Uprising on Hutta! - Going Out The Turnpyke

[Doz Noth]

Oba Diah, Outer Rim Territories​

DC​

Doz Noth had never been part of such a concentrated strike of force but she was certain there would never be a better time than to exert the full might of the Empire than now. All the Galaxy had borne witness to the events of the Kaggath, the news reports concerning the crumbling Republica, and The Emperor’s call for unification. The offensive against the homeworld of the traitorous Pykes would definitely make others seeking to follow suit think twice about following suit. During such tumultuous times the Empire was still strong enough to punish those foolish enough to sew chaos in the Galaxy.

Numerous strike squads such as the one she was in had been deployed and the mission couldn’t have been simpler. Teach the Pyke to regret the error of their ways. While other squads would be hitting high profile targets such as the Pyke Palace and space ports, her team would was tasked with destabilizing their finances, namely the distribution of spice throughout the Galaxy.

Seated within her Crux Fighter at the staging center above Korriban she cued the comm link between herself and the others of her attack team. ”Transmitting coordinates for rendezvous point over Oba Diah. Let’s make sure that not one piece of this fortress is left standing. Keep in mind they will not be defenseless, so expect concentrated aerial combat. Above all, do not be lured into chasing fighter pilots through the rock pinnacles about the fortress but focus our efforts upon turning that site to rubble. Commencing jump to hyperspace.”

Mentally she counted down from three and then initiated the jump. When at last she returned to real space she was over the Oba Diah, the sensor readings announcing each member of her team arriving one after the other. She flicked the comm open once more and said, ”Last one through the atmosphere buys the first round.” Angling down toward the planet she set course for the fortress intending to rain death upon the traitors.

@Taz

 

[Harren Skaalvarg]

Harren was not the best pilot the Sith Academy of Korriban had ever produced. In his defence the first time he'd gotten into a cockpit that had power running through it was at the beginning of his Sith training, whereas many other acolytes had been given extensive training prior by rich parents or other benefactors. Consequently his flying style could best be described as "adequate".

He was however looking forward to his first real dogfight, despite knowing full well the limit of his capabilities. He had a good squad with him and Doz Noth, the Zabrak giving orders over the comms, seemed experienced enough in a fighter. Harren was not arrogant enough to assume that questioning her authority was a good idea... At least until they touched down later on in the Hutta campaign and the fighting began in earnest. At that point? He already knew he'd be doing things his own way.

Harren flicked the comms open to respond, then shut them again as his squadmates began jumping. Cursing thickly under his breath in old deucalian, he input the coordinates himself. With a whine, his own Crux class Fighter catapulted itself into hyperspace. He sat back, relishing the chance to be in the starfighter without being directly responsible for his own survival - If something went wrong now everything would be over so quickly his brain wouldn't even register he was in pain or dead before his atoms were scattered across three star systems.

Or at least, that was what the flight instructor had told him. Harren hadn't listened a whole lot at the Academy, and now he was wishing he had.

Reemerging over Obah Diah, the squad hung there for a second before peeling off towards the surface. Gunning his engines Harren took position on Doz's right wing, content to play wing man to a more experienced pilot. He kept his eyes fixed on the surface, watching carefully for the telltale signs of enemy flak fire or worse, interceptors. The force was a tool Harren relied on instinctively when piloting, but he was under no illusions that it probably wouldn't be enough to give him the dge over a squadron of experienced fighters on their home turf. He gritted his teeth as they began entry into the atmosphere, considering his options... He was quietly considering whether it'd be better to get shot down early - at least then he could take the fight to the Pykes on his own terms.

Assuming he survived the fiery crash. Which he probably wouldn't. Harren clenched the controls tighter.

"On your right, Noth. I'll follow you in. Please... Nothing too fancy."

 

[Vian Windrider]

Vian had been called back to Old Empire controlled space from Teth to join in with another attack group. By now he had logged more hyperspace jumps then he thought possible of a Sith of his rank. The attacks on Sith space, the Kaggath, and now the revelation of the Jedi once more roaming the galaxy unchecked. It was the perfect storm. One that the young half breed was eager to navigate.

