NationStates Jolt Archive

The crying winds shattered against the rubble of Jurais fallen generator, the flashes of lightning and her following thunder battered the flame laden landscape; in the distance, the sanctum of the capital remained solid like an ancient bastion all too used to weathering these storms.

At cities edge, the protectors watched and waited, their vigilance uncompromising against the engulfing tide.......

Tormented heavens writhed and bellowed; the darkened sky of Jurai revealing nothing of what lay beyond. The answer was of course true and frightening, the Empire lay through the black, her noble forces crippling everything in her path sundering the very fabric of honour in a war where only conquest was sought. The battle for the stars was drawing to an end, now the onslaught for victory had begun.

The clear duralplex of commander Sixty-Six's visor displayed the data from the Doomgiver XVI. His pod was descending at velocities once considered to be impossible for mortals such as he, yet the technological magicians of the Imperial academies had once more determined ways to facilitate the Emperors demand for war. The streamlined shape of the Doomgiver constructs sliced their way through the nurtured atmosphere of Jurai; the thin neutronium hull surrendering to the faint roar of a sonic boom as the pod inevitably approached touchdown. Orders at this point were futile, the internal vibration rendering all forms of verbal contact impossible. Yet the ride had barely begun.

Each man inside felt the sharp thud as the pointed tip cleaved her way into blackened soil. Without delay pentagonal sides dropped allowing the invading horde of the Empires best to roam freely. Sxity-Six and his dark squad were the first to touch Coredian land, his feet haphazardly adjusting to the firm yet subtly different gravity of an alien world. The scene was almost serene, the enemy were no where to be found; their poor forces too stunned by the Empires breakthrough of the impregnable shield. This small window of opportunity was without a doubt to be closed momentarily.

Flames burst from sundered carnage each flickering and growing dispatching great plumes of black smoke high into the atmosphere; the toxic shroud clinging to the defended fortifications of the enemy. Surveying the landscape Sixty-Six's gene enhanced vision spotted movement in the rubble; a search and rescue team by the looks of it, a few men trying desperately to find a survivor, such hopes were clearly futile, the wreckage was carnage personified; no man could live through such torment, but perhaps they were not looking for a man, perhaps their search was more focused upon a Jedi?

Sixty-Six's gloved hand cast its point to the occupied rescue team, now involved in a frantic dig amongst fallen debris. "Destroy their vehicle." The clone commander ordered over the Imperial link. Answered by the steel glare of two Vanguard, the emperors elite watched with satisfied awe as several rockets gouged their way towards the rebel transports. Foreshadowed by emerging All terrain transports and Titan command tanks, the infantry began to push their way forwards into a world hostile and afraid. The skies were no longer lit by the occasional lightning flash, no, now they were scoured by a war of attrition.

The Coredian anti air defences were filling the drop zone with flak and turbo lasers, missiles screamed everywhere. In retaliation the Imperial Navy began precision shots from orbit, the Doomgiver transports medium guns sending a flurry of retribution to their hosts. Small bursts of light and dwindling fire proved the success of the Imperial attack.

Progressing quickly, the invasion force had within the space of twenty minutes established a sizeable ground force; including a prefabricated garrison base and a shield bubble of their own. Sixty-Six was impressed but he was waiting for one last piece, the king of their board....

******
The groans of Alex Masaki could be heard through the force, his wheezing breath and damaged body were slowly falling to the grasp of death. His essence now clinging to the few strands of grass that supported his soul. Propped by some brave soldiers Alex limped towards the city his frail limbs unable to support his own weight; Sixty-Six smiled a masked grin, "That men is a pathetic emperor of a pathetic nation." His scoff was enough to prove the divinity of the darkside. Surely death was better than this humility.

His mocking cries were quickly echoed by the ominous burst of fear; another landing upon Jurais innocent grounds. With a shattering crack an Imperial pod manifested between Alex and his escape, the blood red vessel cooling from its descent. Slowly her five doors opened revealing the host within. "Master Masaki." A snide voice chuckled. "I believe we've met." The hoarse whisper of Darth Nihilus chortled above the roaring ignition of lightsabres, almost forty glistening red blades were brought before the Jedi, each one pointed towards his heart. "Perhaps this time you will have the grace to die?" Each Sith extended their malevolent hands, using the force to grasp the Jedis heart, mind and even his soul.

Space

A flurry of blue turbolasers graced the bridge of the Executor; the light fire bouncing harmlessly off the Super Star Destroyers shields. Within lay the stern face of Grand Admiral Blathe the most bullish of the Empires elite. Hands clasped and back slouched the stern brown eyes stood fixated upon the Hellfire, the ship of his apprenticeship, the vessel of his rise into glory; its total destruction was not to be tolerated.

Upon the Admirals rushed orders the fleet had emerged from hyperspace within the thicket of glorious combat. The eternal wheels of the mighty Imperial war machine effortlessly spun an endless cycle of fire and desolation. Forming a bladed cloud above the Hellfire the Executor quickly intercepted the enemy firepower; while her escorting Star Destroyers banked out from the flanks quickly initiating a standard enveloping tactic. At the forefront of the advance was of course the Imperial swarm of fighters and bombers; each one banking through the onslaught of capital ship custodians; and brushing off the angered curses of the enemies elite squadrons. Blathe however just like his mentor sat firm and rigid allowing only his pride to bask in the many flashes of thermonuclear explosions.

Meanwhile on the other side of Jurai the Empire too was manifest; her line of transports and missile cruisers had quickly fortified above the capital herself; now open to attack from space. The sight was beauty incarnate to any officers eyes. Loyal brothers falling to the planet below, while above their comrades fought with ferocious intensity just to insure the fulfilment of the Emperors plans and divine inspiration. Never had the Imperial forces suffered a defeat with the guiding hand of Palpatine at their back and today would surely be no different.

“Daniel, Reinforces are…” said Raidon, looking out at the massive space battle. “Here.”

With that word ‘here’, five Ha’Tak motherships ripped out of hyperspace and were at the right side of the Imperial fleet. These were harden battleships, ready to unleash the fury of ten thousand gods onto the Imperial ships. They come out at front power, all weapons ready and shields on at 100% strength. All of the ship’s weapons fired into the hordes of Imperial ships.

“Beautiful.” said Raidon, out loud at the sight of the Dominion ships firing on the Imperial ships

Less then a minute later, five more Ha’Tak motherships ripped out of hyperspace. More battleship versions. They added their firepower to the first five. Another thirty seconds, five more battleship Ha’Tak fly out of the cyberspace. They start the same thing as the other did. Become huge thrones in the side of the Imperial fleet.

Raidon put a small black thing in front of his mouth. “Master Raidon to Dominion Fleet, kill those Imperial ships. Make sure they paid the price for our dead.” he said, his voice was cold, almost like Radion was on the edge of the dark side.

Ground

The War has reached the ground of Jurai. Its four continents and numerous islands were under threat from the Empire. And the point was no more driven further than the fact that forty Sith and Darth Nihilus assaulted the transport carrying a weakened Patriarch Masaki and a few rescuers.

Immense pain blossomed in the Patriarch's body as the Sith constricted it, and he felt the beginnings of a heart attack as the Sith squeezed his heart. There wasn't much he could do to them in this state, so he focused his remaining energy on the most dangerous one. How Nihilus escaped that collapse would be something to think about if Alex survived, but right now, it's time to stop him.

Suddenly, a pair of hands clapped and then a powerful surge of energy rumbled the ground under the Sith knights' feet. The density of the ground became like sand, and then even weaker and the ground crumbled to reveal a gaping hole, a long way down for even Sith Lords. Jacob Masaki, the Jedi Alchemist, has used is powerful abilities to attack the Sith, and the results are simply...ground-shaking. The Sith fell, leaving Alex and Nihilus to finish things. And finish things they will.

With a willpower only a Masaki could manage, Alex fought off the Sith Lord's evil grasp with his last remaining strengths, and launched a psychic assault that will attempt to grap ahold of the Dark Lord before the Patriarch begins the next sequence of moves to deal with him with the most devastating technique known to the Jedi Order.

Shiki Fuujin...

====

Meanwhile, the Sixth Fleet surrounded the remnants of the First and Second and allied forces in a protective cocoon, battering at everyone Imperial in an effort to escape. But escape won't be coming without defeating the Interdictors, which is the job of the Star Cruiser Hellraiser and her two sister ships, along with Nova battlecruiser escorts on loan from the Dragons.

The bridge rocked every few seconds with the pounding of fire on the shields as Captain Bridges snapped orders left and right. Already, the shields were taking a beating from the Interdictors' Star Destroyer escorts, but the Captain was ordered to concentrate on the important enemies.

"Sir! Target: Bogey 1 is in sight! We have a firing solution!" The weapons officer shouted.

"Very good! Fire!" The Captain ordered. The ship shuddered once more, but this time, from the massive number of missiles and torpedoes being launched at the first enemy Interdictor they spotted. Because Interdictors need time to switch from their gravity wells to their shields and vice versa, the lead one was caught by the multitude of baradium-tipped warheads and a few moments later, it blew apart. Not wanting to suffer like their dearly departed sister ship, the other Interdictors were forced to drop their gravity wells and raise their shields to protect the expensive generators. That was enough for the entire fleet, one ship at a time, to escape the enemy forces.

I sighed heavily as the Chimera broke the barrier to lightspeed. With the Coredian fleet in shambles, it will take a long time to break the Seige of Jurai. But I swear on the blood, on the honor of my family, that I will free them from the grasp of the Empire! Little did I know, however, that when I reached the relative safety of the secondary capital of Konoha, I would recieve a recorded message from my Grandfather, detailing his last will and testament.

Lafiel's destroyer group and Keirn've's Whitestars worked in beautiful harmony with each complimenting the other. None were ever left unguarded and their fire was continuous as they pushed deeper into the Imperial fleet. Closer, ever closer they needed to get for their plan to work.

"Admiral, Interdictor in sight."

"Alright, send them in."

Rambirds had typically been used to pummel straight through ships and leave them crippled or completely destroy them. Now they would wipe out anything near them with their reactors set to explode. Five were launched straight out the ship and set to vaporize the enemy. The explosion was magnificant as the reactors imploded allowing the fleet to leave the system. Once through the jumpgate, Jinto would receive word that his wife safely made it out. Keirn've on the other hand would receive some disturbing news on a personal level.

Planetside Jurai

Kamara's eyes opened and she stood up, slowly. She was at what was left of the generator still and sighed at the wreckage before looking down at herself. Drying blood covered most of her body, though the wounds were healing themselves at a good pace, hence why she was still 'alive'. The lightsabers she had borrowed were missing, but her specially made sword was still strapped to her back. She looked up at the sky and then the city in the distance. "Landings have started. Good."

She lept high and saw the soldiers and... the old Masaki. Didn't have the sense to just roll over and die... Not that she had any more sense, but that never crossed her mind as she landed and took off running. As she got closer, the blood red dropship landed and the group stopped. She slowed as well, stopping about ten meters away, standing in plain sight. "About time you Sith got around to landing. What was the problem, you get slowed down flying around all those wrecked Jedi ships?"

-----

Jurai System

The Archangel watched as more ships appeared. On the bridge, Im Kmmta looked around. "Allright... no one has responded to us and no one seems to be interested in stopping this battle. Engines full ahead, weapons stand by to fire on the least damaged Executor. Science... I want as intense a scan of that planet as you can get. I need to know where the shuttle that sent that pulse is."

The gunship's engines throbbed as it accelerated, shields nudging debris out of the way as the ship dove towards the battle, repeating it's request for information of a Crimm named Kamara in all known languages.

"Sir, what happens if they shoot at us... I mean... if a whole fleet does." a junior officer asked, gettling looks of astonishment from others that he'd ask that question now.

The Commodore waited a few seconds and sighed. "Then the shields will buckle after five or ten seconds, we will all die a horrible, yet quick death and this ship with self destruct and fly itself into the planet. Let us hope that does not happen." He normally would have told the officer to watch his station and not worry about such things, but watching the blood drain from the young mans face was too tempting, in addition that it got the others to watch their stations a bit more closely.

General Constil had just finished his first visit to the forward command posts which were for the moment out of range of any enemy artillery. The valley he had quickly summarised was a death trap for attacker and defender alike. The golden city snuggled between three high walls of solid rock and nestled next to a bubbling river was strategically positioned to gift the population their best chances of surviving a siege; but little hopes of ever escaping one.

Fingering the holo terrain model the commander slowly began to orchestrate orders, the first of which involved a Lucrahulk transport requisitioned from the Pentovan reserves.

***

Sixty-Six closed his helmet comlink to the four twenty seconds theatre commanders and joined his squad on what had become the Imperials forward command post. Upon one of the valleys taller hills Sixty-Six surveyed what would surely become a blood bath. The terrain offered the enemy covering fire from three angles and forced any Imperial ground assault upon the shield generators to pass through a valley which would surely result in horrendous casualties. And to make matters worse his helmet display offered no other alternative than a full on assault.

Snapping a power pack into his modified E-11 Blaster rifle the clone commander looked up with bated breath as the heavens turned a brilliant orange. Through the collapsed shield grid Lucrahulk Core ships were descending en-mass; their sleek bodies igniting the upper atmosphere as friction took its toll. "Mechanics." he uttered.

Ever since the clone wars the Kaminoan products had earned a particular distaste for anything that wasn't biological. Droids were the personification of their contempt. Back slouched and head tilted Sixty-Six took rest against the mammoth wheel of a juggernaut war hound; which would inevitably be reinforced with hailfires and other mechanical nightmares.

***

Theta Command

Striker cast a menacing glance towards the city as several white bursts signalled the start of the conflict. Firing in quick succession the rebel artillery struck just short of the forward positions of the four twenty second. Arm outstretched the theatre commander ordered an immediate fall back by five hundred meters while their own artillery could zero in. Backed up by the first TX-130's to reach the front lines the infantry took whatever cover they could find.

***

The holo image circled by one hundred degrees as general Costil monitored the enemy emplacements. "They have guns here, here and here." His hand made a sweeping motion to several points. "And they will ambush here and here." His face grinned wryly. "The Jedi above all else are nothing but predictable." His smile sported the first glimpses of victorious glory, perhaps a little premature, but earned nonetheless.

Interrupted by a nervous aide Costil's grin slowly fell away as he was made aware of the Emperors demands. "Deactivate the holo model and route the transmission here immediantly." His large bulk quickly dropped to the floor as the larger than life Emperor materialised. "Masjesty." The bowed head said subdued and fear struck.

"General Costil, you will soon greet my emissary who will insure a fast victory over the rebellion; he will assist you in the taming of Jurai." The twisted voice croaked and echoed through the audio systems.

"My Lord, who are you sending?"

"Lord Vader." The eyes glowed slightly in a twsited smile.....

***

Nihilus

The Sith Lord threw off the Jedi's retaliation, the old mans weak and frail form was drifting far from the force, his once solid and firm position was no longer an anchor in the stream. Nihilus however was a rock; his body was a barrier to the force, he consumed and pushed it. He was one with existence. A few fleeting moments lasted an eternity and the dabbling warnings of an old mans attacks rung with ample time to spare. Preparing himself mentally Nihilus chortled as the striking attack collided with centuries of discipline and power.

