Sweet Smell of Napalm

A free-form writing forum set in the Star Wars Universe...

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Sweet Smell of Napalm

Post by Dahdtoudi »

Where:
  • Altaris
    Cheagan City
    Corner of 5th and Freeborn
    Behind what's left of the Nieanan Bank
When:
  • Might be day; might be night
How:
  • Bad Luck
Altaris had been cought in the middle ever since the Civil War began. It was nearly in dead center of the galaxy, and provided a superb jumping off point for whoever held it. The problem was holding it. Rebel and Imperial forces clashed non-stop all over the planet. Spacial superiority was laughable. It was hard enough keeping a steady stream of suplies safe. What made things more difficult for space craft of all sorts was that the planet was the front line. One day, a spot might be clear of AA artilery, the next you could be blasted to space dust in that same quadrant.

Rebel and Imperial forces had both arrived at nearly the same time, so to declare the operation a failure would be declaring victory for the other. Neither side was willing to commit such a surrender. For several years, artillery and blaster fire has rang through the streets, and the majority of the planets urban structures have long since collapsed.

Altaris's history was the last thing on Amaru's mind as he hudled behind the ruble of the old Nieanan Bank, blaster bolts ripping what was left apart. Each time he was prepared to raise his head and return fire, the stone above his head would diminish with another set of blaster bolts.

"Kline! Move up!" Amaru heard his sergeant shout from behind him, safely huddled behind the old wreck of a speeder.

"Are you shitting me?!" Amaru cried out as a grenade blew a hole in his cover.

"Do it, Kli--" Without warning, the speeder was torn in two, the charred corpse of Amaru's sergeant just barely visible.

"Sithspit," Amaru cursed quietly, adjusting his footholds and poising to sprint from cover, frantically reaching for the thermal charge hanging haphazardly from his belt. Once it was free, he flipped the arming switch and punched the tab before lobbing it over his pile of realstate. He could hear several of the blasters pause, and that was his chance. Leaping from cover, he sprinted across the street to a knarled repulsor-train stop, further back from his previous position. He could hear the paniced and grizzled cries of his squad mates under the war din.

"Sumbitch! Take it!"

"We gotta get out, now!"

"Where's the sergeant?"

"Fall back!"

Amaru repeated the call for retreat, as did several others. "Hallybur! Radio the CP and report our status!" the trooper shouted across the way to the rocking, huddled form of his squad's comm operator. Amaru could see him pull out the commset and begin relaying coordinates and status reports.

"Incoming!" Kline heard Vrek, their heavy repeater, shout, the distinctive hum of rebel airspeeder in the back ground. Vrek's repeater opened up into the sky in the general vacinity of the hum. The smoke that marred daylight or perhaps the night sky became a glow as bursts of laser fire rained down on them, focusing more on Vrek's emplacement. The heavier blasts tore up duracrete and melted steel. The hum turned into an awful roar as the speeder broke through the smoke screen, flying low over their position with Vrek's repeater still trailing it.

A small plume of fire and molten armor burst off the speeder's starbord maneuvering fin, and the hum became a haggard gurgle. The wounded speeder veered off unstably, the black smoke trailing behind it barely distuingishable from the gray sky. The speeder disapeared down another street, and its sputtering hum began to fade away into the distance.

"We're gettin' out of here before we're FUBAR!" Amaru shouted, leaning off the train stop and sprinting down the road, blaster bolts trailing behind him, his battered and discolored armor rattling along. Those couragious enough to fallow sprinted after him, while those too scared and shell shocked to move stayed huddled where they were.

OOC- Yeah, the back ground isn't that believable, but I'm not worried. Basically, this is a thread to RP the "War is Hell" side of SW that barely anyone has gone into. Feel free to join in on either side. I'm not intending it to end in any certain way. Just wanted to RP a trooper's trek through perpetual hell. I hope you enjoy. :lol:
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Post by Dahdtoudi »

OOC- What? No takers? :p Guess I'll just have to work on it a bit more, then. ;)

IC- What was left of Amaru's squad had managed to regroup several blocks away from where they had been stonewalled, and were moving away from it in a rag-tag group; no real formation, just staying together and watching their own backs. They were all scared quiet from the brief skirmish. No one wanted to raise their voice, for the chance of attracting a sniper's attention. Instead, the only noise they made was the ambling scuffles of their boots and the idle jingle and chime of their loose gear.

Amaru was busy scanning several dark windows of what was left of a building when voices echoed down the street. No, not voices; shouts! Panic. Without an order, the squad scattered apart by reflex, ducking behind any cover they might find. After a moment, the shouts started to become marginally coherant.

"C'mon! They're headed this way. Byron! Get that repeater set and ready!" There was a garbled reply, echoed off so many walls it was unintelligable. "Kyrn, get to high ground and cover our position." Another shout echoed back.

Amaru was so concentrated on finding the source of the shouting, he nearly didn't notice the quiet scuffle of feet behind him. He rolled over onto his back in the blink of an eye, but what ever was there, had left.

Behind him, there was more shouting. The trooper quickly rolled back onto his stomach to face the shouting, just as several figures amerged from the smoke around a corner. Even from such a short distance, their loyalties were hard to discern. Hell, Amaru and his mates had been in it for so long, they were hard to discern. Kline was clad in a rag-tag mis-match of battered stormtrooper gear and the standard trooper's, as well as some extras he picked up along the way.

Amaru's heart began to beat fiercely in his chest as the unknown soldiers aproached rapidly. Adrenaline marred his concentration, and it seemed impossible to get his weapon into a ready position. He fidgetted manicly with it as they drew nearer.

"Frell," he whispered in a single breath. One was headed straight for him; no. For his cover. Amaru's breathing became rapid and rampant, sporadic with panic.

10 meters...

5 meters... Amaru brought his blaster closer to his soldier and a position where he could fire a shot that wouldn't allow his target to return...

2 meters... Amaru's breath turned to a gasp as his target trotted so close he could hear the man's earbud chirping private comms.

The unnamed trooper seemed to do a contralled trip into the debris, dropping to his knees and using his elbows to brace against his own momentum. Amaru soon found himself staring into the man's eyes, who tried peeking through the same peephole he was using. They narrowed in brief curiosity, only long enough for the man's brain to process why he couldn't see the street. They nearly popped out when he realized he was starring into the eyes of another man; a man who had quickly trained a weapon on his head.

He gave a startled cry and leaped away from the debris, falling flat on his back in the middle of the street. "Imperials! Imperials!" he shouted frantically, and Amaru was unsure if he was sounding an alarm or declaring a title. "Hold your fire! We're on the same side!"

It was then that Amaru realised that he wasn't breathing, and with a heavy sigh, he dropped his head against the rubble he was lying on. Brief shouts of similar alarms and declarations rang through the rest of his squad and their's as they realized who they were watching.

The man Amaru had nearly blown away was panting for breath as he pushed himself off the ground, and began to chuckle. "Sithspawn! You near--" He wasn't allowed to finish. He wasn't even standing up straight before a slug picked him up by the shoulder and dropped him several feet past where he was standing.

It seemed chaos only brewed chaos on Altaris, Amaru thought spitefully as he dove for cover, he, as well as others, shouting the singular words of "Sniper" or "scout." Both were synominous for Rebel death. Shortly after the war began, Imperial forces had been haunted by these ghostly warriors. They moved in small groups, independant of any main rebel force. The moved like a breeze through the trees, and could pass by feet from you without your knowledge. Minutes later and a few men of your squad would by lying on the ground, a hole torn through them by a singularly well aimed shot.

Suddenly, the wheels and cogs of Amaru's mind never seemed so well oiled and smooth. Now he knew what had scuffled behind him while he was watching for the shouts. One had passed not ten feet from him, and he didn't even catch a glimpse.

He struggled to control his breathing, which would in turn steady his quacking limbs. War was hell, until you were released through death.

The nameless man Amaru had nearly shot himself wasn't quite so lucky, though. It never seemed to be as easy as a wound fallowed by death. It was always a gruesome wound, fallowed by agony and suffering. Death was never as subtle and abrupt as you'd think. The sounds of agony and grief simply faded, the look of suffering and pain frozen as stone on the victims face.

The man lying in the street in a puddle of his own blood was one of those unlucky souls. He choked, wheezed and gagged on blood as he fought for air, the wound most likely tearing a hole in one of his lungs. His back arched sporadically, his nerves misfiring as his brain began to shut down.

