Seeds of Rebellion

[Count Sam]

Well how sad it looked like the navy's part in this battle was done and now the ground troopers were going to have the rest of the fun. But well after all since when they did not have all the fun? They were the ones who got to fire bullets and watch people die with their own eyes and enjoy killing them. However; it was not like Kelvin wanted a place in the army or anything. After all, ever since he was young he learned how to fly and lead ships. It was his job and he would never hope to do anything else.

"Alright,all capital ships are to cease fire and open all hangers...I want all shuttles and pods to be dispatched to the ground at once. Give the signal to the fighters to get back and escort the shuttles. I want the fighters to be careful since I am having a bad feeling.." Kelvin gave his orders as the were quickly issued across the ships under his command and where quickly done. The fighters made it back quickly as soon they were given the signal and flanked the shuttles and pods that were finally dispatched. It was now only a matter of time before the ground soldiers made it to the planet.

"I guess now is the part where we watch and wait.." Kelvin said as he took out another cigar from his pocket and lighted it. After all, when it came to battles the only thing that helped him in thinking was the nicotine which his body was used to.

 

[Vayna Akhara]

The thundering roar of the Javelin as it descended would have been deafening but for the ear protectors built into the helmets of the Stormtrooper armour. The shuttle swayed and shuddered as it arrowed down through Muunilinst's atmosphere faster than the speed of sound, straight for the ground. It's target impact point; the base of one of the planet's massive supervolcanoes, long extinct, where subterranean tunnels were now the rallying point and hiding place for the surviving population of Muunilinst.

"BRACE FOR IMPACT!" The command bellowed from the shuttle internal comms system and Taia, like the rest of the Stormtroopers aboard the shuttle, pressed her head back against the seat's support. If they didn't prepare, then, armour or no, they were likely to suffer a wrenched or even broken neck. With a tremendous roar and thunder, the shuttle buried itself into the rock, blasting through the strata of the volcano's foundations like a lightsaber through butter. The squad inside were jolted and thrown against their harnesses as the Javelin tunnelled deeper and deeper, then lurched to a halt. Taia was first to undo her harness and climb to her feet, springing to the shuttle door and pressing the stud to open it, to reveal the inside of the old lava tubes, dust and rubble still falling from the hole that had been drilled in the ceiling.

"On you feet, people! Fan out in leading T-sections, flamers central. Move it!" Taia dropped to the floor of the lava tube, noting in passing that she was the first to do so. The rest of the squad came tumbling out of the shuttle to join her, and rapidly formed up as ordered. More shuttles came crashing through the roof of rock as her squad moved off along the tunnels, back towards the tube entrances, to flush out anyone trying to stop the ground landers from coming down, their boots pounding the rubble-strewn floor with no attempt at stealth; after such a deafening entrance, the Muuns must know they were here.

Sudden movement ahead, and Taia snapped off a single shot, drilling the shadowy figure before it could react. As the Stormtroopers advanced they passed the body of a civilian man, a gaping hole in his chest. "Movement ahead!" Taia was shooting even before the warning rang out from one of the other Troopers. Figures were falling as some scrambled to escape. Taia got two more before they could disappear round the bend in the tube to safety. A squalling sound caught her attention; sitting next to the body of a woman sat a crying child, maybe two or three years old. Face expressionless behind her helmet, Taia brought her blaster to bear and fired.

The advance continued, and Taia stepped over the child's cooling corpse. Without so much as a backward glance or hesitation in her step, she continued to lead the squad forward. There were many more children who would die this day.


(OOC : The formation I meant is four troopers, one leading, the other three in a line behind; the central one of the three is the flamethrower carrier. Hope it makes sense.)

 

[Lavi]

Although he heard everything on the communication transmission, Bernogne held off on relaying the information to his wingmates. As the 224th broke off to return to the hangars, the flight leader kept on course, expecting his wingmates to do the same.

"Take a good long look at our handiwork," he finally said. "This may be the only BDZ you'll ever see in your lifetime. I can't tell you what to do with what you see, but I don't believe I am only speaking for myself that this moment will forever be scarred in my memory."

Although he never went to Muunilinst before now, Bernogne had seen pictures of the planet when he was young. The Muunilinst he saw in pictures was unrecognizeable from the Muunilinst he saw before him. Bernogne took a few moments to let his words sink in with his wingmates before continuing. "We've been issued new orders: fighters are to escort troop transports as they deploy to the surface to mop up survivors. We will patrol the skies as the ground forces move in on suspected underground strongholds."

He finally turned his TIE about, putting it on an interception course to meet with the first transports entering the atmosphere.

 

[Vayna Akhara]

There were more civilians lying in the dirt now; men, women, children, all too slow to react to the threat that had suddenly come upon them from below. Her squad led the way for the rest of the platoon, with Taia herself in the lead overall, just as it had been back on Avactaris Delta III when she had led patrols into the stinking, deadly swamps around the Clan village. So far, in fact, these old lava tubes were proving a lot less dangerous than her homeworld had been. She fired twice, bringing down another fugitive.

So now the swarats flee. It's too late for them; they've brought down the wrath of the Emperor on them for their rebelliousness and defiance. Not so defiant now, though, are they? So where are the soldiers? There must be some who survived; I doubt the Navy got them all. Ah, here's where we might start to face resistance.

Ahead of her, the tube opened out to form a small cavern. Ripples in the floor left by the ancient lava made ideal cover for infantry, and Taia held her hand up and signalled the rest of the platoon to go to ground and wait for her signal. She dropped prone and surveyed the area closely. It was hard to make out, even with the night-vision capability built into the helmet, but she thought -

A shot, and a figure that had been moving behind an undulation in the floor jerked upright then fell. That was the signal for all Hell to break loose. From behind the rippling ground in front of her came a storm of blaster fire, and her squad began returning fire at the enemy forces. Ducking down after dropping another enemy trooper, the slender blonde toggled her comms system. "Trooper VA-2771-FF to Battalion Command, have made contact with enemy combat forces at location Alpha Four. Enemy strength unknown, but appears greater than squad in strength - may be up to platoon strength. Proceeding to eliminate hostile forces before continuing advance. Over." She picked off another enemy as she waited for the response - at these ranges she found it almost impossible to miss. Unlike the rest of the squad, and the second squad that had now joined them, she was only firing single shots - but that was all she needed to kill her foes.

