Log:Perlemian Rangers: Hot Drop
Perlemian Rangers: Hot Drop
Location: Carida
Participants: Alekzander Starlock, Threl Ravari, D'awn M'zerka, Fshmaw, K-5Z9, Callax Dalso
The battle for Carida rages in space, in air and on the land, and the Republic's troops often find themslves caught in a rapidly shifting landcape. At Zone Besh Twenty-Seven, a platoon of Republic infantry have been cut off from the forces they were meant to link up with, and the First Order is closing in. With Republic forces otherwise engaged thanks to a sudden and aggressive move by First Order naval elements in the system, all Republic resources in the area are tasked with heir uppression. The Rangers, thanks to their commander's connection to the CDF, are asked to assist.
Inserting a transport under anti-air fire, the Rangers will reach Zone Besh Twenty-Seven and rescue the unfortunate unit, fighting off any First Order elements that attempt to thwart the extraction. It's a hot drop, after all, and that never means trouble. Service to the cause, however, is always worth the risk.
[Callax Dalso]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Carida is a rocky, largely barren world, filled with large stretches of flint fields and the jagged spines of long mountain chains - a inhospitable place, perfect for vehicular warfare and bombardments. And while the battle for Carida currently falls in favor of the Republic, the battle lines are fluid; many are whose who may become isolated in a heartbeat, and Squad Krill of the New Republic 223nd Infantry is one of those who, thanks to the fortunes of war, find themselves deep behind enemy lines thanks to the punishing advance of the First Order military machine. Zone Besh Twenty-Seven is where they hide now, fifteen scared riflemen and their commanding officer in a captured First Order bunker fifty kilometers behind the front.
The Republic is busy trying to hold back the Order's advance, and cannot spare rsources to recover their troops - and that's where the Rangers come in.
<< /Terecon,/ this is /Dark Joy./ Fighter cover is light out here. I'll draw them out and deal with them, but be ready for trouble. >> Callax escorts the /Terecon/ down into the atmosphere, ahead of the Republic naval cordon; the team is in the cockpit, but it's one of Callax's old friends, a Bothan named Page - yes, Page - who sits at the pilot's yoke. "I hear you, /Joy/," Page says in reply, shaking her head faintly as the two ships descend into the atmosphere. "Don't have too much fun."
She looks over shoulder at the rest of them. "We should be able to touch down easy with Callax keeping any fighters busy. But once we land, it could get very interesting trying to hold cover while getting the troops in. Are you ready?"
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[K-5Z9]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Aaaaah. Carida. Home to one of the primary Imperial academies. Or at least it was the last time Kayfive was here. The droid's paintjob has changed again, the rebel alliance starbird emblazoned on both shoulders. (She /really/ doesn't want to get mistaken for a FO droid. And the stencil was still available. The droid's scomp link spins in the port as she takes another look at the ship's sensor net. "I was designed for this. Just wish we had an EWEB or something to stick next to the boarding ramp."
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[Alekzander Starlock]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Shoulder still a -bit- sore, but not enough to impede his action, Starlock seals up his armor and unlimbers his rifle to prepare for the landing. "When we get down, let's deploy to both sides of the ramp, secure the perimeter quickly, and then we'll move on towards the reported position of the primaries."
He rolls his neck and shrugs, "We'll be moving quickly and covering all approaches as we move. But the priority is getting those kids out alive."
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[Fshmaw]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Fshmaw, when fully armed and armored, lets their ever-present MTD have a bit of a holiday. Whether that's "turned off" or sipping electric tea and digesting a good e-book is uncertain. He does ask: "Should I leave my own unit markings alone? I like to be able to readily disappear, is all. Evaporate during a distraction."
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[D'awn M'zeka]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Listening in from where she sits in the cockpit/bridge of the Terecon, Dawn calls out a simple report: "Shields steady. Power output steady. Engines available for up to 110% output -- but we won't be able to hold that level for too long."