This, ends, now. Nihilus was bored of toying with this second rate Jedi. Grasping the force and commanding it, the river encountered a hole, a vast chasm in the force. Grass withered and died, animals wailed in pain and Alex Masaki found his ally the force, was gone. Laughing at the ease of his victory Nihilus watched as life, happiness and energy ebbed away from the crippled champion.

Kamara scowled. The whole group ignored her. Two possibilities... their too singleminded to notice me right now, or I'm beneath thier notice.

She decided to test which it was and with a small motion of her hand, brought a bolt of lightening from the clouds above down on the dropship, where she knew it would garner some attention, but probably not do more than char hull plates. Circuts could be sheilded and breakers tripped in the event of an electrical disturbance.

She then stepped forward again, forcing her way past anyone in her path(with an electric charge if they were stubborn), speaking in an ancient Sith tounge. "Sith! Finish the Masaki and let us speak together."

The fact that things around her were dying had no effect on her, nor did the fact the Force was being sucked into the black hole before her, as one barely touched her and the other did not at all.

General Constil had just finished his first visit to the forward command posts which were for the moment out of range of any enemy artillery. The valley he had quickly summarised was a death trap for attacker and defender alike. The golden city snuggled between three high walls of solid rock and nestled next to a bubbling river was strategically positioned to gift the population their best chances of surviving a siege; but little hopes of ever escaping one.

Fingering the holo terrain model the commander slowly began to orchestrate orders, the first of which involved a Lucrahulk transport requisitioned from the Pentovan reserves.

***

Sixty-Six closed his helmet comlink to the four twenty seconds theatre commanders and joined his squad on what had become the Imperials forward command post. Upon one of the valleys taller hills Sixty-Six surveyed what would surely become a blood bath. The terrain offered the enemy covering fire from three angles and forced any Imperial ground assault upon the shield generators to pass through a valley which would surely result in horrendous casualties. And to make matters worse his helmet display offered no other alternative than a full on assault.

Snapping a power pack into his modified E-11 Blaster rifle the clone commander looked up with bated breath as the heavens turned a brilliant orange. Through the collapsed shield grid Lucrahulk Core ships were descending en-mass; their sleek bodies igniting the upper atmosphere as friction took its toll. "Mechanics." he uttered.

Ever since the clone wars the Kaminoan products had earned a particular distaste for anything that wasn't biological. Droids were the personification of their contempt. Back slouched and head tilted Sixty-Six took rest against the mammoth wheel of a juggernaut war hound; which would inevitably be reinforced with hailfires and other mechanical nightmares.

***

Theta Command

Striker cast a menacing glance towards the city as several white bursts signalled the start of the conflict. Firing in quick succession the rebel artillery struck just short of the forward positions of the four twenty second. Arm outstretched the theatre commander ordered an immediate fall back by five hundred meters while their own artillery could zero in. Backed up by the first TX-130's to reach the front lines the infantry took whatever cover they could find.

***

The holo image circled by one hundred degrees as general Costil monitored the enemy emplacements. "They have guns here, here and here." His hand made a sweeping motion to several points. "And they will ambush here and here." His face grinned wryly. "The Jedi above all else are nothing but predictable." His smile sported the first glimpses of victorious glory, perhaps a little premature, but earned nonetheless.

Interrupted by a nervous aide Costil's grin slowly fell away as he was made aware of the Emperors demands. "Deactivate the holo model and route the transmission here immediantly." His large bulk quickly dropped to the floor as the larger than life Emperor materialised. "Masjesty." The bowed head said subdued and fear struck.

"General Costil, you will soon greet my emissary who will insure a fast victory over the rebellion; he will assist you in the taming of Jurai." The twisted voice croaked and echoed through the audio systems.

"My Lord, who are you sending?"

"Lord Vader." The eyes glowed slightly in a twisted smile.....
A man in his late forties, one who fought in the wars past, Major General Michael McNeil found himself in the unenviable position of defending Jurai City from the Empire, and reinforcements would be slow in coming from other cities as they had to go around the enemy positions and through the hillside. The only thing that would allow him to keep in touch with the other cities without fail are couriers, although for the moment, the secure comlinks still work.

He knew he had the terrain advantage. The city sat on a hill surrounded by hills, and a river that would make any crossing tough streamed the west side. The artillery sat on the outer hills, spitting shells and plasma every so often, and the major entrance through the valley was ringed with a layered defense of guns and troops. Then there was the surprises.

Michael smiled grimly as he surveyed the minefields and stealth spider layers inside the fields. There were enough power in the mines to blow off the legs of an AT-AT unit, and the spiders, biomechanical creatures designed to ambush with bloody efficiency, would be a devastating march for the infantry. The spiders will stay hidden until troops come near, then blast them away with laser cannons. Vehicles will have to contend with their kiloton missile racks. Only the Coredian commanders knew the proper entrance and exit routes through the mines, and those change every hour.

Then there was the second plan once the enemy breaches the minefields. That plan hinges on the fact that a large number of reinforcements are slated to arrive within six hours. With those reinforcements, the General hoped to outflank the Imperials and then repulse them, driving them to the hole in the shield, which was even now being slowly repaired by all the other shields on the planet. Close the shield and the enemy on the ground would be trapped and destroyed.

But now, the ball was in the Imperial court, a thought that made General McNeil chuckle. Now, the next move was up to the Empire. As he barked orders and awaited the sounds of battle, the General idly wondered what have become of the Jedi that were forced to stay and bolster the defenses. What had become of the Masakis everyone loved?

***

Nihilus

The Sith Lord threw off the Jedi's retaliation, the old mans weak and frail form was drifting far from the force, his once solid and firm position was no longer an anchor in the stream. Nihilus however was a rock; his body was a barrier to the force, he consumed and pushed it. He was one with existence. A few fleeting moments lasted an eternity and the dabbling warnings of an old mans attacks rung with ample time to spare. Preparing himself mentally Nihilus chortled as the striking attack collided with centuries of discipline and power.

This, ends, now. Nihilus was bored of toying with this second rate Jedi. Grasping the force and commanding it, the river encountered a hole, a vast chasm in the force. Grass withered and died, animals wailed in pain and Alex Masaki found his ally the force, was gone. Laughing at the ease of his victory Nihilus watched as life, happiness and energy ebbed away from the crippled champion.
Alex knew he had but one chance before Nihilus drained the life out of him. The Force gone from his senses, he fell back on the one supernatural source the Sith does not know: chakra, or inner energy. Ignoring the pain of shattered limbs, Alex clasped his hands together in a series of seals, freeing up the reserves that he has kept from the Sith for this one moment of pure sacrifice. Indeed, sacrifice.

Shiki Fuujin summons the Shinigami, the death god. In contemprary terms, it's the Grim Reaper. The user asks the Shinigami to seal the target for a price, his own soul. Once the Shinigami does it's work, the soul of both the target and the user are consumed, forced to duel in the stomach of the spectral beast for all eternity. A hell beyond hell.

In the history of Coreworlds, it has only been used twice. The third time would be the charm, Alex hoped.

He finished his seals, and then he lept, taking advantage of Nihilus' laughing distraction to grasp the Sith's body...

The Emperors emissary pushed his way through the battlefield; his tall form though absent of its former domination still oozed intimidation. Fear was the passion of the Sith; patience the dogma of the Jedi. Behind him rolling Imperial tanks made their way to the front lines, the gentle vibrations casting sensation through his new legs, body and soul. Sidious his master, had once removed Vaders strength, but now the Emperor had gifted it in mercy.

Darth Vader, was the chosen one; conceived by the force he was the prophecy, his wishes was the will of the force, but even he had a master. The gentle shudders of the comm rattled against Vaders side; the sensation was like life itself, a filler of pleasure and nerve stimulation.

"Lord Vader."

"Yes what is it commander?"

"Theatre command is reporting resistance in sector four, we have reports of the rogue Jedi Alex."

"Masaki." Vader said drawing out the word. "Thank you commander." The frequency closed with a gentle click. Sound.... Vaders wild eyes gleamed with passion; the memories of the dark respirator and hearing implants still filled his head with twisted anger.

"Release your anger and you will achieve a power beyond reckoning."

Vader thought back to that fateful day, the day where he had forgone mercy, the day where he had spearheaded the assault upon the Jedi temple. Masters, Padawans, and even younglings all fell to his blade; it was then that he had realised the true nature of the dark side. Through power Sith gain knowledge, through hate the Sith cast their will; and Vaders will was strong indeed. Ever since the dust strewn days of Tatooine the boy called Anakin Skywalker had asserted his position in the Galaxy. He had shaped events and even manipulated those in the rotunda.... Padame' His mind focused upon his lost love... Her death was still an eternal torment; "If only she had seen reason." Vader thought. If only she had joined him fate could have worked out differently. Ruling from Coruscant Anakin and Padame' could have asserted a new era of peace upon the Galaxy, ruling side by side, with their children at their feet, but the Jedi had stopped her. Their dogmatic view and allegiance to the Republic had killed Padame', the Jedi had caused the birth of Darth Vader, it was the Jedi that saw the rise of the Empire.

Cresting the blind summit of an unnamed hill Darth Vader paused for a moment. Folding his arms the menacing figure surveyed his war. Shock and Clone troopers marched forward in a swarm; supported by the archaic battledroids of the clone wars; their hive minds exhibited no sign of shame in their abrupt change of allegiance. The sensation returned upon his side, the gentle buzz of the comm link; this time it was Isar Haol. "Lord Vader?" The voice asked unsure. His confusion was of course understandable, without the heavy respirator and voice modulator most Imperial officers would be hard pressed to recognise the Dark Lord. "A scan of the planets Northern hemisphere has ascertained considerable enemy reinforcements moving towards your position."

"Noted Admiral." Vader closed the channel nursing the small click. Above him the sky was filled by the intimidating shape of a Victory Star Destroyer, safely out of range of the rebellions air defences. From the starboard blue lashes of ion cannon fire began to saturate the city. Nothing has changed. Vader thought quietly. Walking down the hill the dark Lord reached his prey, the so called Emperor of the Coreworlds, Alex Masaki.

[OOC: Okay, forget this... neither of you are even acknowledging my posts, or my character's involvement in this, so I'm through with this whole RP.]

Darth Vader stopped mere meters away from the duel that was between Darth Nihilus and the Jedi. One was consuming the force, the other was falling to shadow. Abomination; Vader said to himself. The force no matter the side, light or dark was sanctity itself, to violate its bounds was beyond reality; it was unthinkable. The slide of Vaders ignited blade cast its red aura upon the field, the gentle glow covering the two combatants until without warning both men collapsed. Nihilus was black and charred his skin a mixture of bubbles and blisters a mirror of the Vader that was, while Alex Masaki was on his knees, collapsed, sweaty, and unable to move. The emperors emissary turned to executioner.

Vader pursed his lips. "All to easy." Perching himself above the fragile form of Alex Masaki Vader rose his blade. "There can be only one emperor; imposter."

Sixty-Six dodged a series of incoming missiles; the blue streaks impacting upon the slow creeping advance of the bubble shield. Above, the imposing Victory Star Destroyer filled the landscape with laser blasts in an endless stream of supression and precision strikes. "There." Sixty-Six said catching a small glimpse of a retreating SPHAT as it moved behind a large outcrop. Recording the image in his holo visor Sixty-Six began to crawl back towards the safety of Imperial lines. "Droids" he barked as the first legions of SBD's approached the shield barrier. Uploading the data Sixty-Six narrowly avoiding being trampled as the numerous hordes advanced through the protective shroud.

***

Constil barked a series of quick commands as the endless swarm of vulture droids emanated from the Imperial Coreships. Casting a glance to the Western flank the holomap displayed an approaching rebel force. Entrenched, with air superiority, the rebellion would find that their golden city had mutated into no mans land. "General?" A tech submitted. "The missile tubes and coordinates have been readied and prepared. We are waiting to fire upon your command."

Constil clasped both hands behind his back. "Order the Tyrany to commence bombardment." The general quickly diverted his attention back the holo-grid. While he made further orders the noble Star Destroyer above launched a series of concussion missles, each one destined for shield generators further abroad. The Empire would turn the small trickle of advancing forces into a flood.

OOC: More to come - Jacob and the Sith, reply to Crimm and a detailing of the situation in orbit.

Darth Vader stopped mere meters away from the duel that was between Darth Nihilus and the Jedi. One was consuming the force, the other was falling to shadow. Abomination; Vader said to himself. The force no matter the side, light or dark was sanctity itself, to violate its bounds was beyond reality; it was unthinkable. The slide of Vaders ignited blade cast its red aura upon the field, the gentle glow covering the two combatants until without warning both men collapsed. Nihilus was black and charred his skin a mixture of bubbles and blisters a mirror of the Vader that was, while Alex Masaki was on his knees, collapsed, sweaty, and unable to move. The emperors emissary turned to executioner.
Alex had done it. By pulling out the essence of what Nihilus is and allowing the Shinigami to consume it all, he has defeated the Dark Lord and prevented the galaxy from being consumed by his unending hunger. But for some reason, he survived the Shingami's consuming. Perhaps several planets' worth of essence made it full...

Nevertheless, another problem presented itself in a Dark Lord more powerful than any other. One that could truly give Daniel the match of his life, this time around at least. Alex knew this was his death and he embraced it.

"Vader..." Alex spat as he rested on his knees, exhausted. He looked up into the cold face of what was once a powerful Jedi indeed. How far this man has fallen! How futile the works of Luke Skywalker seemed against this so-called Chosen One! But Alex knew. Knew the secrets of countering this incursion of Sith past was written somewhere in the scrolls Jacob will take away to places of safety. In that, he had hope. Hope in the grandchildren and great-grandchilren he sired. Hope in the future generations that would carry on his fight. Hope...eternal.

With that in his heart, he stared at the burning red fire poised over him, and embraced the end.

Vader pursed his lips. "All too easy." Perching himself above the fragile form of Alex Masaki Vader rose his blade. "There can be only one emperor; imposter."
"No. There will be another." Alex spoke, and the blade crashed down, ending a long and fruitful life.

Sixty-Six dodged a series of incoming missiles; the blue streaks impacting upon the slow creeping advance of the bubble shield. Above, the imposing Victory Star Destroyer filled the landscape with laser blasts in an endless stream of supression and precision strikes. "There." Sixty-Six said catching a small glimpse of a retreating SPHAT as it moved behind a large outcrop. Recording the image in his holo visor Sixty-Six began to crawl back towards the safety of Imperial lines. "Droids" he barked as the first legions of SBD's approached the shield barrier. Uploading the data Sixty-Six narrowly avoiding being trampled as the numerous hordes advanced through the protective shroud.
As soon as they entered the shields protecting the city from bombardment, the droids began encountering resistance, mostly from the mines seeded in the ground. Laserfire sporadically picked off the lead elements and it would only intensify as the droids advanced. A number of rockets lit off, heading into the center of the legions and detonating with kiloton force, wiping out many droids and opening holes in the marching metal. Holes that would be closed as quickly as they are opened.

