Seeds of Rebellion

[Demiurge]

Muunilinst System
Muunilinst
Planetary Orbit​

It was a ubiquitous silence. Onboard the Advent Tartarus, an Excelsior-class Star Destroyer, the Galactic Emperor, Darth Exodeus, sat in his throne room. For many years, dissidents had sporadically appeared throughout Imperial space, and for those years, they had been tolerated. The show of the Empire's power had time and time again proved vital to the silencing of uprisings, and kept the other worlds of the Galactic Empire in line.

It was not so long ago that a rebellion had nearly manifested on the Outer Rim world of Muunilinst. A millennium ago, the world had once been a center of financial stability and commerce for the Empire. It was a crown jewel, a treasure. But a thousand years had reduced the once majestic world into a mere shell of its former glory. It was a world rife with strife, corruption and unrest. And as has happened with worlds before it, the unrest turned to insurgency.

Like always, however, it was a small uprising, and those opposing the will of the Empire were crushed. But times had changed. A new era was being established, and simply quieting worlds would no longer be enough. Insurrections and revolutions were no longer to be tolerated, and this day would see the change.

While seated on his throne, the Dark Lord's hand swiftly moved to a communication system located on the rest.

"Grand Admiral Büro," he began, as he spoke into the communication transmitter, "Report in; what is the current status of the fleet?"

Seeds of Rebellion - Roster
Fleet Commander: Grand Admiral Büro
Field Commander: Grand General Luficel
Fleet Troops: Kiada Atar, Darius Pearton, Bernogne Wael
Ground Troops: Sunjin Provost, Thane Volos

 

[dskod1]

The communications system flutters to life as a kneeled Grand Admiral Büro appears before the emperor. His Head looks towards the ground not worthy of looking directly at the emperor, even if through a communication array.

"The fleet is in position. What is the Will of the Empire my lord?"

It had been a Long journey to the system and setting up the fleet was no easy task however failure was not an option for Büro. He had carefully set the fleet up and, with the knowledge that the emperor would be present, he did so as best and fast as he could. He wished for the emperor to see the might of the Imperial Navy when put in the hands of loyal subjects. Büro was still uncertain what the emperor had planned however he had no doubt that it would be for the glory of the empire. In the name of the empire Büro would do any task asked of him dutifully and without question and he would make sure that all his subordinates would do so as well or they would find themselves knocking at deaths door by Büro's own hand.

 

[Allu'rah Danan]

In one of the hangars on board the vessel, Commander Kiada Atar was in the process of directing pilots as she awaited orders. After months on Bastion, the Imperial Forces were finally mobilizing for... well, she didn't rightly know what. The end goal of the mission had not been released to her. Suffice it to say though that the Twi'lek was anxious. She had heard the Emperor himself was on board, overseeing this operation. And why shouldn't he be? It was his personal flagship, after all. Still, being assigned to the Advent Tartarus made her nervous. It was an honor, truly, but one wrong move was a death sentence.

The Commander was already suited up, and her life support unit strapped in place. She barked orders to her lieutenants and sergeants through the voice amplifier built into her helmet, a piece of equipment that had been customized especially for her to accommodate her long, shapely lekku. She was directing others to follow suite as all hands located their jumpsuits, life support units and helmets. Those who had already suited up were being directed to their TIE fighters. Those who had found their ships had begun inspecting them, and Kiada was pleased to see that all those drills were paying off. All she needed was the order to launch, and the thirty TIE fighters in this hangar would hurtle out the bay and into the vast expanse of space, at who knew what.

The chaos ebbed away as more men and women concluded the inspection of their crafts and climbed up into the cockpits. With a nod of approval, the Twi'lek Commander got into position at the foot of the ladder leading up into the cockpit of her TIE Defender. Reaching up and pushing a button on her helmet, she called into the bridge. "Commander Atar to the bridge," she said curtly. "The 32nd Assault Fleet is ready for launch and standing by for orders."

(OOC: Just realized I probably posted a little too early. If I am asked to delete this post, I will comply.)