Amaru glanced up to see Chio, one of his squad mates staring at the man with an agonized look. Chio looked up and locked eyes with Amaru. Amaru knew what the rifleman was thinking. All he could do was shake his head. No, don't do it. It's not worth it, man, Amaru thought as he stared down his squad mate. He could see the man's throat bob as he swallowed heavily; swallowing his fear. Chio gave a glance at the surrounding buildings, looking for the face of the sniper.

"Chio, no!" Amaru shouted abruptly as Chio leaped from cover, running towards his fallen comrad. Amaru nearly jumped up, himself, ready to physically restrain the man from his suicide sprint. "Sithspit!" Amaru cursed, turning away from Chio and training his weapon on the buildings overhead. Chio was a dead man; Amaru knew it. All he could do is watch for the muzzle flare of the sniper's slug-thrower.

"Cover me!" Chio shouted. From what Amaru could tell, Chio was over the man. He could hear him saying soothing words to the fallen man, comforting him as he choked through another pint of his own blood. Amaru could hear the scrape and scuffle as Chio dragged the man to safety, towards the other squad's medic.

And there; there it was. A brief glint up in one of the windows. Amaru wasn't even sure he saw it. He didn't have to be. "There!" he cried out, squeezing his trigger tight, sending a volley at the rebel sniper. It seemed all too late, however. There was the tell-tale muzzle flare, and he heard Chio grunt and hit the ground. Others had cought Amaru's drift and began firing at the same building. And then again, on a completely different floor, another bright flash, and a man from the other squad was sent rolling down his pile of rubble. Amaru ducked down; the cinder block he was resting against disintigrating over his head as a slug tore through it.

They missed!

They missed twice?

Amaru blinked against his mind's eye as he watched Chio scramble into cover. But he had been hit! He heard him take the slug. Amaru glanced down at the fallen man. He was still, the pool around him still steadily growing. But, above his shoulders, where his head might have been, gore was smeared across the sidewalk. All that was left was a gnarled mass of scalp, skull and gray matter.

Amaru took a deep swallow before he gagged. War was hell.
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Post by Alex Kerensky »

OOC:
Do you mind if I join in? I have a couple questions, though. Amaru is on the Imperial side, right? Can I RP one of the snipers?
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Post by Dahdtoudi »

OOC- Feel free to RP anything you like. The thread is completely open.
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Post by VagueDurin »

ooc: I think i'm gonna hop in... give me a bit to work up a character.
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Post by VagueDurin »

Where:


Altaris
The sky.
Above Velpax City
and
Above the Temporarily Imperial held landing zone

When:

dawn

How:

The short straw
AKA: Bad Luck


The Landing craft bucked and rolled as it descended towards the surface of what Spencer could only come to call hell its self. He and the rest of his squad held tightly to the handles on the wall. They were one of the lucky units. they had made it to a safe zone before it had become and un-safe zone and gotten a trip to a star destroyer for some R&R. They were a commando unit, seperate from teh normal Shockwave troops. After receiving medical attention and reccuperating from injuries along side the other commando units, straws were drawn to see who was going back down first. And the curse of Altaris came true.

The curse was something that Spencer hadn't believed in until now. Those who have faught on the surface carried it with them. It was the lost souls of their comrades who have been killed in action, or been left behind for dead. He hadn't beleived it until now. This was teh third time his squad had gotten into space, and again they were the first back into combat. It was hard not to believe in the curse after that luck. But his men and he were loyal sons of the Empire to the last. They would not settle for anything but victory over the rebel scum.

Spencer was barely 20 years old, he was the youngest member of his squad, but he was also the highest in both rank and experience. He had short brown hair, one blue eye, and one brown eye. An Anti-Aircraft missile found its mark and one of the AT-AT Barges descending with them exploded. The resulting shockwave tossed their landing craft, as well as the other ships in the formation into flat spins and they crash landed on the outskirts of Cheagan City. Spencer was barking orders even before the smoke had cleared. After all of the passengers in his craft reported in, he flipped on the light attatched to his blaster Rifle to see through the smoke. The pilots weren't so lucky, as he now could tell. The cockpit had hit first.

Swallowing, the young man rushed forward and slapped the button to open the hatch.it creacked open a few feet, then stopped and sparks flew everywhere. "Sithspawn." he said under his breath.
"Leave the heavy equiptment here, we won't be able to get it out." he said into the comm, and quickly motioned for the squad to exit through the small triangle the hatch had opened for them. He went through last, and was pleased to see that his men had already made sure the area was secure and were fanning out to check the other ships nearby. There were two AT-AT Barges, and another Landing Craft that had survived the descent and the crash. Another Smaller shuttle was strewn about the clearing in smoldering peices. The other half of his squad were just now emerging from the second landing craft, and Spencer could see why. Three came out first, with a limp body, then two went back in, and came out carrying the final two troopers. Already one unconcious, or worse, and two injured, they hadn't been here five minutes yet.

Spencer didn't know this group, though, they were the replacements for the soldiers he had lost during his last campaign here. And he'd purposefully distanced himself from them. He gave a signal, and his medic moved forward to the scene with him, while the rest of his squad spread off to either of the two barges. He came to a halt next to the Captain.
"Status report Captain Van." He oredered curtly.

The captaint rose, taking his hand off of the stormtroopers neck. "He's dead sir." came the un-emotional voice from the helmet. Van nodded towards the other two. "They got banged up pretty good in the crash. I think he's got a broken leg, maybe two, and the other ones unconcious, but otherwise fine. sir." came the straightforward report.

Spencer then looked over to his medic, who nodded in agreement. Spencer nodded back, and clicked his comm twice. He began to listen to the sit rep his squad was giving them of the barges and their cargo.

"Major?" came the voice from behind him. Spencer turned around.

"Yes Captain." he replied.

"Where are we sir. This isn't the landing zone, what are we going to do?"

Spencer tried not to roll his eyes as his hear sank. Greenies He had been given a squad straight out of training. This was their first trip into battle... "and they sent you here..." he wispered to himself. "Captain Van, we are standing in the outskirts of Cheagan City. This is no ones territory. And we're going to gather what we have and move out."

"Out to the landing zone, right?" Came the reply.

"No." Spencer said over his back as he started to walk towards one of the barges.

"No!? But-"

Spencer shot a hand out to his side to silence the man. "Even if we did try to get back, and din't get killed by the rebels in the process, by the time we got there, it would probably be in Rebel hands and we'd be killed, or worse, taken captive." He said, not slowing his pace as he approached the cluster of his men and their dark grey armor just outside one of the barges....

ooc: more to come, i've gotta be up early tomorrow so i need some z's.
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Post by Dahdtoudi »

OOC- Glad the thread's in such able-bodied hands. :) Just in case someone wanted to jump in on some part, I thought I'd give a little background on what I have so far.

Amaru's squad is heading for the nearest safe zone, one of the longest lasting in the Altarian Campaign's history. I'll give more on that when I get there. The squad they were intercepted by were sent from that same safe zone to reinforce the lines against the rebel advance. (The terms of lines and advance are are over statements.)

So, I'm in the same boat with Durin. I'll make a post tomorrow, hopefully. Think I might wait for Kerensky, though.
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Post by Alex Kerensky »

IC:
Ardyn Uskalddar sighed as his partner missed her target again. "Frellin' greenies," he muttered. "They still need to learn the basics. I guess I will have to teach them."

The former Imperial sharpshooter leveled his weapon at a hiding stormtrooper and pulled the trigger. His .50-caliber Thunder Stroke gauss rifle jerked back from the recoil before it spat out an iron spike of death. The ferro-nickel slug turned the target's helmeted head into a messy glop of flesh as it punched through plasteel armor and bone. The trooper dropped to the ground, and blood began to pool around him.

Uskalddar picked up his rifle and moved to another window to keep the target Imperials from discovering his position. One thing he liked about his gauss rifle was the lack of spent cartridges. The weapon used solid slugs without chemical propellant. This kept any evidence of firing from accumulating on the ground. Instead of chemical propellants, the gauss rifle used magnets to accelerate its ammunition to transonic speeds. At such speeds, gauss slugs could punch through most vehicle plating, giving the sniper a very powerful weapon.

As Ardyn sighted through his scope and dropped his targeting reticule on another Imperial, his mind wondered as to why he was here. Only months ago he had defected from the stormtrooper corp when he witnessed the slaughtering of innocent civilians. He quickly fled to Altaris where he joined a local Rebel cell. When the Imperials jumped in system, he quickly joined the resistence. Using his previous skills as a sniper, Ardyn trained a small squad of sharpshooters to wreak havoc in the urban combat environment. Now, he was up to his neck in Imperials and having a tough time taking them all down.

