Log:New Rebellion: Rolling in the Loot
The New Rebellion launches a raid on an Imperial outpost. The supplies that they'd hoped to steal away from the Imperials ends up having to be left behind in lieu of far more pressing cargo.
OOC Date: August 8, 2024
Location: Imperial Outpost, Adelphi
Participants: Poe Dameron, Rey, Zalon Bo (GM), Saito
In a bid to confound some future Imperial intelligence officer's attempt at unraveling the Rebellion's impending attack; they've chosen to approach Adelphi from galactic north. Utilizing a series of microjumps and brief passes through satellite systems, a small group of Rebel craft have made their approach through hyperspace and exited as near to Adelphi's atmosphere as safely possible.
The primary objective is two-fold. Destroy any Imperial assets that are possible and make off with valuable scanning equipment that's said to be stored at the outpost. Opposition is expected to consist of stormtroopers, possibly light armor, and a trio of TIE starfighters that act as the outpost's aerial garrison.
Two X-Wings accompany both a troop transport and a cargo transport. They enter the atmosphere of a quarter of a way around the planet in order to utilize the planetary body to shield their approach. The four ships skim the planet's surface, with the X-Wing's more nimble frames dipping and weaving their way over the terrain as the slower ship's escort. "Thirty seconds to target area," announces the troop transport's pilot with a mixture of excitement and anxiousness.
Those in command positions aboard the troop transport, such as General Poe Dameron, are wired more directly into the inter-ship comm dispatches. Thus he's among the first to know when one of the two X-Wing pilots announces calmly, "We've been picked up by their sensors. TIEs are scrambling. Spectre 3 and 4 moving to engage". The announcement's enough to send chills up the spine.
The aerial battle commences with the pair of X-Wings engaging the three TIEs in a roaming battle in the airspace over the Empire's Adelphi outpost.
The cargo transport hangs well back, having little to offer to the battle; whether on the ground or in the air. Meanwhile the troop transport continues pushing forward with its shields up and primarily shunted forward to absorb the brunt of the outpost's incoming fire.
"Ten seconds!" calls the co-pilot and the man's wince can practically be heard in his voice as a powerful blast is directed aside by the shields.
Poe Dameron's voice is distinctly robotic over the encrypted net, but inspiration arrived in many forms.
<<"Go right at them; don't let these thugs scare you!">>
The comment was for the pilots for which Poe had the closest kinship. Joining the ground team, Poe had given the order to refer to him as only Commander. With the possibility of encrypted nets being picked up, Imperials didn't need to know they had a General officer on the deck, it changed tactics.
Rising up at the call for ten seconds, Poe's hand curled on the brace bar above and he peered out the viewport with dark eyes. These days, the old war veteran was showing his age with more salt and pepper replacing the brilliant dark he had sported years ago.
Troops prepared weapons as he limped down the aisle quietly, moving for Rey. His own personal shield deflector was activated on his belt, and he adjusted an /old/ E-11 to the alert, his dominant hand holding its grip and orienting the barrel down.
"GET READY!" He called out, his free hand resting on the release for the ramp.
The redhead is the last to join Poe and Rey. He hasn't talked much since joining the ground team for this operation. He listens to the communications with his eyes closed, trying to imagine the action outside. He had always prefered to fly ratter than to talk. Refocusing, he offers the pair a warm smile. "Well, it is nice to join you today."
Rey was in a position of pre-deployment. With her black hood up, she was in a state of meditation. She had her eyes closed, and was standing with her hand holding on to a grip to support herself. She seemed to exude an air of calmness that resonated from her person.
She was running her mind over everyone within her general vacinity, touching their minds, and attempting to bolster spirits, to steel resolves, and let people feel a warmth of confidence. But it was only a minor touch, nothing overwhelming.
When she opened her eyes, she looked toward where Poe was coming from, and raised her chin ever so slightly. She released her hand hold on the metal pole, her metal hand wrapped in a black cloth today.
Rey drew in a soft breath, further preparing herself as she felt the ship moving, shaking, and reverberating around them.