"Trooper VA-2771-FF, message received and acknowledged. Do you require reinforcements? Over."

"Negative, Command. We are rapidly wearing down enemy forces and will soon be in a position to recommence our advance. Over." From behind cover, she threw a plasma grenade so that it bounced off the wall of the cavern and dropped in the middle of a group of rebels who had opened fire on the Stormtroopers with a repeating blaster. A bright orange flash lit up the lava tube, and the repeater fell silent. A rebel, reeling from burns from the grenade blast, half-rose from cover, and was cut to pieces by Imperial fire. A Trooper crawled up next to her, and poked the nozzle of his flamethrower over the rock that gave them cover.

"Mind if I torch me some Rebels?"

"Go ahead."

A lick of flame leapt from his weapon, and the cavern was bathed in red light as he swept the jet of fire across the rebel positions. Some leapt up to flee, and Taia and the rest of the riflemen opened fire, cutting down many of them, as the screams of those incinerated in the fiery blasts echoed from the walls.

"Understood, VA-2771-FF. Keep us informed. Over."

Taia dropped two more rebels as they attempted to get away from the terrifying flames that licked hungrily at everything as smoke rose from the burning corpses of the enemy. "Command, enemy forces are fleeing. We are continuing our advance. Over." Rising to a low crouch, she began advancing on the cavern, rifle held at her shoulder ready to fire.

"Acknowledged, VA-2771-FF. Keep us informed. Command out."

Moving cautiously through the smoke, the blonde Trooper reached the enemy's fire positions. Bodies lay everywhere, some with holes in them from blaster fire, others blackened and charred from the flamethrower's deadly touch. She raised a fist and signalled the rest of the platoon to continue advancing, as she levelled her rifle one-handed and shot a wounded Rebel through the head. There was no need for prisoners; the High Command didn't want information, they wanted extermination.

The Stormtroopers moved up to join her, and they began advancing up the lava tube, Taia at point as usual, rifle being moved fro one shoulder to the other as she led the way, depending upon which way the tunnel curved; if the tunnel curved left, she held the weapon ready on her right shoulder, and vice versa. That way, she could more easily bring her weapon to bear with the minimal exposure.

That was almost disappointing; I was hoping they'd show rather more fight than that. I hope we can have a real firefight before all the rebels die, otherwise this operation's going to be boring ...

 

[Insanity]

It hadn't taken long. The discord the assault teams wrought had forced the rebels who had taken up arms to flee from the entrances, leaving only a few defenders. A frag easily cleared them out, while setting off small traps. Most of the entrance still stood, leaving enough clearance for Qwarn, his spotter, and other soldiers to get through. After that, it was the occassional firefight, with longer moments of 'cleansing' the civilian survivors. Grim work between the respites. As the bulk of the Imperial forces started to get in, traps being disarmed when found, Qwarn decided he'd had enough of being a team-player. Moving further ahead with his one squadmate, he started to check the smaller tunnels where things got harder.

The 'smart' survivors were hiding in these tighter areas, unwilling to get caught with the bulk of the surviving populace. Most were mothers and children, a few soldiers who were too scared to resist. Qwarn made sure that they were added to his kill-count, his squadmate only bringing his weapon up to kill any who ran past behind them. It was as they were leaving one of the side-tunnels that a blaster-bolt hit the shoulder of his squadmate, knocking him down while Qwarn crouched and opened fire on the rebel who had fired first. Movement beyond them only confirmed a larger number of them moving their way, whether civilian or soldier, he didn't know. Dragging his cursing squadmate back into the smaller tunnel, he settled near the edge so he could shoot out at anyone who got close.

"This is unit Z-8, 23rd Imperial Battalion. Requesting support on location, have encountered multiple hostiles. Outnumbered. Any assault teams nearby? Would be appreciated." He didn't bother adding the traditional 'Over', instead tossing his thermal detonator down the main tunnel to do some damage and delay the rebels themselves.


((OOC: << So, where're all the people with Rebels-to-be and their posts?))

 

[Dmitri]

After concluding his speech, Lucifel went over to his officers on the bridge tasked with organizing and managing the separate assaults. A few Sith had been assigned to the operation, to help locate the hidden caches of survivors. Amongst them were Geist Weiss, one of the few of the Sith who were on Seraphim's bridge. He was pointing out another location he had sensed survivors in.

"Forty percent of the designated teams have reached the surface," reported Geist. "Operations are already under way."

"Excellent," said Lucifel. "I want failure to be kept at a minimum. Let the units know that retreat is understandable, but surrendering or giving up is not. If they require to retreat, then they better call for reinforcements so they can take another stab." The silent threat was there. Lucifel despised betrayal and laziness. He had gained the nickname Darth Steel for using Force Choke on officers in the past, despite the fact that he was not a Sith Lord.

As Lucifel assessed the battlefields, both through the holographic projection of Muunilinst with red sections indicating survivor holdouts and through the Force, a transmission came for him. The communications officer reported it was Grand Admiral Büro.

"Bring him up," ordered Lucifel.

A holographic ghost of the Grand Admiral appeared before Lucifel. Büro greeted the Grand General with a courteous nod. Lucifel was not offended, as they shared equal ranks of their respective militia. Lucifel exchanged an equal nod. The Grand Admiral gave his message.

"Grand General, You would have heard over the latest communication from me about the protection and powers I have handed over to you for this operation. I will effectively letting you do what needs to be done unless you need me to move the fleet. Do the empire proud Grand General."