 

[Crim]

The personal fleet of Darius Pearton hovered above the world. The Judge, Jury, and Executioner Star Destroyers were in position. Pearton watched the moving fleet as he charged his Vibroaxe-Blaster combo. He had just fitted his armor and was ready to go into battle. Most people called the Captain crazy for fighting on the ground.

They were right, sort of. He loved the battlefield and if he couldn't go down to the surface, he just feels like the battle is incomplete. Of course, he was told to wait on the Star Destroyer for a while.

 

[Lavi]

Onboard one of the star destroyers, an element of the 181st Imperial Fighter Wing was gearing for deployment. Lieutenant Bernogne Wael checked his life support system as his wingmates finished preparing their flight suits. It was only a flight of the 181st that was going along with this fleet, though none of them was sure for what reason. The prevalent theory was that the Emperor, who was with them on this "expedition," wanted to goad a pro-Alliance system within Imperial space into action. Muunilinst was known to be torn by internal conflicts, after all.

The flight team went to their own TIEs, specially marked with the red stripes of the 181st, prepping their fighters for launch. Most of them were Interceptor models, though some Predators were with them. Wael's own ship was an Interceptor: he valued the fighter's raw power and decent maneuverability over the Predator's.

Once everyone was suited, Wael tuned into the Imperial command frequency. "The 181st is ready to launch, on your mark."

 

[Prancing Yawn]

Sunjin had been doing a lot of second guessing in the past few weeks. Particularly, second-guessing about his loyalty to the Empire. He had assisted in quelling many rebellions, and after each one his doubts grew further. However, one could not just -leave- the Corps - a trooper would have sworn total allegiance to the Emperor - rightly so, considering the Emperor himself commands them. All his thoughts had been compounded into one thought - what had the Emperor done for him, and why was he giving a dozen kriffs for him? He still hadn't figured it out.

However, duty had called him to combat once again. Not just another motley rebellion, though - the one culminating on Muunilist had grown so large as to attract the presence of the Emperor himself, aswell as a chunk of the Imperial Navy. Once the fighters had broken through whatever type of starship force the insurrectionists had accumulated, the Army - and the Corps - would be sent planetside, where the fun would begin.

The 103rd, of course, were called to the battle, and so Private Provost was. He still had doubts about his duties, but one more stomping out of a resistance wouldn't hurt.. or, would it?

He sat with the rest of his regiment inside the troop quarters of the Advent Tartarus, awaiting their turn for deployment.

 

[Kath]

Lieutenant Thane Volos sat in the troop quarters of the Advent Tartarus with the rest of the 103rd Brigade. Fully armored and ready to go, he was ready for the fight ahead. No kriffing rebels would defy the Empire on his watch.

Thane's hatred of rebels was seeded deep in his brain, reaching back to when he first joined the Stormtrooper Corps. His father had been part of the 103rd, and he died putting down a rebellion. Thane lusted for revenge.

For the moment however, he simply double and triple checked his equipment and armor. Everything seemed in order, his ARC-9965 had been throughly cleaned and repaired before he even got the new orders. It was always needing repairs. His E-11 was slung on his back, and DC-17 was in its holster. The thermal detenator they were all issued sat unnoticed on his utility belt. The cortosis-weave vibroblade he always carried, you never knew when those kriffing Jedi would show up, was in its sheath on his lap.

With everything in check, Thane waited for new orders.

 

[Demiurge]

The Dark Lord sat in silence for several moments after hearing the words of his fleet's commander.

"The defiance of the galaxy has afflicted the Empire for far too long - my Empire. This comes to an end now, in this hour."

At that, Exodeus stood up from his throne, continuing to stare at his chosen fleet commander through the holoprojector.

"Begin orbital bombardment of the surface of Muunilinst. Annihilate it. Render the entire ecumenopolis to smoldering ashes and rubble. Leave no building standing. Commission the Imperial battlegroups, give the orders to dispatch the TIE vessel forces, raze the city-world until it is no more."