And the March of the Iron Men continues...
***

Constil barked a series of quick commands as the endless swarm of vulture droids emanated from the Imperial Coreships. Casting a glance to the Western flank the holomap displayed an approaching rebel force. Entrenched, with air superiority, the rebellion would find that their golden city had mutated into no mans land. "General?" A tech submitted. "The missile tubes and coordinates have been readied and prepared. We are waiting to fire upon your command."

Constil clasped both hands behind his back. "Order the Tyrany to commence bombardment." The general quickly diverted his attention back the holo-grid. While he made further orders the noble Star Destroyer above launched a series of concussion missles, each one destined for shield generators further abroad. The Empire would turn the small trickle of advancing forces into a flood.
The problem with throwing missiles at shield generators is that the main generators are protected by theater shields emitted by smaller generators and in consequence, the missiles exploded harmlessly hundreds of meters in the air. The rest of Jurai is still safe for now.

"Hmm. That Victory Star Destroyer is troublesome. Someone bring that thing down!" General McNeil ordered. In response, SPHA and Urson units took the assignments, raising their turrets and firing everything they've got at the Victory.

The SPHA-I unleashed devastating ion energy to disable the shields, followed by SPHA-T, who fired their piercing turbolasers at the Star Destroyer, in concert with SPHA-M (Missile) units and other artillery forces. Ursons are gigantic bear-like units with twin heavy turbolaser mounts on their backs and they too engaged the Victory Star Destroyer. All this fire ought to mess up the VSD something fierce, as the Godulans would say...

Through the endless pathways and sky-lanes that comprise space traveled yet another armada of Imperial might; yet for an Empire whose Emperor was not that of the Sith, but of Man. Wheels had been set in motion, gears were turning, and through it all a new power had arisen from the ashes of history. For not only the Sith can return from shadows past.


The ensign worked at his helm controls, watching closely as his ship fluctuated through hyperspace. A light blinked to life on his consul and he pressed another button, ending its flashing life. He turned to the officer on deck.

“Lieutenant, we’re coming up on the Jurai System. ETA, 20 minutes.”

“Very well,” said the Lieutenant. “See to it we keep our course. The rest of the fleet shall arrive on time as well?”

“Yes sir, no sign of change has been seen in my calculations or the MAGI computers.”

“Very good, I will inform the Captain.” The lieutenant turned on his heel smartly and walked up out of the massive crew pit. He navigated his way through several stations and crewman working the bridge of the fleet’s command ship, before long he managed to reach the command station, where Captain Derek stood.

The lieutenant saluted. “Sir.” Captain Derek returned the salute and turned to face the deck officer. “Yes Lieutenant?” The bright and shining captain’s insignia was perfect on the captain’s immaculate olive grey fleet uniform. The lieutenant swallowed and kept his eyes forward.

“We’re coming up on the Jurai system now sir. ETA is expected at 17 minutes and counting; the entire fleet will arrive at once and on time,” he reported as clearly and quickly as possible. Captain Derek was a severe officer who had risen through the ranks of the Imperial Thrashian Fleet since the time of Emperor Shadaum, yet his black hair and smooth skin belied his age; not to mention his unchanging demeanor.

“Very well. Return to your post.” The lieutenant saluted, turned smartly and hurried off back to his station. Captain Derek smiled to himself as the young deck officer walked away. It was always amusing to him to give the younger pups a hard time, or make them sweat a little bit.

He turned to the command chair and was about to regurgitate what he had been told but was cut off by the curt wave of Admiral Daala’s hand. “No need Derek, I heard. We’re in a combat situation, and it would not be necessary for any formal reception of orders. In fact I want you to ignore the normal chain. We can’t waste time on such ceremony.”

Admiral Daala waved her long red hair, tied and braided in a ponytail, behind her shoulder. Her olive-grey uniform made her red hair stand out even more than it already did, not to mention her bright green eyes and sharp distinct nose.

“See to it that Field Marshal Verrick is informed. I want an immediate deployment of the Legion. We’ve no need to wait for formal introduction once we’re there either. From my report from his Excellency, Emperor Treize, the planetary shield has been broken and the enemy fleet is in tatters. We should have nothing to fear,” said Daala. Captain Derek wondered then why they had brought so many ships with them then, but was wise enough not to pose the question to Admiral Daala. Rumors of her past exploits concerning small fleets, a certain four Star Destroyers, were infamous enough not to draw more attention to them.

“Yes Admiral. Shall I inform Grand Master Helios as well?” Captain Derek asked. Admiral Daala gave him a look that said what she thought of that but did not say anything to reprimand it.

“Yes, see to it Captain.” She spoke tersely and Captain Derek took no more time in waiting next to her. He turned and walked off of the bridge of the Arch Angel-class Super Star Destroyer Olympus.

Throughout the great and hallowed docking stations and assembly areas aboard the Olympus tens of thousands of white armored stormtroopers gathered into their respective formations. Each was a battle hardened and well trained weapon of war; but what was more, they were part of a legend that caused fear to grip the hearts of any enemy.

Field Marshal Verrick stood on an overhang that overlooked one of the assembly areas. He watched as the 3rd Mobile Division gathered into companies. He always enjoyed watching military parades as well as good symmetry that military forces represented and his command of this new Legion was more than he could have hoped for in that small private joy he took from his job.

Verrick was taller than most men, by a foot, and always wore a black trench coat over his imperial green army uniform, as well as his peaked cap. He might have come out of a recruiting poster, and indeed he had posed for several on some of the outer areas of the Thrashian Empire for when the Planet Militia was formed years back. He often got small jokes thrown at him from that, but he considered them compliments.

Suddenly an aide stepped up to Verrick and interrupted his revelry. “Field Marshal, Admiral Daala reports that we will be making system entry within 10 minutes.”

Verrick turned to the helmeted stormtrooper at his side. The man’s armor had yellow stripes on him and several small insignia on his left breast that denoted his rank. “Very well commander. See to it that your unit is set for combat. We’ll be going in hot.”

“Yes sir!” The stormtrooper commander saluted and turned smartly in parade ground fashion and walked away to his command station. All over the ship clone commanders were finishing last minute details for deployment.

***

The flotilla of Thrashian ships came out of hyperspace. The Arch Angel-class Super Star Destroyer, protected by eight Venator-class Mk IIs, six Imperial Star Destroyers, and two dozen smaller ships between Tector, Dreadnought, and Lancer class. And aboard them all was one of the most fearsome fighting forces in the galaxy.

The reborn Imperial 501st Legion had arrived in Jurai.

Right of Betrayal.

Darth Sidious gazed through the Duraplex windows, their convex shape allowing the rain to stream like a million tears. Surrounded by his beloved Sith statues and bas-reliefs, Sidious swivelled on his throne. Just how long would this war last? Palpatine thought to himself. How long would the Jedi manage to survive, endure and plague? Their existence was tolerable, now that their order, their true meaning of self was shattered, but their claim for the throne could not be tolerated.

The Jedi were insidious in their operations, cloaked and daggered behind every wall, employing the very Sith techniques that brought their order to destruction. They had evolved and changed, truly they were no longer Jedi; they were Sith in all but name. Now with his latest return from death, and grip on the Empire returning to full, the emperor no longer saw the need to keep his "allies" so close. They were the very pinnacle of corruption.

"They are expendable my Lord." A tall thin man said quietly; hands clasped behind his back. "The new order has no room for such indulgences."

The gaze of Darth Sidious turned from tears to his most trusted advisor. "How will it be done? I am in no mood for another civil war." The tone was brash, hinting the repercussions for failure.

With a mind as sharp as his cheek bones Wilhuff Tarkin stood the deformed glare of Palpatine. "Most will be executed by firing squad my lord." Thin lips betrayed a whiff of pleasure. "The rest shall be shot on sight or the use of orbital bombardment may be authorised. Certain rogue elements of your government have developed quite a following on their worlds, some even believe themselves to be emperors"

Darth Sidious turned away. "See to it."

"Gladly." Tarkin bowed. It had been some time since the Moff had been at the forefront of galactic politics, the old man had thought the Empires preservation secured upon the construction of the Death Star, yet there were always those that resisted; men with noble ideas and impudent valour. Of course, such courage was always doomed to failure. The Jedi's brash charge on Geonosis, the Rebel Alliances foolish attempt on the Imperial Palace, and the foiled schemes of the ISB. All lacked a certain air of vindication. As the Grand Moff left the shadowed halls of the Imperial Palace, the razor mind of Whilhuff Tarkin mellowed on how Blathe would meet his fate.

The skies above Jurai

The Imperial Navy slowly fell into loose formation, spreading around the green orb of Jurai in a tight net of subjugation. At the spearhead was Grand Admiral Blathe, a man known for his sometimes reckless behaviour when it came to dealing with the enemies of the empire. This time, Blathe was unusually calm, his mind set upon the engulfed orb of Jurai.

"Status of the fleet." His voice asked sternly. There came no reply.

"Captain Netter." Blathes baritone voice requested. "Status of the fleet!" There was still no reply. Blathe turned in anger, his bulk and muscled form just in time to see several storm troopers enter the bridge, directed by a certain man. "Tarkin." Blathe sneered.

"Still no more than a dog I see Adam. Predictable but by no means loyal." Tarkins bony fingers clasped, his hands rubbing against each other gently. "Perhaps we should retire to your office?" The question was far from rhetorical. Directed at the point of several E-11 blaster rifles Blathe left the bridge with his guest.

"Please sit down." Tarkin offered pointing to a chair on the wrong side of the desk.

"What is it you want Tarkin?"

"I want you to look at this." A marine handed Blathe a datapad, it's luminous blue text holding numerous names. "Tell me Adam, what do you see?"

"Names of Admirals; myself included. Generals and Governors."

"Yes that's what I thought you would see. But you're wrong I'm afraid, you don't see the names of Admirals or political leaders, instead that is a list of traitors, corrupt officers infecting the new order with the decedent vestiges of the republic."

"I notice quite a few of your own opponents are on this list." Blathe keenly pointed out.

"One does what one can." Tarkin gave a swift nod. "I simply had to be here for this Adam, I really did. You know I've travelled half way across the Galaxy to see this look in your eyes."

"What look?"

"That one." Tarkin followed gleefully. Clasping his neck with fumbling fingers Adam Blathe attempted to cover the gaping wound in his neck, behind him an Imperial Marine held a cog engraved blade.

"The emperor sends his regards." Tarkins thin lips formed a silent smile.

Around the Galaxy similar circumstances were occurring. Governors were shot by firing squad. Generals executed from orbit and ISB agents poisoned in their sleep. A flawless series of events removing the Empires corrupt. Along the major Hyperspace lanes Imperial checkpoints were formed, grand blockades in an effort to restrict the swarm of smuggling and illegal trafficking. In sectors themselves newly elevated regional governors had been gifted with the charge of allowing ships, citizins and officers the right to move between sectors and systems.

On planets, garrison bases were emptied and storm troopers took the honour of policing the realm. The white armour readying the Galaxy for a grand inquisition.

Jurai

Lord Vader removed the bloodied head of Alex Masaki, the arteries cortorised and burned closed. "Commander Appo." The Iron voice demanded. "Take this to my chambers, the Emperor has requested a trophy." The durasteel boots of Vaders most favoured officer left the combat field in a run.

Turning to the site of a miniature earthquake, the dark lord spied another Jedi besought by emerging Sith. One, two, three, ten, twenty, thirty rose from cracked depths of the Earth, red blades swinging in vengeance. Forming a tight circle around the lone Jedi Knight, the small army of darkness began to close in on Jacob Masaki.

Prevented from joining the fray Darth Vader winced as the Victory Star Destroyer above crashed upon the valley in flames and fire. Her lower hull a mess of torn Neutronium and blasting magazine chambers. The loss was hardly a critical blow, for one, the Destroyers captain had the spite to crash upon Rebel positions, and secondly, two more destroyers were emerging through the shield hole, turbolasers raining down upon countless positions.

From the rear of Imperial lines the Hailfire detachment had been finally armed and readied, three hundred thousand tanks readying their launchers for a missile barrage of millions. With deafening silence, the ranks ducked as the launchers began their task, sending millions of purple streamed warheads towards the entrenched positions.

Covering his eyes from the valleyed inferno Vader caught a brief glimpse of Tarkins latest technological terrors crossing the horizon. Seismic tanks, deployed to collapse the peaked walls of the Jedis defence. Shielded, armed, and travelling in an unholy trio, the tanks would make short work of the so called "no mans land".

Turning to the site of a miniature earthquake, the dark lord spied another Jedi besought by emerging Sith. One, two, three, ten, twenty, thirty rose from cracked depths of the Earth, red blades swinging in vengeance. Forming a tight circle around the lone Jedi Knight, the small army of darkness began to close in on Jacob Masaki.
Ten down. Thirty to go. Jacob surveyed the advancing Sith Lords. From his history classes, he recognized them as Masters of their arts, and knew that he's outmatched. Hell, Daniel would probably be outmatched too! "You probably don't want to talk about this, eh?"

The answer came from three swinging blades. Unfortunately for the Sith, what was a young Jedi Knight became a damaged battle droid. "Oh no!"

The droid was skewered in pieces, and then one Sith found himself cut up by a blue blade as well. Jacob then moved to stab another one in the chest, pulling out his blade to block several with his mastery of Soresu. The speed of this one was new to the Sith of Old. Nothing like the Jedi they used to fight. It was more like...themselves...

"Unconventional, boy." One Sith, recognized as Darth Bane, uttered. "The Jedi has learned much since my passing."

"That what years of war does to you." Jacob commented slyly. His foot hooked another Sith in the side and he followed up with yet another blow to the head, before flipping on the ground several times to gain some distance. The Sith followed, their fury unmatched. "We've learned from the best!"

The supposedly one-sided duel went on with uncanny speed as Jacob lured them towards friendly positions. They ran over kilometers in moments, their stamina aided by the Force, and in Jacob's case, chakra. Several Sith recieved their first taste of this interesting energy source when Jacob lured them towards a small ghost town and used alchemy to collapse a building on them. Another three crushed. In return, the Sith used the Dark Side to throw pieces of the buildings at Jacob, missing him by hairs and catching him with nails. Blood ran from wounds on his body, and the Jedi Alchemist knew that he would need to escape, and fast.

The opportunity occurred when a company of stormtroopers not only began firing on Jacob, but the Sith as well. Jacob took out several clones with ease and the Sith took other the others with their dark abilities. Jacob filed that away and moved to escape, but giving them one last word. "It seems we now have a common enemy. If you survive, come to us not to fight, but to offer an alliance of convenience."

Dooku and the others were surprised. "You would do that? Knowing our millenia-long animosity between Jedi and Sith?"

Jacob shrugged. "Times have changed. Enemies and allies shift like the sands of Tatooine. But one thing remains: Palpatine has gotten too powerful for his own good. Too powerful to believe he needs you guys any longer. Think on that, and when you wish to seek us out for your answer, you'll know how."

With that, Jacob teleported to the beleagured military base, leaving the Sith to face the Imperial Army. Which they won't, being survivors at heart. When the next squad came along to pick up the bodies, the Sith were long gone, seeking out some means of escape from this accursed planet.