Vian join the wing for Sith starfighters with his own Crux fighter. His original plan was to upgrade the ship once things were calm but not after spending so much time in the tiny ship, he was thinking differently. "Hmm perhaps a scout ship, something with some bite to it." he thought longingly to himself before calling in on the shared comlink.

"Focus on it's defenses first to limit the damage and casualty to our ships and forces. Then hit the targets of opportunity. This should be simple and by the numbers. We are not fighting trained military, they are slavers a spice smugglers."

 

[Doz Noth]

They were almost upon their position keeping to a nice formation and she felt confident about their ability to take out this spice distribution center. She understood Harren’s reticence about his flying though recalling her own first mission. Being a fighter pilot had not actually been her focus in the Academy but unfortunately the only way to get comfortable with it was to do it. Fortunately acolyte Windrider piped up sharing his expertise with them both.

”That’s sound advice. I would also suggest staying above the elevation of those obsidian spires to lessen the chance of being blindsided by any defending aircraft. Avoid getting drawn into that maze of rock pinnacles if it can be helped.” Monitoring her sensor readings the compound of the Pyke appeared as a rectangle on her screen before she had a visual on the target.

Once they came upon the site she could see the compound perched upon the massive mesa of glistening obsidian. A mist seemed to cling to the rocks partially obscuring the canyons that were formed between the massive heights upon which the Pyke typically made their habitations. That only served to increase her aversion for attempting to fly within their misty depths.

She was rather disappointed that the place only had two gun towers . Still, it had a sizable space dock and large warehouse structures, no doubt filled with spice. She called out her target over the shared comm, ”Alright then. There she is. Going after the left gunner’s tower.” Increasing her speed to about 45 MGLT she set up for her run, powering up her weapons array. Soon enough her targeting system was working to lock on to the tower and the instant that it did, she depressed the pad on her control to fire a volley of three blasts from her laser. Even before her attack struck true she could see the gun turrets swiveling round to target their squadron but it was too late, the gunner’s nest exploding before it could target them and launch a missile.

She turned the Crux fighter after blowing past the facility intending to line herself up for the next run in an arc that would see her flying left and back around so as not to cross the path of any potential fire from her partner’s crafts. It was as she was making this arc that she felt her ship lurch to the portside and the reason nearly made her wet herself. ”Where the kark did they get a Goliath?”, her panicked voice was transmitted over the comm link upon seeing the droid clinging to her wing. It had been lying in wait upon the stone spires hidden in the rising mists. Were there more? Drawing heavily upon the force she would have to try and get rid of it before it could punch a hole in her cockpit or blast her to the underworld and back. Just a bunch of pirates indeed!

@Denzein @Taz

 

[Harren Skaalvarg]

One turret's gunner nest went up in a roiling fireball as Harren kept to Doz's wing, incandescent laser fire cutting the operator down before he so much as loosed a Volley from the powerful cannons. It was a good hit by Doz and as she swung left past the base he peeled away from her wing, heading the opposite direction and intending to come about for a strafing run from the opposite angle.

He didn't see the Goliath either at first, focused as he was on lining up a decent shot at the second Tower. When Doz's panicked voice came over the comms he ignored it for a second as his target came into line and the computer flashed green. With a snarl he jammed his thumbs into the firing studs of his controls...

But this operator was faster off the mark than the first. His turret had tracked Harren's trajectory as he brought himself round for his strafing run, and opened fire as the Crux class starfighter screamed towards the tower.

Bright green laser spat at him and he flinched, pulling out of the run before one of the deadly bolts found its mark. The few shots he did get off were scattered and unfocused, damaging the turret's main structure but leaving it intact and operational.

Cursing again in deucalian, Harren catapulted past the base once again. Looking around as he did, his mind turned to the Goliath droid Doz had mentioned. He couldn't see it from this angle and so began bringing himself around again, silently hoping the turret had changed targets and wasn't still tracking him.

If it was? He'd need the force to be with him.

"Don't think about where its from kill the beast before it kills us! I will hit that damned tower, kill the droid And watch for more!"