Lucifel replied with, "Your assistance is noted and acknowledged. I'll have my men forward coordinates of "smokers" that require extra... pounding, if such cases are needed. Let us finish this operation quickly and move onto the next step."

The Grand Admiral ended the broadcast. Lucifel returned to the command center, where Geist and an officer named Barrel were receiving a message from a trooper on the battlefield.

"Trooper VA-2771-FF to Battalion Command, have made contact with enemy combat forces at location Alpha Four. Enemy strength unknown, but appears greater than squad in strength - may be up to platoon strength. Proceeding to eliminate hostile forces before continuing advance. Over."

Barrel put the comlink to his lips. "Trooper VA-2771-FF, message received and acknowledged. Do you require reinforcements? Over."

Trooper replied with, "Negative, Command. We are rapidly wearing down enemy forces and will soon be in a position to recommence our advance. Over."

"Understood, VA-2771-FF. Keep us informed. Over."

"Command, enemy forces are fleeing. We are continuing our advance. Over."

"She better, or there might be consequences," muttered Geist mockingly under his breath.

Barrel concluded the broadcast with, "Acknowledged, VA-2771-FF. Keep us informed. Command out."

The transmission ended. Lucifel appreciated this type of communication. Continual reports allowed him and his fellow commanders to assess the situation more accurately, rather than only getting reports about needing reinforcements. Speaking of the devil:

"This is unit Z-8, 23rd Imperial Battalion. Requesting support on location, have encountered multiple hostiles. Outnumbered. Any assault teams nearby? Would be appreciated," came the static-filled voice of another trooper.

Over, groaned Lucifel. Due to his past experience as a regular infantryman, the lack of ending with "over" developed into a pet peeve of Lucifel's.

"That guy's in Zeta Two," observed Geist.

"The troopship Crusader is in the area," remembered Lucifel. "Send a transmission to the Crusader to send two squads to help."

Barrel nodded. He responded to the soldier's message, "Z-8, message received and acknowledged. Reinforcements are on their way. Over."

OOC: Anyone who has not yet landed is free to be apart of the reinforcements to aid Insanity's Z-8.

 

[Vayna Akhara]

Blaster bolts cracked overhead, and the massive cavern echoed to the sound of explosive detonations and the screams of those burning alive from the flamethrower blasts that lit up the darkness. A vicious, large-scale firefight had erupted when the Imperial troops had advanced into the largest empty lava tube cavern they'd yet encountered, one with side tunnels leading into and out of it. Unlike the shootouts they'd been in so far, this one seemed to be a serious attempt by the Rebels to turn back the Imperial tide -they outnumbered the Stormtroopers, had repeating blasters and grenades, and were fighting with an air of desperate bravery.

Taia was in her element - she lived to fight and to kill. One of the riflemen in her section had gone down, and now she was coolly using his corpse as cover. It had already taken several blaster shots, but none had penetrated to hit the slender blonde using the armoured body as both shield and weapon rest. She aimed and fired three shots, each one a kill shot; for someone who'd spent as much time fighting for survival as her, each shot was too easy to make.

Finally! A battle worthy of the name! I was beginning to think all we were going to face was the odd handful of armed civilians, too quick to die, and unarmed women and children to butcher like the treacherous vermin they are. This is much more challenging, much more fun!

The crossfire from the Rebel forces was making it impossible to advance, and Taia hit upon a way of reducing the enemy fire. Folding the stock of her rifle and slinging it over her shoulder, she grabbed a handful of plasma grenades in one fist, and drew her vibroblade with the other. "Give me covering fire!" she called into her comms unit.

As the rest of the troopers fired to draw enemy attention, she rose to one knee, threw all the grenades in a spray across the front of the Rebel positions, forcing the enemy to dive for cover and thus rendering them unable to fire at Taia, and sprang to her feet, sprinting towards the Rebel troopers holding one of the side tunnels, from which they had been able to enfilade the Imperial forces, inflicting casualties. As the grenades went off in a barrage of yellow-white light, flinging rocks and bodies into the air, the blonde Strormtrooper hit the Rebel force like an angel of death.

The blade was a blur as it cut through armour and bodies alike. Limbs, heads and gutted torsos fell away to either side. A Rebel tried to stab her with his own vibroblade, but she parried it, knocked it to one side, then slashed his throat,, catching the blade from his hand as he fell. Now wielding two blades, she tore through the Rebel force, blood spraying in all directions, splattering her formerly white armour as she cold-bloodedly slaughtered them all. The last few lost their nerve and tried to run; they didn't make it. For someone who'd hunted for years in the swamps of Avactaris Delta III, this had been easy.

-----------------

Clearing the rest of the cavern had taken some time, but had been accomplished despite the Rebels sending reinforcements continually throughout the fight. The Imperial losses had been fairly light; the Rebels had suffered heavy casualties. It was time to report in.

"Trooper VA-2771-FF to Command; location Alpha Seventeen has been cleared, despite heavy opposition. Our casualties are light, no more than forty or so. Fifth platoon is being used to replace losses in platoons one to four. Rebel casualties are over a thousand plus the loss of several heavy weapons and half a dozen military droids. We are proceeding towards Alpha Eighteen now. Over." She could see medics taking away the Imperial wounded, and the odd blaster shot as injured Rebels were executed where they lay.

"Acknowledged, Trooper VA-2771-FF. Do you need reinforcements? Over."

"Negative, Command. The remnants of the enemy have withdrawn further up the tunnel, and their casualties include many in the uniform of the planetary defence force. We appear to have broken the back of resistance in this area. Over." Under her blood-stained helmet, the blonde Stormtrooper was smiling. The Rebels had finally got their act together and given them a real fight! Bodies littered the cavern floor and lay scattered in the side tunnels. Smoke from burning corpses wafted across the lava tunnels, making it hard to see if not for the vision enhancements built into the helmet. All in all, a glorious fight; hopefully, there would be more.