Upon delivering his order, the Dark Lord took his seat on his throne once again, continued speaking.

"Grand Admiral Büro, once that task is complete, report to me immediately. Waste not even a moment. Now go, send my orders."

 

[Ender]

"Captain Denton, commenc bombardment of Muunilist." the neutral voice came over the Battlenet. Denton stood staring at th view port, a cup of tapcaf in his hand. There was a slight tremor in his hand as he attempted to wrap his mind over the order. Commence bombardment of Muunilist the voice echoed. Finally, an Officer spoke up.

"Captain, your orders?" the voice broke the silence, and shook Denton into reality.

"Hold on that, Lieutenant." Denton spoke with authority. "Overlord, this is Exeter can I have a confirmation on that order. Did you just tell us to bombard Muunilist?"

There was silence before a response. "Affirmitive, Exeter, bombard Muunilist into dust."

"Aye aye Overlord." Denton spoke quietly. The tremor in his hand worsened. "Lieutenant, commence...commence orbital bombardment."

The weapons on the Exeter fired green fire onto the surface. Silently, Denton hung his head, thinking of the billions of people about to die.

 

[dskod1]

Büro listened to every word uttered out of the emperor's mouth with great pleasure. He gave a small bow in his kneeling position to show that he understood

"Your will be done my lord."

He bowed once more as the transmission once more stuttered away. Büro stood, Fixing up his uniform with his hands and than placing his hand behind his back one holding the other. He walked out of the comm room making a swift right turn and heading directly for a nearby lift which would take him to the bridge. Entering the lift Büro Made a quick turn facing the door as it shut rather quickly and zoomed off to the bridge. The door opens as quickly as it closed and Büro walks out onto the bridge walking forwards all the way to his chair and standing directly in front of it. Nearly all the crew eagerly watched and waited. News of the emperor giving personal orders had passed fast around the ship and there was much rumor but now there was only silent. Only the ships engines and the beeping of the machines can be heard almost working in perfect harmony.

Büro turned his head to the communications officer almost giving him a heart attack out of fear.

"Hail all captians, admirals and any other military officers of that rank or higher immidiantly. I want to be heard on all at once."

As the Büro appeared on nearly every bridge and communications room on all ships. His presence bringing both curiosity and fear from the fleet. Keeping his same face as when he left the communications room the grand admiral spoke.

"This is Grand Admiral Büro. In order to affect a timely halt to deteriorating conditions and to ensure the common good, Base Delta Zero is hereby authorized and ordered by the Emperor Himself on the planet Muunilinst. All tie bombers are to deploy immediately and all ships capable of orbital bombardment will begin immediately. Muunilinst's rebellious ideals will be swept clean from the empire and we shall bask in the glory of the empire once more. All ships are to comply, any ship failing to do so will condemn there entire crew to treason. Will of the empire be done."

The communications cut out and silence was still around the bridge. Giving a sharp eye look to the crew forces them all back to there stations and either working or pretending to work as the ship rained its weaponry down on the planet. Nearly all bombers took off one at a time heading for the planet with pre determined co-ordinates. The "Obediant", Büro's ship would not hear a word of treason for everyone knew what Büro's punishiment would be.

 

[Crim]

Captain Pearton thought for a minute. Was this right? He had lead a hunt for Wookies on Kashyyk, but this is different. Doing this was not prudent, but disobeying orders was worse. Pearton clicked a button and spoke.

"This is Captain Pearton. All turbolasers fire on the surface. I need bombers to deploy and... uh... bomb. Prepare to lift defenses in case of orbital strike cannons."

The Judge rained hell on Muunilist.

 

[Lavi]

Several minutes passed as the flight waited for the command to release from the hangar command center. The quiet was eerie, though it was difficult to see what was going on outside of the TIE cockpits, since the scopes and cameras were inactive.

Bernogne was prompted. He took a moment to relay his communication to the rest of his flight before clearing with the command center.