 

[Vian Windrider]

Vian was in a defensive holding pattern as the others took their attacks. Like the Deucalian, the Sith was more at home on the ground then in the sky. But Vian understood the need to control and Master the skies and space in order to dominate the enemy. In the time the force would assist in such control but for now. For now he needed to try no to become a pile of ash.

Doz took out the tower with little effort, scoring a hit that left the tower in ruble. The half breed Sith was taken aback when she nearly shrieked out her warning of the attack droid. 'How the kark did Pykes get Imperial tech ?' he thought to himself but assumed the answer well enough. Elix. The prince of fools. Allowed his Empire to be sold or stolen from under him. No matter, Vian would fix the issue.

Vian enter the field from high above, scanning for the droid and finding his target. It was a droid worthy of it's name as Vian got closer. The massive walking tank was holding it's own against a squadron of fighters. Vian's target screen locked and he pulled the trigger on his flight stick.

It was as if the force itself was guiding the droid. The beams of plasma narrowly missing their mark as the Goliath turned to fire on the Sith's Crux. Vian pulled up in time to miss getting hit by direct fire and took a blast to the belly of his ship, causing alarms to scream. Weapon damaged, the screen flashed in red. Kark, he damaged the missiles.

Anger grew within Vian and he called the dark side to rise within him. He would not see him or any other Sith bested by a karking datapad with a blaster rifle. Vian few up, flipped his starfighter and went for the attack once more.

"Continue your assault, I will deal with the droid." he replied to his allies behing gritted teeth.

 

[Doz Noth]

Despite freaking clear the fark out, Doz used the adrenaline rush to its fullest advantage immediately setting the Crux into a rolling maneuver. She had to get it off her wing quick without crashing into something or getting hit by the laser fire coming from the remaining tower. The abrupt motion let gravity do the bulk of the work, the Goliath spinning out and away from her craft like a child’s whirly-gig before finally losing its grasp upon her ship to fall to the ground. She just barely caught sight of it rising to its feet and spinning round as though the incident hadn’t caused it a bit of distress.

There was no justice in the skies today, it seemed. The resolution of its fate would have to wait for she lost sight of it, her greater concern being pulling her ship round in a wide arc before punching the thrusters forward and shooting out of its range. At last she responded, ”Copy that, gentlemen! Targeting main facility.” her hand moved forward to switch to her missile launcher certain that Vian would take out the Goliath and Harren the last gunner’s nest in the remaining tower.

Depressing the trigger her missile was launched striking true and ripped the base of the structure wide open. And then her engine cut out, she was gonna have to land and land quick. Without power the controls were basically on manual and it took all the strength she possessed to pull the nose of her ship around angled for the landing dock below. Even as he craft touched down she was popping the hatch and releasing her safety harness. She was coming in hard and fast and as she climbed out on the cockpit the wind nearly blew her free. Instinctively she let go and let the force blow her clear of the craft as it skidded sideways to crash into a freighter being loaded with spice.

Immediately she drew upon the force, wrapping the weaves of dark energy about her, in order to envelope herself in a force push away from the land that was steadily rushing up to meet her falling form. Even as her ship and the freighter exploded, she touched down rolling across the ground and rising to her feet with light saber in hand. Grinning she cued her comm link and said, ”I have successfully landed. And commencing ground attack.” No doubt to the Pyke on the docks she looked like a vision rising from the very bowels of damnation, her already golden hued eyes filled with the dark side taint did nothing to disabuse them of the notion.

@Denzein @Taz

 

[Harren Skaalvarg]

The turret didn't change target. Harren brought his fighter around through a hail of bright green blaster bolts, and all seemed well - for a matter of moments. As he was lining up for his second attack run the front of his starfighter was raked with defensive firepower, and given the lack of deflector shields whatever systems that fire hit took the full brunt of the attack.

Mercifully nothing major was destroyed. His cockpit display began flashing amber angrily, and the lights representing his blasters went from a healthy green to a dead black, and he could feel his speed slowly dying. A brief fire flared up infront of the cockpit itself, but the speed at which Harren was moving extinguished it again almost immediately.