Moving to yet another window after slaying his sixth target of the day, Ardyn checked his rifle's powerpack. The energy magazine still showed half full, so he decided against swapping it out for a new one. The magazine that contained his depleted uranium-tipped rounds also still contained several slugs left, so he continued onto the other window.

As the Imperials down below unloaded everything they had at the building across from him, Ardyn muttered a brief prayer that his partner would be safe. Better run, Aprades, or you will be hurt. He rested his weapon on a windowsill and peered down to see the Imperials facing away from him. He spotted one that was cowering behind a mass of rubble and dropped his crosshairs on the man. A flash of motion in his peripheral vision caused Ardyn to jerk and face the new threat.

A second Imperial had apparently spotted him and was beginning to bring his weapon to bear. Ardyn did not have enough time to center his weapon for a head shot, so he simply went for an upper torso shot. The Thunder Stroke gauss rifle spat out its payload of death, and the Imperial was catapulted backwards before the sharp retort echoed in the room.

Safe for the time being, Ardyn centered his weapon on his first target and began to line up his shot.
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Post by Vox »

OOC: Oh what the hell I'm in. Give me a day or two to come up with a post though I'm running six threads as is.
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Post by VagueDurin »

Spencer slowed to a stop in the middle of his squads formation. There was his tech operative, handy with a data-pad working away. Two pilots out of the 12 that had come down with them had survived the crash, and were standing far out of the troopers way, apparently shell-shocked. He sighed slightly. great, excess baggage he thought to himself. His Lt. must have been thinking the same thing as the troopers voice interrupted his thoughts.

"They haven't uttered a sound since we pulled 'em out sir. Here are their identifications."

The voice was the same unemotional almost robotic tone that all stormtroopers had, due to the microphones in their helmets, but Spencer knew who it was. During their time here on the planet, his unit had been put through all levels of hell. And it showed in their armor, but each one had accumulated a certain uniqueness to them. That, and fighting in such close quarters with the same men for so long gave you a sense of them... more so than you could have otherwise imagined.

"OK, I’ll deal with them later, what have we got?" He asked, looking down towards his techie.

The trooper finished typing and looked up at him. "Now after I tell you this Spence, you're going to want to kiss me. But I'd like to be put on the record now as saying I would appreciate it if you would show due restraint." he joked.

"Funny Prima, what is it?"

"Well, we've got two, I repeat, two Troop Carriers intact, We have two AT-PT's intact, and a shit load of armaments." he said excitedly.

Spencer grinned. He liked this... He liked this a lot. "Good. Very good." he said. "Venom squad, take care of the vehicles. I want them evaced and primed for movement immediately." He got a chorus of acknowledgments before turning to the Captain. "Shadow Squad, empty out your landing craft, I want every bit of equipment you have out here. Even the tools in the maintenance compartment." He got a bit of a confused acknowledgment from the captain, and Shadow squad, or what was left operating of it, rushed off to their landing craft. He then turned, and walked over to the two surviving pilots.

As he approached, he removed his helmet, revealing the weeks worth of beard growth, and the tattoo under his left, blue eye. It was a black and neon green skull with crossing bones behind it. There was a V in the middle of the Skulls forehead. It was the intergalactic symbol for poison, and it was also his squads crest. He stepped up to the first pilot, and read off the id card.

"Commander Shivitt?" he addressed him.

"Y-Y-Yes sir?" replied the pilot.

"Is this your first time down?" Spencer asked, referring to the crash.

"No sir." the pilot admitted.

"First time down in a combat zone?"

"Yes Sir."

Spencer nodded. "OK, let me tell you what’s going to happen. Me, and my men are moving out. We're taking the vehicles and ammunition with us. You can stay here next to this smoke signal and wait for the rebels to send their speeders in to investigate, or you can come with us."

"I'm not staying here." replied the second pilot.

"Either of you have any combat training?" They both shook their heads. "Can you operate an AT-PT?" He questioned.

The first one nodded. "Yeah, I’ve got some experience with them."

"Good. You'll take one of the AT-PTs, and you, are going to operate one of the troop carriers. Got it?"

"Yes sir!" They both snapped, and ran off towards the rest of the men. Spencer almost laughed. They outranked him... He placed his helmet back on and walked over to the grouping of vehicles and crates of equipment.

"OK, Break out the torch welders and cutters. I want the armor off of those AT-AT barges welded on to the carriers, on in the front, one in the back. It will give us an advantage for cover if we ever get trapped. We'll travel with an AT-PT in front and one in back, with the troop carriers and us in the middle. Shadow do you still have your sharp shooter?"

"He's unconscious but yes."

"OK, when he comes to he'll join mine. They're going to tail us and act as a rear guard. Any questions?" There were none. "OK, get to work." he replied, and moved over to the crate of weapons.

"We've never been this much on our own before Spence." Came a different voice from behind him. "You sure we can pull it off."

Spencer didn't look up from the Flechette launcher he was inspecting. "No. But we have to try Katlyn." he replied.

The woman nodded and took off her helmet, and started to inspect the weapons with him....




It was about 10 minutes later and everything was ready. The medic was loaded into the rear troop carrier with the two wounded soldiers, The front carrier was filled with weapons and ammo, the walkers were manned, and the charges were set. With two soldiers out of commission, one dead, one in a pt, and another in the front troop carrier, they were down to 7 troops. One of which was trailing them as their rear guard, the other six marched in-between the two carriers as the made there way towards the streets of Cheagan City.

A group of four flares lit next to their ships as they left the scene. It wasn't long before they could here the rumble of Rebel tanks, and they hit the detonator. Mines, grenades, and all 4 ships went up in a massive explosion, followed by multiple smaller explosions, their trap had worked, and a few less rebels were around to bother them...
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Post by Dahdtoudi »

As Amaru lay there, he counted the seconds between shots. There was nearly a steady rythm to them. And rail guns. It was much to organized and skilled to be average rebel snipers. It was almost Imperial, by the sound of it.

A man moving behind cover dropped in front of him. "Emperor's name!" he cried out. "They're on either side of us!" Two more men dropped, and Amaru knew that was his chance. The trooper leapt from cover and went sprinting across the debris ridden street, towards a small cluster of troopers from the other squad who looked to be covered on either side, counting as he went. At the right count, he dove forward, rolling off the ground and back to his feet before he was behind cover and used the bowels of a blown out building to stop him.

"Stupid, slagging vrelt," Amaru cursed, heaving heavily as he cought his breath. As he did, he glanced around for who ever seemed to be of the highest rank. No one had any ID patches, but one of them stood out as more experienced. "I suspect friendly fire," Amaru anounced to him, pushing off the rubble and dropping to a low crouch. "They're too regular to be rebels. They sound Imperial." He glanced around the street, looking for the squad's long range comms operator. "Where's your comms man?"

"Over there," the CO replied, nodding at a huddled body in the middle of the street. "Slug went right through the comms."

"Shit," Amaru cursed, both at the situation and at the slug that took out a man behind him. The trooper crab-walked away from the corpse and leaned against a fallen mason block. "You guys have a sharp shooter?"

"That's what we're waiting for," the CO replied as he went prone beside Amaru. "We split up with him before we ran into you."

"Could he be one of the guys shooting at us?" Amaru asked, suspicion corrupting his thoughts.

"No, he just commed in that he was still moving into position."

"Frell," Amaru cursed again as still more men dropped. Heavy combat was nerve racking, but this was worse. At least in heavy combat you could fire back. He clicked on the short range comm in his helmet on the open channel. "Mayday, mayday. This is VooDoo Eight," Amaru announced. "We're pinned down with another squad by heavy sniper fire. Anyone who's reading this please assist. Sending coordinates now." He gave his comm a triple-click, instantly broadcasting his coords. The transmissions were encrypted so only friendly forces would recieve it. However, his comm was meant for squad chatter, and only had short range. He hoped someone would recieve it, and if those snipers were indeed Imperial, they'd get the message and cease fire.

Taking a precautionary deep breath, he stood quickly and sent a burst towards one of the sniper's building before ducking back behind the rubble. He listened to the sniper fire carefully, waiting, counting. One shot, an AT trooper hit the ground, a gaping hole in his chest. Second shot, a tech flipped over to land flat on his stomach. But then, there was a third shot shortly after, out of sync. No one dropped.