"Lieutenant Wael, your orders are to escort the 224th Imperial Bomber Squadron as they commence bombing runs on the surface of Muunilinst. All elements have been ordered to initiate Base Delta Zero."

The lieutenant felt himself go cold at the order. It took him a moment to get his bearings: the Emperor wanted to raze Muunilinst.

"Acknowledged," he said. "Awaiting departure."

"Launch," the command operator ordered.

The Interceptors and Predators of the 181st, with their red stripes gleaming in the Muun sun, poured into space. Bernogne could see some of the star destroyers have already begun firing turbolasers upon the planet's surface. Even from space, he could see brilliant bursts of color explode upon the surface of Muunilinst.

They approached the rendezvous point promptly, but the 224th wasn't there. They should be there, but it seemed that something was holding them up. It couldn't be because they fell under attack: there were no Muun resistance forces exiting the atmosphere and orbit is under solid Imperial control.

"Uhhh, are they eating lunch or something?" Acklay Four asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"We wait," Bernogne instructed. "The 181st is an aerial superiority wing, not a ground assault wing. We don't have the firepower to attack the surface ourselves."

The flight leader watched as the star destroyers fired their salvos. He didn't want to see the handiwork of the Imperial fleet if he could avoid it. From the looks of it, Wael wasn't alone in being doubtful of the morality of this operation: not all of the star destroyers have opened fire yet, despite having their guns properly aimed on the planet.

 

[Prancing Yawn]

Sunjin realized it now.

He was pledging loyalty to a beast.

Who knows how many had died by now, just in the last 10 minutes? A hundred thousand? A million? How many billions' blood would be scattered across the planet once the day was done? He almost broke down into sobs beneath his helmet.

A few small portholes lined the interior of the 103rd's barracks aboard the destroyer, providing the only view of the planet available. Sunjin got up from his seat on a bench next to two other Urban Troopers, and walked over to one such porthole, lighting up his visor to get a better view of the carnage. He could see a giant plume of smoke on the surface of Muunilist, reaching up to blacken the atmosphere. The cloud seemed to carry the screams of a million killed, many of which were alive just hours ago, happily carrying on their lives. What a surprise it must have been to then.

Sunjin didn't want to be a part of this. He hated what he stood for, and he wanted to put it to a stop. He didn't know what the others of the 103rd thought about this bombing, but he knew many felt the same as him, though did not show it. He also noticed a few of the destroyers were halting in their firing. One was deploying fighters to circle the destroyer. The 224th had not yet rendezvoused with the 181st. Why weren't they assaulting the planet yet?

Was there hope for an escape of this bloodshed?

Would there be more lifeblood lost in the process?

"Sir.. when will we be deployed?"

 

[Jacques]

Elston just stared. He stared straight ahead, sitting down in the barracks of the Tartarus. There were some things a man couldn't believe, and some things a man didn't want to believe. For instance, he couldn't believe he'd been tricked into joining the Empire. He didn't want to believe that the Empire had just bombarded Muunilist. All he could think was Why?. His mind was spiraling down a path that would probably lead to his own demise, I've always heard about the Empire doing this...but witnessing first hand...I......Why?

The young Private stood up and made his way to a refresher. Only a higher power, that WASN'T the Jedi or Sith, knew why the Empire was doing thing. Elston ripped his helmet from his head and looked at himself in the refresher's mirror. Long, dark bags under his eyes of sleepless nights. Awake, wondering why he was still a Stormtrooper. He closed his eyes and looked away, now knowing the answer. He wasn't a Stormtrooper, and he never would be. He couldn't blindly follow orders such as these.

On the outside was a happy guy, a lover of jokes and fun, especially pranks. But on the inside was a man who couldn't stand himself just for a single reason: He was on the wrong side.

Elston had only been a Stormtrooper for a year or so, but he was surprised it had taken him that long to notice it. He wasn't a Stormtrooper, and he hadn't even wanted to be one in the first place. His friends did, and they payed the price before ever hearing an order once. Maybe if they lived to see this...disgusting destruction would their minds be changed.