========

"There's no point in staying in this position. Abandon base and fall back now!" General McNeil ordered. The valiant defenders of the base were about to be overrun, and they knew it, with Victory Star Destroyers and seismic tanks bearing down upon them and millions upon millions of Hailfire rockets booming overhead. But even as they began to leave via tunnels dug out in case something like this happened. Travelling overland with refugees in tow was extremely dangerous, and the claustrophobic feeling of the tunnels didn't endear them much. Still, they were the only possible means of escape, and escape to fallback positions they did. The Imperial Army has the city, but by the time the last defenders were cut off and killed or surrendered, it would be mostly empty.

Jacob found the General and with him and a squad of crack troops, they decided to make their way to a special underwater base, owned and operated by the one person that could help them escape: Rina Masaki. Jacob knew that the ship in that base was top secret and experimental, but it was their only hope in surviving the Empire's wrath. And besides, what better way to execute a shakedown cruise for a new class of warship than in the middle of a war?

But first, Jacob headed to the Temple. One of many fallback positions, it was yet another heavily defended and shielded location. He was reminded of a movie trilogy about a band of travellers going out to destroy an evil ring and the dark lord who once wore it and thought that this place would have been a very fitting location for the third movie. With a wry smile on his lips about that thought, Jacob headed to his own office, full of alchemical books written by alchemists past. He went to one particular shelf and transmuted the books there to dust, revealing a safe that was also transmuted. His face was grim as he took out the box containing some very powerful and dangerous Red Stones.

"I have sworn to never see these things again..." Jacob chuckled darkly. Red Stones were catalysts, capable of amplifying the powers of any gifted person tenfold, for a price. Like any alchemist, Jacob was once young and foolish enough to seek out the Philosopher's Stone, rumored to do things even the Force could not. But when the secret of the Stone was revealed, when its main ingredients was exposed, Jacob was horrified and denounced it in front of the High Council. All research was banned and all Red Stones were destroyed. Except...for these last twenty Red Stones, and a small vial of red water, just enough to restart production if need be. Jacob never knew why he held on to these. Perhaps it was a reminder...

Nevertheless, Jacob took the box of stones and stuffed it into a dimensional pocket along with the holocrons and scrolls his grandfather ordered him to gather. Dimensional Pocket Technique was a relatively new technique created by the Jedi Order, capable of carrying items many times the amount of a soldier's backpack. There's probably a limit, but the Order hasn't found one yet. After that, Jacob headed back to the General and with some of the hundreds of refugees, headed to the underwater base known, funnily enough, as Davy Jones' Locker.

After the hail of fire power displayed by their comrades in arms and before the dust settled more than a minute, the Thrashian Legions were moving in. Thousands upon thousands of stormtroopers ran across fields and mounds of debris as they stormed the city. Banner-bearers, denoting each legion, charged forward waving their flags with a fierce marshal pride. Amongst these troops lumbered the powerful Stingray-class tanks, their mighty cannons roaring as high explosives were launched into suspected any enemy hide-away before the curtain advance of the troopers.

Above the charge of the 30th, 12th, and 42nd Legions came waves of LAAT gunships. Filling them were troopers with armor emblazoned with blue and the Imperial crest. They flew far and ahead of the main attack on the city and into its heart. Link ups with other Imperial Forward Command Bases had allowed for the Thrashian intelligence to be updated on all things; including the disposition of the enemy.

A gunship roared through a blaze of smoke and dodged hitting a building just as a rocket fired up from the ground and smashed into its hull, turning it into a flaming ball. Grand Master Helios gripped his hand hold tighter on the gunship he was on as he watched the destroyed gunship smash into a city building. Helios wore the red armor and black cape of an Imperial Knight as well as the golden sash that marked him as Grand Master of the Imperial Knights Order.

“Pilot, have we reached the center yet?” Helios roared above the sound of battle to the front. The clone pilot turned his head a bit before he answered.

“We’re about five kilometers sir. ETA is 3 minutes.”

Around Helios the team of 501st special commando troopers locked their E-11 BlasTech rifles and prepared for repelling down from the craft. Each had been briefed on the mission at hand. Sources had reported that the enemy had either fled to beneath the city or to its heart where they might plan a last ditched defense of this particular city.

The level of devastation that the city produced was almost shocking to Helios. He had never imagined that the Empire had such ground power. Of course he had great respect for normal human beings, but it threw into light a much deeper appreciation for the clone troopers. The three team gunships reached an embankment, sped up it and over, and came upon a great wide avenue. The pilot checked his sensors and maps and halted the craft over the ground. “We’re here!”

At once six ropes, three to each side, fell from the gunship. One after another two dozen clone troopers repelled down them in quick succession and then made a defensive perimeter around the drop zone. The other two accompanying gunships did the same. Helios himself merely dropped down from the gunship using the force to easily reach the ground even if it was a 40 foot drop.

A clone sergeant motioned to his men at a sewer drain pipe. “Blow it.” The troopers put some explosives atop it and momentarily ducked down as the gunships roared their engines and left. Then with a solitary boom the drain imploded and turned to ash. The sergeant looked at Helios and the grand master nodded.

“We’re going in.”


* * *


Admiral Daala paced the bridge of her command ship and was frustrating herself over how rude and inept she felt the Grand Master was. True he was an Imperial Knight with special powers, but whatever made him Emperor Treize’s lap-dog did not bring him into any good light in Daala’s opinion. She turned to Captain Derek.

“Have you managed to get in contact with the Imperial commander yet? I am growing impatient.”

Captain Derek looked harassed but then he normally always did when he was on campaign, part of his battlefield jitters. “Sorry Ma’am, we’re still having trouble. Last time I asked the comm officer said that Admiral Blathe had left the bridge. We may have to wait a while.”

“Well find out as soon as possible. I grow tired of this,” said Daala, starting to become short with her adjutant.

The city was mostly evacuated by the time the 501st Legion arrived to take control of it. However, there were plenty of booby traps to give to the enemy as presents. When the Grand Master and his troops headed into the sewers, a tiny camera watched their every move. The Grand Master could sense the presence of life, but because it was a sewer, he would not be able to tell if they were merely native dwellers or troops. Not yet, at least.

A trooper stepped over a rock. Another trooper steps on that rock.

A slight tick, tick, tick sounded in the sewer then suddenly...

KA-BOOM!

A concussion bomb blew up, sending violent shockwaves, light and heat outwards in all directions...

In orbit of Jurai.

The Imperial fleet had slowly spread out encompassing the planet, the swathe of Lucrehulk battleships dominated the blue sphere as though it was Naboo. Shadowing this blockade force was the contrasting might of the mainstream Imperial Navy; a multitude of Star Destroyers and frigates each one directing the positioning of the orbital nightcloak, under the direct orders of Grand Moff Tarkin.

Tarkin had personally seen to the full activation of the Pentovan droid fleets, he had seen to the annexation of Anagonia and now he was seeing to the consolidation of Imperial holdings throughout the Galaxy. Once where liberty flourished, order now lingered and the date for unification was fast approaching.

Ships were jumping in system consistently. Munificent Star frigates, Lucrehulk warships and Providence cruisers each one carrying a further payload of battle droids and weapons now numbering into the tens of millions. Whilhuff Tarkin however, was only concentrated on one. The Death Star.

"How long until my flag ship arrives?" The question pierced the operational buzz of the bridge.

"The Death Star will be in system in five minutes sir." Tarkins refined face was poised above Jurai, stern and indignant.

"Alert Commander Palan to have my shuttle standing by and patch me through to Admiral Dalaa, Former Admiral Blathe has been very negligent in his duties." The snide smile betrayed a slight whiff of pleasure.

"Admiral Dalaa." Tarkins tone rose with forced cordiality. "Welcome to the Jurai system, my sincere apologies for being so late in my response however, there were more pressing matters to attend to." In the background the lumbering corpse of Blathe was being dragged along the floor. "We would like to alert you to begin equipping your forces for ice environments; the generals wish to deploy the nightcloak to begin a moral attack on the planets population and ground forces. We do not anticipate their ability to equip their infantry with cold gear clothing due to the planets atmosphere itself but, our estimates of their store reserves have yet to be confirmed."

Tarkin waited for a few moments before continuing. "We will continue to deploy ground forces in the next hour or so however, the Navy has need to depart for a more concerted effort in the Bastion system. Be advised reinforcements will be on stand by if necessary. I am still waiting upon authorisation from the palace to begin the deployment of Inhibitor fields to encumber any rescue attempt."

The death star ploughed forth from hyperspace, its mass shadow signature bleeping significantly upon sensor read outs. In the background Tarkin heard hushed reports of its arrival. "Is there anything else in which I may be of assistance admiral?"

As screaming transmissions from Mationbuds swept Imperial channels for aid and assistance, the empire, seizing the initiative had decided to retaliate with a direct and uncompromising assault upon Bastion, the second last known world of the rebellion. The strike would be swift and severe, up to six hundred Imperial warships were being directly deployed with a further two hundred arriving from the Pentovan reserves. The Empire no longer had the patience for delays and misdirection. The sheer industrial power was now being unleashed in endless waves of fury.

Ground Warfare

Vader began to walk down the flanking hill which surveyed the city, his red lightsabre deflecting the last fleeting gasps of defending laser fire. From his link reports were coming in from all sectors of the defeat of the city. Seismic tanks were now crushing the theatre shield collapsing it in several sections, while air superiority saw to the decimation of artillery and fleeing tanks. "Repeat the enemy are fleeing underground. Sensors detect numerous tunnels leading under the river." Vader continued on his warpath cutting down injured rebels as they lay moaning upon the scarred landscape.

"Commander Barr, form up on my position." Vaders eyes looked upwards to the Star Destroyers hovering ominously providing his means for vengeance. As expected several laser bolts rained down upon intersections of the underground network giving lord Vader access. Striding through the rising dust and debris the Dark Lord passed underground into the darkness. Fitting he thought as the red glow of his sabre directed the way.

A few gasps could be heard in front, splashes of water, and shouts of desperation as men tripped and fell into the trickling streams of sewage. Behind, Darth Vader approached his light sabre effortlessly dealing with the futile shots of dead traitors. Man after man, rebel after rebel, Vader continued his path of decimation focused upon the goal of killing another Jedi.

"Mercy." Some pleaded. Others raised their hands in submission, but today, this once, Vader had elected to ignore mercy, for today he was fuelled by the dark side of the force, today his mind, body and soul was focused upon justice, upon the new order, upon regaining the trust of his master.

Coruscant - Some hours Prior

Sirius rose his hand in defiance forming a wall with the force. Where Hawkins blade was intended to impact, the invisible barrier of hate saw to its deflection. A snide smile crossed the lips of the red robed Sith, yellow teeth bared in viscous anger.

“Good your smiling, Time to die!” Hawkins said as he dropped his second saber and spun on his heels moving behind the Sith Lord with a speed not expected of a man his size. His free hand was suddenly was suddenly filled with a ball of crackling electricity. He thrust it forward as a kinetic weapon when it impacted the Sith’s Armor it would push its way through tearing a whole between anything that got in its way.

Olympus, Command Bridge

Admiral Daala was somewhat taken aback when Grand Moff Tarkin’s image appeared in the holo screen but took it in stride; he was after all not a man to let personal emotions get in the way of order and responsibility. She nodded at his words.

“Not at all, the wait was nothing. However onto other things: We’re able to equip a large amount of our forces with the necessary equipment for cold temperatures. I see no problems in initializing such a program within the next 48 hours, if not sooner. Most of our troops are in all-terrain-all-temperature type armor,” said Daala. She noted the two troopers in the background dragging away what looked like Admiral Blathe, or rather the former Admiral Blathe.

“I need only be notified of when the nightcloak will be used. Also I am ordered by my superiors to give you and the Imperial Fleet any help you may need. Is Bastion under possible threat of attack?” Daala was concerned about that system At one point the Bastion System had been the last stand ground for former Imperial officers after Emperor Palpatine first died.


On the ground

It was on the first ‘click’ that Helios reacted. Using the all powerful force he tore the bricks around him apart and created a temporary wall. The clone trooper trapped on the other side next to the bomb was an unfortunate thing, but Helios thought it wasn’t much of a worry if one trooper died.

BOOM!

When the dust settled then Helios let loose his hold on the bricks and let them fall to the ground. They revealed a crumpled figure with torn armor and blood leaking everywhere. Helios sniffed then turned to the other troopers behind him.

“We’ll get no where doing this. My guess is that the rebels have mined the entire under-city in hopes of killing us off.”

“Quite sir,” said the clone sergeant. “I’ve already just alerted all commands and told them of the danger.”

Helios thought for a moment then shook his head. “No, send out the order not to enter the underground. Seal off all entrances and continue occupying the city.”

“Yes sir.”


• *


Field Marshal Verrick was more than a little stressed as he received yet another report from the front concerning mines and booby-traps made by the retreating rebels. He stood in the pre-fabricated command tent that he used. His forces had occupied three cities across the planet and the surrounding country side with them. However there were hundreds more to go, as well as coordinating these attacks with other Galactic Imperial troops on the ground.

Verrick saw to it that several divisions encircled and routed a force of enemy infantry as they had tried to escape from the city where the 501st had attacked. Reports out of the city were confused at best. Grand Master Helios had chosen to take command of this theatre of the offensive and so far had not been seen for a good while since the main attack. Verrick however couldn’t have cared less if the Imperial Knight died.

An aide came up and saluted Verrick as he leaned over his tactical data holo-table. “Field Marshal, we’ve received a transmission from Admiral Daala in space. We’re being notified to make sure all troopers are fit for artic combat and make sure to get our mobile forces ready for cold temperatures on the artic scale. Grand Moff Tarkin is going to employ the Nightcloak.”

Verrick sighed and waved the aide away. Yet another detail that would throw an anvil into his plans, but there was nothing he could do about it. The field marshal pulled up a data pad and sent out an order to all commands alerting them of the climate change that would soon come.

In orbit of Jurai.

The Imperial fleet had slowly spread out encompassing the planet, the swathe of Lucrehulk battleships dominated the blue sphere as though it was Naboo. Shadowing this blockade force was the contrasting might of the mainstream Imperial Navy; a multitude of Star Destroyers and frigates each one directing the positioning of the orbital nightcloak, under the direct orders of Grand Moff Tarkin.

Tarkin had personally seen to the full activation of the Pentovan droid fleets, he had seen to the annexation of Anagonia and now he was seeing to the consolidation of Imperial holdings throughout the Galaxy. Once where liberty flourished, order now lingered and the date for unification was fast approaching.

Ships were jumping in system consistently. Munificent Star frigates, Lucrehulk warships and Providence cruisers each one carrying a further payload of battle droids and weapons now numbering into the tens of millions. Whilhuff Tarkin however, was only concentrated on one. The Death Star.

"How long until my flag ship arrives?" The question pierced the operational buzz of the bridge.

"The Death Star will be in system in five minutes sir." Tarkins refined face was poised above Jurai, stern and indignant.

"Alert Commander Palan to have my shuttle standing by and patch me through to Admiral Dalaa, Former Admiral Blathe has been very negligent in his duties." The snide smile betrayed a slight whiff of pleasure.