"That's our man," the CO shouted excitedly. "He thinks he might have gotten one. He's changing his position, though. No joy on the verify."

Amaru nodded in acknowledgement and continued to wait, counting, waiting to see if there were still two shots. Maybe one of them would be friendly again.
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Post by Alex Kerensky »

OOC:
Lol, I had to frellin' read the post three times before I could understand the last part about who was shooting who. lol

IC:
"Damn stravag!" Ardyn cursed as his target sprinted to the cover of a blown out building. He calmly tracked the running Imperial but could not squeeze out a shot before the building blocked his line of sight. "Arrow Leader here, does anyone have LOS to that blown out building?"

"Arrow Two here, I have LOS," Apardes replied. Her voice was a bit garbled from the sound of gunfire. "I count four, no five, Indigos." Apardes went silent for a moment before speaking again. "Make that four."

"Arrow Three here. I confirm Arrow Two."

"Roger. Proceed to take them out," Ardyn said. He shifted his aim and began firing at the remaining stormtroopers below. As he wreaked havoc with the few enemy troopers, he again triggered his commlink. "Arrow Leader to Arrow Three. How is your ammo doing?"

"Just fine, boss. Not too hard shooting Imps when they ain't moving," Tony replied. "I could use a bit of --"

Ardyn waited for Tony to finish his transmission, but all he heard was a faint gurgling before the transmission ended. What the hell? He pulled back from his window and began walking to another post. "Arrow Three, come in. Arrow Three, do you copy?" Nothing but static greeted him. "Anyone have LOS to Arrow Three?"

"Arrow Five here, I have LOS. Arrow Three is not there." A pause. "Sith spit. I see blood, Arrow Leader. Arrow Three is down. Repeat, Arrow Three is down."

"Damnit," Ardyn muttered. He took a quick gulp from his canteen. "Are there any Imps under him in the street?"

"Negative, sir. The street is fairly clear. I don't know what got him."

Ardyn pondered this turn of events. Blood, no one on the streets, what could it be? Even as he phrased the question in his mind, Ardyn knew there could only be two answeres. Sniper or he was shot from behind. Better be safe. "Arrow Leader to all Arrows. Be advised that there may be an enemy sniper lurking around. Be careful that you do not hit each other."

A series of affirmatives trickled in, and Ardyn made his way to another window. The Imperials panicing below no longer concerned him. Instead, he began to search every window and crevice for the enemy sniper.
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Post by VagueDurin »

Spencer, and the convoy of Imperial troops moved slowly through the streets of the battle scarred city. Their point man, the AT-PT piloted by the at-at barge pilot tripped a landmine and was wasted. They weren't even sure whether it was Imperial or a Rebel placed mine, but it didn't matter much. There was an ambush at a corner that damaged teh firing mechanisms of both the Troop Carriers, so they could no longer use the turreted laser cannons that sat attop their hulls. But the group moved on none the less.

Then it happened. Spencer stopped dead in his tracks. It was the low whine of a Rebel Air Speeder, and it was getting louder. "Speeder! take cover!" He shouted. The troups dove to get under the armored hull of the carriers, and aimed their blasters towards the sky. The Speeder made a pass, and two troopers fell, then it swung around again. Spencer dove for the troop carrier in the front and grabbed a Flechette Launcher. He waited as the sound of the speeder grew loud again, and fired. The missile shot out the back of the carrier and screamed up into the sky, trailing smoke it struck the speeder dead on and exploded. Black smoke billowed out of the craft as it spiraled down to its doom somewhere in the distance. But it had done its damage. The second AT-PT had been reduced to molten metal and scraps.

Spencer walked over to where his medic hunched over one of the fallen troopers who was gasping for breath.the laser bolt had blown the soldiers legs off, and another had ripped through his stomach, it was a miricale the man was still allive... or maybe it was more of a curse. He was trying to tell the medic something. Spencer leaned down, removing his helmet he strained to hear the fallen trooper .

"K-...K...ll M...ee. Ki...lmee." Spencer sighed, and as his expression turned to a somber gaze, the medic stood back, and Spencer pulled out his slug throwing pistol. He aimed it at the troopers head, but didn't look away.

"I'll see you later Prima." he said. "Save some fun for me eh?" The trooper started to laugh, but only coughed instead. Then the shot wrang out and echoed down the street. Spencer put his helmet back on sadly, and looked around. He found the Captain. "Van. You have someone who can run a comm?"

The captain nodded. A moment later, the trooper ran forward. "Take his stuff, you're our new Comm officer."

"Yes sir." replied the trooper as he began to collect the equipment.

"Mount up. We've got to keep moving." Spencer ordered, and they started on their way, loading the two dead troopers into the rear carrier with the other cassualties.

"Sir, I'm picking up an Imperial transmission." came the eager voice of his new comms specialist.

"What is it?"

"Its a squad of troopers, they're pinned down by heavy sniper fire about two blocks due east. They're requesting immediate assistance. Sir, it sound pretty bad."

Spencer halted the convoy with a hand signal, and turned to face Katlyn. She gave a slight nod of her helmet. He nodded back. "Cyclops, you hear me?"

"Yeah, what'ya need spence?"

"You still got that kid with you?" He asked.

"Yeah, he's still allive."

"Good. I'm sending you coordinates. I need you to swing wide of this area and come in from the east."

"We responding to that mayday?"

"Yeah, you got the details."

"Yeah. I know the area too. I'll see you there."

"I copy, Spence out." Spencer turned to the rest of what he had left for troops. Their original number was down to 5, but they had ran into the survinving 4 members of another team, only to have 2 of them shot dead. So they were at 7 soldiers again. And these seven soldiers, wer for the most part very experienced. Except for the Captain, his comm, and his sniper. "We're going in there, and were going in hot. Our eyeballs are going to cover us. I want half of you to go with Astoc and evac all living troops, get them in the carriers or behind the cover as soon as possible. The rest of us will cover you with some grenades and Flechettes that will hopefully make these rebels flinch."

After a chorus of affirmatives, they moved out. As they came closer, Spencer could here the rifles screaming out death. He hit his comm. "This is Major Spencer to any Imperial forces. I'm approachign from the west with your help. When the flashbangs hit, I need you to run like hell towards me. My men will be coming to help with any wounded. Estimated ETA is 45 seconds. Do you copy?"
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Post by Vox »

Where:
  • Altaris
    Cheagan City
    Behind Imperial squadron moving to ‘old town safe zone’
When:
  • Dusk
How:
  • Damned incompetent foot soldiers

Silence was all that let Trev Criat know he was safe. His squadron was easily a half mile ahead of him, but that was irrelevant. His job was to secure the safety of his squadron and to make sure no one saw him. As a sniper for the Imperial side of the war his job was to keep enemy troops off of his now retreating squadron's back. Set up in what used to be a corporate headquarters Trev looked down the sight of his laser scope and watched the enemy troops file into the street. It would have been easy to pick the line apart one by one, but that wasn’t smart. Reaching down behind his back the sniper brought a comlink to his mouth. “Bravo Zulu Delta; coordinates one hundred nineteen, forty-four, two hundred six-six. Fire for effect.”

The message had been short and anyone listening that was a civilian would have been confused by it. Those on the military channels however would have screamed to help save the men down on the road. Taking aim once again with his laser scope he slowly trained it on the man in the center of the formation as they walked up the road. As he heard the whistle of the rounds coming in he painted it over the man’s eyes distracting him and then pulled the trigger sending a red lance of lightning into the man’s head dropping him limply to the ground. Sounds of falling thunder pierced Trev’s ears as the street seemed to explode filled with fire, screams of agony and the collapsing of more structures. Feeling the head approaching the window he was looking out of the sniper stood grabbing his weapon and supplies running out of the room and down the three sets of stairs that led to the back entrance. Looking to both sides quickly he ran toward the next cross road keeping himself under the cover of ripped awnings, collapses girders and the now smoke and suet filled air. “Smoker Five this is stalker contact made, trailer has been neutralized.”

Taking in his surroundings the markings told him the safe zone was one klick west leaving him another hour of travel easy. Looking over his shoulder he saw a group of four soldiers round the corner all injured and bleeding from at least a dozen places.
Hearing yelling behind him Trev took up position in an old store that was filled with sports apparel and various other objects that had either fallen or been left by people who had used it to hide from the war. Flipping the safety off his rifle he opened the channel again this time he heard the noise of a hover tank as well. “Bravo Zulu Delta; this is NightEye. I am in need of immediate assistance. Shell launchers headed to old town safe zone, not friendly. Ready yourselves. I repeat need assistance, shell launchers on route to old town safe zone need immediate assistance.”