He made his way back from the fresher and sat back down, placing his helmet next to him. He'd been excited for a first taste of battle, to get a jumpstart to his belief in the Empire. What little belief he had was now crushed, forever.

Somebody from his squad requested to know when they'd be deployed. Elston hoped never.

 

[Michael Scott]

As the 181st Fighter Wing was launched from their hangar bay, James couldn't help but grin as he began his first sortie since he volunteered to become a TIE pilot. He looked to his left and right, which was limited through the small viewport of the TIE-Interceptor, and saw his fellow pilots beside him as they flew to the rendevous point with the 224 Bomber Squadron. He heard, along with all of the other pilots, the orders to escort the bombers and also heard the orders to wait since they weren't there. He decided to check in with his flight commander.

"Acklay Six-One to the Six, what is the expected number of resistance?"

 

[Kath]

Finally, it had begun. No more of the waiting around and sending in small striek teams to eliminate one rebel cell when anoter popped about about a month later. This was the beginning of the end for the rebels.

The destruction of the planet would send a message to traitors and dissedents everywhere, DO NOT disobey the Empire. Thane could barely contain his excitement.

He watched one of his men go to the 'fresher. It was normal, men often were nervous about their first deployment. Thane wasn't. This was just one of them many operations he'd been involved in. As the young Private came out of the fresher and took his helmet off, another asked him when they'd be deployed.

"We'll be deployed when the bombardment stops, Private Provost. We'll mop up what little survived and finally silence the rebel scum." Thane looked to the Private who had taken his helmet off, facial features hidden by his own helmet.

"Private Yakwley, put that helmet on! Both you and Provost better get ready for the ground assault. I wouldn't expect much resistance, but I still want everyone ready. I don't want any casulties on this trip!"

Thane waited for the two Privates' response, if any.

 

[Gonzo]

Mortok's leave on Bastion had lasted longer than he liked. He was a man who hated being stagnant. While leave might have been some sort of relaxation for some, the Captain found it nerve-wracking; it put him on edge. He felt more calm and relaxed at the head of his company, pushing against enemy positions on the ground. For the past nine years, since the Sith had effectively taken over, he had been in command of C Company, within the 3rd Battalion of the 101st Marine Regiment. He had direct command over 100 soldiers divided into four platoons, with the first platoon under his direct command, the second under Sergeant Gordos, the third under Cpl. Var'lathen, and the fourth under Cpl. Yan.

All of the platoon commanders were men (and one woman) he had chosen by his own hand; people he had served with for the better part of the last decade. They all looked after their own and obeyed orders. Standing within one of the troop transports, Mortok cast his gaze into space, observing the bright plumes of light that erupted on the surface of Muun each time a shot from the destroyers made contact. Some of the newer recruits were surprised by the intensity of the barrage; none of them had seen such utter desctruction. Their training had been in small-teams courses, taking out pockets of resistance. Mortok found himself grinning at the sight. Before the seeds of rebellion had been pounded into the ground, but still be swept elsewhere and take root again. This time, it was different. This time the seeds would be scorched.

The order from the Grand Admiral played over the com system, gathering Mortok's attention. When the address ended, Mortok stepped away from the window. "Sergeant Gordos, get the platoons in formation and ensure every soldier has checked their gear. We'll be going in after the bombardment has finished." The Sgt. nodded and shouted the orders to the men, who quickly fell in line. Mortok walked before his Company, his good eye squinted and cold. He could see that some had lost their color at the sight of the bombardment. Perhaps they were surprised? He thought.

"C Company! Once this bombardment had finished, we will receive the call to swoop onto the planet and eliminate any remaining resistance. There is a very big chance that nothing more than charred remains will greet us, but if it's the Emperor's will, we WILL pick those remains apart to ensure none of these despicable rebels remain. Prepare yourselves for the drop. Lock and load!" Some of those whom had lost their morale quickly perked; Mortok was glad to see his words still had some force behind them.

