Uprising in Hutta - Retaking an Imperial Shipyard

[Aerak Medus]

Pirates and smugglers now reign in Hutt Space. Their ships travel in small squadrons across Imperial Hutta, raiding Imperial installments and fleets, who have no warning they are coming due to the HoloNet outage. Take control of a small Imperial taskforce and destroy these ambushers, or take the fight to the criminals yourself with your own ship! Whichever you choose, do your part to destroy the Empire's enemies!

MISSION REPORT - OPERATION DARKENED SKIES:
The pirate attacks were already an unncessary nuissance to this delicate situation. With the HoloNet down, the Pykes in rebellion and various factions moving in to make opportune use of the chaos, the Imperial Republica is stretched thin.

However, now we are faced with a more troubling situation. One of the pirate gangs, the Raid Raptors, have caused serious damage to one of our fleets. Dozens of our finest soldiers have fallen, due to these cowardly attacks . Worse still, they appear to have obtained several Imperial strike craft, causing further confusion whenever they launch an attack. The only solace is that we were able to identifiy two of the craft. Imperial Intelligence was able to ascertain that these craft belonged to one of our Imperial Shipyards on Nar Shaddaa, and provided us with the coordinates.

A scout team was dispatched to the area to examine the situation. We received a report from them on short range communications just a few hours ago, revealing that the base was indeed under the control of the Raid Raptors. Since then, we've heard nothing. If they've been discovered, then it is only a matter of time until the Raid Raptors flee the base, taking our stolen ships with them. If they do, who knows how long it will take to track them down again?

Therefore, a small strike team is to be deployed immediatley. They are to infilitrate the shipyard, subdue the pirate forces present and recall the Raid Raptor fighters currently in the air back to the shipyard, where they will be appropriatley disposed of.

Nar Shaddaa - A short distance from the shipyard
​

Aerak threw on his hood. It was raining again.

Normally, something to be appreciated, especially on a stealth op. The darkness and the pouring skies, coupled with their dark armor, were a perfect combination to infiltrate the shipyard. For Aerak however, who'd been stuck on Nar Shaddaa since the rebellion began, the rain was beginning to irk him.

Behind him, a pair of soldiers marched through the mud. Raindrops pinged gently off their armour, as they struggled to keep pace with the two Sith. In front of him, Wes Thul-Drast led them towards the destination. Aerak growled quietly. It was one thing to be placed under someone else's command, but to be placed under a Drast? His thoughts turned to Korriban, and he clenched his fist.

He pushed his anger aside for later, sighing. No point wasting it on this elitist scum. There would be plenty of opportune catharsis when they engaged the pira he pulled up alongside the human. "How much further to the shipyard?"

 

[Wes Thul Drast]

.

For an Imperial agent, the Smuggler's Moon was a dangerous place to hang out. It was perilous to anyone, but being associated with law enforcement on a world full of criminals was the equivalent to having a bounty put on your head in any other civilized sector. Therefore, Wes had done his best to avoid the Moon, not that the Empire cared much about the "planet." It had remained lawless throughout its long and lovely history, and it would likely remain that way for the rest of time. Laws just didn't seem to stick to it; they just slid off. Maybe it was cause of the slime. Nar Shaddaa was a pretty slimy planet, in more ways than one.

And that was showing now, with a black out in the entire sector and chaos on the streets. Wes hadn't been sure what was happening until he arrived, after which it became obvious; someone had intentionally knocked out the HoloNet so that the criminals could finally rise up and take over the Hutta. And they were doing it very peacefully now.

A grenade bounced off the window of the Drast's shuttle as it got within range, although the projectile blew up somewhere on a far lower level. The pilot was nervous; Wes could tell just by the waves he sent out unconsciously through the Force. He landed the small ship--disguised as a trading vessel--somewhere in a large alley.

A half hour later, he was walking through the soft rain, strike team behind him. There was another Sith along, although Wes had been assigned to be the "leader" due to his experience--the one that involved being born to a Drast. It had its perks.

He was thinking of Korriban as well as they walked, although he wasn't angry. He was irritated and somewhat disappointed, but he wasn't angry. He had some strong opinions on the two factions brewing within him, but that was for later. What mattered now was not getting killed by pirates.

"Couple hundred feet," he replied into the comms (short-range, of course) to avoid yelling. He wasn't that dumb.

He wasn't wearing a very fancy armor like the other members on the strike team, since he didn't need one. He had the Force, his lightsaber, and a cloak over his leather garments, which was really all a decent Sith needed. How much of a fight could a gang of pirates put up?

There were a few scouts posted outside the shipyard, but one of the Imperial soldiers behind Wes took them out, silenced weapon making a small pew each time it fired. Wes lifted his left arm and motioned forward, and the group began sprinting, each of them looking to take cover somewhere near the shipyard.

@Xannytoes

 

[Aerak Medus]

Aerak grumbled as Wes replied to him over the comms. He got the hint. Still, there was no more time to bring up old wounds now. They were here.