Roaring as if physically wounded, Harren flung his craft at the tower with everything it had left. Switching to his rockets and firing almost at point blank range, he noted the satisfying thump of a missile hitting home as he sped past a second time. Bringing the ship about to see the damage for himself, his shout died on his lips.

The tower still stood. A chunk of masonry had been obliterated by the missile, pelting those below with rock and shrapnel, but somehow it was still fully operational. Slowly, inevitably, the turret on the top began traversing back around towards him. The operator in the gunner's cage could clearly be seen, frantically pointing and hauling on levers, desperately trying to coax a little more life from the massive guns to defend his home.

Reality sunk in and time seemed to slow as Harren's mind raced. He had two more missiles, no blasters, a damaged ship with leaking engines, and the anti-air turret he was duelling was coming around just as he was. There was a very real possibility he could get shot down if he wasn't careful at this point. To some, this would have been the moment to disengage, or to land and fight on foot, or to try something less flat out insane than hammering on the thrusters and trying a third and final time.

Harren grinned, finally starting to feel alive in the cockpit of his fighter. The force flickered, and he could hear his heart pumping it through his veins. He hammered on the thrusters, sending his wounded ship howling at the turret again. Another missile cycled into the firing chamber, and he waited for the perfect shot.

He decided he loved flying.

 

[Vian Windrider]

Vian surrounded himself in the dark side. The hate and anger for this droid and the pykes, fed his connection to the force. Allowing the dark side to build within him as the Crux fighter slung cross the sky. He was focused on the singular irritation of the embarrassment of being out done by a droid and he would not have it.

Vian aimed the ship, blasting away at the Goliath as the machine came into view. Lines of red plasma crashed all around the battle droid yet none seemed to connect. He was done flying, done dancing with this walking tank. The Sith set course to aim the ship at the droid and then popped the hatch on the Crux to release him into the sky above.

Gravity and the force of the wind sucked the Sith free of the ship. The starfighter crashed near the ship and exploded into a ball of fire that did not harm the Goliath sadly but did blind it's sensors for a few moment. Using the force to cushion his landing, Vian hit the ground harder then he expected and tumbled forward a few feet before ending up in a kneeling position before the massive droid.

Sensing the danger, Vian ignited his lightsaber and sprang upward with the aid of the force. The crimson red blade shot forth from the Sith's black armor and cut a line the groan of the droid to the hammer like head. Vain then landed atop the droid, slammed the blade down into the head and slide down the back side of it and walked away confidently toward where he thought he felt Doz. The Goliath splitting in two and breaking apart before exploding.

"Droid is down, I'm in route to you Doz, Harren if you are comfortable with your skill continue the cover us from the skies. If not then land yourself at Doz's location and let us continue the slaughter together." he voiced calmly into his comlink with both fellow Sith.

 

[Doz Noth]

Of those upon the docks only a dozen warriors stayed to take on Doz while the rest ran to respond to needs elsewhere within the compound. Forces were being deployed for combat but some were tasked with escape measures by running toward the remaining 2 freighters on the dock to save their precious cargo of spice. They would have to be put down before they could get away. Unfortunately this twelve member security team were cutting her off from those heading toward the freighters. She heard Vian’s voice come over the comm and cued it to respond.

”I’m on the loading docks. 12 man team between me and the 2 freighters being loaded to escape. If they take to the sky Harren try to take them out. Vian and I will do all we can to make sure that doesn’t happen.” How in the known Galaxy were they going to get off this rock, she had no clue but that issue could wait until later. Sure they could call for a shuttle to come pick them up but that was a parsec of red tape she didn’t want to deal with.

Knowing that Vian would soon be there to join her, Doz ran straight for the warriors. Still filled with the force her left hand came up sweeping through the air from right to left. Unleashing a push so powerful it hurled three of the men back against the space dock’s hanger wall killing them instantly. That opened up a bit of a path for her to head toward the nearest of the two freighters.

However, she was now within range of the warriors who had held their blaster fire until this occurred. These guys were not panicked raw recruits at least and held their ground defending the landing dock. Their first shots were easily deflected but she had not been able to get the right angle so the bolts flew off over their heads rather than striking her enemies as intended. Without any ranged attacks to prevent their movements, the remaining 9 warriors altered their course to fill the gap in the line left open by the deaths of their compatriots causing Doz to lose the minor advantage she had gained.