 

[Vayna Akhara]

Istana sat impatiently in the tiny cockpit of her TIE/In as it hung from the launch rack. The flight controls showed green across the board and she was eager to go out and start hunting rebels. With luck, they might launch fighters to oppose the Imperial force, which would give her the opportunity to rack up yet more kills; if not, then strafing ground installations was going to be the order of the day. Either way, when the 477th deployed Istana was going to take the lead and get stuck into the very heaviest of any fighting to be found down on the planet.

"Now hear this," the voice of the Captain rang through the hangar and over the intercom system, "we have received word from Grand Admiral Büro; Base Delta Zero has been authorised by the Emperor Himself. Upon deployment, you are to approach Muunilinst and eliminate any airborne resistance to our forces, subsequent to which, your task is the destruction of all ground installations of any kind and the levelling of all buildings. Proceed with deployment and commence attack, That is all."

So we're finally going to show those stupid rebels what their insurrection's brought down on them? It's about time; make an example of them for any other gutless, whining turncoats to see. I hope there's some opposition, though, otherwise shooting up defenceless targets is boring, nothing more than target practise. Good, the rack's moving; here we go! I'm first out, as usual, so I might be able to start racking up the kills before anyone else.

The sudden lurch as her little fighter dropped out of the ship made her tighten her stomach in response, then she diverted all available power to the engines and the TIE/In rocketed down towards the planet. There was no resistance - the defence turrets remained silent, the air force grounded, the planet unprotected. Istana led her flight of interceptors as they streaked down towards Muunilinst, bombs and rockets under their wings armed and ready. She touched a button on her panel, and the proton bombs under her wings became armed, ready for use.

Showtime!

 

[Lavi]

((the callsign of this flight of 181st is "Acklay," not "Skull," fyi))

"You'll be lucky if an unidentified ship is in the sky, let alone space, Six-One," Bernogne replied.

He watched as other fighter elements streaked towards the planet surface with their heavier ordnance. The 224th still hasn't rendezvous'd with them. Something is clearly wrong and Bernogne was afraid of finding out.

It would be proper for him to immediately contact the command center and question an officer about the status of the 224th. However, Bernogne was weary of the consequences of what would happen. The 181st was mainly armed with laser cannons, making them rather useless on their own in the BDZ operation.

He waited a few moments, and then pinged the fleet command. The moment of truth.

"Acklay Lead to Command, what is the status of the 224th?" he asked.

 

[Count Sam]

"Sir!!! It looks like we have received orders to commence bombardment on Muun" One of the lieutenants aboard the "flying snake" which was Admiral Kelvin's personal ship that he has been using for quite awhile. Of course this ship had the same name of Kelvin's first ship that he used when he was a pirate, but of course not a lot of people knew that. At least not those who were of lower ranks and did not have much power within the almighty Empire.

"Ahha at last!!!Order all ships to spread their formation, lock their cannons on their nearest targets and show no mercy!!"Kelvin cheered in a happy tone as he took a puff from his cigar. It was obvious on his face that he was thirsting from blood and was waiting for this moment since a long time like a caged beast waiting to be unleashed to wreck havoc.

"But sir I can't do that...Sir looks at the amount of people who will be..." The young lieutenant could not continue as a blaster bolt passed through his eyes and killed him. It was a bolt that made it clear to everyone that Kelvin was going to murder anyone who was going to turn against the Empire or refuse to follow orders without hesitating or thinking about the guilt of killing his men for a second.

"Well...as I said all ships are to lock their cannons on the closest Muun target, I want the ships to commence firing on their closest targets so the fire would due its maximum damage. I just want to make it clear that every single thing on this planet is a military target for us so if any person hesitated to fire he will be charged of treason. Also all hands are to stay full alert encase those rebel dogs tried doing anything and also all fighters are to be dispatched and be ready for further orders." Kelvin said as his orders were done fast and as the ships under his command started to rain fire on the Muuns.

It was not going to be so long before this planet was turned to ashes...