The shipyard itself wasn't much at a first glance. A mettalic structure covered in muck and rust, with a simple gate leading inside. Yet anyone who had the security clearence knew otherwise. Some of the finest Imperial strikecraft lurked here, ready to quickly respond to any situation across Nar Shaddaa. Fast-flying and thrumming with firepower, these ships had held dozens of pirate kills to their name. Now, of course, they also held plenty of Imperial kills. How the pirates had discovered the facility, let alone overpowered the ace pilots within, was a matter to deal with later. For now, they had to take it back.

As one of the accompanying troopers silenced the few scouts surrounding the facility, a ship screamed over head. Flying low, almost low enough to decapitate the strike team. Aerak followed it as it ascended into the dark skies. He glared. The pirates were heading out for another attack. As if to confirm his suspicion, the groan of starfighters joined the bomber. Less pirates to deal with at the base, but more dead Imperials unless they hurried.

The group sprinted towards the shipyard. Aerak took his place in a small bomb crater, alongside one of the troopers. He glanced over the ridge of the crater, towards the gateway. Two pirates stood outside, laughing amongst themselves and smoking. He nodded to the trooper beside him, who took one in sight and pulled the trigger. Before the pirate could even drop, his companion was violently tugged through the air as if on puppet strings. Half a scream came from his lips, barely heard, before Aerak caught the pirate by his throat.

A swift, brutal squeeze quietened him for good.

"Don't suppose we're going through the gateway?" Aerak asked Wes over comms, "Easy entrance, but there'll be a lot more pirates to go through. Do you see any other way in?"

@Wes Thul Drast

 

[Wes Thul Drast]

.

A ship whizzed by above them, providing a brief shelter from the rain, and then took off into the atmosphere. It had Imperial decals and was quite clearly an Imperial ship, but its pilot most likely wasn't. Wes felt a bit disappointed over the fact that he couldn't just pluck it out of the sky, but he knew there were other ways of getting satisfaction. Like the shipyard in front of him.

Two guards already dispatched at the entrance and another two taken out from the rooftops. He reached out through the Force and felt a decent amount of life forms within, more than 10, although there couldn't have been more than 15. They got blurrier the farther away they were, so he just chalked it up to an estimate.

"Shipyards usually have employee and emergency exits all over the sides back of the building; let me check," he replied, making his way toward the the right wall of the building. "I see one on the East wall." Wes ducked behind metal crates and avoided puddles to minimize noise. His lack of armor made him more agile, which definitely helped. The soldiers behind him were having more difficulty, but they should manage. They were part of this strike force for a reason.

Inside the shipyard, two of the pirates spotted a floating silhouette at the main gate, and were on their way to inspect. It was only a matter of time before they noticed the corpses and sounded the alarm. "Pick up the pace," Wes hissed into the comms. "They're going to find the bodies." He broke into a cautious sprint and reached the door first, taking a spot to its right. As the soldiers arrived, they would line up against the wall and one would break down the door.

@Xannytoes

Dice for this post​

 

[Aerak Medus]

Nodding to himself, Aerak quickly pulled the second body away to his own position, taking care to keep it low to the ground. That would give them a few more minutes, before they realized their comrades hadn't gone off for a smoke break. He moved as swiftly as a man of his stature could, rushing to join Wes on the East side. Taking his place opposite to Wes, he nodded to one of the soldiers. One stuck a breaching charge on the door, before moving off to the side.

BANG! The door was blasted inward, almost decapitating a pirate soldier, who proceeded to take a blaster bolt to the arm. He fell behind a pair of crates. One other pirate, somewhat drunk, made his way behind a section of wall. Aerak barged into the room, his lightsaber flashing. He sliced downward towards the crates, shreding the pirate behind them, only to take a blaster bolt to the shoulder. He grimaced, falling to one knee, before deflecting the next two shots and signalling for Wes and the soldiers to rush in.

Dice for this post

 

[Wes Thul Drast]

.

The door breached with a surprisingly spectacular explosion that also left one of the pirates incapacitated. He was then filled with plasma before he could even flinch. Wes stepped through after the soldiers had charged in and began spanning out across the room. He could hear blasters going off, but they slowly quieted; pirates had been surprised, and the Imperial troops merely shot them down without wasting much ammo. Barely any resistance was put up after the initial battle, which had left his companion slightly injured. Soon, the hangar was silent.

Wes walked straight to the console room, finding its door open and the chair overturned. It was likely the occupant had gotten up in a hurry and left it like that. His corpse was probably out somewhere in the shipyard. Wes paid the chair no mind and pushed a stick into the console, letting another slicer hack in remotely. He just sat back and waited.

"All clear?" he asked through the comms. He'd seen his companion fighting pirates earlier, and doing a good job, so he hadn't paid the man much attention.