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[Threl Ravrari]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Ever since joining up, Threl hadn't really expected to be thrust into the teeth of combat. Sure, she's got Combat Medic in her job description, but she really thought she'd end up being a doctor in a rear position rather than going in to rescue a group of cut off troops. They needed help, though, so it was with a little trepedation that she pulled out the good armor, with boots, and her nice gun and got ready to go in with all the rest of the troops. "Watch for cover. If anyone hurt, call out. I find you, get you moving."
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[Callax Dalso]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Screaming through the atmosphere, the pair of ships clear the void and begin their descent - and immediately the trouble starts. Though the landscape below is largely open, there are still plenty of rills and boulders and the like for speeders and troops to be emplaced. Alarms begin to go off as targeter beams sweep across the hulls of the incoming vessel, aiming to get a lock.
"We've been detected and acquired," Page calls sternly over comms and to the larger room. "Things are going to get interesting, people. Anyone able to operate a gun turret?"
Meanwhile, Callax's fighter - the narrow, mean-looking, angle-winged shape of a TIE Avenger, breaks off. << Worry not, darlings, >> Callax's voice chirps from the transport's console, << I'll give them something else to shoot at. Keep on course, and keep your heads down! >>
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[K-5Z9]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
"I /can/. I don't claim to be very good at it, though. Assuming direct control of dorsal turret." THe scomp link twirls, and the ship becomes and extention of Kayfive. She can see with the gunnery sensors, and track the twin laser cannons just like moving her arm.
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[Alekzander Starlock]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
"Jump on." Starlock suggests to K5. And he drops down to one knee on the ramp, going for cover and such to aim out down the ramp into the area. "Everyone... let's defend our landing craft eh?" he asks as his blaster rifle comes into view to target folks approaching.
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[Alekzander Starlock]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
"Well, let's get down as fast as we can. Anyone who can handle turrets, please do so at the earliest convenience if you don't mind." suggests Starlock as he braces and fastens the shuttle equivalent of seat-belts. On board a shuttle that's trying to land is not his... specialty. I mean it's part of being a marine, but he's never really been good at it.
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[Fshmaw]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Fshmaw asks Starlock, deep-voiced translation still a step behind his motions: "Do you have a policy? Am I to stay recognizable to avoid getting shot?" He wonders aloud.
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[D'awn M'zeka]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Dawn gets up and crosses to the communications station, toggling switches and turning dials and shifting levers. "I'm setting up a damping signal... should make it harder for that incoming targeting to achieve lock-on", she says, as she finishes toggling switches, goes back over to the engineering station to change power distrubution. "... damping signal should be coming online... now...", she says, as she routes a little extra power to the comm system to use for the purpose she's indicated ... in addition to actually still being a comm system -- although now there's just a -touch- of reverb to all communications coming -from- Terecon, or whose transmissions are being routed through Terecon.
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[Threl Ravrari]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
There was a reason Threl never ate before going on a drop, and the turbulence that was going on combined with the dread of combat - you do get used to it, it just yells a little quieter after a while - sometimes gave her a stomachache and, once, a lovely Jackson Pollock of her dinner. this is why she doesn't eat before anymore. "Landing in one piece good sometimes." she croaks through the comms. "Quiet good. fast better. safe best."
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[Callax Dalso]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Though Page's efforts are heroic, the ship is a /brick/, albeit a fast one for its design and dimensions; the shields take a peppering from the gun emplacements and AA speeders below, lit up like a celebration display as sparks and feedback wake flickers across the deflector bubble. "We're going to be fine," a cool-headed Page assures her passengers, albeit through gritted teeth. "M'zeka, keep our shields topped up as best you can. Once we're past the defense line we'll just have to deal with infantry and fighters."
Meanwhile, Callax flies the /Dark Joy/ in wide circles across the field, largely out of sight of the transport. Bright green laser fire stitches across the rocky soil, throwing up explosive clouds of black smoke and debris, and tear through one of the AA-equipped speeders as though it were a toy. << One emplacement down, >> Callax proclaims from the panel. << Moving to next. >>
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[K-5Z9]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
The shake of the ground fire throws Kayfive's aim off, and the twin linked bolts miss the targeted turret and ust blow a hole in the ground. "Missed. Really need to tweak my algorithms..." Te droid grumbles, double checking tje maglocks holding her in place. Don't want to become a projectile inc ase of violent maneuvering, after all
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[Alekzander Starlock]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Holding fast, Starlock waits patiently to either land and be put to use, or to be blown into plasma and his constituent atoms. Either way, it'll be quick, right? Well, it'd be a quick death at least. On the ground it might take longer. "Comms test." he murmurs into his mic to the other groundpounders, if only to give them something else to focus on. Something other than the potential incoming death.