Slipping the comlink back in his pack he saw one of the three hover tanks glide by escorted by a squadron of marines. This is not good, not good…


OOC: It get's me in and that's all I want.
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Post by TalRaimi »

OOC: If nobody minds...

IC:


“Captain Harkett?”

Three sets of eyes all turned to glare at the figure outlined against the open doorway, the bright light rippling through the opening causing the soldier who stood there to appear as little more than a shadow. “In or out,” a gruff voice barked indignantly.

“Sorry?” the shadow seemed confused.

“Either come in, or get out,” the voice explained in patronisingly slow tones, “But either way shut that bloody door!”

“Oh,” the figure finally got the message, taking two quick steps into the interior of the prefabricated building and closing the door behind him. “I’m sorry I didn’t…”

“Frell!”

“Nuts!”

A chorus of cries erupted from two of the men in the room as they hastily jumped up and snapped two sloppy salutes. “Sir. Sorry, sir,” both men grunted as their sharp eyes played over the soldier in the doorways insignia, now visible as their eyes became once more accustomed to the dimly lit interior of the prefab.

“What?” The soldier, a Lieutenant wearing an unusually clean khaki uniform, seemed taken aback by the sudden change in manner of the two men; only the rooms third occupant was still sitting, reclining in what had once been an X-Wing’s ejection seat, an amused smile on his weather-beaten face. “Oh… er, that’s quite alright,” he waved away the breach in protocol, finally realising that he outranked the two men standing before him.

“What can we do for you lieutenant?” Captain Flynn Harkett finally interjected, although he was in no hurry to rise from his seat.

The young Lieutenant turned towards Harkett, studying him for a moment before replying. He’d heard about Harkett, hell, everyone in camp had heard about Flynn Harkett, one of the most battle hardened soldiers in perhaps all of the rebellion, and also one of the most unlucky. Rumour had it that Harkett had lost more men under his command than any other Captain on all of Altaris, apparently he was supposed to be a bit of a reckless cowboy with the lives of his men.

“Captain, Major Freeman requests your presence, he finally spat out the reason he was here. “I am to escort you to him immediately.”

Harkett sighed, running a hand through the stubbly growth on his chin. “Well why didn’t you say so sooner Lieutenant,” he rose from his seat, passing a callused hand through his slightly too long hair. “I’ve been waiting for another suicide mission for almost three days.”

The Lieutenant couldn’t be sure if Harkett was joking or not, although his tone bordered on the self mocking. “Very well sir, if you’ll follow me,” he turned and flung open the door, stepping out into the harshly lit Rebel compound.

“Get the rest of the men together,” Harkett ordered as he passed his two subordinate officers, who were both still standing stock still at attention. “I get the feeling we’ll be breaking camp soon.”

Flynn Harkett strode out of the prefab and dutifully allowed the Lieutenant to lead him through the mixture of burned out buildings, tents, and prefabs that made up the majority of the Rebel command post for Cheagan City. Past troops of soldiers rushing either too or from battle, fully laden with whatever arms they had managed to scrounge; past officers scurrying between command tents relaying messages to the various Commanding Officers of the Rebellion, and passed the few heavy vehicles and tanks that had been assigned to Cheagan. Finally though they reached a dust encrusted, rust splotched dirty grey Prefab and the Lieutenant led him inside.

“Captain Harkett,” Major Anias Freeman greeted him as he was ushered inside a wide room with a low ceiling; one dominated by numerous computer terminals, communication equipment, and the single biggest piece of equipment - a fully functional holographic projector that had been scrounged off the Imperials during the early days of the campaign here on Altaris. “Thank you for coming.”

“Sir,” Flynn replied, not bothering to snap a salute, or even point out that it wasn’t as if he had had a choice in the matter. Hell, if he’d had it his way he’d have been reassigned from this near decrepit world ages ago.

“I have a job for you Captain,” the Major smiled, but there was no humour to it. He reached out and flicked a switch on the holo-projector, causing a shimmering two dimensional flat image of the city to flicker to life, the ever-changing Rebel-Imperial lines marked out in startling shades of red and blue. “As you are no doubt aware we have begun to push more and more troops and equipment at the Imperials east sector, in an attempt to overrun one of their longest held ‘Safe Zones.’ However we have run into a few problems along the way, namely that the lines are no longer clear, we have troops fighting intermixed among our own lines and those of the enemy.”

“Okay,” Flynn nodded his understanding, he knew most of what was going on anyway. “Why am I here?”

“Because we have located on such area of the fighting where a number of Imperial Squadrons had fallen behind our lines,” the Major replied.

“What sort of number?”

“Unknown,” the Major shrugged, “However their have been reports of some heavy vehicles, and of several squads of ground troops. There are also believed to be a number of snipers out there, both ours and theirs.”

“Great,” Flynn grimaced, if their was one thing he hated it was snipers.

“You and your squad are going to go in, establish contact with any rebel units currently within the area, and take out the Imperials; thus re-establishing our lines. Seem simple enough to you?”

Simple? Flynn could not have thought of anything less simple, heck even quantum physics would seemed easier than trying to root out the Imperials in that maze of crushed, blistered, burned, and crumbling rubble that had once upon a time been a city sector. “Understood sir,” he replied.

“Very good then,” the Major flashed him a salute which he returned. “Get your men together, you’ll be leaving within the hour.”

“Yes Sir,” Flynn turned towards the exit, and trying to fight down the momentary flash of fear that always accompanied him before such a mission, he boldly strode out of the door, wondering just how many of his men would return this time…
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Post by Dahdtoudi »

"Major Spencer, VooDoo Eight," Amaru replied, just short of screaming into the comm. "I've never heard anything more beutiful in my life." The trooper adjusted his position quickly when another man went down. "Keep your men under armor. We'll come to you. All casualties are terminal; dead weight. Apply covering fire on our aproach. Sniper positions unclear; target all surounding buildings." Each and every Imperial soldier around him was hearing the fragmented conversation. There were several cheers, some thanks, and some more shooting. "Relay our SitRep on frequency Kay-Ecks-One-Nineteen." Amaru watched as a man across the street his the ground, writhing in pain, the wake of irritated ions behind the bolt slowly fading. "By the Force; these guys don't miss!" Amaru shouted before closing his comm.

Taking a knee, the trooper let off a burt at the building where he guessed a sniper to be in before quickly dropping to the ground and squirming his way to a new position. "All units, VooDoo Eight," he called through the comm when he arrived. "Prepare for emergency Evac. Stragllers will be left behind. Lay down covering fire on all suspected positions. May the Emperor watch over us.

--

Gunnery Sergeant Hedry stood in a crouch, his back and heels pressed against the scarred walls of the remains of an apartment, his disruptor rifle held vertically, pointing at the ceiling. His breathing was slow and controlled, a requisite skill for sharp shooters of all kinds. He knew what was going to happen. He was going to be left behind. He was already a straggler. The best he could do was to attempt to deal with what ever was left of the phantasmic rebel scouts and fall back as fast as he could to the safe zone.

Another rail gun blast echoed off the rubble walls over the din of shouts and blaster fire. In the blink of an eye he pivotted to face an open window, his weapon at his shoulder, retracing the ion wake to its source through his rifle's powerful scope. The window it lead to was already empty; but there! A brief shadow flickered across another, and Hedry imediately began tracking its movement to the scout's new position. He knew one of them could spot him while he waited, just as well as he might be able to see them. They didn't have to wait and watch, however. They were shooting fish in a barrel. Hedry knew he was the true hunter: alone, careful, and precise.

Suddenly the shadow-like figure became solid as it stopped before a window, taking careful aim. Hedry had already taken aim, and he squeezed the trigger. A hole burnt through the rebel's skull near instantaneously, and Hedry was on the move again. The stream of light left by his rifle was much more brief than the rail guns, but much brighter and evident. As he ran swiftly through the torn interior of the apartment building, his disruptor began a low whine, which slowly increased in pitch as the weapon's powerpack charged the next bolt.
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Post by Alex Kerensky »

OOC:
I was planning on Ardyn having the only gauss rifle, but oh well. Unless, of course, you just shot Ardyn. :)

Also, rail and gauss weapons do not leave an ion trail. The only waste product they produce is a flash of light and a sonic boom. That is it.