@Xannytoes

Dice for this post​

 

[Aerak Medus]

Aerak soon joined his companion, one of his arms somewhat limp at his side. He'd had worse, but the burning was never a pleasant experience. The sounds of blaster bolts rang out throughout the facility for a few moments more, before falling to silence, only broken by the odd laser. The ambush had been a near perfect success. Now all that remained was to recall the airborne pirates. Aerak hoped the pirates hadn't managed to get a signal off to their comrades.

As it happened, they didn't even need to come up with a convincing lie. The squadron leader acknowledged the recall order, and soon eleven of the twelve pirate ships were returning home. The last one must have been sleeping in the cockpit. With the pirates en route, Aerak motioned for the troops to follow him. They set up in the lower hanger, positioning themselves behind crates and awaiting the arrival of the pirates.

Soon, the air rumbled once more. The craft poured into the hangar, each proceeding to their designated spot. Unfortunately, orders had clearly gotten mixed up. The plan had been to wait until the pirates left their craft before shooting. Instead, a couple of the rookie troopers accompanying them had decided to shoot whilst the pirates were still in their cockpits. Their blaster fire downed a single pirate, whose craft promtply catapaulted into the ground and slammed dangerously close to a munitions pile. But now, the element of surprise was gone.

Many of the pirates quickly lept from their vehicles, more alert than their deceased comrades. They took positions across the hangar, diving to cover and quickly returning fire at the Imperials. One of their foes decided on a different strategy, employing an anti-infantry cannon from the bottom of his ship. Blaster shots tore through the air, destroying cover and vaporizing a soldier too slow to move.

Teeth clenched, Aerak moved to join his companions in the hangar bay. Leaping across the vast distance between the soldiers and pirates, he crashed down atop a pirate soldier on the rightmost side. A second was felled by his saber. Assuming a defensive stance, Aerak waited for Wes to move in. As loathe as he was to admit it, he was going to need his Drast ally to help remedy the situation.

 

[Aerak Medus]

OoC: Dice for above post.

@vamp

 

[Wes Thul Drast]

.

Apparently, things were going too well. Wes watched as the order was given to recall the ships and they slowly began pouring in to the hangar. He pulled the stick out and stomped on it, then unholstered his lightsaber to go help out during the attack, when he heard a blaster go off. A few of the agents were out of position, shooting at the pirates before everyone was out of the ship. Through a stroke of luck, they downed a grand total of one pirate, ruining their chance of springing a trap and wiping out the criminals once and for all.

An anti-infantry cannon kicked in as Wes made his way out of the control room, doing his best to stick to shadows and behind ships. He took a pirate out from behind with his bare hands, strangling the man and leaving his body hidden. Then, he ignited his lightsaber and dived into a group of 3, cutting them down while they were reloading. Most of the pirates had either died or taken cover, but the battle was not slowing.

Wes nodded to Aerak and moved to secure the rest of the shipyard, reaching out through the Force for the signatures of any other organisms. There were 3 pirates left, hiding out. "Take them out before they can call in reinforcements," he ordered, then looked at the rookies that had ruined the trap. "And try not to blow anything up."

@Xannytoes

Dice for this post​

 

[Aerak Medus]

Nodding to Wes' command, Aerak gave the pirates one last goodbye by throwing his saber through the anti-infantry cannon. It collapsed to the ground, exploding. He called his lightsaber back with a flick of his hand, before delving deeper into the shipyard. Through a tight corridor of steel beams and wires, Aerak spotted the three remaining pirates attempting to push open an emergency exit. The first was snatched viloently away, catapaulted backwards and through Aerak's outstretched saber.

The two survivors forgot the door, instead turning their weapons to Aerak. They blasted him with just about every bolt of energy they had in their weapons, aiming to fell the Sith Acolyte. Aerak blocked most of them, but the tight corridor gave little room for maneuvre. Their final shot caught him in the side. He grimaced, the sizzling flesh ripping into him. But he gritted his teeth and cleared the distance between his opponents.

His vengeance was swift, but painful.

"All done here," Aerak told Wes over the comms, "how are things on your end?"

Dice rolls.

@vamp

 

[Wes Thul Drast]

.

Wes cringed inwardly as the cannon exploded. He knew it was necessary, but he couldn't help but feel a bit irked by the destruction of property. It didn't really matter and was easily justifiable to the higher-ups, but that cannon had most likely been pretty useful.

He looked around the shipyard--both physically and through the Force--and then replied to Aerak. "All clear. Looks like our job here is done." His voice echoed in the hangar, the only sound besides the light pattering of rain outside. A few lights flickered faintly above. The agents looked to him for orders, and Wes took on his role as leader. "You all stay here until another group arrives to re-assume control."

He walked toward Aerak, who seemed to be sporting several gun shot wounds. "I hope hospitals function as usual during a revolution." Then again, hospitals on Nar Shaddaa never really functioned.

@Xannytoes

FIN.​