"Admiral Dalaa." Tarkins tone rose with forced cordiality. "Welcome to the Jurai system, my sincere apologies for being so late in my response however, there were more pressing matters to attend to." In the background the lumbering corpse of Blathe was being dragged along the floor. "We would like to alert you to begin equipping your forces for ice environments; the generals wish to deploy the nightcloak to begin a moral attack on the planets population and ground forces. We do not anticipate their ability to equip their infantry with cold gear clothing due to the planets atmosphere itself but, our estimates of their store reserves have yet to be confirmed."

Tarkin waited for a few moments before continuing. "We will continue to deploy ground forces in the next hour or so however, the Navy has need to depart for a more concerted effort in the Bastion system. Be advised reinforcements will be on stand by if necessary. I am still waiting upon authorisation from the palace to begin the deployment of Inhibitor fields to encumber any rescue attempt."

The death star ploughed forth from hyperspace, its mass shadow signature bleeping significantly upon sensor read outs. In the background Tarkin heard hushed reports of its arrival. "Is there anything else in which I may be of assistance admiral?"

As screaming transmissions from Mationbuds swept Imperial channels for aid and assistance, the empire, seizing the initiative had decided to retaliate with a direct and uncompromising assault upon Bastion, the second last known world of the rebellion. The strike would be swift and severe, up to six hundred Imperial warships were being directly deployed with a further two hundred arriving from the Pentovan reserves. The Empire no longer had the patience for delays and misdirection. The sheer industrial power was now being unleashed in endless waves of fury.

Ground Warfare

Vader began to walk down the flanking hill which surveyed the city, his red lightsabre deflecting the last fleeting gasps of defending laser fire. From his link reports were coming in from all sectors of the defeat of the city. Seismic tanks were now crushing the theatre shield collapsing it in several sections, while air superiority saw to the decimation of artillery and fleeing tanks. "Repeat the enemy are fleeing underground. Sensors detect numerous tunnels leading under the river." Vader continued on his warpath cutting down injured rebels as they lay moaning upon the scarred landscape.

"Commander Barr, form up on my position." Vaders eyes looked upwards to the Star Destroyers hovering ominously providing his means for vengeance. As expected several laser bolts rained down upon intersections of the underground network giving lord Vader access. Striding through the rising dust and debris the Dark Lord passed underground into the darkness. Fitting he thought as the red glow of his sabre directed the way.

A few gasps could be heard in front, splashes of water, and shouts of desperation as men tripped and fell into the trickling streams of sewage. Behind, Darth Vader approached his light sabre effortlessly dealing with the futile shots of dead traitors. Man after man, rebel after rebel, Vader continued his path of decimation focused upon the goal of killing another Jedi.

"Mercy." Some pleaded. Others raised their hands in submission, but today, this once, Vader had elected to ignore mercy, for today he was fuelled by the dark side of the force, today his mind, body and soul was focused upon justice, upon the new order, upon regaining the trust of his master.

Coruscant - Some hours Prior

Sirius rose his hand in defiance forming a wall with the force. Where Hawkins blade was intended to impact, the invisible barrier of hate saw to its deflection. A snide smile crossed the lips of the red robed Sith, yellow teeth bared in viscous anger.
"This way. Quickly!" The hushed voices of military officers guided many a civilian, mostly women and children to a safe zone deep within the the mountains north of the capital, where the Temple resides. It is a Helm's Deep of sorts, a defensive position so heavily armed that not even the Dark Lords of the Sith could conquer it, or so people boast. When the last stragglers arrived, someone pushed a button, detonating the main tunnels and blocking all entryways and exitways save a few rarely used ones. Immediately after that, the air became a little stale as full seige/NBC protocol went into effect, pumping bad air out and good air in and people counted their supplies. The supplies will last the populace up to six months, by which they hoped rescue would come. Thus the population of Jurai City and surrounding suburbs and cities were evacuated, preparing for a long seige. The other cities will have to defend themselves however they can, althought the majority have similiar plans to Jurai City's.

But the aptly named Helm's Deep was not where Jacob Masaki, General McNeil and a few hundred people, mostly orphans, were heading. In fact, they headed out to sea and to a small, snowy underwater island situated near the north pole. This island was a secret to all but the High Command, a secret that Jacob was fortunately privy to. It houses Rina Masaki's top secret weapons research laboratory, a lab that includes three ships just finished being built. Three ships buried under the island and under three hundred feet of water overhead.

The first person Jacob Masaki met after the heavily armed white Sonny droids escorted him inside the base was his cousin, bubbly as ever.

"Hey. Is it ready?" Jacob asked warily.

"Yup! I even handpicked the crew to pilot the ships." Rina smirked. A grizzled grey-haired man in his thirties wearing a black jacket and a yellow bandanna around his neck saluted by her side. "Meet Captain Holland."

"The Grizzly Tiger?" Jacob asked, referring to the Captain's famous temper.

"That would be me." Holland sighed, weary of his nickname. A scantly clad woman was besides him, flowing black hair travelling down her neck. "Meet Commander Talho, my XO and chief pilot."

"Yo." She said, shaking Jacob's hand.

She introduced the rest of her crew, a motley bunch that gave General McNeil a headache.

"You mean to tell me you're going to crew that ship?" The General asked, pointing to the slightly cigar-shaped 2000 meter top secret ship being filled with supplies. "What a bunch of...pirates!"

A vein popped on Holland's head. "General..."

"Now, now. Calm down. General, I hope you haven't forgotten to never judge a book by its cover." Jacob sighed.

"Fine, I'll reserve my judgement until after we get out of here!" The General snapped, not in a good mood today.

"Two hours and then we blow my base and get out of here." Rina Masaki said, checking her watch. "Would you like a tour of the ship?"

"Yes, I would." Jacob nodded. The general reluctantly agreed. "By the way, what do you call this ship?"

"Battlestar." Rina grinned.

OOC: Part 2 coming tomorrow.

"The Battlestar-class battlecarrier is the pinnacle of Coredian technology and R&D. Boasting over a hundred turbolasers, a hundred railcannons, sixty missile pods, three dozen point-defense beamlasers and enough space in the hangars for 75 fighters and even more landing shuttles, it's meant to be a carrier for the new Zoid and mobile suit regiments and it's also capable of outright destroying Imperial Star Destroyers as if they were ducks at hunting season. It's also meant to give the fleet a new kind of ship to replace the Star Destroyer. After all, the Military has always clamored for something uniquely Coredian." Rina said.

"Very good. What are those pod-things and what are those forward cannons?" Jacob asked, pointing to the pods on the sides of the ship and the cannons on the bow of the ship.

"I'm glad you noticed. The pods house most of the missile pods and also the entrance from where the fighters would take off and land. They can also retract when we jump into hyperspace. The forward cannons, now that's a weapon to respect." Rina beamed. "You see, I've stolen molecular shielding technology from the archives and revived it, giving the Battlestar the ability to absorb turbolaser and energy weapons discharges and use that energy to boost the power of the tactical systems, especially those Yamato Cannons. When charged, they are capable of seriously crippling a Star Destroyer, if not outright destroying them because there's two instead of one. The other two ships, the Advanced Nova-class Battlecruiser and the Defender-class Star Destroyer (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Nebula-class_Star_Destroyer), also carry the molecular shields. The Nova is 500 meters long and carries six underside Heavy Beamcannons, twenty antistarfighter turbolasers and ten missile pods, so it's a dedicated pocket battleship/antistarfighter platform. You know about the Defender because it's on the Military ShipBuilding agenda. 1040 meters, 80 turbolasers, capable of fighting mk IIs one-on-one or a host of smaller ships together, etc. I added the shields to make the brass happy enough to mass-produce the Defender."

"So is that three layers of shields for every ship?" General McNeil asked.

"Pretty much. I'm thinking of putting a layer of ablative armor for additional protection, but we'll see how the shields work first. Now, come inside and watch the workers." Rina said, seeing a few soldiers carrying supplies.

They headed to the bridge, which was situated forward instead of aft like Star Destroyers. "State of the art sensors, ECM, weapons, shields, and helm centers. The AI system is run by the Chief. You know him." Rina said, and they nodded.

The Chief was a powerful AI created by Professor Charles Wiggum to run the rarely-used Wormhole Network based on Coredia, Earth. In creating copies for the new Coredian ships to use, the military now has a serious advantage over Imperial technologies, with better fire-control systems and even a capability to take over the ship's systems if the bridge is ever put out of commission. The Chief even takes over the more mundane aspects of running the ship, lowering the crew compliment a great deal. For a 2000 meter ship, it only carries about 8000 crew as opposed to the 37000 of the standard Star Destroyer. So it's a great sell for the shipyards....if and when the Battlestar and her escorts escape Jurai.

Rina continued to lead the to-be-passengers on the tour, showing them the crew quarters, the cafeteria, the garden, the engineering bay where she will continue to improve systems, the reactor and even a weapons emplacment or two. And finally, she lead them to the hangar bay, where a large number of Zoids and fighters were patiently ready for action. "So, what do you think?"

"It's great. If we can mass-produce these three ships, we'll be able to win more battles!" Jacob said, impressed with Rina's research and design results. "But...how do we get out of here?"

"Heh. Leave it to us." Talho smirked. "Slaving the other two ships to this one will ensure that they escape at the same time we do. And it will also ensure that any Star Destroyer in our way will learn the folly of messing with us!"

Jacob was amused by Talho's spunk and walked around the hanger before speaking again. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get the hell out!"

=======

Two hours later, the three ships were prepped to go when the last of the supplies were taken onboard. Passengers hunkered down in various rooms while the bridge crew prepped the systems. Jacob watched the bridge light up in anticipation.

"All right. Helm...online and ready to roll!" Talho grinned, flicking switches and putting on the neural-link helmet that would link her mind to the engines and maneuvering thrusters. She also has a standard capital ship control stick in her hands, but it's her mind that will really control things. Lights blinked at her station and the engines began to warm up.

"Sensor and Comms station green as grass!" The Officer, Senior Lieutenant Violet "Gidget" Nonase reported to Holland, who merely nodded while sitting in his command chair.

"Weapons and shields online and safed!" The Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Kengo, said in a thick accent.

"Electronic Warfare Station, ready to sing!" Lieutenant (Junior Grade) William "Woz" Mallow, reported.

"Chief AI reporting for duty!" A holoscreen popped up, revealing the Chief, who appears similar to a nerdy archeologist from a show about wormholes. "Life Support, Security and all other stations online! Nova and Defender slaved to Battlestar's systems! All systems from the two ships are online!"

"Very well! Rina!" Captain Holland yelled over the intercom.

"I'm on it!" From Engineering, the young Masaki woman pushed a button, releasing the clamps on the three ships and setting the nuclear scuttling charges for the base. Then she turned on the repulsarlifts that will allow the ships to rise majestically out of the water. Speaking of water, the base's never-before-used outer doors were blown open, allowing millions of gallons of water to fill up the base. "Ready! Set! Go!"

The three ships' repulsarlifts and engines roared to life and slowly, they fought their way through the deluge and out into the sea. Being airtight, they powered their way through the three-hundred feet to the surface like makeshift submarines and none too soon, they smashed through the ice on the surface, instantly vaporizing it and thousands of gallons of water with the ion engines. The engines then doubled in power, and the three ships rocketed up towards space, the G-forces pressing everyone into their seats. Then, a brilliant explosion shook the atmosphere, incinerating the island and melting even more ice. A white mushroom cloud rose in the sky, almost as if following the three ships.

The local theater shields fell away to allow the ships to reach space, then the repulsarlifts broke off, no longer needed.

Instantly, sensor alarms blared to life as Imperial ships noticed the three outgoing ships. "Incoming enemy!" Gidget announced.

"TO, release weapons and shields! Commander Yuki, prepare evasive manuvers!" Captain Holland ordered.

Jacob felt the powerful hum of weapons and shields powering up, his heart beating as the ships prepared to fight.

Talho laughed as she spotted the enemy via visual scanners and clutched the controls harder, ready to rock. "Bring it on, bitches!"

Rising through the clouded atmosphere the rebellions latest technological design was swarmed by countless laser bolts and explosions; nuclear fireballs combusted and expanded rocking the battlestar in an inferno of pain. But more continued to come. Green blasts fell effortlessly from space battering against the seemingly invulnerable hull of the battlestar; yet, they were only glancing blows. The hail ignited oxygen sparking further blasts in a blistering trail of fire; until, finally, the targets were destroyed. Shield Generator after generator were slowly cut down relentlessly.

The shield shrouding the battlestar was the first to fail, the square bubble glimmering then disappearing allowing the capital ships above to strike to next generator and the next, until, within a few fleeting moments, Jurai was defenceless; the Imperial Navy dominant, and the exiles fleeing subjugation.

Tarkin looked on from his moon with distinct neutrality. He was a man who never allowed emotions to get in the way, unlike his former counterparts, Tarkin was a Moff who always acted in the best interests of the Empire.

A Star Destroyer exploded as a result of concentrated fire.

Tarkin stood flawlessly still. "Order the fleet to cease firing and open a channel with the commander of that ship."

"Sir?"

The Admirals pointed jaw turned to face the man questioning him. And the channel was opened. "Rebel commander, Imperial forces have ceased firing so that we may come to an understanding." The Gravity Wells of countless Interdictors hovered over the battlestar. "Perhaps we can converse?" The regal tone waited for a response.

Rising through the clouded atmosphere the rebellions latest technological design was swarmed by countless laser bolts and explosions; nuclear fireballs combusted and expanded rocking the battlestar in an inferno of pain. But more continued to come. Green blasts fell effortlessly from space battering against the seemingly invulnerable hull of the battlestar; yet, they were only glancing blows. The hail ignited oxygen sparking further blasts in a blistering trail of fire; until, finally, the targets were destroyed. Shield Generator after generator were slowly cut down relentlessly.

The shield shrouding the battlestar was the first to fail, the square bubble glimmering then disappearing allowing the capital ships above to strike to next generator and the next, until, within a few fleeting moments, Jurai was defenceless; the Imperial Navy dominant, and the exiles fleeing subjugation.

Tarkin looked on from his moon with distinct neutrality. He was a man who never allowed emotions to get in the way, unlike his former counterparts, Tarkin was a Moff who always acted in the best interests of the Empire.

A Star Destroyer exploded as a result of concentrated fire.

Tarkin stood flawlessly still. "Order the fleet to cease firing and open a channel with the commander of that ship."

"Sir?"

Tarkins pointed jaw turned to face the man questioning him. And the channel was opened. "Rebel commander, Imperial forces have ceased firing so that we may come to an understanding." The Gravity Wells of countless Interdictors hovered over the battlestar. "Perhaps we can converse?" The regal tone waited for a response.
Captain Holland, General McNeil and Jacob conversed as to who's going to speak. Actually, they used rock, paper, scissors to decide who would talk. McNeil won.

"Ahem. This is General McNeil of the Battlestar. Make it quick, Tarkin. I have an appointment to keep."

Meanwhile, as the planetary fields failed, Imperial sensors would report that at least ten strongholds were revealed all over the planet, protected by theater shields rather than the all-encompassing planetary shield. These were estimated to hold out for a few weeks more, even under this level of Imperial seige.

OOC :

Should I join ? Just asking .

OOC: Concur. We're GE, and, as I understand it, this is the big one. If not, I shall delete the following.