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[Fshmaw]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Fshmaw weathers the bumps and weaves as best he can, clutching his gut and praying in Aqualish (which it might be worth noting, is not a language in which whispering exists.) He holds tight on lunch and tries to look less morose...
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[D'awn M'zeka]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Dawn replies, "Copy", even as her hands are already working to reroute power and bypass overloaded shield emitters. "Shields back up to 90", she reports a moment later.
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[Threl Ravrari]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
In her travels, Threl encountered a form of music called Scream Singing which, honestly, should have died out long ago, but thanks to some corellian nobles it made a comeback. Aqualish is kind of like that, she thinks, but less melodic. And from her seat, she can see Dawn's station and the little yellow line creeping up to green after being hit by ground fire. "Good job.". she calls out. "I get you cookie when we get back alive."
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[Callax Dalso]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
The /Terecon/ is like a void-borne freight train as it hurtles past the enemy lines, taking several more hits against its shields as it goes - and once past the defense line, as Page suggested, the heaviest anti-air does trickle off. For a while, anyway. Eventually Callax returns to form up alongside the transport, but the Avenger's gleaming inbent panels are scorched and blasted in places.
"All right," Page says as the transport nears the landing coordinates, "Transmitting coded pulse to the NR boys..." A strobing, mechanical sound floods the channel for a moment as the transport approaches within a few kilometers of the bunker, and then a stern woman's voice replies. << Herf-Peth-Three-Two-Two-Wesker-Niner, >> she says over the line, << This is Lieutenant Candat speaking, incoming transport. Code reads civilian volunteers? >>
"Yes," Page replies, "Perlemian Rangers, private regiment after a fashion. What's your situation? >>
<< We're buttoned up here pretty tight, Terecon, >> the Lieutenant replies, voice cracking in places from ionization or perhaps the first attempts at long-distance jamming. << We've got a mechanized infantry unit rolling in to take us out, with air support. Fighters have already hit us twice, we've got wounded. You got enough room to evac us all? >>
<< Roger that, >> Page replies. << We are coming in hot, so get your people ready! >>
Its wings unfurling, // Terecon // descends from on high, approaching Zone Besh Twenty-Seven: the bunker is a squat, flat-topped pyramid with what used to be a pair of gun emplacements on towers on either side. The towers have been sheared away in places by enemy fire, and the bunker's heavy permacite walls have been cratered in several spots by what must have been either missiles or proton bombs. Either way, it's not going to last another assault. "We're coming in," Page bellows as the ship brakes hard and makes its descent, "Get down and prepare to dismount!" As the team clambers down into the bay of the /Terecon/, it lands with a bone-rattling impact, and its forward hatch swings opento allow combat disembarkment. Trouble's coming fast...
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[K-5Z9]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Her use in the bridge over, Kayfive disconnects from the ship's computer and makes her way back down to the bay. Ramp drops, and the droid bounds forwards with a lope faciliatated by her long legs, A280 up and sacanning for targets.
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[Alekzander Starlock]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
First out is the commander. He doesn't order so much as lead. Starlock drops out and immediately goes prone to present a small target, but to provide cover fire for the others disembarking. "Go! Go! Go!" he calls over comms as he traverses the rifle barrel left and right, up and down. "Some cover fire from the onboard lasers would -not- be objected to also." he adds.
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[Fshmaw]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Fshmaw *huddle-rushes* out behind Starlock, eyes up and attention on self-defense! He, too, clambers for a defensible position until the squad has cleared the landing-craft...
