Skirmish in Jundland

[Darth Tagus]

Darth Tagus straightened up from his position in a crouch as he watched as members of the local resistance cell made their way through the winding route through the mountinous edge of the Jundland wastes.

They were moving from outside of the wastes into the wastes - specifically they were attempting to escape into the wilderness where finding them would be even more difficult than before. They would disappear into the sands of Tatooine to rise up and become a problem for another day and the Empire simply could not tolerate that.

Tagus gestured for both Rowan and Mid to follow him as he moved to where the battalion of Sith troopers and their support vehicles awaited their command. They were all stood upon one of the rises along the side of the valley and right now they were hidden from view.

They had the high ground.

"I propose we saturate the enemy from the high ground with as high a volume of fire as we can practically sustain." he spoke to the other Sith, "Mid - take a company along ahead of their route and block off their advance. Rowan - the same with a company to the way they came."

He nodded to the remainder of the battalion.

"Once they are pinned down under fire, take that as your cue to move in and crush them from both sides. I don't care if the rank and file of the enemy die but capture the officers alive if possible. I shall be attacking down the slope once you have engaged but may arrive after you have made your captures." he noted, "Objections? If not then move. Signal me via coms when you are in position."

He nodded once.

"For the Empire, gentlemen."

@Insalius @KinkyPrawn

 

[Mid Samekh]

Mid was crouched down next to Darth Tagus alongside the crusader Rowan. His eyes were glued to the rebels marching through the desert. They thought that they could slip by without anyone noticing, slip by along with their little heathen Jedi friends...they were about to learn that they were sadly mistaken.

Lord Tagus commanded him to take a company of troops along the path and block off the rebel advance. Music to the Pureblood's ears. Only condition was that the commanding officers needed to be kept alive. It certainly took some fun out of the fight for the Sith but orders were orders.

"It will be done my lord." he said, slipping on his helmet and hood, and started walking to the soldiers behind them. When Lord Tagus gave them a final greeting he turned around. "May the force be with us all...let's give the Emperor some good news to wake up to." he said proudly to his fellow sith.

He reached the group of soldiers, but kept walking. "First company, fall in! Double time it!" he barked at the soldiers and the fell in closely behind them as Mid made his way further down the path.

In no time at all Mid, along with a quarter of his troops were on the ground, hidden from view and seemingly non-existent. The rest of his troops were split in half and positioned along both sides of the canyon, hidden as well and ready to rain hellfire down on the rebel mongrels.

"All units are in position my lord, awaiting your command." Mid spoke quietly into his commlink, pulling his lightsabre from his back but keeping it collapsed. His pistols were also loaded and ready to fire if range was going to be an issue.

@Insalius @Nefieslab

 

[Rowan Harlow]

It wasn't too long after the meeting with Darth Victress, nor the one he had done with Darth Tagus just afterwards, that he found himself here. He stood at attention as the plan was explained, looking over the map of the terrain as he mentally went over his equipment. His lightsaber up one sleeve, a throwing vibroknife up the other, his blaster and grenades hidden on his person. He might not have worn a standard uniform or even the dark garb of most in the Empire, his white suit and cane definitely marking him as some kind of nobility, yet he held himself with the ease of a trained soldier, his eyes and voice carrying authority. Perhaps that was why when he was given his men they had no qualms following his orders. Perhaps they could sense that he was one of them, at his heart.

"Your will be done, my lord. I'll make sure their retreat is effectively cut off. Happy hunting, everyone." With a respectful bow he went to his men, quickly finding the officers and making sure everyone were split into the groups he would need for his plan. As this was the force that the fleeing enemy knew to be there, as they were chasing them, there was no need for overt stealth. In fact, he WANTED them to make what noise they could without being too obvious about it. This would keep their focus on their rear, instead of forward where his companion's company of soldiers would be lying in wait to attack. Also, as his men took their positions on the ridges as the enemy would expect, his specialists and sappers would be laying some mines and other explosives in the area below, as stealthily as they could and covered by the obvious riflemen above, so that if the rebels turned tail they would have quite the surprise waiting for them. Lastly, among all of his solderis, Rowan made sure that any officer or obvious commander was to be taken alive or reported to the Acolyte to handle personally. There was a commendation in it for orders followed to the letter, the Alderaanian one to reward good work while punishing mistakes in the same severity as the misstep itself. The mines set, his men in place, Rowan waited for the main event to begin, his blaster drawn and ready to fire. "The rear vanguard is in place and prepared, sir. Ready to engage as ordered." The noble spoke into his own commlink, a smile on his face. It would be good to shed some blood again.