Already she could see they were losing time as those who were tasked to manning the freighters and taking to the air had already reached the gangplank of the first freighter closest to her position.

@Harren Skaalvarg @Taz

 

[Harren Skaalvarg]

”I’m on the loading docks. 12 man team between me and the 2 freighters being loaded to escape. If they take to the sky Harren-”

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH EAT DEATH SNAKE MAN!"

In the middle of Doz's callouts, Harren had smashed his fingers into the firing studs. He'd also, in his newfound enthusiasm for flying, hit the comms panel at the same time. Consequently the rest of the instructions were drowned out by the sound of Harren roaring his lungs out, clearly having the time of his life despite his inexperience behind a cockpit. Blaster fire whipped around his wounded Crux, but the force was with him now - he could feel it in every fibre of his being. The gunner missed, and kept on missing, until for the third and final time Harren's fighter tore past the gun tower with mere metres to spare, loosing a rocket at the last possible moment.

He didn't have to bring the ship about to check whether he'd finished the job this time. The rocket penetrated the structure just above the gunner's nest but beneath the weapon itself, and evidently hit some sort of power supply. The resulting explosion shook his ship, atomising the gunner and the top quarter of the tower, raining yet more deadly debris on the combatants down below. With a triumphant snarl he brought the Crux starfighter back around, eyes hunting for more targets. Harren needed more.

He saw the freighters packing as quickly as they could, trying to leave before the Sith could reach them, and could see the crimson blades of both Doz and Vian swinging and flashing through Pyke to try and get there in time. He didn't know if they would - he didn't know if they could - but truthfully Harren was beyond caring. There was a way to take down both freighters before they could possibly have the chance to take off.

Harren's way. The Deucalian way.

The final missile loaded into the tube with a clunk as he lined himself up. His blood pumped strongly through his veins, the force coursing through his body and giving Harren focus. He was not filled with anger or hate, as Sith are wont to do, but simply the joy of battle. It focused him, blotting out his uncertainty at the controls of a dying starfighter, erasing his sense of self preservation. He knew what had to be done.

He fired his final missile. Its course was true, but Harren wasn't done. Jinking the controls just a tad to the right he gunned the engines straight down. The Crux's engines wailed like a kamikaze as it descended far too quickly to ever possibly be able to halt the drop. Suicide? No. He hit the ejector switch, the canopy popping and the ship's terminal velocity dragging him out of the top of the starfighter a fraction of a moment before it smashed home into the second freighter - right as the missile connected with and destroyed the first in a fiery ball of death. Both ships exploded, killing the Pykes desperately trying to load them and prepare for takeoff, and filling the air with pungent narcotics.

Harren himself fared a little better. He hadn't thought to use the force to arrest his landing, but the use of the ejector had meant firing him out the opposite direction to the fighter's velocity, slowing him somewhat. He hit the dirt and rolled over and over several times, before lying still face down. He stayed there a moment, before clawing his way to his feet. He was grinning.

As he rose, one sound lifted above the crackling flames of the killed freighters and their incinerated crews. One noise rang out over the battle behind him, where Doz and Vian killed their way towards him.

The laughter of a berserker. The laughter of a witch.

 

[Vian Windrider]

Vian was moving with speed, the force feeding his body. Augmenting his legs to run at preternatural speed, two perhaps even three times that of a normal humanoid. Doz called out targets, a dozen men and two craft. She was badly out gunned and like him she was only a student of the dark side, not yet a Master. She was giving some manner of instruction but Vian's comlink was giving to much feedback from the screaming mad man that was supposed to be their air support.

The half breed closed at the dock as Doz crushed three with the power of the force, drawing the full attention of the others. The remaining nine men opened fire on the other Sith without mercy. With their attention on the Zabrak they had no idea of the doom at their back. Vian shifted the force, commanding it with his hand. Pulling a heavy create of spice from a resting place near one of the freighters, then pushed the create like a wrecking ball. Killing three more pykes, one after another after another.