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[Threl Ravrari]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
The ride down finally started to turn into something less of a rollercoaster when the turbulence ended, and it was actually somewhat pleasant, what with the gentle rocking of blaster impacts against the shields. D'awn was doing wonderfully, and certainly earned that cookie from Threl. As the engines protest, threl hops to her booted feet and scampers out and away from the light of the landing bay, seeking cover behind a rock that's more than her size, making sure that there's nothing untoward there first - like a mine - by snagging and tossing a large rock right where she's planning to crouch. No boom? Threl goes there. Boom? Threl chooses another spot.
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[D'awn M'zeka]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"Make that a steak!", Dawn calls back to Threl's offer of a cookie as a reward for the engineer's work with the shields.
When Page gets up to head for the dorsal turret, Dawn lets the shields finish charging on automatic, while she shifts over one seat to the gunner's station. Taking control of the Terecon's 'chin' guns, she cycles the weapons to readiness, and aims them in the direction from which the enemy forces are coming.
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[Callax Dalso]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
The first troops are already on their feet as /Terecon/ lands - they already outnumber the Rangers with the first few coming out, but as it's clear it isn't the First Order that's come to get them, the soldiers don't make for the transport, they come to leap behind the rubble to join them. One of them makes to vault over the rubble that Alek is using as cover, nodding once to the man. "Sargeant Vakla, sir," the scarred Duro says to Alek, tapping the commlink bud in his ear. "The Lieuenant sent us to help. The rest of the squad's getting the wounded ready for evac. Gonna need us, I think." He nods ahead, at the distance, where...several armored speeders and the slablike mass of a repulsortank are in rapid approach. The speeders screech to a halt as the Republic troops open fire, disgorging white-amored stormtroopers who stack up around their armored hulls as small firebases, while the tank - still in the background - looses a heavy laser blast that impacts /Terecon/'s shields. The shields, however, hold easily. For now.
Overhead, there is the sound of ion engines screaming; Callax's /Joy/ streaks by over them all, rocketing past toward the distant shapes of H-shaped fighters on approach...
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[K-5Z9]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Kayfive establishes herself in a bomb crater, only the droid's head and rifle peeking over the edge. The first stormtrooper out of the door of the assault transport catches a bolt to the torso and is knocked back into their comrades, a good chunk of shoulder missing as their arm drops to the floor.
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[Alekzander Starlock]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Downrange appears Stormtroopers. Starlock pops up and snaps a shot towards the oncoming enemies. His shot burns its way into a trooper before Starlock hunches down behind the covering rocks. "We're not here to kill everyone. We're here to get these guys out. So, disable and fall back as soon as we can." he orders.
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[D'awn M'zeka]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Dawn... looks a bit 'lost' at the controls for the Terecon's guns. She's practiced with the guns on her ship, the Muurian Transport named 'Liberty', but the controls for Liberty's guns are different! She pokes at buttons and wiggles the control stick... and the guns respond. She aims them in the general direction of the tank, and the crosshairs sweep over it... but are past it by the time she reacts and thumbs the trigger -- the twin laser cannons spray off to the side of the vehicle instead of directly against it.
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[Threl Ravrari]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Yeah, she needs a sight on her blaster. OR some training with a rifle so she can reach out and touch someone. From her spot in cover, Threl sends a pair of shots towards the mass of stomrtroopers and they end up missing just about everything. She'd do almost as well shooting around them and seeing if they randomly walk into the fire. Maybe if she aims and only takes one shot it'll do better next time.
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[Callax Dalso]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
The moment the battle starts, it's a nonstop lightshow, full of lethal fireworks and the booming of cannon fire. A full third of the Stormtroopers are taken down by the massed blaster fire of the Republic troops and the Rangers' heavy rifles - the one-shot kills made by the Rangers are as much due to the overwhelming power of the guns as their excellent marksmanship, putting the white-armored troopers down with significant portions of their insides barbecued instantly on impact. The Stormtroopers, however, aren't slouches, and almost half the Republic troops are taken out of the fight - heavily wounded, mostly, but at least one isn't going home. "Damnation," Sergeant Vakla can be heard muttering as he drills one of the Order troopers with his own rifle. "Not gonna be much left of us if this keeps up, already."