IC: "Schnapsemarschall! Schnapsemarschall!"

Otto Morlok whipped out his sword and las-pistol, instinct taking control of every twitch his muscles made, but the voice was no invader or assasin, merely his staff astropath.

"It's begun. The war."

Thought still having no effect in on his his almost mechanical programmed responses, Otto drew a key from his belt and slammed it into a locked panel in his office wall, akin to a 21st century fire alarm, then twisted with such force for an un-prolonged man of 74 that the metal bent slightly, before mashing a thumb against the newly exposed panel.

"Johannes Pratznich."

At the last syllable of the Schnapsemarschall's ancestor, ripples of activity began to spread to the borders of the reich and even further. When they reached Jurai, they would be a tidal wave.


Ida Schultz banged furiously at her keyboard, sending streams of data across the void: mobilisation plans, recall orders, codewords and orders of battle.


With the flick of a switch, Olaf Voigt caused his beacon station to blink off the sensors of several confused merchant vessels in nearby space.


Feld-Kommissar Anna Fleischer marched into a tractor factory, and after a brief and loud conversation with the owner, marched out of a tank factory.


Lukas Haldwische dashed to his phone and received a recorded message being sent to thousands of reservists, Landwehr, and Landsturm on every Boozian planet.

"Report to your depot. The time is now."


And having gone from top to bottom, the reactions went straight back to the top: Reichsmarschall Frederik Jalfeiner, accompanied by Otto, and his Army and Army-group leaders stood on a platform high in one of the huge underground hangars, surveying their soldiers as they were packed in like vertical sardines between the humungous shuttles.

"Vorwärts! Vorwärts! Mit Fahnen hoch und trotzig,
Wir marsch zum Ruhm und Freiheit!"

Competing fir aubability with the crash of their jackboots, the national anthem wrang throughout the chamber as the soldiers borded their shuttle for who knew where.

And above, reality burst open, exposing the warp and the fleet.


It would be a few hours before the Boozians arrived. And then the hurting would start.

OOC :
Here I come .

IC :

When Emperor Darth Matter heard about the Imperial retaliation on Jurai , he immediately swung into action . He activated the Imperial Terrorist Cell on Jurai and ordered them to began strategic strikes on the enemy , keeping their superweapons and big surprises for later , when the enemy begged for them to stop and surrender .

On Jurai , the terrorist cell's leader , a Sith Lord named Darth Reaper began sending out calls to his men , who began initiating deadly hit and run attacks against key government and military targets using an entire array of weaponary from E11 heavy repeating blaster rifles to Concussion Grenades to Assult Cannons to Cemtex Heavy Explosive charges .

Strategically placed terraton nukes in Jurai also began to arm across the planet in every major city or town . It was covered by the well timed detonation of millions of Cemtex Charges around the Jurain Capital City and the main Government and Military complex .

OOC :
Here I come .

IC :

When Emperor Darth Matter heard about the Imperial retaliation on Jurai , he immediately swung into action . He activated the Imperial Terrorist Cell on Jurai and ordered them to began strategic strikes on the enemy , keeping their superweapons and big surprises for later , when the enemy begged for them to stop and surrender .

On Jurai , the terrorist cell's leader , a Sith Lord named Darth Reaper began sending out calls to his men , who began initiating deadly hit and run attacks against key government and military targets using an entire array of weaponary from E11 heavy repeating blaster rifles to Concussion Grenades to Assult Cannons to Cemtex Heavy Explosive charges .

Strategically placed terraton nukes in Jurai also began to arm across the planet in every major city or town . It was covered by the well timed detonation of millions of Cemtex Charges around the Jurain Capital City and the main Government and Military complex .
The blasts and attacks certainly did lots of damage, but nothing the Empire hasn't already ruined. The problem with these kinds of terrorism, especially now, would be that they'd generally be targeting more Imperial soldiers than Coredians as the citizenry have all gone into well-built shelters for occasions like these.

Most assuredly, Darth Vader won't be pleased...

The blasts and attacks certainly did lots of damage, but nothing the Empire hasn't already ruined. The problem with these kinds of terrorism, especially now, would be that they'd generally be targeting more Imperial soldiers than Coredians as the citizenry have all gone into well-built shelters for occasions like these.

Most assuredly, Darth Vader won't be pleased...

IC :

Unfortunately the Cemtex Charges were planted such as not to cause friendly damage and they did little or no damage to friendly forces . The 80 Megaton Nuclear Charges placed around areas which were NOT under Imperial attack or control detonated as bunker-busting explosives also activated , blasting through the shelters and such like knife slicing through butter .

Once the shelter armors were weakened , the nuclear explosion ripped through the shelters and deciminated every single one of them in its explosive radius and causing immense damage ...

A slash in reality opened. For one horrific moment, real and anti-real merged. The effect was almost as bad as matter and anti-matter.

And then the moment passed, and their, gloriously outfitted for no real reason since they appeared as dots at regular engagement ranges, were the massed ships of the Schnapsemarine.

Grossadmiral Gerspel, glancing across his readouts, was momentarily reminded of his first command, back in Harvest, Tetrea, as they called it then, of which he was honorary governor. But that was years and worlds away, before the revolution. He let the past fade from his eyes, and turned to the communicator.

"Dernels, Felfner, Menkeln? I'm not going to micromanage you, because it's not our job to to escort the transports or some other precision duty, we're here to destroy the enemy. I'm just going to say where I want your fleets and let you deal with the ships and squadrons. And right now, where I wany you is nearer the enemy."

"Engage the enemy more closely!"

"Boozia expects every man to do his duty!"

"Let's have an affair Lady Hamilton!"

"What about Hilde?"

"I'll be in the pub across the road."

Gerspel sighed. While he knew that getting the three finest fleet commanders in the navy assigned to him was a sought-after compliment, they had never bothered to mature.

"Just do it, okay. Felfner, centre, Dernels, right, Menkeln, left."


Gerspel's fleet represented a third of the Boozian ships: he would engage the enemy, Kekler's fleet would escort the military transports down, and the remainder was held in reserve.

Tarkins rapier voice retorted with a barbed quip. "We offer you a chance to surrender." His lips curled into a thin smile. "You abandon your people all too easily general, why leave them to suffer when this can all end now. ... peacefully ... mercifuly?

Tarkins rapier voice retorted with a barbed quip. "We offer you a chance to surrender." His lips curled into a thin smile. "You abandon your people all too easily general, why leave them to suffer when this can all end now. ... peacefully ... mercifuly?
"Can't trust them at their word." Holland shook his head. "Prepare for evasive action."

"Speaking of evasive action, there's another little ability that I imparted into the ship." Rina then chimed in. "Commander Talho, if you'll please look at the small green/black button on your station..."

"This one?" Talho found said button on her control stick. "What's it for?"

"Two words." Rina grinned a shit-eating grin. "Vector thrust. Increasing maneuverability for a capital ship to avoid the worst of enemy firepower has always been a troublesome task, but by redirecting a little engine and compensator power throughout the ship at the right intervals, you can run rings around the Empire's ships!" Of course, true vector-thrust engines like inertia-less drives are something even I need to procure at some time...

"Pretty cool, girl! Alright, ready on your mark!" Talho said to Holland, who nodded in return. She pushed the button, silently activating small but extremely numerous holes that released thruster power and increases maneuverability like never before.

The General concurred with the Captain. "The only suffering our people will undergo is what the Empire inflicts, Tarkin. But mark my words: we'll be back! And when we do, your days are numbered!"

He waved his hand in a chopping motion, cutting off the Moff before he could speak again. "Get us out of here!"

"GO!" Holland ordered.

Talho pushed the throttle to full, shooting the ship forward as if it was a sprinter at the crack of the starter. G-forces pushed the crew into the seats, meaning that despite the compensators, the acceleration was intense! As the powerful ship and her escorts neared the first group of enemies, the relatively young hotshot pilot gripped the controls as the first of the turbolasers and railcannons assaulted the lead enemy...

Geez, Rina! What the hell did you do?! Jacob shouted mentally. His cousin merely giggled in reply and he mentally rolled his eyes.

"The heat's started!"

Gerspel grabbed communicator.

"You three! Full torpedo barrage, as many to be homing or guided as possible, aim for the... what ever that battlegroup's formed around."

Obediantly, the three fleets opened up, doors slamming open and shut, cables straining, crew shouting, metal plates seared white by the heat of plasma engines. In the fire direction centre, deep in the bridge tower, midies carefully piloted homing weapons towards their target, surrounded by shoals of the cruder self-guided torpedoes.

Soon, point elements of the fleet would be bringing their long range lances to bear, the beam weapons probably being fast enough to nick the battlestar if the direction crew did their job well.


In orbit, meanwhile, military transports were moving in, As the huge hatches swung open, exposing the division-level transports within, marines were deployed in their Valkyries to secure drop zones.

"The heat's started!"

Gerspel grabbed communicator.

"You three! Full torpedo barrage, as many to be homing or guided as possible, aim for the... what ever that battlegroup's formed around."

Obediantly, the three fleets opened up, doors slamming open and shut, cables straining, crew shouting, metal plates seared white by the heat of plasma engines. In the fire direction centre, deep in the bridge tower, midies carefully piloted homing weapons towards their target, surrounded by shoals of the cruder self-guided torpedoes.

Soon, point elements of the fleet would be bringing their long range lances to bear, the beam weapons probably being fast enough to nick the battlestar if the direction crew did their job well.
"Incoming missiles!" Senior Lieutenant Gidget yelled. "ECM now!"

"Let's rock and roll, kids!" Lieutenant (j.g.) Woz Mallow switched on the powerful EW stations. Suddenly, the Battlestar and escorts seemed to split into two, then four, then eight and more, according to enemy sensor stations. Then the music began, heavy metal that shrieked and screamed towards the missiles, forcing them offcourse to get away from the horrendous cacophony.

"Point-defenses firing now!" Weapons Officer Kengo reported, pressing buttons madly. Tiny foot-long missiles roared out in swarms, singing of love and kindness to lure more enemy missiles away and then sacrifice themselves by ramming the enemy missiles. Fifty caliber railslugs and rapid-firing heavy laser cannons smacked down even more missiles from the enemy, so that by the time missiles did get through, they did little more than superficial damage on the particle shields.

Now it was time for the offensive. Heavy turbolasers and railcannons roared their displeasure at being shot at by sending forth devastating green (and silver) bolts of death that could snap frigates in half. The Heavy Beamlasers of the Gekko-Go went to work, slicing enemies left and right as the Defender launched a massive swarm of anti-ship proton torpedoes to compliment her own turbolasers. (Stats are a few posts up)

And the three ships continued to accelerate, seeking an exit point from which to make the jump to hyperspace...

In orbit, meanwhile, military transports were moving in, As the huge hatches swung open, exposing the division-level transports within, marines were deployed in their Valkyries to secure drop zones.
The few laser cannons that managed to survive the conflict so far turned to the Valkyries and opened fire, intending on taking down the enemy before they landed...

OOC: BFG Torps are slow enough to slip under shields.
IC: Ships rocked and rattled furiously, throwing their crews this way and that as they spun to bring their own guns of bear, the affectionately named "wreck-you" (Ridiculously Excessive Calibre Kinetic Energy Weapon) and "kill-beam" (Concentrated Ion Lance doing their thing.

Here and there, escorts succumbed to the enemy fire, and in places the cruisers were scarred, but ultimetly, it was three ships against three flets and only so many turrets to go around.


"Okay, Gefreiter, I'll repeat myslef: at a defined height of about five metres, your accumulated momentum will be used to slow your fall to harmless speeds. That means you don't get hurt. Or do you want to stay up here?"

Another transport went down in flames, and eyes widening in terror, the young trooper jumped.

It was the most exhilerating experiance of his life: he was free-falling, completely un-slowed and un-guided, plummeting towards what seemed to be certain death and loving every minute of it because it was his last chance.

At the promised five meters, his grava-chute kicked in, ending the two minutes of solid terror and ecstacy, and he whipped out his rifle, other marines thudding down around him.

"Okay people, we've been ordered to clear a landing area for army heavy transports, this means eleiminating all firing capable FDC emplacements. We currently have an airborne corps on the ground and enough Valkyries to airlift everyone since most of the guys were still aboard when they went down. So come on!"

OOC :
CW pls reply to my post .

OOC: BFG Torps are slow enough to slip under shields.
OOC: Ok, but then PD cannons can easily knock them down.

IC: Ships rocked and rattled furiously, throwing their crews this way and that as they spun to bring their own guns of bear, the affectionately named "wreck-you" (Ridiculously Excessive Calibre Kinetic Energy Weapon) and "kill-beam" (Concentrated Ion Lance doing their thing.

Here and there, escorts succumbed to the enemy fire, and in places the cruisers were scarred, but ultimetly, it was three ships against three flets and only so many turrets to go around.
The problem with the enemy's assessment was that the fighting was most definitely not meant to destroy the enemy fleets, but actually clear a path through which the three powerful and no-longer-secret ships could pass through on their way to jump to hyperspace.

And it helped that the molecular shielding on the three ships absorbed the energy weapons like sponges and redirected the firepower back at the enemy via the turbolasers, doubling the power output as the deadly bolts slammed into enemies dozens of kilometers forward of the Battlestar's bow. The projectiles however, were pinged off the particle shields again, but the hull now started recieving chips and cracks from the sheer volume of fire directed at the Battlestar and her escorts, despite wild dodging and swerving that would make a fighter pilot swoon.

"Aww damn! And I just had the ship painted!" Rina groused as she read the damage reports on her screens.

"ETA to hyperspace?" Captain Holland asked sharply.

"Fifteen to thirty minutes, tops. We'll hold out for sure." The Quartermaster in charge of the hyperdrive itself replied.

The Captain nodded and winced as slight rumblings shook the ship every now and then and then intertwined his fingers. "Rina, how are the Yamatos doing?"

"Still charging up! Remember, this is the first time we'll used them so they're not quite calibrated to the ship's systems yet." The young Masaki genius answered. "But once they are used..."

"Very well. Let me know when they're ready to fire." The Captain said as his body swayed to yet another sharp dodge.

"Will do!"

The Battlestar group was now closing in on the enemy forces, preparing to smash through the ranks like legions of cavalry overrunning demon hordes in the legends of old. At this range, the turbolasers, railcannons, ion cannons and missiles became more devastating if at all possible, blasting away at all who stand in their way...

"Okay, Gefreiter, I'll repeat myslef: at a defined height of about five metres, your accumulated momentum will be used to slow your fall to harmless speeds. That means you don't get hurt. Or do you want to stay up here?"

Another transport went down in flames, and eyes widening in terror, the young trooper jumped.

It was the most exhilerating experiance of his life: he was free-falling, completely un-slowed and un-guided, plummeting towards what seemed to be certain death and loving every minute of it because it was his last chance.

At the promised five meters, his grava-chute kicked in, ending the two minutes of solid terror and ecstacy, and he whipped out his rifle, other marines thudding down around him.