@Nefieslab @KinkyPrawn

 

[Darth Tagus]

The front and the rear were in position and it was time to spring the trap.

Already some of the enemy were aware of Rowan's position and they were either increasing their speed towards Mid's forces or they were preparing to perform a rearguard action against an advance by Rowan. But unfortunately for them, neither was actually their biggest threat right now.

"Engage from both ends - push in."

With that order given, Tagus ignited his blade and raised it high above his head in his right hand.

"OPEN FIRE."

His men opened fire, blaster fire rained down on the enemy from their flank, completely blindsiding them. Many of the enemy fell to the blasters of his men as they poured it on. Many more began to rush either at the forces of Rowan or Mid in a desperate bid to escape the crossfire that had been set up.

It was glorious slaughter and Tagus drew strength from their fear and their deaths.

@Insalius @KinkyPrawn

 

[Mid Samekh]

Mid watched as the enemy troops drew closer, waiting patiently for the order to strike. He didn't have to wait long, as Lord Tagus stood from his cover and gave the word to open fire. Mid walked out of his cover as if he was taking a relaxing stroll, taking the approaching rebels completely by surprise. They opened fire, but their rounds were all deflected as Mid spun his collapsed polearm around in front of him, its dual red blades creating a wall of plasma in front of the Pureblood.

As he slowly advanced forward he chimed in over the comm. "All units, open fire. Remember, take the officers alive!" he yelled into the device. Funnily enough, his first target was in fact a rebel officer. He pulled a pistol on the Pureblood, but Mid sliced the weapon in half before slicing his arm off and knocking the officer down with a punch to the face. Another rebel took aim at the sith, but before he could shoot, a bolt hit him in the chest as the troopers on top opened fire and the troopers at the bottom emerged out of hiding as well and charged forth.

It wasn't even a battle. It was a massacre. The rebels were taken completely by surprise and with the Sith having them outnumbered, outmanned and outgunned, chances of them emerging victorious were next to nothing. Mid kept slicing, dicing and cutting through the rebel soldiers, making sure to either knock the officers out or incapacitate them in more bloody means. Though no matter the means, he was making sure to follow the Sith Lord's orders to the letter...albeit with a bit of a stretch.


@Insalius @Nefieslab

 

[Rowan Harlow]

When the main force attacked from the middle, the rebels responded just as predicted. Rowan's orders had his men fire upon those fleeing back from whence they came, though focusing more on the ones trying to get to the higher ground. He let them flow towards his trap while he observed who among them seemed to be giving the orders the most capably. It was good to see that officer towards the back, rather the mid of the group in his case, which meant he wouldn't be caught in the trap as easily. Now to just wait for the fireworks to begin, to truly throw his attention off of the well-dressed man sticking out from all the Imperial soldiers, all while Rowan was gathering the Force with his newly grown powers.

As the first mine was detonated it started a chain reaction, taking out the other explosives and the rebels near them. It was a massacre, the rebel Commander watching as the men he was trying to save turned into so many pieces before him. That was when Rowan pulled the man to him in the Force, such a quick jerk throwing him off. As he was about to land in front of the Acolyte Rowan dashed forward, his pistol reversed to give the man a hard strike to the temple. It knocked him out cold, yet wasn't nearly fatal at all. Now he just had to wait for the rest of the rebels to be slain, the destruction creating even rougher terrain for them to crawl over as his soldiers picked off the stragglers. It was turning out to be a very good day.