The aerial dance between Rebel and Imperial fighters continues. The Rebel's seem to take Commander Dameron's advice to heart and their attempts to gain positional superiority within the dogfight becomes more aggressive. They're outnumbered only slightly, but their equipment is arguably superior. Advancements in Imperial technology over recent years had been commendable, but the Rebellion was known for having it's near-fanatical heart and gusto, too.
The outpost largely consists of a pair of observation towers positioned at opposite corners of the rectangular footprint, a command building, and a number of support structures. One storage bunker more than likely houses weapons and ammunitions. While another bunker opposite the TIEs landing tarmac likely holds the sensor and scanning modules that the attack intends to make off with.
It's in the very heart of the outpost that the troop transport sweeps toward and comes to a hover a scant few inches from the ground as it remains elevated by virtue of its repulsorlifts.
The starboard door of the transport swishes open with barely a hiss of sound and the early evening tropical environment of Adelphi immediately becomes visible. Blaster fire begins to pepper the transport, but with its shields no balanced the small arms fire proves inconsequential to the transport.
A cheer and battlecry erupts at the presence of not only Commander Poe Dameron, but also the presence of one of the most famous Jedi of the modern era, along with a pair of others.
The enemy is visible as the stormtroopers of the Sith Empire begin to shuffle their way into makeshift cover afforded by crates, equipment, and structures.
The battle is joined as the Rebels begin to pour from within the transport with whoops, hollars, blaster fire, and possibly even the hum of a lightsaber to join their advance!
For a brief moment, Poe held Rey's gaze and effortlessly, she drew a smirk from him that was both charming, and telling. With an up nod, he turned, the ship rattling as its full weight transitioned from repulsors to the landing skids that sank slightly into the ground.
Latch down, the ramp lowered, and Rebels poured out and immediately engaged with Sith forces. "PUSH FORWARD, FIND COVER!" Poe yelled over the crew, following the initial vanguard after waiting a second to take in his own breath and jiggy-jog into the mess.
Poe showed his age as he butted his shoulder against a cargo crate, taking cover briefly and favoring an old knee. Taking aim with the E-11, he targeted an officer (like him) barking orders, sinking a crimson bolt into their unarmored mid-section and putting them on their back. It was enough to make Poe laugh when the younger officer was crying out, not because he was in pain, but because he thought he was dead.
Rookies.
The thing about the Empire, about regimes of terror and tyranny; they often grew complacent and forgot what it was like to struggle for victory. Poe reminded them.
His second shot pocked up the ground, while intending to actually kill the officer, the young buck managed to roll behind cover, showing some semblance of wit.
Poe waited, watching the fireteams moving forward from cover to cover and waited to bound, his attention turning back toward Rey who he was intent to follow.
Saito follows the troops out of the ship. He breathes deeply for a moment before he closing his eyes. He is calm as he raises a hand towards the storm troopers. They scream as a group of 6 storm troopers are telekineticaly pushed with the force, hitting a few crates that they were intending to use as cover, two storm troopers hitting each other due to the push. He walks alongside Poe, nodding to the older man as he watches Poe start to fire.
When Poe passed her by, headed toward the ramp, Rey moved after him, coming up on his left side, she peered up at him. "Don't be a hero." She quietly told him, for probably the thousandth time since they've known one another. She didn't want the father of her children to get turned in to another lump of war waste upon some random world, in a long string of random worlds.
With the war picking up again, Rey feared that might be the case, and though fear was not something a Jedi was meant to ever think about... She was Human. Even if she is the Grand Master, she was still a Human first.
The ramp was opened, the battle lines were drawn, and Rey stepped down in to the line of sight of enemies incoming.
The thrum of a lightsaber beam sounded off, golden and glowing brightly. Rey moved forward, her body covered in slim fit black robes. She began to sweep the sword around, doing her all to protect the people under her care.
"I'll push forward, everyone keep with me." She shouted over the noise, as she did just so.
The Jedi Grand Master moved forward, her saber in pure defensive mode, her hands sweeping across the hilt, metal and flesh, fingers gripping the hilt as she spun the saber about, wide twirls and quick arcing swings.