IC:
"Arrow Four is down. Repeat, Four is down and out."

Sithspit! Ardyn leaned against a wall and strapped his rifle to his back. He pulled out his pistol and charged it with a metallic click. "All units, pull out. Return to rendezvous point charlie. We did our job, now let's pull out."

As Ardyn quietly ran down the stairs, he cursed this turn of events. They were easily destroying the Imperial squad, but then this sniper came up. Ardyn did not want to lose anymore of his men, so he called the retreat. Their lives were worth more than the destroying of some Imperial squad. Our job is done. Time to go home.

The Rebel sharpshooter carefully peeked out of a doorway and saw that the alley was clear. He kept his path contained to areas that offered cover from the windows above and quickly made his way through the broken buildings to the rendezvous point.

---

OOC:
Yeah, short and vague. Sorry, I am tired at the moment, and I cannot think of anything else to write. :?
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Post by Dahdtoudi »

OOC- WTF, guys?! Here I had a kick ass crew, I don't post for a few days, and ya'll run off!
I bet I have less than half as many posts as some of the people who've been here less than half as long as I have...
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Post by Alex Kerensky »

OOC:
Lol, who says we are running off? :P I am just pulling back and regrouping. :)
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Post by VagueDurin »

ooc: sorry, i'm still here. Parents pulled a suprise trip on me, and then i had a bunch of school stuff to register for which induced major writers block. I'll get a post up as soon as i can think one up. Promise.
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Post by TalRaimi »

OOC: I'm still here too.

IC:

“You have gotta be kiddin’ me!” Sergeant Elias Voigt hissed through clenched teeth as he and the ten men he was leading stopped short at the edge of the makeshift landing field. There, idling on the short, dirty grass in front of him was the battered, rust stained shape of a thirty year old Republic gunship. “There sending us in on that?”

The veteran Sergeant’s outcry was not so much the age, or state of the craft, – he had spent enough time with the rebels to know that there engineering teams were among the best in the galaxy, and could easily have restored the flying antique to service with nothing more than a hydro-spanner and a role of insulation tape – no, what troubled Sergeant Voigt was their method of transport. They were to be flown to there objective.

“It’s the quickest way in,” Flynn said, stepping around the nose of the gunship, his rifle hefted on one shoulder.

“Not to mention the quickest way to a quick death,” another voice added as Corporal Reece Kalten stepped forward, brushing a stray lock of brown hair back under the armoured helmet he wore. “You do realise that anything that takes to the air over the city is liable to get shot down, don’t you?”

“It’s not my call,” Flynn shrugged, feeling a momentary twinge of anger. He had covered all the arguments already, but as usual the C.O. had refused to listen, speed he argued, dictated the risk. “Anyway, ours is not to reason why… Now get aboard, the sooner were there the better.”

“Alright,” the Sergeant yelled, once more feeling that he had been betrayed by those of a higher rank than him, didn’t they care about the mens lives that they were putting on the line? Was he, and those men he commanded, nothing more than merely pawns in some gigantic game? “You heard the Captain, lets go.”

Muttering and grumbling under their breath, the squad wearily trooped aboard the gunship, grabbing hand-holes here and there, unslinging their weapons and slipping the safety’s off. Flynn was the last aboard, his feet barely touching the deck of the gunship before it rose unsteadily into the air, swivelling around and gaining altitude as it headed East, towards Imperial lines.

-------------------------------------------------

It was a short journey, twenty minutes at best, as the gunship skimmed low over the city in an attempt to avoid detection by any of the orbiting warships or their fighter escorts. Sitting in the doorway, legs flung over the side, Flynn’s dark eyes surveyed the skeletal grey hulk of the city below him, it was hard to believe that this place had once been a bustling, thriving place, a home to thousands of people; a home to him. Now it was nothing more than a collection of broken and blown out buildings, a mess of twisted steel and rubble; home to tripwires, mines, snipers, and of course, death.

*Twang!*

A blaster bolt ricocheted off the underside of the gunship, snapping the Captain out of his reverie.

*Twang!* *Twang!*

More shots pelted the ancient transport, and this time Flynn caught a glimpse of muzzle flashes from below, off to his starboard side. Swivelling his torso around his brought up his assault rifle and squeezed off three shots, which disappeared into the rubble strewn city below. The chances were he hadn’t hit anything, but at least it might keep whoever it was from firing at them quite until the gunship was out of range.

“Everyone alright back there?” the pilot’s voice asked over the intercom. “Seems there are a few unfriendly’s about today.”

“No drenn,” Sgt Voigt quipped.

“We’re almost at the LZ,” the pilot elaborated, “Our lines are mixed in with there’s from now on.”

“Great,” Flynn breathed, clutching his still smoking rifle a little tighter, and letting his eyes rake the ground below for any more signs of weapons fire. It was then that he spotted the telltale burst of smoke below, only a moment before the pilot yanked the gunship hard over to port.

”Incoming!” he yelled as his missile warning lights lit up the cockpit. “Everyone hang on!”

Flynn did not need to be told twice as he was pitched backwards, instinctively letting go of his rifle and grabbing for another more secure handhold. Gunships were not meant for evasive manoeuvres when carrying a full squad of soldiers aboard. Almost immediately the craft righted itself, only then to slew left, while all the time the ground based missile closed the distance between them.

“Aargh!” a grunt from his right alerted Flynn to one of his squad’s peril, as the next second a soldier flew passed him, his hands desperately scrabbling for a handhold as he slid over the edge of the gunship and out into space.

Flynn watched in desperation as the soldier seemed to hang in the air momentarily, his face etched in panic, eyes wide, mouth twisted up in a silent scream as the rushing air stole his voice from him. And then suddenly he was gone.

“Hang on!” the Flynn yelled, “Damn it hang on!”

“Brace for impact!” the pilots words drowned him out, as the gunship levelled out once more, this time dropping towards the earth at a heart-shattering rate, its nose down. No sooner were the words out of his mouth than did the missile strike, hitting the gunship from behind and pitching it forwards.

Flynn’s vision blurred, shapes raced by faster than his eyes could count, ghostly faces flashed in front of him, and the grey formless shapes of buildings seemed to close in around him. Desperately he hung on, one hand being wrenched from its grip though by the momentum of the craft, the other seemingly glued to his handhold. The whine of engines filled his ears, contrasting with the whistling air as it rushed past him, mixed in with the panicked shouts and cries of his men. Suddenly he felt an impact, a jarring sensation that ran throughout every bone in his body, and then he was pitched forward, his hand jerked loose of its hold.

He felt himself sailing through the air… and then… blackness.
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Post by VagueDurin »

"Keep your men under armor. We'll come to you. All casualties are terminal; dead weight. Apply covering fire on our aproach. Sniper positions unclear; target all surounding buildings."

"I copy VooDoo Eight." Spencer replied crisply... Dead weight... He shuddered slightly at the sound of the statement. "All units, prepare to receive freindlies." he ordered as they slowed to a stop at a corner. The shots could now easily be heard.

"Bring the other carrier up. I want a wedged cover for the men." the carrier slowly moved alongside the first. Spencer handed out a few Flash-Bang Grenades, and some automatic weaponry from the weapons cache hidden in the troop Carrier, and took a deep breath.

He climbed up onto the side edge of the carrier and crouched. "On my mark... 3... 2... 1... Mark!" he called and with decent speed, the carriers lurched forward and swung around, meeting at a point with approximately a meter of clear space between them.

Spencer and the others immediatly lobbed the grenades into the air, there were a few flahses and then 4 distinct bangs to hopefully deter any Rebel Snipers, then his men rushed in behind the carriers, weapons almost simultaneously opening up on the sorrounding buildings.

Spencer slowly edged his way in front of the Carriers, and around, dropping behind a crumbled stairway, he let his assault rifle rest at his shoulder, as he waited for a target. "VooDoo Eight, Calvary has arrived, haul ass!" he said into his comm, and watched as Imperial soldiers quickly began to flee their hiding spots and sprint in his direction.

He saw one go down and quickly retraced a possible angle for the shot and opened up with his assault rifle the window shattered and a rifle fell from it. He didn't know if he had gotten the shooter or not, but if he hadn't killed him, he'd certainly given him a wake up call. Yet, even as the soldiers continued towards him, the sharpshooting stopped...

"Cyclops, what have you got?" He asked slowly and quietly.

"At least 3, no more than 10... Sorry boss, these guys are good. They fell back just moments ago, all had pre-planned escape routes and all knew exactly where they were headed."

