel tore through their entire bodies. The sudden shock of combat gave Levik a jolt of adrenaline and panic as he dashed to small incline to his left. "Contact! Contact!" he shouted, "Fire at will!"

The remaining eight peacekeepers scrambled for cover as they haphazardly fired their rifles all around them, not yet knowing where the enemy was located. "This is Karn, we're being ambushed," the commander spoke through the internal comms line he shared with agent guinevere and lieutenants Onn and Lorso, "Role-call in ten. Keep to the objective." the role-call was essential, for it told the lieutenants that if the commander didn't check in ten minutes from now, that operational control would be handed over to Lieutenant Lorso on the high ground.


@Xorism

 

[Guinevere Delevigne]

Being ambushed in the middle of the jungle without a clue as to where the enemy could be lurking was perhaps one of the worst positions to be in for a trained solider, let alone for an agent like Guin. Bursts of blasterfire filled the air following the initial grenade attacks as the peacekeepers attempted to suppress an invisible enemy, although none could tell how effective it was initially.

Guin raised her own blaster and frantically scanned the horizon looking for anything that stood out of the ordinary, finding nothing. Sitting still wasn't an option in case more grenades came flying down but neither was trying to fight an enemy you couldn't see. She certainly knew the commander wouldn't approve of what she was about to do, and in hindsight perhaps she should have just been patient and waited to see how the man dealt with the situation but she wanted to help, she needed to help.

Slipping back from the commander to gain some distance, Guin suddenly stood up from the brush and started running laterally from their position. In a way her plan worked flawlessly, as a handful of ambushers began to open fire upon the agent from their hiding places and thus revealing their position to the commanders men. However with such information coming at a heavy price, Guin was struck in the chestplate by the blaster fire, sending her tumbling down into the bushes and knocking the wind out of her initially.

She could only hope that the commander could make them pay for it in kind.

@Eccles

OOC: Low roll

 

[Levik Karn]

The agent suddenly jumped from cover and ran across open ground in a mad attempt to draw fire. She succeeded, as several militiamen betrayed their positions by firing at the young woman, but one of them actually had decent aim and downed her. For a second Levik hoped he would see her get up again, but he feared the worst. It would be difficult to explain to the director that he was responsible for the death of an intelligence agent. Still, her sacrifice couldn't be in vain and the peacekeepers were trained well-enough to seize the opportunity she had given them.

Almost instantly they returned fire and several cries later the blaster fire stopped. Levik slowly rose from cover, his own rifle pointing vaguely in the direction of the camp. Nothing, no more shots. "Go find the bodies," the commander ordered as the peacekeepers spread themselves out across their own dead, taking dogtags from their bodies, and retrieved the dead militiamen to search them for intel and confirm their deaths. Meanwhile, Levik lowered his rifle and rushed over to the agent, "Agent," he gasped as he turned her on her back and touched the spot on her chestplate where a bolt had hit her. It seemed that it hadn't burned through, so maybe, "Agent, wake up."

Lieutenant Lorso was making slow progress up the hill, but was getting close now. His team could see the sniper emplacement and hear the chatter over the militia's commline. Something about 'Imperial ran into first trap' and then static and something about 'lost contact with vanguard'.

Lieutenant Onn and his team still followed the stream and encountered no hostile militiamen on their way to their camp. It would take a while for them to reach it still, but cloaked as they were it was unlikely they would be ambushed similarly as the commander's team.

Two minutes after his first message across the commline shared with the four of them, Commander Karn called in. "Three dead. One wounded. We're going cloaked from here on out." Levik signalled to his men to remove the cloaking device from one of the armors belonging to their dead and to give it to the agent as she woke up from he daze. The message was clear: keep Karn Krol in the dark about how many imperials survived the ambush.


@Xorism

 

[Guinevere Delevigne]

After the sudden hard knock to the chest, Guin felt a pulsing pain echoing through her body. At the very least, the armor had stopped her insides from becoming outsides but otherwise, she would be okay. In the midst of combat, however, she was completely prone and would take precious seconds to collect her thoughts. It wasn't until she heard the familiar voice of the commander beckoning her did she stir from her sleepish state, realizing that it was safe to get up again.

"Commander."

It wouldn't pay to offer any commentary on what happened, nor was she inclined to have such a discussion at the moment. Guin silently took the cloaking device offered to her and with the soldier's help, activated it before then rejoining the commander for their next push.

With any luck, they'd be able to take the base by surprise and overwhelm the defenders. If anything technical came up, her slicing skills could potentially come in handy but otherwise, she was quite content to let the professionals handle this next part, especially after the hard hit she had just taken.