The Imperial officer struck by Poe's blaster fire continues to cower in cover. Adelphi's on the fringe of the outer rim, let alone known space. It's hardly a place of high security or strategic value. It's a symbol though. It's a resource to be mined by the Rebellion. What the Empire may deem as inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, the Rebellion sees as a potential asset to be claimed. Even if an occupation isn't in the cards; a victory, accrual of resources, and battle experience is immensely valuable in its own right.
Stormtroopers are thrown to the ground with crates, both emptied and full, tumbling over them in a racket as plastoid armor clatters with plasteel containers. It doesn't kill any of the Empire's shocktroopers, but it does weary them for a few moments.
The golden lightsaber of the Jedi Order's very own Grand Master springs to life with a snap-hiss. It hums dangerous as she whips it about herself, expertly deflecting and casting aside incoming blaster fire. Her call to advance is met by cheers from the Rebel's partaking in the assault.
The second to last from the transport wears the robes and raised cowl of the Jedi Order. It towers over many others and it isn't a lightsaber that it brings to bear within the battle. The sharp whine of a heavy blaster weapon shrilly cries out. Three concussive blasters follow three shots. One impacts against one of the outpost's bunkers, another in the chest of a stormtrooper, and the third in the shoulder of another. Both stormtroopers are sent flying from the blast.
The plan is underway and while Rey and Poe lead the main assault toward one of the storage bunkers, other teams begin to spread out to other elements of the compound. Mess hall, barracks, command center, and observation towers all see assault teams advancing toward them. Blaster fire continues to erupt and even the occasional explosion roars out as a heavy weapon is brought to bear elsewhere in the compound.
Overhead an explosion sounds off as one of the TIES is sent careening toward the horizon. This leaves two X-Wings to pit themselves against a pair of TIE pilots.
Rey's comment had been met with just a knowing look, but then, war followed they moved to play their part.
Now, Poe moved up beside Rey, favoring her right side. He was not concerned about alerting her to his presence, or where she oriented her blade. He knew she could sense him, track him above all the chaos. Perception for a Jedi was like an extension of themselves.
Not that Poe pretended to /know/ what that meant, but he knew what she was capable of and paid it little concern because she could handle herself! His attention was weeding out the dangers that lurk ahead. His first target was a NCO, their leg hit at the knee with a sickening crunch. Leg bending the wrong way post impact segued to their entire frame flattening on the ground, with white armor bits powdering outward when they hit /hard/. Poe moved past, twisting and firing into the torso of a charging private that had more guts than sense.
They were moving for one of the bunkers, and Poe called out for a "BREACHER! NEED A BREACHER! Let's go.. stack up!" The older Commander took a security position as the younger rebels moved like a well oiled (but hastily put together) machine.
"Blow the hatch," he called out, not that he needed to micro-manage, but it helped especially if some of them were experiencing combat for the first time. Tachypsychia was a difficult process to work through.
Saito calmly follows the others to one of the bnkers. He watches as a Jedi that he doesn't recognise starts to fire a heavy blaster. "Neat!" he calls out, a hand raising to wave to the figure. He watches as Rey starts to deffend the group with her lightsaber, eyes filing with awe. It is always inspiring to see the grand master of the order in action.
he detashes the lightsaber from his belt. With a loud Snapris, the weapon is ignited, a green blade coming to life. Saito leaps towards one of the lieutenants. He screams as he dodges the first lightsaber strike, barely managing to leap out of the way of the second. It is the third strike that hits him in the chest and he falls to the ground, the lightsaber brning through his armor. Saito is calm as he disengages from his target, continuing to walk alongside Poe and the other soldiers, lightsaber held in a combat posittion.
Keeping her saber at the ready, at her side, sweeping it about where necessary, Rey moves at a pretty quick speed. She's been at this for a long time now, and sustained her fair share of injuries through nearly two decades of fighting, but she's in great shape, and with the Force as her ally, she's as spry as she really ever has been.
With a few nimble jumps, scaling over natural obstacles, the Jedi Master rushed through the environment, casting glances this way and that, as they rushed toward one specific bunker.
Rey took shelter behind it, a moment of respite.
"This one." She told the others with her, pointing ahead. "This is it, I believe..." She spaced out for a brief second, as she felt through the tendrisl of the Force (no, not the Threads, that is stupid.)