"Understood, VA-2771-FF. Keep us informed of your progress. Out."

Taia shouldered the heavy BT X-42 flamethrower she'd acquired from a dead Rebel soldier. "Move out, people! We've got Rebel scum to exterminate!"

 

[Prancing Yawn]

Well.. it was time for action.

The orbital bombardment was done. Already ground dropships were veering through the atmosphere. Now it was the 103rd's turn for deployment. One by one the black armored troopers filed out of the barracks heading for the hangar, and Sunjin was the last to leave. He had to grab his stun baton, but when he reached the rack.. he decided he wouldn't need it.

The company reached the hangar, where four dropships similar to LAAT/is were running and ready for flight. Sunjin jumped into one with rifle in his hand, and secured himself in one of the safety seats, locking the harness over his shoulders. The other troopers were already locked in. They seemed a little too overeager for this mission that Sunjin's liking - it was probably just the fear of what would happen if they refused to participate.

The ship blew out of the Advent Tartarus with thrusters blazing, bursting out of space and into the atmosphere. Two TIE Defenders followed the dropship, ensuring it safe landing. It landed infront of a pile of rubble, and the doors quickly flew open as soldiers filed out of the troop compartment and hit the ground running. Already Sunjin could see a family of Muuns running opposite to the landed dropship.

They didn't make it far.

Sunjin's regiment was tasked with taking out a small bunker in the middle of a street filled with machine guns that many Muun rebels had accumulated in. There was not much cover, and grenades would not do much help - they'd be shot out of the air before they could reach the bunker, or you'd be shot before you could even throw it.

"This is Squad 5, we are at location coordinates.. Four-two Seven, designating this Centauri Delta... engaging Rebel bunker.. " Sunjin calmly said into the comm, uneager to be the one who acknowledged their killing of these resisters.

A giant crashed speeder offered Sunjin's group the most amount of cover available in the torn urban landscape. They were not even safe their, as the hulk was constantly peppered by the machine guns in the bunker. Sunjin got out from his safe position and took aim at the flaming guns, only to be sent back down to safety by his instincts - actually the instincts were twenty bullets rushing over his helmet. There was no way they were even touching that bunker.

"THIS IS PRIVATE PROVOST WITH SQUAD 5! WE ARE AT LOCATION CENTAURI DELTA AND WE ARE UNDER HEAVY FIRE - WE NEED A ROCKET TEAM RIGHT NOW!"

"This is Demo 4, we are at Centauri Alpha and coming to your location."

Sunjin gasped.

He had just called for the death of fifteen Muuns.

---

The rocketmen arrived in the number of 5, making haste in loading their deadly weapons. Before Sunjin knew it the bunker was totally blown to bits. Body parts embedded with durasteel were flung everywhere. It was enough to make a normal person sick - but Sunjin was used to adapt to grim things like that.. but.. not this grim.

"With that out of the way, let's go blast those damn Rebel infidels!" another trooper yelled, jumping over the crashed speeder and rushing through the streets. The rest of the company followed him, shooting every Muun they saw. Sunjin was the last in the line, and he came upon a living Muun - there was a giant chunk of Durasteel in his chest but he was still alive - limping across the street.

He raised his gun, ready to end the alien's life. The Muun looked at him with a grim look on his face.

"I can't!"
"Then I'll do it for you," another trooper replied, raising his gun swiftly and delivering twelve bolts into the Muun's now lifeless body before it fell into a giant dent in the road made by the destroyer's turbolasers.

"No...

..

this is UT-4492.. Four-two Seven.. Centauri Delta sector is clear of...

hostiles.. "

 

[Kath]

Thane stepped out into the war torn city from the shuttle bay. He ran forward leading the 103rd as they attacked the entrenched placements. He loved the thrill of battle and longed to eradicate the rebel scum from the Empire.

As the battle lulled in his sector, Thane took three troopers along to scout out sector Delta 112. They scanned the streets, dead bodies and rubble burning alike. They all deserved this death. As the four troopes walked they came across a destroyed apartment building at the end of a long dead end street, with large mostly destroyed buildings on either side. Thane signaled to one of his troops to move in.

Suddenly, a shot rang out and the trooper who was moving dropped with a hole through his helmet.

"Oh stang! Sniper, grab cover!"

Thane ran behind a small pile of rubble just as automatic weapon fire opened up. About thirty Muun rebels armed with outdated blasters and even slugthrowers emerged from all around them.

"Ambush!!"

Thane was lighting up Muuns left and right while retreating to the location of the rest of his squad, which had taken shelter in a small first level shop. The glass window had been shattered and the troopers took cover behind whatever they could find. As one trooper popped out to fire he was torn to shreds by a hail of energy. Thane kept on attacking with his two remaining troops. The Muuns who were foolish enough to get in his sights, dropped dead with blaster burns scorching their bodies.

One of the squad tossed a thermal detonator, which exploded taking out about a dozen rebels before more took their place. Thane activated his wrist comlink.

"This is Lieutenant Thane Volos of the 103rd Brigade. Me and a small squad were ambushed by a large rebel cell in sector Delta 112. They have sniper support, we have two casulties request immiedient assistance!"

Thane paused long enough to fire and take down a Muun with a round through the neck. The last trooper beside him was holding his own, but had taken a wound to the thigh. His leg was all but gone, connected to his body by a thin slice of skin. He spoke on the comm again.

"Get the rest of the 103rd over here now! Medical assistance required! Large rebel cell with sniper support!"

Thane went back to the fight and prayed that someone was coming.

 

[Lavi]

A command operator received Lieutenant Valos' request, quickly keying in a reply. "103rd, we are directing the 181st Fighter Squadron to provide CAS. ETA: two minutes."

-------------------------

Comms were buzzing. Ground units were encountering resistance at the suspected rebel centers. However, Bernogne had doubts whether they were all rebels or merely Muuns defending their homes.