@Eccles

 

[Levik Karn]

Blasterfire erupted in the distance, forcing Levik and his team to an abrupt halt. They hadn't run into any traps for ten minutes now and while their progress was slow, the Commander hadn't quite anticipated to go this long without engaging in more militiamen. Perhaps the nikto's men weren't as well trained or numorous as their intel had suggested. He turned slightly towards the Intelligence agent and wondered if her supposed "mole" had been mere conjecture, after all.

Then a second of static, "The ridge is secured." Levik smiled as Lieutenant Lorso called in his succes. That had explained the blasterfire then, so his own team got the signal to continue their advance as well. With the cover provided by the snipers on the ridge, their mission had suddenly become a lot easier to bring to the intended conclusion. That is, until the sound of blasterfire returned tenfold. "It's a trap!" Lieutenant Lorso shouted through the comms before static retook the line.

Moments later the line reopened, "We've been spotted!" Lieutenant Onn cried as the sound of blasterfire resounded further down the valley as well. Turned out the Commander had thoroughly underestimated the jungle warfare skill of the nikto Kron Kral. That and he did really have a mole problem.

_____

Inside the main tent of the militia's base camp an old holo-projector lighted up with a vaguely recognizable figure. Kron Kral seemed to listen to it for a moment and then nodded, "Your mole's intel helped us greatly, but-" the Nikto grimaced as he held one finger to his ear to press the earpiece in better. His men were taking casualties as well and he hadn't expected them to move in without the cover of night, resulting in him being less prepared for an attack as he had liked to be. "-I mean no disrespect Oracle. I'll bring you Commander Karn's head."

Seemingly satisfied, the hologram disappeared and left the Nikto along in his tent. Even if his little army wouldn't survive until the morning. He figured Imperial reinforcements would swoop in soon enough. Promising the head of one of Imperials that had earned their stripes during the Expulsion Order would put him in the Oracle's good graces at least. That'd be the first step to getting the due revenge that he deserved.

_____

"Keep your heads," Levik told his team. He wasn't about to rush ahead and ruin his cloaking tactic, so even if it did mean he would have to list the majority of his men as casualties at the end of the day, he would not give in to disorder and panic. The blasterfights on top of the ridge and further down the stream were still going strong, so the Imperials hadn't been defeated yet. It could all still be solved by simply cutting the head off this leathery snake.

@Xorism

 

[Guinevere Delevigne]

The ingress to the base seemed to go rather well on all fronts due to the cloaking devices, no doubt. Even as the commander expressed his own thoughts about the veracity of the intel, Guin silently considered the same before the eruption on the comms cast that aside.

The lieutenant had learned by now not to intercede in an active military operation, let alone pester the commander about the secondary concerns of the mission. For now, she simply waited and listened, plotting mental points and avenues of inquiry should they successfully overrun the base and capture the right people to question.

Judging by the way that things developed, she continued making her cold calculations as to who, if any, of the commander's men might be behind such a betrayal. What might he do, if such treachery was revealed? would he believe it or believe the brother he fought with? It was only a matter of time before they would find out.

@Eccles

 

[Levik Karn]

There was no other way to describe this area of Wayland's jungle than calling it a warzone. Blasterfire silenced all wildlife as birds fled and whatever other predators the jungles knew remained quiet and hid, waiting for a moment where they would be on top of the foodchain once again. Only the scavengers remained. Eaters of dead flesh, both arial and in the trees, waiting for their feast to begin. Every now and then an explosion and a faraway fireball reached the Commander's senses, but he paid it little to no mind.

"We're nearing the camp," he told his team quietly. The six plus the agent that remained with him were all cloaked thanks to their Imperial Peacekeeper armors as they finally laid eyes on the small collection of tents that was Kral Kron's basecamp. There were no visible guards around and yet the nikto was definitely there..

..he even exited the main tent just then. "Blasters to stun," Levik ordered, suddenly remembering the intelligence report and the gravity which it now held to him. He had to find out who the mole was. Who had betrayed him for this Nikto.

Kron Kral lit up a cigarette and walked over to the blooded pair of curved vibro-swords that lay next to a dormant heater unit. "I'm meant to hunt much bigger targets," the nikto complained just before Levik shut off his cloaking device and became visible to Kron as they stood barely twenty feet apart. "Your hunt is over, Kron Kral-" the Commander said through angry gritted teeth, thinking he had the drop on him.