The six remaining split the difference. Three continued fire on Doz, the other fired on Vian. The black armored Sith deflected the bolts right back at the pykes with little effort. Killing them instantly. Feeding off the dark side and the blood lust of slaughtering the enemy Vian continued his attack. Reaching out with the force to close around the neck of another pyke. But the berserker sith had other plans. Destroying the freighters, sending Vian crashing to the ground; skidding on his armor several feet.

Rolling over he recovered his saber hilt with the reach of his hand, calling the weapon to him as he closed his fist around it once again. Looking up at the sky through his helmeted eyes a moment before speaking. "When I said land you crazed fool, I did not mean on top of me with the karking ship."

 

[Doz Noth]

DC ​

Well things were going pretty well there for a moment. Vian came in an literally cut the enemy force in half, then sized them down once again until they each were left facing off three against three. It was more than she had hoped for giving her the break she so fervently had hoped for. Spurring herself to speed, she grinned with the sound of Harren’s battle cry still ringing in her ears even though she was not much of a one for talk when there was killing to be done.

She intended to blow between the two warrior at the far left taking both out as she passed through their position, then pivot round to take out the third furthest to the right within the trio. The instant her leading leg set foot to ground, she brought the left end of her dual bladed saber up and through the torso of the first man and then with a slight pivot of her wrist struck the second in the side opening up his stomach. Both men dropped to the ground and were dead within moments. However, just when she was making her pivoting move Harren made his attack launching a missile into the near freighter and crashing his ship into the other.

The percussive force threw her to the ground and a cloud of spice toxins rolled over the landing pad obscuring her vision. For some reason that didn’t seem to be much of a problem to her and her small giggles slipped through her lips as the sounds of a witches cackle cut through the din. The third man whom she was going to attack was also knocked off his feet and after but a few seconds of the spice cloud was clawing at his face locked in the throws of some nightmarish vision. Doz’s lip curled upward at the corner as she watched him rend his skin, the man turning into a snake and actually shedding his old hide of humanity to take on that of the serpentine. Yes, the Zabrak was stoned off her gourd.

@Taz @Denzein

 

[Harren Skaalvarg]

In an instant the fight was over - roaring laughter and the screams of the dying replaced quickly by the crackling of flames and the acrid smell of smoke on the wind. The base was in ruins, the last surviving Pyke was clawing at their own skin - trapped in some hallucinogenic nightmare, and their mission was thoroughly completed. The only catch was that, whether by choice or by folly, they had each managed to destroy the starfighters that had brought them to Obah Diah.

The expensive, hyperdrive equipped starfighters.

Harren had other things on his mind though, because like Doz, he wasn't wearing a helmet. The spice cloud enveloped him, affecting him almost immediately. His constitution was more hardy than hers, but he still felt the heady effects of spice settling in his nostrils. He didn't start clawing his eyes out, or giggling uncontrollably, but his vision swam and he was overcome with euphoria. To the others he was swaying ever so slightly, the only outward sign he was affected at all.

Within Harren's mind however was a different story altogether. It was as if he could actually hear the living force itself, though the sith training that was drilled into his skull fought to tell his superstitious deucalian upbringing such a thing just wasn't possible. It was losing, for not for nothing was Harren called witch. There were voices in the force, made audible by the vast quantities of hallucinogens active within his system, and he shut his eyes to better hear them. The moment he did so everything changed.

He was looking at a world covered in ice. Rhen Var? No, not bleak enough. Ando Prime? Home of his people? Possibly. The force was whispering and he strained to hear it. The voice itself he recognised, but he couldn't place where from. It was mostly inaudible, just beyond the realm of his understanding, but after a few seconds he recognised a word. One word, repeated over and over inside the mess of emotion and memory trying to make itself known in his head.

It was in Deucalian, obviously. The word was fjölskylda. Family.

He opened his eyes, taking in his surroundings again. Harren was back on Obah Diah. He looked around at the other two, as if nothing had happened.

"Well, that was fun. Flying is good, I think I will do more. Let's find a way to get us a lift, I don't fancy walking to the next strike team's AO."