Meanwhile, the tank opens up once more - and, though moving slowly across the landscape, pounds the /Terecon/ again with its main gun; the heavy laser blast sends a scattering of sparks and Cherenkov radiation across the transport's bubble, but it's holding. "Get that shield up," Page bellows over comms to D'awn. "We can't take many more of those!"
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[K-5Z9]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Still secure in her crater, Kayfive drills another trooper through the helmet, the body toppling to the floor and hopefully making someone trip over them. ...Assuming anyone's even left in the APC. Methodical and deadly. THat's how she's doing htis.
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[Alekzander Starlock]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Snapping off a shot, Starlock says, "Fall back to the ship. Grab a wounded trooper on the way." he says, trying to reach and drag a wounded Republic trooper towards the shuttle. "Heavy lasers would make for fantastic cover fire."
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[Fshmaw]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Fshmaw, having downed one early in their excitement, is perhaps too full of adrenaline to compensate for the prodigious recoil of such an effective trooper-stopper. His shots fly wide!
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[D'awn M'zeka]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"I'll get the shields, you get that tank!", Dawn replies. She gets up to switch back over to the engineering station... just as ionization from the blast that just hit the shields reaches the shield controls themselves -- and they short out. Without missing a beat, she pulls a small can of fire suppressant from her belt, spraying down that section of panel. "We've got a problem here! Shield control station just shorted out! I'm going to try to patch control over to the next station over! It's gonna a minute...! ... but we ain't got a minute, so buy me fifteen seconds!", she adds, as she gets down on the ground under the comm station, using a tool from her belt to pry the cover panel off it.
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[Threl Ravrari]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Steadying her shot on the cover she's behind seems to work, as two more blaster bolts fly and one, miraculously, strikes home, sending one of the white-helmeted stormtroopers reeling, falling back into a heap, blasted into injury and potentially not being alive. Threl hates killing. Absolutely hates it. But that's the reason they're here."
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[Callax Dalso]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Another wave of laser fire from the Rangers put down several more Stormtroopers, but their numbers persist. At Alek's order to pull back to the transport, Sergeant Vakla doesn't have to be told twice; he's grabbing the nearest wounded soldier, throwing them over their shoulder, and directing fire through his commlink while firing his rifle one-handed, cradled against his ribs. Someone deserves a medal. The resulting curtain of suppressive fire keeps the Stormtroopers at bay - which is just in time for Page to turn the transport's spinal turret on the speeders. With a pair of blazing, starship-grade bolts punching through its armor, the lead troop speeder goes up in a shockwave and a spray of flame and shrapnel, throwing several more of the punished squad through the air. Their chances aren't good, but the remaining Stormtroopers fight on, especially as another tank bolt severely weakens /Terecon/'s already embattled shields. And now their focus is on the Rangers.
In the distance, starfighters dance, but it's still two on one. Callax has yet to drive another away, but at least there's not fighters strafing from overhead.
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[K-5Z9]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
<<"I'll give you covering fire! Keep going!" Kayfive fires again, blasting another stormtrooper back into the flaming wreckage of the speeder who'd just managed to avoid the blast.
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[D'awn M'zeka]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Dawn hurriedly pulls cables from under the shorted panel, snips and strips off the shorted ends of them, then plugs them into the backsides of panels in the comm station, one at a time, mumbling to herself as she goes. After a bit, she sits up and turns around, almost being knocked off her knees as the ship rocks from the tank's latest barrage against Terecon's shields. Getting to her feet, she gets ready to start working the controls she's jury-rigged -- from standing between the two control stations, because she has to be able to reach controls on -both- panels at the same time!
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[Threl Ravrari]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Threl needs practice. The gun? Great, great gun. Her aim? Not so special, considering. Two shots fired, two shots missed. Hopefully the troopers are keeping their heads down!
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[Callax Dalso]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Just when it seems that the battle is getting easier, more pressure mounts as the repulsortank rolls into infantry engagement range. Pounding /Terecon/ once more with its heavy gun, the tank is a flying slab of armor, set on destroying the Y-4 however possible and now within range of strafing the Rangers and the Republic troops with a pair of repeater turrets. Alek, heroically dragging back one of the troops as he was, is shot in the side by one of the remaning Stormtroopers, but it isn't a wound to put him down, though at range it certainly /looks/ nasty.