Rey drew in a breath, feeling it rush through her body, as she nodded once, and steped out from behind her cover again.
There was no time to wait, as the Jedi Master pushed onward, her saber growling loudly, and illuminating the side of her profile as she pressed ahead!
The battle overhead continues unabated. Where the fighting on the ground may have highs and lows amid the furious exchanging of blaster fire, the battle above carries on seemingly without concern for the one happening on the ground. Only a couple times does one of the TIEs attempt to bank and fire a few quick bursts toward the ground. Those attempts cease after another of the TIEs is brought down on account of those brief attempts to level out and offer support to the ground brings their fighter into the crosshairs of one of the X-Wing pilots. Now it's two-on-one in favor of the Rebels.
On the ground the assault teams move swiftly. Many positions are overtaken on account of a lack of readiness on the part of the Imperial outpost's garrison. On the fringe of space as they were, these weren't the most battle hardened shocktroops that the Empire has to offer.
Commander Dameron calls out for breachers and a team is quickly assembled to adhere to the command. A call is given that the breaching charge is readied and awaits the Commander's order.
Meanwhile the Jedi seem to take up positions around the bunker. Their lightsabers ignited, deflecting and redirecting incoming fire away from the rebels as they go about their breaching effort.
The rather brutish Jedi that is Zalon Bo is struck by a blaster bolt, but he's able to turn away from it just in time that it burns the traveler's robe that he wears. The hair beneath is charred and reeking, while the flesh beneath is given over to the warmth of too much time in the sun. Despite the unexpected injury, his own green blade snaps back to the defense as he calls out, "Master, the bunker, I feel..."
He doesn't have time to elaborate on his senses. The need to stay in the fight and attentive to the defense of those relying on having their backs covered supercedes his wandering senses.
The bunker's door blows inward with the breaching charge. It falls with a heavy thump to the duracrete floor. As rebels begin to surge into the bunker, their progress is abruptly halted. "Commander! You need to see this! What are your orders, sir?"
When called, Poe disengages from security and moves briskly into the building, a heavy limp emphasizing one booted step over a lighter one. Upon entry, Poe's senses are assaulted by a fragrance that's only possible after days, or weeks, without proper hygiene. Where they expected scanning equipment, they found political prisoners (or just prisoners in general), all of whom were pleading for help.
Not hiding how the stench struck him, Poe pointed toward the cages. "Release them! -- There's weapons outside, and a good fight. You can stay on with us, or flee. Up to you, but if you're staying with us you have to help fight. Take back your freedom."
Poe didn't stick around to belabor the point, they still had a mission to complete.
"CHECK THE OTHER BUILDING! GOT PRISONERS IN THIS ONE!" Poe didn't partake in the fight, he was just moving between the friendly troops trying to get them to move despite this unexpected challenge. Their departure was going to prove difficult...
Rey had been one of the Jedi providing defense around the bunker doorway when the door itself was blown in. She kept everyone in her line of sight, as she held her saber up in front of her, the growling blade seemingly hungry for more to contribute to the fight. When the door fell inward, Rey swept herself around to a new position, so she could give more room for the infiltrating rebels to get inside the bunker.
When it was her turn, she moved inside, her booted feet moving with a nimble grace, as she took up position behind some of the rebel soldiers, peering past them to see Poe as he declare the contents of the bunker.
Rey breathed out a sharp exhale. "We have to get them out of here..." She said, her voice breathy and filled with adrenaline.
Her eyes went to Poe, giving him a look that he'd know all too well... whatever they came here for was irrelevent next to the safety of these innocent people. Poe likely sees otherwise, but would know all too well how Rey is in these situations.
She swept her blade out of the way, and moved to help free any prisoners that needed to be released, or needed aid in preparing to leave.
"Help us, please," many of the prisoners call out, pleading. A number of them look rather weak. Likely a result of poor diets over the course of weeks, if not months. A small number of them seem capable and rally at Poe's directions to get into the fight. Few in number, they at least have heart and begin arming themselves the moment they're given the opportunity. They go charging from the bunker with shouts and battle cries from a number of different outer rim worlds.