"Lieutenant Wael: you are ordered to provide close air support in Sector Delta 112. CO is Lt. Volos on frequency 103.385," the operator informed.

"Copy. We're on our way," Bernogne replied.

His flight changed course, taking a direct route to the site of the engagement. As he came in closer, the lights of blaster fire became clearer. He have not fired his laser cannons yet in this operation, but the pilot knew that his clean record was about to find some dirt.

"Check, friendlies," he reminded his wingmates. Bernogne didn't go on his strafing run just yet: the line between Imperials and rebels was still rather hazy. Instead, he came in low and performed a pass of the battlefront. The screech of his TIE's engines would surely frighten some of them, though he cannot really tell which side was which.

"This is Acklay One. We need a confirmation on friendly positions before we can perform effective strafing run. Mark your positions with strobes," Bernogne communicated with the Volos.

 

[Vayna Akhara]

Carefully, so as not to give herself away, Taia held out the makeshift mirror she'd fashioned during the advance up the lava tunnel. Little more than a polished piece of metal on the end of a length of wire, it nevertheless allowed her to see round corners without exposing herself to enemy fire. It had been useful during their advance; the Rebels kept setting up roadblocks along the tunnels and trying to ambush the Imperials as they pressed on, and each position had to be cleared one by one.

The fighting had become brutal in the close quarters of the lava tubes, and the attacking Stormtroopers had also to make sure they eliminated any pockets of survivors cut off by their advance. They had been thorough; a pocket of rebels in a small alcove off the main tunnel? A couple of gas grenades followed by a thermal detonator. A gaggle of young children hiding in a minor tunnel too small for the troopers to get down? Use the flamethrower. It had become a grinding battle, a slow, steady push against pockets of desperate resistance. Taia had led the way from the start, her uncanny ability to sense danger and her lightning-fast reactions and near-perfect aim making her the ideal choice for point man. For her, it had almost been like being back on Avactaris Delta III, leading a search-and-destroy patrol against the deadly predatory monsters that lurked in the stinking, gloomy swamps of home. She'd come back from every patrol, unharmed by the dangers she faced, and now she was doing the same here.

The battalion had one main objective, code-named Alpha Delta One, and now they had finally reached it. Her mirror showed a huge cavern, far larger than any they had encountered thus far, one filled with Muun refugees - and their defenders. She slipped silently away, back to where the Battalion Commander, a Major designated HZ-3861-KR, awaited her report. "It's the main objective, sir, and the Rebels have heavy defences between us and them." She used her stick to draw on the floor of the tunnel, as the Major, the Captain who was his Second-in-Command, and the squad leaders watched and listened.

"The tunnel curves to the left up ahead.The cavern widens sharply, like so, to both sides, to a width of about three hundred and eighty meters, and goes back a kilometer or so. About five meters beyond the bend is the start of a minefield, which extends back a hundred meters. Standing in the minefield about ten meters in from the back of the field, and extending back beyond the field, is an array of war-droids, maybe a hundred or so. There's then a gap of about fifty meters to the Rebel positions; they've got heavy repeating blasters on both flanks to catch us in enfilade, and riflemen in two defensive lines between them." She looked up at the Major, and indicated the narrowing of the cavern where they were advancing from. "They're using the tunnel against us; if we advance in column, as we'd have to in order to pass through the tunnel, then they'd cut us down piecemeal."

"Damn!" The Major stared at the map, as if by doing so he could make the defenders vanish and leave the objective free for the taking. "The droids won't let us get through before we're cut to pieces! We may have to call for assistance to take the objective. I doubt Command will be pleased to hear - "

"Sir, may I make a suggestion?" The other NCOs shifted as Taia addressed the Major; he was known as a man who didn't take kindly to being interrupted by subordinates, and the blonde was one of, if not the youngest NCO in the battalion. The officer's helmeted head swung to face her, though the sealed mask meant she couldn't read his expression.

"This had best be good, Sergeant! What. Is. It?!" The tone indicated that the man was close to having her shot for insubordination, as he'd done with other Non-Coms. Taia, however, wasn't intimidated in the least. Instead, she turned back to her crudely-drawn map.

"We can use this narrowing to our own advantage, sir, by luring the enemy out and defeating them in detail, as they planned to do to us." From her half-crouch she waved her hand to either side of the smaller cavern the battalion was now in. "We set up our own firing line here. A small group advances to the bend and fires at the droids. If they don't follow, we can shoot at them at will till they're destroyed, but if, as I believe, they're set up in 'aggressive' mode, when the advance party retreats, the droids'll follow - straight into our ambush. We can eliminate the driods, and any Rebels that follow them, then move on to Stage Two of the plan, sir."

There was a brief silence as the man pondered her words. "Stage Two, eh? You've an idea for dealing with the minefield and enemy fire line, have you? You seem to be quite the leader, Sergeant, coming up with plans to defeat a well dug-in enemy force; and now you can prove it. We need a small raiding party to draw the droids out, you say? Well volunteered!"

Taia remained completely unmoved by the man's words; she'd been planning to volunteer anyway. She straightened up, saluted the Major, and, as he turned away, looked round for what she needed for the task ahead.

 

[Insanity]

Qwarn had started to lose his patience by the time back-up arrived in the form of two squads, both from other major units involved in the cleansing. By then, he had used the last two of his fragmentation grenades to take out the more enterprising resistance. His own squadmate had gotten unlucky, though, moving out of cover once the pain lessened to try and hold off the hostiles. The result was multiple blaster-bolts and projectiles tearing through his armor and shredding, as well as cauterizing, his insides. Not a pretty thing to see happen, nor one that a soldier liked watching at any point happening to his comrades. Risks were a part of this line of work, though, so you dealt with such things as they happened.