And Terecon isn't going to sit down, either; though Page misses the flying slab with her guns, Sergeant Vakla has taken control of the chin turret from the cockpit - and his marksmanship shears the barrel clean from the tank's gun assembly in a fountain of sparks and ion energy. In the ensuing chaos, a stern-looking woman with a blaster pistol and an officer's pips leads a number of wounded soldiers from the bunker, firing over the Stormtroopers heads and looking mean enough to be prepared to jump on that damned tank herself if it means saving her men.
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[K-5Z9]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Kayfive deletes another trooper, humming something softly as she aims at her next target. Good thing nobody can hear her over the noise of the battle.
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[D'awn M'zeka]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Standing between comms and engineering, Dawn reaches one hand out to a dial on one side and another on the other side... and turns them a little... then a little more. The 'shield strength' meter starts to climb, and she lets go of a breath she didn't realize she was holding. "Shields now at sixty percent!", she calls into the comms.
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[Threl Ravrari]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Threl might as well be firing randomly into the sky. She might hit a bird or something in that case! Her last shot goes wide, singing a boulder near a stormtrooper and when she tries for a second, the blaster fizzles and the cartridge pops out. Reload needed, apparently. Slapping a new one in, Threl looks around for a wounded trooper to get to the transport and does her best to do so.
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[Callax Dalso]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
The battle has been pitched and difficult, but the Rangers and their Republic allies have seen the battle through! Running for the transport amid the fire from the tank's remaining weapons, the rest make it on board /Terecon/ without further injury - and the last of the Stormtroopers are taken down by a parting shot by K5 from the landing ramp. Zone Besh-Two-Seven won't take any more Republic lives today.
With the Sergeant on the guns now, Page makes for the pilot's station, and in a roar of heavy drives and repulsorlift engines, pulls /Terecon/ away from the landing zone. The squad piles into the transport's troop compartment, their medic and Threl being able to save all but two of the wounded soldiers from an untimely death with their combined skills. It's a hard fought victory, and both Sergeant Vakla and Lieutenant Candat make hard assurances that Republic Command will be made aware of the Rangers' role in this extraction.
And as for the Commander, well...Callax manages to get away without much more damaged than their pride - but taking on three TIEs, especially with experienced First Order pilots, is something that likely only a former member of Black Squadron could get away with. Alas, no kills, but in the end what matters is that they fighters were kept from attacking the troops. In the dimming sunlight of a new Caridan evening, there was much to be glad for - and proud of.
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MISSION SUMMARY: Katunda, 21 Relona, 1160 @ 19:00hrs
- Entered Caridan airspace at vector [REDACTED], [REDACTED], southern continent
- First Order battle frontier crossed at coordinates: [REDACTED], two anti-air positions destroyed
- Extraction zone Besh-Two-Seven reached; Rangers interfaced with K(Krill) Platoon, New Republic 223nd Infantry Division, C(Cresh) Company
- CMDR Dalso engaged TIE/fo 1, 2, and 3 while Rangers worked with K Platoon to intercept incoming enemy forces
- Engaged platoon of FO Stormtroopers (16) mounted in transport speeders, along with one heavy repulsortank, alongside ten (10) members K Platoon; SGT Vakla led Rebel units alongside Rangers while platoon commander LT M. Candat assisted in mobilizing platoon wounded for extraction
- Combat Result: FO Platoon wiped out along with 1x transport speeder, heavy tank crippled by transport cannons. 1x Ranger wounded, 6x K Platoon members wounded. TIE/fo 1 heavily damaged and quit the field before CMDR Dalso forced TIE 2 and 3 to depart and escorted Ranger transport out of mission area
- Platoon and Ranger medics were able to reduce fatalities by a great margin. Total losses to K Platoon were three (3) soldiers. Extracted personnel returned safe to Republic Army base at [REDACTED], Carida