"Pre-planned escape routes... I wond-"

"Wonder if these guys knew that VooDoo was gonna be coming through here."

"Yeah... Stay there for now, Keep an eye out, I'm gonna evac these guys to the nearest place that has plenty of cover and find out whats going on. You give me a heads up if you see anything."

"You got it boss."

Spencer slowly rose from his crouch and held up a hand, telling his men to cease fire and waited for the last of the soldiers to make it past his vehicles.

ooc: Its not much cause i've still got a bit of writers block... but it'll keep the story moving along so it'll work
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Post by Dahdtoudi »

OOC- You know, I was gonna make a post, but I'm feelin' lazy right now. :p
I bet I have less than half as many posts as some of the people who've been here less than half as long as I have...
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Post by Dahdtoudi »

OOC- Alright, because of the sporadic posting, some things may not exactly fit. Oh, and I had also meant to make an argument about the rail guns (nothing really important), but it really doesn't matter. :P

IC- Everything was a whir of chaos. Rail gun bolts rained down, blaster bolts flew up, until there was only ionized blaster gas in the sky. Still, the supressive fire continued, several of the surrounding troopers losing control. Their rescue came in a rain of additionaly fire, ripping apart the surrounding buildings, a fitt announcement to its arrival.

Amaru peered at the surrounding buildings from behind his cover as everyone ran for the safety of the APCs, a puzzled frown creasing his forehead. "Why did they stop?" he breathed quietly.

"Kline! Let's go!" The CO of the other squad snapped him out of his reverie, and the trooper shoved himself to his feet, taking up the tail end of the exodus to the security of the armored transports. Amaru slung his blaster rifle over his shoulder before reaching up and pulling himself up into the belly of the APC.

"This is VooDoo Eight. That's all of 'em. Roll out to safehouse Romeo-Oscar-Echo-Two-Eighty-Five," Amaru nearly shouted into the comm, his wound up nerves springing lose. He gave a hefty sigh as he leaned himself against the wall of the overstuffed APC, allowing his legs give out and let him slide to the floor.

Guilt and responsibility tried to break into his conciousness. He knew there was a sniper behind them, left behind from the other squad. He knew he should probably speak with this Major Spencer. However, he fended the heavy feelings off. If that sniper couldn't move his ass fast enough to randesvous, he could find his own way home. And he wasn't the ranking officer there. He'd let the other CO take care of the officer. Amaru didn't mind that he thought of himself as probably the most experienced in his squad, and probably the other squad. He wasn't sure of Spencer's unit, though. But, five tours of Altaris meant a lot. He wasn't sure if he was blessed or cursed to be alive still, lucky or SOL.

He didn't care. He just wanted to get to the safe house and rest. Closing his eyes, he was a baby in a cradle, the bouncing APC lulling him to a light sleep.
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Post by Alex Kerensky »

OOC:
Oh, you want to argue about rails? :P

Hmm.... What to post. Bah. Need to think of something.
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Post by VagueDurin »

As soon as the comm came through that they had everyone, Spencer gave his own signal and his men formed up. The overfilled APC's had troopers clinging to whatever they could find on the outside cramed in the inside and some who had to walk with Spencers Unit. Spencer himself crouched atop the rear APC just behind the gun, and kept his Rifle ready for any enemy targets. There was a decent safehouse near here, thats where they were headed... But their was no garuntee that their journey would be swift, or painless.

"Venom and Shadow Squads, report in." He said through his comm as the APC's made their way through the rubble strewn streets. He didn't think he'd lost anyone during the short Skirmish, but he wanted to check anyway. Sure enough, everyone was accounted for. Spencer almost smiled... But he couldn't. There were far to many bodies back there in that street for him to smile.

A minute or so later, he got a comm from his sniper. "Spence I've got a contact down on the street... He looks to be a freindly, and he's not moving to fast. I think he's a straggler they abandoned."

"I copy Cyclops. Proceed under your own descretion. Make sure he is what you think he is before you bring him in."

"Alright Spence. I'll see you at the safe house. Cyclops out."

Spencer sighed slightly. This VooDoo Eight must not beleive in the curse... He slowly shook his head and re-focused. Cyclops and the kid would take care of the comrade back there, he needed to worry about the ones he had under his charge now.


Cyclops took slow breaths as he peered through his rifle's scope. Following the Imperial snipers movements... He knew he was right... Just knew it.

"Get ready kid." he said into the comm, and brusehd his finger across the trigger. A crimson colored bolt sprang forth and kicked up dust and duracrete just in front of the sniper. And just seconds later, the sharpshooter from Shadow Squad came out of the alley with a blaster pistol aimed at Gunnery Sergeant Hedry's Chest.


It wasn't too long later before they rolled up to Safe House Romeo-Oscar-Echo-Two-Eighty-Five. As the troopers began to pour out of the APC's Spencer ordered his men to create a perimeter, he himself waited attop the APC. He wasn't taking any chances. This safe house was to valuable to comprimise...
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Post by Dahdtoudi »

Hedry had his rifle across his back and his blaster in hand as he made his way slowly down the edge of the street, nearly in a crouch as he moved. He felt something; someone watching him. He knew the feeling. Way back from boot camp, troops would describe the feeling to him after a mixed unit training op. With his luck it was probably one of those damned rebels; a straggler like he was.

Then, out of no where, a rifle bolt blew a hole in the ground at his feet. The sniper gave a quick hop backwards, and suddenly someone was in front of him with a blaster at his chest. Reflexes took over as he grabbed the blaster aside, sending the elbow of his trigger hand towards his assailant's head. He didn't even stop to check who he was before the man ducked and his shoulder stiffly into Hedry's gut, driving him to the ground.

"Rebel scum!" Hedry growled as they wrestled with each other, striving for control of each other's blaster.

"You dumb vrelt!" the other man cursed suddenly. "I'm Imperial!" Hedry grunted and shoved the man off him, scrambling to his feet.

"Try saying that before you point a slagging piece at my chest," Hedry grumbled, holstering his pistol and brushing himself off. "Damned Greenhorn." Hedry glanced up and down the street, finally looking up in the general direction of the shooter. "Where's your trigger?" he asked the kid, referring to the sniper side of the team.

--

Amaru's eyes fluttered open as the APC slowed to a stop. He checked the map in the corner of his fuzzy HUD, and noticed they were at the proper coordinates. "All units, VooDoo Eight. Welcome to VooDoo squad's humble abode. Enter a holding pattern around the area until we're given a clear." The war tattered trooper closed his comm and stood to his feet with a groan. The APC hummed to life again, surging softly forward as Amaru jumped off the back.

"This is VooDoo Eight to Romeo-Oscar-Echo-Two-Eighty-Five. Submitting clearance code. Estimated numbers is about three squads. Currently inside holding pattern. Awaiting authorisation." Out of reflex, the trooper trotted to the nearest form of cover, ducking low behind it.

"Copy that, VooDoo Eight. Keep the groups small and sporadic on their way in. Three squads suddenly disapearing may draw attention. Front lines are unclear. The walls have eyes, tonight."

"Roger, roger, VooDoo Eight out." Amaru stood from his cover and ran across the street and down a narrow alley. The small alley led into a small courtyard of a smashed up project building. The entire area had been smashed apart by orbital bombardment. Everything in a seven block radius was leveled.

Amaru trotted rapidly down a starecase leading into a dug out basement, passing through hole broken in the wall, down a small tunnel, passed an E-web checkpoint, and finally back into another basement and up some stairs. The sky above him was the side of a downed building, the walls around him piles of rubble, save for one. Directly across from him, the side of a downed AT-AT could barely be recognized. The cold behemouth supported the secret cave and the buildings the formed it, and provided an excellent safe haven. Imperial troops could crowd inside or clamber around the side-ways halls and corridors of the downed buildings. Glancing upwards, Amaru could barely see the barrels of several E-webs pointing down at him from the windows above him, the gunners sitting idly and chatting. Manning an E-web in a place like this was a god send, and shifts were rightfully rotated accordingly. The faint glow of fires flickered from here and there inside the AT-AT and small burrows carved out of the rubble. In the hell that was Altaris, this was heaven.

After a while, all that remained of his squad, the squad they randesvouzed (SP?) with, whom he learned was designated Fairborn, and Spencer's two units had gathered in the belly of the cave. The APCs were hidden away in alcove's topside specifically designated for vehicles such as them.