He didn't feel like dealing with them today. No choice in the matter, though, other than to turn around and pick off the emboldened rebel survivors. After a few shots and killing off just a few more, they lost that brazenness and ducked back into their niches again. A few moments later, the backup arrived and cleared the rebels out, forcing them to run for their lives while getting mowed down by one of the Imperials carrying an automatic blaster rifle. Let them learn the lesson before they died - no one betrayed the Empire unscathed. In the end, this is what these traitors got - something close to planetary genocide, and if the superiors decided on it, a few 'lucky' ones to get shipped off to labor camps as examples.

But there'd be no 'lucky' ones this time, not by now. Scavenging the leftover power-packs and frags off his downed squadmate, he'd start off away from the main forces again. He was a scout-survivalist foremost, a sharpshooter second, and rash person third. He knew what he had to do here, so he didn't need to listen to some inept new officer yelling commands like it was his Force-given right.

 

[Jacques]

Elston was freezing up. His head was in pain and he didn't want to be shooting Muuns who weren't exactly shooting back at him. Whenever a couple shots were fired in his direction, he would take cover, fire a few bolts back, and let the rest of his squad take them out. He didn't have to heart to do it, feeling worse when an innocent would be caught in the cross fire from the Stromtroopers.

His hands were shaking, and he couldn't find himself able to pull the trigger. He tried and tried, even for those firing at him, but he just couldn't find it. Every time his finger touched it, the finger slipped away.

Passing by a large pile of rubble that Elston couldn't help but imagine was the home of a loving family but hours before, he stopped when he heard a moaning noise coming from beneath it.

"H-Hel-...Help us..." It cried, a disembodied hand sticking up out of the rubble.

The stromtrooper contemplated just keeping his stride, hoping to ignore everything and get out of the whole ordeal alive. But the cry for help wasn't like a rebel was lying to get the drop on him, it was somebody buried and in dire need for his help. What if it was some poor mother and child? Caught in the crossfire just for living on planet? Elston felt queasy just thinking about it.

The private rushed over and threw off the smaller pieces of rubble, looking around to see if there were any clues to who was buried underneath. Catching his eye was the standard rifle for the Muun rebels, as well as half of a doll. A kid? Elston rushed, throwing whatever pieces of rubble he could off of the voice.

Whatever he couldn't lift, by the time he'd cleared out most of the smaller stuff, he could tip over and out of the way. The labor felt like it was taking hours, but from the rush of adrenaline Elston knew it hadn't been more than a minute.

There was a man, hunched over, looking as if he were protecting someone.

"Private Yawkey!" A voice called, angrily, "Private YAWKEY!" It called once more, and the stromtrooper turned around, a hand snapping to attention.

"Yes sir?" He asked.

"What are you doing?" Elston didn't know who it was, he was guessing either the second in command of his current squad or maybe even the commanding officer.

"I...I..." The private looked for words, and then pointed at the man hunched over, who had now rolled onto his back, revealing a small, Muun child who was cowering in fear, "They were buried under rubble, I had to see who it was."

The man who Elston had no clue about rushed forward and nodded slowly, "Thank you for saving these two from the slow painful death of the rubble." He raised his rifle and fired two quick shots to both of their heads. The private froze in fear, automatically turning to attention. "Now let's GO private!" The man barked.

Elston couldn't do anything but trudge on through.

 

[Vayna Akhara]

Taia moved up to the corner, keeping out of sight for the present. She explained her plan of action to the other squad leaders. not caring that the Major was apparently sulking at having an NCO come up with a plan of attack that he couldn't manage to think of. She wasn't doing this for personal glory - leave that to the Sith - this was for the Empire!

The other Stormtroopers had set up their positions as she'd directed, a crossfire aimed at the bottleneck leading into the small cavern where the Imperial forces were deploying from where the Rebels were entrenched. With the trap set, all that remained now was to lure the enemy into the killing zone. And that was the tall blonde's task now. She hefted the PLX-4 missile launcher on her right shoulder, and watched the small number of troopers still nearby finish laying the traps that now festooned the floor of the tunnel between the bend and the Imperial positions. Ion grenades hung from the wires, waiting for the Rebel droids to trip them. As the trap-setters finished their tasks, the blonde waved them back to the Imperial fire-line. Then she turned back towards the Rebel stronghold, gripped the missile launcher, and stepped up to the bend, leant round it just enough to see, and fired at the centre of the Rebel droids.

She didn't wait for the detonation, but turned and ran for cover, hearing the thunder of metallic feet start their pursuit of her. She slid into cover behind an undulation in the lava tube's floor, rolled over to face the way she'd come, levelled the launcher, and waited. She didn't have to wait for long.

The wave of enemy droids crashed round the bend in the tunnel and ran into the traps that had been laid for them. Ion grenades burst amongst them, brining many crashing down as the Stormtroopers opened fire. Missiles, repeating blasters, grenades and rifle fire rained down on the droids. Some war-droids halted to return fire, others tried to advance towards the Stormtroopers through the hail of fire that was being directed at them.

They didn't make it.

The droids were brought down before they could each the Imperial lines. Around the corner appeared human figures, Rebels trying to get the droids to break off the attack and return to their starting position. They died along with their droids, cut down in the Imperial crossfire. As the last droids fell and the few surviving Rebels fled back to their defensive positions, Taia climbed to her feet, loaded her launcher's side rack, and jogged forward, as others came forward to join her.

It was time for phase two.

 

[Count Sam]

They said that it was always a good idea to show all your power in an easy win fight to make the harder targets fear you and think twice before deciding to fight against you. It was simply an example that the Empire was established upon ever since the old days of Emperor Palpatine and it was also one of the powerful statements that kept the Empire alive till now or at least that was what Salazar Vanderguff, the High Brigadier of the stromtroopers thought as he was descending on the planet aboard one of the many shuttles that were transporting troops to the surface of the planets.