@Nefieslab @KinkyPrawn

 

[Darth Tagus]

Looked like the pincers were engaged and, unless he was mistaken, at least one officer had already been captured by Rowan. The mission objectives were to capture officers, plural, but Tagus was confident that at least some of the enemy would survive what he was about to do.

"Cover me." he told his own forces as he touched his comlink to speak to the other Sith, "Prepare to charge and capture the remaining surviving officers, AFTER hammer down. You'll know the signal."

Reaching out with the Force, Tagus took hold of the earth that hung over the heads of the enemy forces. It was the cliffside on the opposite side of the canyon and probably something they didn't think they needed to worry about. Normally this would be true as someone would need heavy explosives to move such a mass of solid rock in a timely enough manner to accomplish anything.

Unless you were a Sith Lord of some power.

Using the Force, he grasped the rock of the cliffside in his powerful grip and began to seed his power within the rock before grunting as he gave it an almighty pull, collapsing tonnes of rock from the cliff atop the enemy forces. Many were crushed outright and some were buried alive.

He let out a breath.

"Bring any officer survivors to me."

@Insalius @KinkyPrawn

 

[Mid Samekh]

Mid was tearing through the enemy troops, blood drunk and almost completely lost in the thrill of the fight. Anybody that wasn't an officer he tore apart with his massive lightsabre. Any officers were either incapacitated or knocked out and found themselves in a small pile close to his troops. So far he managed to capture a lieutenant, 2 sergeants and a very terrified corporal too scared to move. Mid didn't even need to do anything to him to capture him, simply standing in front of the young man was enough to make him freeze up.

He barely heard Lord Tagus' order through the explosions, blaster fire and cries of desperate soldiers. When he saw the rocks above him crack his face sunk somewhat. "Oh kriff, oh kriff, oh kriff!" he shouted as he bolted back to his troops as the rocks came down around him and crushed the enemy units. When the dust settled and all that could be heard was groans and rocks colliding, he marched forward, motioning for his unit to follow. He sent a few men to take his captured officers back up to the Sith Lord, while the rest would help to kill off survivors and capture any remaining officers. "Truly an amazing display of power my lord, I'm quite jealous. My part of the company and I will sift through the rubble for any surviving officers. Rowan, brother, if Lord Tagus doesn't have other orders for you I can use a hand in moving these rocks." he spoke seriously, yet proudly into the open comms for them both to hear as he moved through the rubble.


@Nefieslab @Insalius

 

[Rowan Harlow]

As he had positioned his men correctly, Rowan's forces were able to easily avoid the rockslide without worry of friendly fire. Quite a few of the surviving rebels had been caught in the debris, though, and that made capture and kill all that easier. Another few officers were found, which Rowan had them and the one he'd taken sent off to Darth Tagus. "The prisoners are being sent straight to you, my Lord. And yes, Brother, I'll be there in just a moment. My men will keep searching for officers and executing the rest." He had no need to upstage his fellow Sith, he was here to do his duty, not play petty games. When he arrived he helped the other Sith with finding any surviving officers to send on their way to certain torture and interrogation. It was becoming quite the good day indeed.

@KinkyPrawn @Nefieslab

 

[Darth Tagus]

Darth Tagus stood and watched as his allies sorted everything out that they could before it was over. They had managed to find three officers in total and Tagus had them lined up on their knees as the rest of the troopers began to pick over the battlefield, firing a blaster bolt into the heart of every corpse.

Just in case.

Already there were screams from the wounded as they were killed by the troopers. Looking down at the assembled officers, Tagus nodded to himself.

"Well done gentlemen." he congratulated Rowan and Mid, "Our mission is to let survivors spread fear from what we have done here today. But only one is really needed."

Reaching out, Tagus placed a hand on the heads of two of the captured officers while looking the third right in the eyes. He began to pump the other two full of Sith Lightning, frying their brains and melting their eyes as he continued to stare the officer down. At some point the officer relieved himself in fright and Tagus knew he had done enough.

He arranged for a couple of troopers to drag the broken officer away and give him the supplies to make it back to town to confirm the fears of the locals.

"We're done here, gentlemen, so let's get out of the suns."

/End Thread
@Insalius @KinkyPrawn