Suddenly the Nikto burst out in laughter. "You imperials are so predictable," and instead of grabbing the swords he engaged a wrist-mounted energy shield. "You follow us down here in your arrogance," the sound of blasterfire in the distance stopped abruptly, "thinking a mere militia can just be rushed. Hunted down and destroyed," he paused as several peacekeepers suddenly appeared behind him, much to Levik's relief to know they were still alive and managed to reach the camp, but..

..why did they have those white markings on their armor? "But it was you that was being hunted." The peacekeepers behind the Nikto removed their helmets to reveal them as Lieutenant Onn and most of his team. They were grinning and it felt like Levik had just swallowed an entire bag of stones so fierce was the sudden knot in his stomach. He was the mole!? But he was one of his most trusted men.. he had even joined him in working for the Exchange..

"I'm sorry, Levik," the lieutenant shrugged as he aimed his blaster at his superior officer, "the credits were just too good to pass up." but then his aimed shifted and he pulled the trigger, sending a bolt of plasma right into the back of Kron Kral's head. The Nikto's body dropped lifelessly to the ground. "We're supposed to be the only ones returning. War heroes," Lieutenant Onn explained, "It's nothing personal."

The treasonous peacekeepers opened fire, killing three of Levik's men in an instant as the Commander himself caught a shot to his chestplate and dashed to cover behind one of the camp's supply crates.

@Xorism

 

[Guinevere Delevigne]

From the mask of invisibility Guin stood back and watched as the confrontation between the Nikto and the commander reached its zenith. Just when the doubts about the reliability of the intel were at their peak, the revelation that not only was there a mole, but in fact, it was one of his closest allies made it all the worse.

When the fighting broke out, the agent quickly ducked for cover on instinct, bracing behind something firm. It only dawned on her, due to lack of experience, that she had not actually been seen due to the cloaking device and that the shots were being fired toward the other group.

Thinking quickly, she skirted laterally to avoid any stray rounds and made her way around to the side of the firefight. The only hope she had was to either take down the enemy with a quick attack, or at best, perhaps she could distract them like she had before. Only this time, the agent unclipped a small frag from the armor and tugged heavily on the pin, which for some reason was stuck firm.

With a hefty shove, she managed to pull the pin and heave the grenade towards the enemy, but alas, an observant rifleman spotted her weapon and called it out to his companions with enough time to escape its lethal blast radius. Beyond a few scratches, her attack had failed to neutralise, but perhaps the distraction would help somehow...

@Eccles

 

[Levik Karn]

Levik was thoroughly pinned down by blasterfire until suddenly a frag grenade exploded between Lieutenant Onn and the other traitorous peacekeepers and providing him and his few loyal remaining peacekeepers the window they needed.

He dashed from cover and aimed his rifle right at his former confidant. The lieutenant had been distraced by the grenade and some of the shrapnel had grazed his right thigh, so when he noticed Commander Karn had his sights on him, it was already too late. The first bolt hit him in the pelvis, then the stomach, lower ribcage, upper ribcage, throat and then his face. The automatic fire from the rigle and the recoil made for a gruesome sight. It wasn't long after seeing the lieutenant die, for he was most likely the one issuing the credit chips, some of the other traitors decided to surrender.

Had Levik made a mistake in killing his friend?

It only took a few moments before the birds returned with their song and the Commander finally breathed again. Although the bolt had hit his chestplate he made pretty sure some of the ribs behind it were bruised as pain shot through them on every inhale. "Agent," Levik hailed Guinevere to come closer, "You did good. You survived," his eyes shifted from her to the dead nikto on the ground, and then to the lifeless body of lieutenant Onn. "I'm sorry you'll have no one to interrogate."

@Xorism

 

[Guinevere Delevigne]

The combat seemed to fade just as quickly as it had started, partly due to the mishap that her weapon throw had been but also due to the commander's marksmanship. The handful of his squad that still lived was able to make their way down carefully and properly secure the surrendering traitors. Hearing her name, Guin approached the commander and broke the concealment that had started to become quite exciting to use.

"Thank you, commander. Even if that lot doesn't know anything, they'll know something." Whether they would be able to retrieve any useful information from them was up for debate, but the ISB was certainly up for the challenge. "Of course, as his commanding officer, you and your subordinates had the most recent contact with the traitor." The agent quietly and calmly proceeded along the next line of questioning cautiously, but regulations were regulations.

"Do you mind answering a few questions about what you know about your former friend, any off-the-books activities you might be aware of him doing, and anything else you might think relevant? Of course, once we've completed securing the site here."

@Eccles