"Okay people, we've been ordered to clear a landing area for army heavy transports, this means eleiminating all firing capable FDC emplacements. We currently have an airborne corps on the ground and enough Valkyries to airlift everyone since most of the guys were still aboard when they went down. So come on!"
As all the laser cannons either died or continued to attack the enemy transports, the enemy has landed near a large jungle, just one of the places where a hidden shelter was located. But little did they know that there was something hidden in the dense foliage...watching...waiting...

"Bravo" Tarkin adopted a more attentive look as the Battlestar began to fight her way through the Imperial fleet. "Captain Dellaine, I suggest a full scan of this vessel." Tarkin said standing to his full height, turning he paced slowly towards his command chair.

"Firing range in thirty seconds." The small countdown of the power matrix manifested on the oval screen. Perhaps, when the Jedi are finally nullified the emperor will gift me with another title? Grand Imperator.... Tarkin mused.

The battlestar irritatingly dodged the main guns of several Imperial Star Destroyers narrowly escaping an unfortunate fate. "Their vessel is too fast for our primary weapons, they are evading the bulk of our fire."

"Charming." Tarkin said with an audible sigh. "You may fire at will commander Dellaine, be sure to be prompt." Arms folded, standing rigid, Tarkin watched and waited as the battle station continued to accelerate.

OOC: I envisaged three seperate division scale landing over a fairly small area of one hemisphere, not a unified corps landing.

IC:"Cut the lances! Cut it with the lances and pull back! After all, what are they doing to threaten us? If they attack us, they're doomed."

"I hate ships like that. Think you've got the bastards down and "bang!", here comes the miracle ship to save the bloody day."

Felfner, judging by his voice and the fact theat several buttons in his greatcout were undone, really was annoyed.

"And since when has the shit alpha-tech calls shields been able to withstand sustained fire from three damn battlefleets!"

With Menkeln, the thing that gave it away was when she lost her cap and didn't pick it up again.

"Well, maybe we're dealing with something a bit diffarent."


One regiment had been dispatched to investingate the readings in the jungle, assisted by a couple of divisional support elements, and moral was high as they crashed forward through the foliage.

"Hab'n Sie keine Angst,
Frau Oberst Vorkreufer
Ein Brunesisch Jager..."

The latest update of the regimental quick march shattered the natural tranquility to an accompaniement of jackboots.

"Auf, Ansbach-Fallschirman!,
"Auf, Ansbach-Brudndeburg!"

After a while, they switched to everyones old favourite "Vorwarts!".

"Bravo" Tarkin adopted a more attentive look as the Battlestar began to fight her way through the Imperial fleet. "Captain Dellaine, I suggest a full scan of this vessel." Tarkin said standing to his full height, turning he paced slowly towards his command chair.

"Firing range in thirty seconds." The small countdown of the power matrix manifested on the oval screen. Perhaps, when the Jedi are finally nullified the emperor will gift me with another title? Grand Imperator.... Tarkin mused.

The battlestar irritatingly dodged the main guns of several Imperial Star Destroyers narrowly escaping an unfortunate fate. "Their vessel is too fast for our primary weapons, they are evading the bulk of our fire."

"Charming." Tarkin said with an audible sigh. "You may fire at will commander Dellaine, be sure to be prompt." Arms folded, standing rigid, Tarkin watched and waited as the battle station continued to accelerate.
"Captain, the Death Star is approaching from the far side of the planet." Gidget noted, her voice wavering.

"If the superlaser hits us, even the shields won't be able to handle all the power." Lieutenant Kengo warned the others.

"I know, I know." The Captain sighed. "What fleet is that nearest enemy from?"

"Tagged as Nova Boozia, sir." The Chief reported. "What are you going to do?"

"If they want to fire their superweapon, they'll have to do it with their own friends around. Run through the Nova Boozia fleet!" Captain Holland ordered.

"Already on it!" Commander Talho grinned and gunned the engines even further. "As a bonus, why don't we look around for the enemy's flagship?"

"Possible, but any ship will do!" The Captain replied and nodded to Gidget and Mallow. The two young crewmembers doubled their efforts on searching around for the Nova Boozia flagship. In the meantime, the Battlestar and her escorts continued to swerve wildly, running rings around the slower and less nimble enemy Star Destroyers and Nova Boozia ships, hopefully making it much harder for the superlaser to get a lock on them. And even if they did, a desperate swerve that would strain even them might just hit a Nova Boozia ship instead of the threesome.

Jacob Masaki began reaching out into the Force and at the same time, performing a seal while he psychically touched the controls, preparing to jerk it in desperate evasion. He knew they would need the added assistance of combat precognition...

One regiment had been dispatched to investingate the readings in the jungle, assisted by a couple of divisional support elements, and moral was high as they crashed forward through the foliage.

"Hab'n Sie keine Angst,
Frau Oberst Vorkreufer
Ein Brunesisch Jager..."

The latest update of the regimental quick march shattered the natural tranquility to an accompaniement of jackboots.

"Auf, Ansbach-Fallschirman!,
"Auf, Ansbach-Brudndeburg!"

After a while, they switched to everyones old favourite "Vorwarts!".
Their mood would soon be dampened as the feeling of *something* watching the regiment continued to grow as they headed deeper into the jungle. Suddenly foliage shook slightly to one side then quickly stopped. Sounds were made, faint chirps and growls like something out of a prehistoric movie. Then all was silent again.

Whatever was in the jungle waited patiently for the members of the regiment to get as deep into the jungle as possible, a ways from reinforcement so that when the time comes, they would strike...

OOC: How many men are in the jungle and what kind of armor do they use? The mysterious signs of life would like to know, especially as what I'm planning concerns a lot of melee combat.

OOC: Approximately three thousand men in 40K carapace armour.

IC: There was no one flagship to all forces in-system, but the three fleets tasked with defeating the enemy were commanded from the dreadnought Schmaldt, a vast ship, its five void shields probably good against whatever the systems indiginous untermensch wanted to throw at them. Indeed, close engaging the ship was not, by any stretch of the imagination, a good idea. At a ceratain distance, perhaps a quarter or a half of their max engagement range, depending on the gun in question, Boozian weapons became very hard to dodge, simply because they arrived so fast.


The clearing was remarkably large, since it hadn't been there half an hour ago. The ground was churned where stumps had been ripped up, and log barricades lines the edges. Crude foxholes pockmarked the ground. and the troopers, having finished their fallback point, were having a quick smoko, leaning against the side of the landed vultures and valkyries or relaxing in their trenches. But this was only one of many, since clearing numerous company sized evac points would take a lot less effort than one regiment sized one.

Tired, scattered, and many catching forty winks. If not for the waiting transports, now would be among the best times to attack.

OOC2: This seems to be grabbing more than its share of the attention. There are nine infantry regiments and numerous supporting battalions on the surface, and all are attacking planetary defence stations, many from the air, in less difficult terrain. They should probably have a small blindspot by now for army landings?

OOC: Approximately three thousand men in 40K carapace armour.
OOC: Ok.

IC: There was no one flagship to all forces in-system, but the three fleets tasked with defeating the enemy were commanded from the dreadnought Schmaldt, a vast ship, its five void shields probably good against whatever the systems indiginous untermensch wanted to throw at them. Indeed, close engaging the ship was not, by any stretch of the imagination, a good idea. At a ceratain distance, perhaps a quarter or a half of their max engagement range, depending on the gun in question, Boozian weapons became very hard to dodge, simply because they arrived so fast.
"There. The biggest ship of all." Gidget reported. The ship increasingly rumbled as it neared the Schmaldt. "About 750 klicks ahead of us, almost point-blank."

"Shields down to 80% now." Kengo reported.

"Very well. Wait for the superlaser to fire..." The Captain ordered.

Meanwhile, Jacob's combat precog realized the insane plan the Captain was planning and knew that it would work...except for one little thing. He sent a small message: Hold the voidshield! Hold it now!

With that done, he waited for the warning in the Force to come...

The clearing was remarkably large, since it hadn't been there half an hour ago. The ground was churned where stumps had been ripped up, and log barricades lines the edges. Crude foxholes pockmarked the ground. and the troopers, having finished their fallback point, were having a quick smoko, leaning against the side of the landed vultures and valkyries or relaxing in their trenches. But this was only one of many, since clearing numerous company sized evac points would take a lot less effort than one regiment sized one.

Tired, scattered, and many catching forty winks. If not for the waiting transports, now would be among the best times to attack.

OOC2: This seems to be grabbing more than its share of the attention. There are nine infantry regiments and numerous supporting battalions on the surface, and all are attacking planetary defence stations, many from the air, in less difficult terrain. They should probably have a small blindspot by now for army landings?
OOC: Most likely.

IC:
Numerous planetary defense stations fell to the enemy onslaught, leaving them with yet more holes through the defenses from which the enemy could land safely from.

But safety was relative. Passive sensors saw the transports flying through their space, giving the defenders an idea of where the enemy was and how long it was since they landed. Now, as the darkened sun sunk through the hills to the west, the night will soon be washed in blood.

At 11:00pm local time, a wolf howled in the distance. It was the signal.

It started with a missile, fusion-tipped, raining out from a hidden location. That missile aimed for the invader's central location and once it landed, it detonated in nuclear fire, burning everything within five km. Then more missiles flew out, a mighty swarm that targeted the transports, on the ground and in the air. As the confusion and destruction of enemy items surely developed, they attacked. Out of nowhere, they charged.

Monsters. Creatures out of a prehistoric nightmare, straight out of Jurassic Park with chakra-enhanced jaws and claws (chakra being the energy source the animals use, like the Force the Jedi use) to slice and bite into even the hardest armor. They were followed by larger brethern, slightly more mechanical but no less deadly. 3 meters at the shoulder, Cougars fluidly attacked in the night, shooting rapid-firing laser cannons at the infantry while aiming minimissiles at everyone not tagged as "friendly". Some even attacked with chainrazor claws and teeth once an enemy was in range. Same with the wolves, except that they were decidedly more antipersonnel than their larger friends. Human troops followed up, firing blaster bolts and grenades into a crossfire in the jungles.

That's not all, for the 12th Coredian (Mech) Infantry Division had more cards to play. A huge turbolaser shot at a cluster of enemies, blowing up whatever was in there. Sabercats, Timberwolves, and Ligers, manned by one pilot each assaulted the transports and whatever ground vehicles the enemy possessed in squads of 4. And in the distance, Ursons and other heavy yest highly mobile artillery units began to pick off other enemies with devastating turbolaser blasts.

Indeed the night flows with blood...

OOC :

Sorry guys but I have to leave this RP . Reason being my exams are drawing near and I would not be able to log into NS as often as before . However I will still continue to monitor this thread and will rejoin when my exams are over .

OOC: Gonna have to fluid time the landings.

IC: Gerspel grabbed a communicator and half yelled, half gestured at the commo officer to get him the Imperial commander.

"Whoever you are, and no matter how senior you are, I'd be really oblinged of you didn't blow up my flagship. Thank you!"

His flag captain, meanwhile, was worrying about the battlestar. All available smallcraft, ordnance, and projectile weapons had been trained on the single ship, many at close range. They had no chance.


They burned trails through the sky behind them, grav-cushions vaguely visible as heat-haze shimmers, atmospheric craft popping from their ports down the hull length. But worse was to come when they hit the ground.

The first out were the Schlagtruppen Panzer divisions, the universally aknowledged lunatics of the army. They drove the Sturmklinge, the Boozian pattern Baneblade bristling with guns and adorned in such charming messages as "Death+glory=beer!", "Shoot me, I suck!", and "Johan is a poof!". Then the Panzergrenadiers followed them, mounted in the ubiquitus Chimares and backed up by the StuG, the SturmGeschutze, an infantry assault gun which had been steadily updated to the point of a light tank destroyer.

Behind these were the regular Korps, with their Kaiser Tigers (a variant of the Leman Russ) and more Chimares and StuGs. Engineering, AA, mobile artillery, and the rest trailed after them all.

And at 4 PM, Boozia-prime time, it began.

A smaug transport was the first to succumb, men and women leaping down from their vehicles to escape the nuclear fire. More shots cae, but now the Hydra's replied and the ships in space began to saturate the rough point of the missiles origin with their own superweapons. Artillery began to duel with the opposing batteries. And the Panzers did their thing. Sponson, pintle, and coax guns all tore into enemy infantry and light vehicles. Medium vehicles were honored woth a shot from the bow lasers. Only a few were worthy of the 6 inch main gun.

The war was on. Properly.

OOC: Gonna have to fluid time the landings.
OOC: Hmm. I thought to begin while you're still landing.

IC: Gerspel grabbed a communicator and half yelled, half gestured at the commo officer to get him the Imperial commander.

"Whoever you are, and no matter how senior you are, I'd be really oblinged of you didn't blow up my flagship. Thank you!"

His flag captain, meanwhile, was worrying about the battlestar. All available smallcraft, ordnance, and projectile weapons had been trained on the single ship, many at close range. They had no chance.
The Battlestar rolled and dove, looped and spun, giving the enemy smallcraft a run for their money as it continued onwards through the enemy fleet, and the ship shook with each blast of enemy fire lancing into the shields. Light railcannon ordinace switched to the fightercraft, spitting lead into cockpits and lacerating engines while the turbolasers and heavy railcannons continued to smash superheated bolts of energy and matter into the enemy ranks. And as for the Yamato Cannons...

"Main cannons 80% charged! One more minute should do it!" Kengo reported. "Shields at 51% and falling."

"Hull breach on the port side!" The Chief warned them. "Sending damage crew and stretching ST fields to stop it!"

"Damn! Lieutenant, prepare an Alpha Strike as soon as the Cannons are charged." Holland ordered. "The enemy will not soon forget the Battlestar!" Hmm. I think it needs an additonal name.

"Aye, sir." Kengo replied and pressed buttons and switches. The Battlestar was only using half of its weapons in the two hundred turbolaser/railcannon turrets and cannons. Soon, the other half of the weapons, a massive swarm of various missiles, will fire...

They burned trails through the sky behind them, grav-cushions vaguely visible as heat-haze shimmers, atmospheric craft popping from their ports down the hull length. But worse was to come when they hit the ground.

The first out were the Schlagtruppen Panzer divisions, the universally aknowledged lunatics of the army. They drove the Sturmklinge, the Boozian pattern Baneblade bristling with guns and adorned in such charming messages as "Death+glory=beer!", "Shoot me, I suck!", and "Johan is a poof!". Then the Panzergrenadiers followed them, mounted in the ubiquitus Chimares and backed up by the StuG, the SturmGeschutze, an infantry assault gun which had been steadily updated to the point of a light tank destroyer.

Behind these were the regular Korps, with their Kaiser Tigers (a variant of the Leman Russ) and more Chimares and StuGs. Engineering, AA, mobile artillery, and the rest trailed after them all.

And at 4 PM, Boozia-prime time, it began.

A smaug transport was the first to succumb, men and women leaping down from their vehicles to escape the nuclear fire. More shots cae, but now the Hydra's replied and the ships in space began to saturate the rough point of the missiles origin with their own superweapons. Artillery began to duel with the opposing batteries. And the Panzers did their thing. Sponson, pintle, and coax guns all tore into enemy infantry and light vehicles. Medium vehicles were honored woth a shot from the bow lasers. Only a few were worthy of the 6 inch main gun.