Outside, Zalon Bo, Padawan of the Jedi Order stands with his back toward the bunker's exterior wall. Narrowing the lines of attack by his opponents, he's able to hold out against a significant amount of incoming fire. From his position he calls out to those around himself, urging others into cover or even behind himself to shelter themselves from the incoming Imperial blaster fire. Outgoing fire pours back toward the stormtroopers.
A report is directed toward Poe's own call for information, "Commander, no sign of other prisoners. We've got a bunker of the target equipment, also being used as a weapons and ammo dump". Another voice cuts in after that report, "Barracks is taken, commander. Only prisoners here are enemy combatants who were getting suited up for the fight". More and more reports come in and none seem to mention additional living, breathing prisoners of a political leaning.
The last TIE screeches into a fiery explosion as it lands somewhere outside the base's perimeter, before tumbling away as a fireball. One of the two X-Wing's reports in, "Commander, Spectre 3. The air is ours. We can expect reinforcements from another outpost on the planet within a few minutes. We need to grab what we can and go". The pilot's surely speaking out of turn, but good ol' Spectre 3's probably not wrong.
Meanwhile those prisoners who seem to have trouble standing, let alone walking are busy staring at Commander Poe Dameron and Grand Master Rey with anxiousness and hope both.
Rey would get no argument from Poe. Life was far more valuable than material, or materiel. Listening to the comms going back and forth, Poe nodded his head (even though they couldn't see him), then responded.
<<"All call signs, be advised, we're going to dust off with as many prisoners as we can carry. Tech teams, find the objective equipment, /scan/ it, and maybe we'll be able to fabricate our own with designs in hand.">>
Pointing back toward their waiting ship, Poe used his freehand to make a circular motion; it was time to bring their operation to a close. <<"Spectre 3, once we've departed, scuttle the patrol base. We don't want to leave them something to go back to.">>
The sound of Rey's ghostly growling lightsaber blade deactivates, as she draws it back in to the saber hilt. She clips it to the side of her belt, and moves to help a number of the older prisoners. Some of them look to be in pretty rough shape, and a few of them get given a number of ration packets from another pouch on Rey's side. "Here," she quietly says, as the TIE fighter falling from the sky outside rumbles the entire world; or so it felt like.
Once she had a number of the Prisoners moving, Rey was there, beside Poe, when he ordered the place get scuttled.
"This was unexpected..." She tells him softly, low enough for just the two of them. "Political prisoners, likely to be executed. This was a good find..." She said to him, as she showed him a soft smirk, before she moved toward those filing out of the bunker.
When she stepped past Zalon, she noted his scorched attire. "You're not hurt, right?" She asked him, sensing the young Jedi's state through a momentary touch through the Force. "Good work." She tells him. "Let's find Saito, and get these people back to the ship. It is going to be a tight fit in there." She says with another small smirk given.
Her saber was grabbed from her belt once more, as she jogged after a group of rebel soldiers moving the prisoners along.
The fighting is still well underway as Poe and Rey leave the bunker. Say what one may of the outer rim outpost's preparedness, heart, or skill; they have tenacity in abundance at least. The initial surprise has worn off and the opposition is beginning to organize their remaining pockets of resistance and perform their own counterattacks. The local skies belong to a pair of Specters and soon the cargo transport is inbound. The prisoners are transferred from their cells and bunker and into the cargo transport. The Jedi form a cordon, their lightsabers put to the task of defending those who need defending most: the helpless. The teams of Rebels begin to converge on their dust-off point as well, setting up makeshift fighting positions in the midst of their withdrawal.
Soon the New Rebellion's ships take off from the Imperial's outpost, with a few parting shots sent after the fleeing transports packed with political prisoners and plucky Rebels. Plus newly found scans of Imperial scanning and sensor equipment intended for probing the outer rim.
Once the pair of transports are clear, Spectre 3 and 4 begin performing attack runs on the outpost. Deadly lances of energy pepper the outpost over and over. They even commit a couple proton torpedoes - each - into leveling infrastructure of the base. When the munitions bunker is hit, it truly goes up. By the time the explosion dissipates, the smoke obscured crater left behind can be seen.
It's a victory for the New Rebellion. No ground was gained this time; but information was uncovered, along with a newfound sense of duty and purpose for the New Rebellion against a New Empire.