Amaru found himself a space beside a small cook fire where he could fill his stomach and watch Spencer's units. They were obviously just sent down from Altarian orbit; they had their share of green horns. Rules, regulations, and the propper way to do things hadn't yet been swept from their minds from war fatigue. Amaru watched each one carefully, finally deciding on who was in charge, who talked the most. "Major Spencer," he shouted across the cave, calling the officer over.
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Post by VagueDurin »

Spencer and Katlyn were sharing a cannister of water when Spencer was called. He looked over in the direction and located an obviously battle hardened officer waving him over. Must be VooDoo Eight. he thought to himself. He took another swig of the water and left the company of his squad, making his way over to the man who was leading the wayward group of troopers who had seen so much horror today. He took a seat next to the man and offered his hand for a shake.

**

The kid nodded towards an open window in the building accross the street, where the glint of the rifle was visible for a second before it dissapeared. About a minute later, Cyclops imerged from an alley and hurried over to the other two snipers. He slowed to a stop and threw off his helmet. "Hedry!" he said in astonishment. They had trained together in the same sharpshooting unit before they'd been shipped off to their own squads. "Wow, its nice to see you allive." he said, slapping the man on the shoulder armor. "Your not VooDoo are you?" he asked as the group moved to the nearest alleyway.
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Post by Dahdtoudi »

As he watched the Major, he studied him thoughtfully. He thought he had heard Spencer's squad designations before; probably only when he passed by a conversation. But, they were definately recently landed, judging by the number of surviving greenies. But, they had an air about them. All of them. Confidence, seperate. They only looked to themselves and associated with themselves. They were a unit alone all together. "Special Forces," Amaru muttered.

Amaru pondered shaking the man's hand a moment, thinking of the mental aspect of it. It was a well accepted rule that no one ever or would ever get off Altaris alive. Not getting to know those who would die around you made things easier. But death was inevitable, Amaru decided. They might as well deal with it.

"Corporal Amaru Kline; VooDoo Eight," Amaru said, shaking the major's hand. "You guys pick up Fairborn's sniper, yet?" The trooper reached down, grabbing a piece of roaster, Imperial issue processed meat, ripping a bite out of the tough substance before offering it to the major.

--

"Negative," Hedry replied, a light smile plastered to his face to see his old friend still alive. "I'm with Fairborn. We met up with VooDoo just before we started taking hits. You're with the rescue squads, right? Where'd you guys come from? I don't remember reading anything about scheduled landings in our area."

After the pleasantries were over, Hedry's eyes turned cautious once again, drawing his blaster and glancing at the surrounding buildings. The Scouts were anywhere and everywhere, these days. However, despite the cold, forboding settings and circumstances, the Sergeant couldn't shake the pleased smile from his mouth, now a cross between a smirk and a grin.
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Post by VagueDurin »

Spencer accepted the meat, and took a chomp out of it himself. He nodded slowly. "My two sharpshooters said they'd found what appeared to be a freindly contact. I assume thats who it was. They should be along in awhile as long as they don't run into any trouble." he said around the meat as he tried to chew it.

He took a moment to look around, again taking notice of the soldiers in VooDoo. "You've been down here awhile, haven't you?" He asked after a few moments, looking back at Amaru.

**

"One of the ships coming down with us got hit by anti-aircraft fire and blew us and the rest of the ships wide of the landing zone. We hit pretty bad, lost most of the pilots and a trooper. We were blowing our way towards the nearest safe-zone when we picked up your mayday." Chise explained as they began to move out. "Why didn't you come with Fairborn?" He asked out of curiosity as the three walked...
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Post by Dahdtoudi »

Amaru took another chomp from the tough slice of meat. It was more like beef jerky, and tasted like it had already been digested once before. Probably was.

"Chyeah," Amaru scoffed, a disdainful grin creasing his dirty face. "You could say that. Working on my sixth tour of Altaris, and lemme tell you, it's just like the first." The trooper swallowed hard against a piece of the foul meat as it passed down his throat. "And the second, and the third, and so on," he continued. "Everyone around you dies, and you can only watch."

"But, I'm glad they found that sniper," Amaru said with a mischievous smile. "I wouldn't want to be any more 'cursed', as they say, more than I already am."

--

Hedry shook his head as the fight replayed in his head. "I had just gotten into position around one of the surrounding buildings when you guys replied." His head steadied and continued its survey of its surroundings. "Your boys nearly blew me apart," he added with a chuckle. "By the time I had made it back down to terra firma, you were riders on the storm. I wasn't sure what was gonna happen next." Hedry shrugged under the sling of his rifle, jostling the weapon into a new, more comfortable position. "Speaking of which, what now? Are you two a support team for your unit, or do you have free range?"
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Post by VagueDurin »

Chise gave a shrug. "More or less both I guess." he said. "We were swinging around the otherside of everything to give yours and our guys cover fire while we made the rescue, but VooDoo Eight insisted all cassualties were 'dead weight' and that they would be coming to us so Spencer sorta let me to my own wim for awhile. But we're supposed to bring you back to the rendevous with us." he replied. "Given that we don't run into anyone else on the way." he added with a grin. Chise pulled out a cig and lit it up, offering the case to Hedry in case he wished to do the same...

**

Spencer gave a nervous smile in response. "I've got a bit more luxury when it comes to my men." he said in an easy tone. "They don't care what risks I take to make sure I come back with who I left with. And I won't leave anyone behind." he finished, making sure his tone stayed neutral. He wasn't trying to sound any better or nobler than the other soldier, just telling the facts the way they were. His comrade here obviously didn't quite beleive in the curse, or at least not as much as Spencer did.

"I was meaning to ask you, how abouts did you arrive there in that blood bath? My sniper told me those scouts all had pre-planned escape routes and they obviously had a rendevous. So either that was a normal place for them to stake out, or they knew you were going to be there..." he commented and then bit off another chunk of meat.
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Post by Dahdtoudi »

Hedry shook his head at the offer. "Either way, I'd sure like to get my cross hairs on those scouts." The sergeant's hand cleanched and writhed on the grip of his blaster with the thoughts of the snipers filled his mind.

--

Amaru took a swig of marred water for a battered tin cup. "We were running patrols along the lines," he said through a light gasp as he swallowed. "The rebels made a stiff advance and managed to dig in and forced us back. I guess the scouts were just waiting for us. Fairborn showed up just be coincidence of the chain of command."

Amaru left himself in thoughtful silence as he chewed at his piece of meat. "I've seen it before, though; these scouts, I mean. They find a place that sees plenty of us, plan their way around the AO, then settle in and wait. They're predictable to no end in their unpredictable nature." Amaru smirked at his recitation of an old, unofficial "combat manual" that circulated Altaris, written by the late, legendary Captain Moreilian. The curse finally released him several months ago. A piece of Star Destroyer fell on him. Amaru faded as he remembered that part.
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Post by VagueDurin »

Spencer nodded and sat back a bit, leaning his head against the wall behind him. "This is only my fourth tour." he said, seemingly out of the blue. "We we're probably supposed to be filling the gap that the rebels had just made in the lines, but anti-air fire blew one of the shuttles and the shockwave tossed our whole convoy far of the landing zone." he said, and nodded towards the Captain Van who was talking with the sole survivor from his Shadow Squad. "They sent me down with him and his squad of Greenies. They lost one in the crash, and another broke both his legs. Those two there and the sniper thats paired with mine are all thats left of his unit." he said slowly as he shook his head. "They came in on a transport two days ago. Straight from an academey, and the higher ups sent them here for their first tour of duty. Here . They never stood a chance."


ooc: will have a sniper post hopefully tomorrow.
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Post by Dahdtoudi »

OOC- Soo.... You gonna still make that post, there, Vague? :)
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Post by VagueDurin »

Chise nodded slowly. They continued walking, and he turned his head towards Hedry again. "This is kid, by the way." he added. "Kid this is Hedry, we trained together at the academy." he introduced the two of them, before continuing on down the road... It was a few minutes later when the two veterans suddenly halted, and the younger companion did likewise a step later. The three immediatly ducked into the cover of a fallen support beam and listened...
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Post by Dahdtoudi »

OOC- So, let's have a roll call. Who's still here? Kerensky, you there?
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Post by Alex Kerensky »

OOC:
Sorry, but I cannot. School is here, and AP courses are taking up my time. Until I find a way to get everything balanced, I will not be making IC posts. Sorry.
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Post by VagueDurin »

ooc: still here
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Post by VagueDurin »

ooc: Cough
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