However those troops were no normal troops....they were the "machine" which was a name that was well known and feared across the galaxy. They were a battalion of stromtroopers who wrecked havoc on every planet they landed on. They were known that wherever the landed they left nothing behind them except death, suffering, and chaos. Of course, the reason why Salazar was appointed to lead those troops on this battle was because he was the same. He was known to be a reasonable guy, but he was cruel when it came to fighting and dealing with the enemy and especially traitors.

The old man was also known among the stromtrooper corps as the viper since he was cunning and always liked to strike suddenly and surprise everyone. After all, it was always the best tactic to attack suddenly and in full force. It always caught the enemy off guard and achieved victory without much trouble.....yet again being a viper also meant to be ready to fight against your own medicine at some times. However, the old Brigadier hoped that nothing unexpected was going to happen today since he wanted to save his energy for the true enemy which was the Alliance.

Of course it was not so long before the "machine" troops got out of their shuttle only to wreck havoc upon the Muuns who were still lucky enough to be resisting and fighting till this point. Of course they were late to the party but it seemed that the rest of the army left some leftovers for them to chew on so that they won't get bored.

"Lieutenant Mark I want you to take the sniper squads and start searching the buildings and any high places around the area...if you find any rebel scum snipers bring them down!!If you don't then take position their and start using your snipers to hunt down rebel scum." He gave his orders through his commlink as Mark simply nodded with a yes sir and moved quickly to do so. After all, when it came to urban fights it was always a good idea to place your snipers aboard high landscapes to kill enemy units.

"Commander Jack it will be your duty to take the heavy squads and start searching for any non Imperial ship that is still functioning and destroy it at once. I don't want any rebel getting off the planet on a ship by accident." He once again gave orders to the commander who was standing next to him and who quickly rushed to do his orders at once.

"All other troops are to support our army and our fellow stormtroopers in venturing through the tunnels now move out!!"He said as he noticed a Muun who was lying on the ground and covered in blood.

He was injured but not dead yet...

Slowly the brigadier walked toward the Muun and putted his feet on the Muun's neck before he took out his blaster and shot the Muun in his skull to finally out an end to that Muun's Miserable life.

Today was going to be a horrible day for the rebels and Salazar was going to make sure of that...

 

[Vayna Akhara]

This part of the operation would take timing and accuracy. The missile-armed troops joining Taia would start firing as soon as her first volley landed. Unlike normal firing, the missiles they were using weren't impact-fused or homing warheads; instead, they'd been set to travel a specific distance before detonating, a distance that, according to the tall blonde's calculations, would cause them to explode directly overhead the Rebel gun line, thus nullifying their cover. All the troopers had to do was aim slightly about ground level, and ensure they got a good spread of shots in order to cause the maximum damage to the enemy forces.

Taia's first salvo, however, would not be directed at the Rebel lines. Utilising the heaviest warhead available for the multi-shot PLX-2M, the high explosive 'bunker buster' warhead, she would be firing at the minefield instead, aiming to set off the mines through the shockwave of the ordnance detonations. She didn't have enough firepower to destroy the whole field; instead, she would take out the mines nearest to the enemy positions. The blasts would not only set off the mines; they would hopefully dazzle the Rebel troops so that they wouldn't see the rest of the Stormtroopers stepping up to fire. Some of the other troopers would also fire at the minefield to clear a way for the attacker. It was a high-risk strategy, but one that could see the Imperial troops through the defensive line and on top of the Rebel troops before they could react.

On the ground next to her, Taia also had the PLX-4 she'd used earlier, loaded with a large-calibre warhead and with four more on the rack on the side of the launcher. This she'd use as soon as she'd fired the launcher already being carried.

Do it.

Swinging round the bend in the tunnel, she hurriedly fired all six warheads into the minefield as rapidly as she could, before ducking back behind cover and releasing the launcher to let it fall to the ground, reaching for the other missile launcher in one smooth movement. Six massive detonations rocked the lava tube, and the other Stormtroopers ducked round the bend and began firing, some into the minefield, the rest through the huge cloud of smoke and falling dust and rocks that obscured vision, even with a Stormtrooper helmet.

Taia dodged back into line of sight of the Rebel positions, raising the launcher to her shoulder. Her targets this time weren't the mines nor the rifle line; this time, she was going after the heavy weapons emplacements on either side of the massive canyon in which the Rebels were entrenched. She couldn't see them, but she didn't have to; she'd made a mental note of where each gun emplacement was, and was firing at where she'd seen them earlier.

Missile after missile speared through the thick pall of smoke and dust that hid the enemy from sight. Blaster fire came back through the obscuring cloud, but aimed wildly, with most of the shots slamming into the ceiling, or walls, or floors. A few stray shots hit troopers and dropped them, but most of the defensive fire was inaccurate and ineffective.

Taia fired her missiles coolly and precisely. Back in the swamps of her homeworld, she'd often been called upon to eliminate enemies she couldn't see, hidden as they were by vegetation or mist, or swimming along underwater. That experience now stood her in good stead, as she was able to blindfire knowing she would still hit the targets. Thunderous explosions rocked the cavern, billowing clouds of dust and rock shards cut off sight, and the screams of the wounded and dying echoed from the shaking cavern walls.

The minefield was all but wiped out. The missiles had been fired into the enemy lines and at the gun emplacements flanking the defensive line. Now it was time for the hard part of the operation. Taia dropped the now-depleted missile launcher, unslung her rifle, and stepped towards the entrance to the Rebel-held cavern.

"For the Emperor!"

Raising her rifle, she charged forward into the dust and smoke.

 

[Kath]

The fight in the streets was still intense. More and more Muuns were swarming Thane's position. Fighting was close as the Muuns began to penetrate his line. They all fell with blaster holes through their bodies and heads. The wounded trooper beside him was still fighting, it was miraculous. He heard the roar of the TIE's overhead and his spirits were lifted. Hearing the call to pop strobes he did so.

Immidiently, he deployed a small strobe blinking green to indicate the friendly position. He ran over to his squadmate, and covered the trooper with his body for the incoming blast. They both needed to get out of here.

 

[Lavi]

With the strobes lighting up friendly positions, Bernogne gave the go-ahead for his flight to open fire. At the turn-around, Bernogne centered his sights on movement a short ways away from the strobes.

"Be advised: strafing run underway," he informed the ground troops.

Despite his past doubts, Bernogne focused on the job: there were Imperials getting shot at, potentially dying. He had a job to do now.

Squeezing the triggers, Bernogne's Interceptor carved lines of blaster holes with all six of the fighter's laser cannons. His wingmates followed suit, causing serious damage to the rebel forces.

"Strafing pass complete. Was fire effective?" he asked the lieutenant on the ground.

 

[Vayna Akhara]

Carnage. There was no other word for it. The Imperial missile attack had caused tremendous death and injury amongst the Rebel forces, wiping out much of their fighting strength, but many Muuns still remained alive, the majority of them civilians. In desperation, they were throwing themselves at the Imperial Stormtroopers, trying to bring them down through weight of numbers, overpower them so that the trooper could be disarmed and killed. There were so many of them rushing the Imperial forces that Taia had thrown away her rifle and now held two vibroblades with which she cut, stabbed and slashed. The front of her formerly white armour was now red with the blood of those she'd killed.

Flamethrowers incinerated screaming women and children, blaster fire cut down soldier and civilian alike, grenades exploded and missiles thundered; it was a scene from Hell. The floor was carpeted with the dead and dying, trampled underfoot in the struggle. Slowly but surely the Imperial troops were pushing the enemy back, step by bloody step.

The tall blonde was right in the heart of the fighting, as she had been since the beginning. Wherever there was a knot of Rebels attempting to make a stand and halt the Imperial advance, she would be there, cutting down the resistance and breaking the enemy's resolve. She was relentless, attacking without pause or thought of her own safety, seemingly tireless and unstoppable. In the face of her onslaught, the Rebels began to lose heart, and their resistance crumble. The Stormtroopers took heart as they saw small pockets of the enemy flee the field of battle, and pushed forward with renewed vigour.

When the end came, it came suddenly. The Rebels, troops and civilians alike, turned and began fleeing, shouldering each other aside in their panic-stricken attempts to escape. The Imperial troops attacked them, shooting, burning and cutting them down from behind without mercy. Men, women, children, all fell beneath the onslaught. The terrified horde became so tightly packed in the exit from the cavern that they were stuck, unable to escape as they were butchered, Only a few score escaped, fleeing up the lava tunnel to where more Imperial forces were infiltrating to meet them.

Objective Alpha-Delta-One had been taken.

------------------------

"Command, this is Major designate HZ-3861-KR; our primary objective, Alpha-Delta-One, has been taken. All Rebels in the area have been eliminated. The battalion has suffered casualties and is regrouping; we will hold our current position in order to prevent any Rebel escapees from bypassing us. Over."

"Understood, HZ-3861-KR. Hold your position and await further orders. Out."

The Major straightened up and looked around. The dead Stormtroopers had been laid to one side, until their bodies could be retrieved for burial. The corpses of the Rebels were piled high simply in order to keep the cavern clear. The injured were being treated by medics. The Major looked round, till his eyes fell on Taia, cleaning her rifle, which she had gone back and retrieved.

"Trooper VA-2771-FF, take a squad and proceed up the tunnel until you make contact with friendly forces, then proceed to investigate every nook and cranny of these blasted tunnels to make sure there are no more Muun traitors hiding anywhere down here. Is that understood?" His tone was sneering and contemptuous, and she could tell he had not yet gotten over her being the one to come up with a plan of attack. As far as she was concerned, however, that was his problem, not hers. She merely did her job.

"Yes sir." She checked her weapon was full, selected a squad at random, and proceeded up the tunnel, as ordered.

 

[Demiurge]

{{Lost of dead bodies later... sorry for the extremely late closing response peeps, kinda forgot about this}}

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His eyes were closed, ignoring the physical ship and darkness around him. All he could hear were the rebreater filtering systems, recycling his oxygen to maintain toxicity levels. A dim light from within his helmet rested upon his scarred face. The silence continued, distorted only by the soft humming of the Star Destroyer's internal systems and engines. By all outward accounts, he had blocked himself off from the galaxy around him. However, beneath the surface, it could not have been further from the truth.

The metal was stripped away, the shields, the armor, the frame and even the people. Now gone was the ship, the fleet, only Muunilinst remained. And while he sat past the skies and stars on a throne within the void of space, his eyes glazed over the surface of the doomed planet. The Force drew his sights away to planet. He saw life, burning and being extinguished as each moment passed. He saw emotions, fears, anxieties, hatred, and malice. The Dark Lord inhaled deeply, taking in the suffering and malediction below as one would take in the purest of airs.

The affliction fed him, strengthened him, gave him all that he needed to live, to survive. For hours surpassing hours, the Dark Lord resonated in the anguish, the death and destruction. This was no longer the reign of Judicar. A new era was being born. A new regime established. His, the Empire of Dark Lord Exodeus. One purged of weakness, fed and nourished by the fear of others, and valuing power above all else.

"Grand General, withdraw your troops, make ready for departure" said the Dark Lord, "Muunilinst is scoured to its core. It was until I sensed the last Muun fall in death that you were to proceed. Return."

"Grand Admiral, alert the fleet, recall the starfighters, and prepare the capital ships and frigates for proper formation for the jump into hyperspace."

The day was coming. He'd reminded the galaxy that day that the Galactic Emprie was being reborn mightier than before. Tensions were rising, war was on the horizon... a war to see the rule of the Sith Lords once again. And the rule would be his alone, his mantle, his monarchy. The events have been set in motion, the stage had been set, and the pieces were in the palm of his hand. Everything had been proceeding as he had foreseen it at the beginning, and at the climax of it all his will would be done. It was undeniable, the destiny of the galaxy.

{{Thread officially concluded}}
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