The war was on. Properly.
Losses were not terribly heavy at this time, but the orbitial support was troublesome. Nevertheless, the mechanized formations continued to fight under the cover of dwindling missile fire, shooting at the enemies with everything from heavy laser cannons to missiles of their own to mass drivers from the main cannons of the giant bears of doom in the distance. The high mobility of the Godulan-made and homegrown animal mecha proved to make it tough for the enemy tank units to fire effectively.

An order went out to the regiments and they formed up into a classic wedge formation on the left flank of the enemy and smashed into that side. Meanwhile, what air support did arrive came in the form of an LAAT squadron, slashing their lasers into the enemy's right flanks like hot knives into butter, while shooting air-to-air missiles and flak cannons at their counterparts in the air. The artillery in the distance concentrated on the center flank while the heavy SPHA units rolled up, shooting one-shot kill strikes upon the enemy's artillery with heavy turbolasers, ion bolts, proton shells and guided rockets. Although it appears to be a losing proposition with the orbitial support, the enemy will surely get a bloody nose before the Coredians have to retreat to the few shields still around.

OOC: I seriously doubt that, under fire from three large fleets at close range and with enough torps and bombers incoming to give most PD compauters a migraine, could get by with slight shield loss. Come on, I've rped my losses and I want to seem some back.

As to the land battle... remember that the majority of fire is coming from 15 and 23mm bolters and heavy bolters and 50mm lascannons. Micro-rocket propeled machine guns and weapons which arrive at their target faster that the speed of sound. Those mechs'd better be really fast. Also... what flanks? This is a circular landing zone secured by an airborne perimeter with troops being offloaded throughout. Considering the state of disorder, most angles would count as a "flank".

Most of these complaints boil down to an inadequate knowledge of the opponent. Do you have a factbook? If you feel the same way, I'll scrape together some ORBATS and profiles.

IC: As the fleets assumed full sustained gunnery stations and began bombarding the enemy with everything from nova-cannon to low-calibre batteries, the ground forces began to make some type of formation. A full group was dispatched to deal with the enemy LAATs, while all the fighters and bombers of the other nine groups were sent to deal with enemy artillery. Ground forces continued their advance, shielded by fighter-bombers and forming a pincer as the armoured spearhead of the Schlagkorps drove into the centre, two Schlachtkorps hit the flanks, and a pair of marine divisions not currently engaged were ordered to drop bhind the enemy and secure position for the arrival of a third Sclachtkorps, meaning all three under Third Army were in the thick of it.

OOC: I seriously doubt that, under fire from three large fleets at close range and with enough torps and bombers incoming to give most PD compauters a migraine, could get by with slight shield loss. Come on, I've rped my losses and I want to seem some back.
OOC: Edited. Half shields now. Then again, the Battlestar is meant to take on entire fleets. Certainly it's living up to the promises so far.

As to the land battle... remember that the majority of fire is coming from 15 and 23mm bolters and heavy bolters and 50mm lascannons. Micro-rocket propeled machine guns and weapons which arrive at their target faster that the speed of sound. Those mechs'd better be really fast. Also... what flanks? This is a circular landing zone secured by an airborne perimeter with troops being offloaded throughout. Considering the state of disorder, most angles would count as a "flank".
OOC: Yeah, I know, but I am taking losses despite their ability. As for the formation, it wasn't very clear on what you stated, so forgive me.

IC: As the fleets assumed full sustained gunnery stations and began bombarding the enemy with everything from nova-cannon to low-calibre batteries, the ground forces began to make some type of formation. A full group was dispatched to deal with the enemy LAATs, while all the fighters and bombers of the other nine groups were sent to deal with enemy artillery. Ground forces continued their advance, shielded by fighter-bombers and forming a pincer as the armoured spearhead of the Schlagkorps drove into the centre, two Schlachtkorps hit the flanks, and a pair of marine divisions not currently engaged were ordered to drop bhind the enemy and secure position for the arrival of a third Sclachtkorps, meaning all three under Third Army were in the thick of it.
Damn. This isn't working! Captain Jeremy Davis groaned as his regiment fell under the onslaught of the enemy's combined arms. Without friendly support, we're fucked!

A retreat was quickly ordered for the mechanized division before the pincer movement could destroy the mechanized infantry, but the friendly forces ran right into the marine divisions and were forced to charge through them, firing everything they had at the Marines as they fought to get back under the safety of the nearest theater shield, about 50 km from the Nova Boozia front. So far, a quarter of mechanized forces were lost so far.

Most of these complaints boil down to an inadequate knowledge of the opponent. Do you have a factbook? If you feel the same way, I'll scrape together some ORBATS and profiles.
OOC: No, I don't, I'm afraid. I do have random stats floating around.

OOC: On the battlestar: if there's only one, then whatever.
On the ground: I understand.

IC: VII Korps raced to shut the trap, but they were too late: the enemy had escaped. In the ops room of the army command preatorian Im Eisen Geschreiben, General-Oberst Vorkreuffer clenched her fists.

"Verdammt!! I had been hoping we could avoid a protracted planetary siege. You all know the routine now. Mass ortillery and artillery bombardment, strategic bombing, bleeding operations, urban battles... We can win, but it will be a hard fought war. Still, from a strategic perspective, we shall cut off their head and pull out their heart.

"Ops! Issue a general order to consolidate losses, effect field repairs, and re-stock supplies. Intel! If they try anything, I want to know before it happens. Literally, so request full acces to orbital sensors and air-recon. Supply! Establish drop-off points and lines between them and the units in the field. Personnel! Morale may be sufffering, so I want you to take command of all radio broadcasts to the troops and make sure all requests for medical or personal help are aknowledges at the very least. Exec! Site our HQ and have the driver take us there. Come on!"

OOC: On the battlestar: if there's only one, then whatever.
OOC: Actually, there's three ships...BTW, do you have MSN?

IC:
"Sir! Yamato Cannons charged!" Kengo announced.

"Target the enemy dreadnought! Alpha Strike, NOW!" Holland roared.

Finally, after all the running and dodging, the Battlestar was finally ready to attack. It's missile tubes opened, 60 on each giant pod that was attached to either side of the ship proper. More missile pods opened on the ship itself, though several were immediately rendered inoperable by the enemy's weapons.

"Quantum Shattermissiles, AWAY!" Rina shouted, dramatically pressing a big red button on her console.

A swarm of glowing yellow missiles -more like drones- rushed out by the hundreds and attacked the Schmaldt with reckless abandon. Their main abilities are as follows: when they hit a shield, funky quantum mechanics built into the glow switched the properties of energy and matter around. What that means is that energy turns into matter and matter into energy. In the case of shields, they literally turn shields into glass and shatter them as they pass through, although void shields are untested. Once the shields are down (generally for ten seconds or more), the missiles then bore through the hull and detonate, disintegrating matter violently as the atomic structures are torn apart and proton, neutrons and electrons go flying everywhere.

Then the now 77 turbolasers and 76 railcannons followed up the Quantum Shattermissile assault with an salvo on the Schmaldt all together every second. At the same time, the twin forward Yamato Cannons charged up with all the energy it has built up over the course of the battle and let loose one, then a second blast of energy so powerful that they together could one-shot a Star Destroyer. They would not fire again for a while, even with the assistance of the Molecular Shielding. Rina Masaki would have to continue working on that. And finally, to complete the Alpha Strike, a second missile volley of Singularity Torpedoes were launched to finish whatever's left of the Dreadnought.

But that's not all. Defender launched its own Alpha Strike of turbolasers, ion cannons and proton missiles (the total enemy fire so far reduced its shields to 37%). But alas, the Nova could not do so. Before it could add to the damage with its Heavy Beamcannons, the enemy obliterated it so completely that the refugees onboard barely had time to scream in pain.

"Holland, we lost the Nova!" Gidget groaned.

"Shit. That must be a thousand refugees..." Jacob cursed.

"Grr. How long before we get to hyperspace?" Captain Holland asked the quartermaster, Hoz.

"Sir, we're clearing the majority of enemy forces and it should be within...five minutes." Hoz answered. Five minutes more of enemy fire.

"Right. Transfer all weapons energy into the shields for both ships and divert molecular shield energy collection to the normal shields and engines. We must hold out as long as we can!" Holland ordered. He saw the shields on both ships struggle to climb under the enemy onslaught, but they did, at a rate of 1 percent every ten seconds. They wouldn't go much past sixty percent (Especially Defender), but with luck and the Force on their side, they won't have to...

IC: VII Korps raced to shut the trap, but they were too late: the enemy had escaped. In the ops room of the army command preatorian Im Eisen Geschreiben, General-Oberst Vorkreuffer clenched her fists.

"Verdammt!! I had been hoping we could avoid a protracted planetary siege. You all know the routine now. Mass ortillery and artillery bombardment, strategic bombing, bleeding operations, urban battles... We can win, but it will be a hard fought war. Still, from a strategic perspective, we shall cut off their head and pull out their heart.

"Ops! Issue a general order to consolidate losses, effect field repairs, and re-stock supplies. Intel! If they try anything, I want to know before it happens. Literally, so request full acces to orbital sensors and air-recon. Supply! Establish drop-off points and lines between them and the units in the field. Personnel! Morale may be sufffering, so I want you to take command of all radio broadcasts to the troops and make sure all requests for medical or personal help are aknowledges at the very least. Exec! Site our HQ and have the driver take us there. Come on!"
The city of Hakudo, on a hill, was the first city the Nova Boozia would encounter should they choose to attack. A theater shield surrounding the fifty miles from its center protected it from orbitial bombardment and heavy artillery, but true to form, it won't be able to protect against a ground invasion forever. The 12th Mech Division ran under the protective umbrella of the shields and consolidated their own forces with that of the 10th Armored and 8th Infantry.

On the plains, minelayer droids and scorpion/spider ambush mecha were sent out in force to erect monomolecular razor wire and to dig themselves in while the troops put the finishing touches of a three-layer deep trench defense line, complete with dug-in artillery and tank units. The outer minelayer contains high-kiloton-level nuclear charges that would surely mess up enemy forces once remote-detonated. It was followed by the first line of defense for infantry and mechanized forces bolstered by the 8th Infantry Division. A second minefield contained less powerful, but far more focused shaped mines, also remote-detonated. This layer also contains the second line of defense: ambush spider and scorpion Zoids, who's ability to surprise enemy infantry and vehicles and destroy them served them well at other fronts. The third line of defense contained another minelayer and then the rest of the infantry and mechanized forces defending the city. Inside the city itself, the citizens prepared, under the orders of the soldiers, to erect nasty booby traps if and when the Nova Boozia managed to break through the lines.

The defensive layers were the same in all the cities of Jurai protected by a shield (which amounts to about ten). Those without shields were evacuated to deep mountain or underground shelters for a more defensible stance. No matter what, Coredians everywhere will make the enemy pay for every meter of land they conquer...

OOC: I meant one battlestar

IC:"Begin evacuating the ship. No one left behind. And bring me a man who's going to die."

Gerspel watched as his bridge crew began to filter away, until two Gefreiters appeared with an engineer on a stretcher, bleeding in at least twelve places.

"Son, do you want a blaze of glory?"

He nodded.

"Then just wait till I say to press the bid red button."

He turned back to the communicator.

"You three! Have all ships within a big radius of me warp out."

He dashed away.

And as the last frigate left the scene with a load of lifeboats, the crippled ship made its greatest sacrifice.


"Okay, readings indicate a theater shield and thats about it. A couple of probing recon-flights have ascertained that we're looking at one corps of an unknown type, one division with 25% casualties, but the defences are a big closed book. Fortunately, our engineers were fitted out with the new cyclops vehicles before the invasion. They're remote controlled detonaters. While it's unlikely they can get anywhere near clearing a path through the undoubted minefields whilst under fire, they do give us a reasonable option. An attack on a narrow front is screened with these things, and the first rank of vehicles will also have every toy my engineering officer can think of, from electro-magnetic jammers to crab flails. A rolling barrage will proceed our troops, and mass bombing will attempt to probe the enemy defences and break holes in them. They may be armoured walls, but they may be scrapes in the ground. Fighter bombers will try and blunt counter-attacks.

"Now this is all tactical. On a strategic scale, my plan is simple: First and Second armies will attack from opposite directions. When reserves are either commited or destroyed from the air, Third army will strike at the most useful point and we will engulf the enemy.

"And on a grannd strategic scale, well... how many civilians do you think it takes to force a surrender?"

There was some quiet laughter.

"My guess is five citifuls."

"These pansies? They'll probably freak out when they realise we massacre people at all!"

"The attack begins tonight, at ten PM, Boozian. I want you at your HQs by then."

"Yes, sir!"

OOC: I meant one battlestar

IC:"Begin evacuating the ship. No one left behind. And bring me a man who's going to die."

Gerspel watched as his bridge crew began to filter away, until two Gefreiters appeared with an engineer on a stretcher, bleeding in at least twelve places.

"Son, do you want a blaze of glory?"

He nodded.

"Then just wait till I say to press the bid red button."

He turned back to the communicator.

"You three! Have all ships within a big radius of me warp out."

He dashed away.

And as the last frigate left the scene with a load of lifeboats, the crippled ship made its greatest sacrifice.
By the time the crippled enemy exploded, the Battlestar and Defender were both well on their way to freedom and the shockwave shook them both, reducing the shields some more. But the lack of enemy fire, while unsettling, was helpful in getting the ships' shields back up a few more percent every ten seconds.

"Sir, another minute and we're ready to make the jump to hyperspace. Warming up hyperdrive generators now." The Quartermaster announced.

"Thank you, Woz." Holland nodded. But they couldn't breathe a sigh of relief just yet, for the space was now relatively clear, clear enough for the Death Star...

"Okay, readings indicate a theater shield and thats about it. A couple of probing recon-flights have ascertained that we're looking at one corps of an unknown type, one division with 25% casualties, but the defences are a big closed book. Fortunately, our engineers were fitted out with the new cyclops vehicles before the invasion. They're remote controlled detonaters. While it's unlikely they can get anywhere near clearing a path through the undoubted minefields whilst under fire, they do give us a reasonable option. An attack on a narrow front is screened with these things, and the first rank of vehicles will also have every toy my engineering officer can think of, from electro-magnetic jammers to crab flails. A rolling barrage will proceed our troops, and mass bombing will attempt to probe the enemy defences and break holes in them. They may be armoured walls, but they may be scrapes in the ground. Fighter bombers will try and blunt counter-attacks.

"Now this is all tactical. On a strategic scale, my plan is simple: First and Second armies will attack from opposite directions. When reserves are either commited or destroyed from the air, Third army will strike at the most useful point and we will engulf the enemy.

"And on a grannd strategic scale, well... how many civilians do you think it takes to force a surrender?"

There was some quiet laughter.

"My guess is five citifuls."

"These pansies? They'll probably freak out when they realise we massacre people at all!"

"The attack begins tonight, at ten PM, Boozian. I want you at your HQs by then."

"Yes, sir!"
On the defending side, a plan with current information was being made. The assault a few hours ago did bear fruit.

"The enemy will have at least a corps of Chronosian-style armored divsions. You know the type; big, dangerous and mass-charges. Except these are smarter as well." Brigadier General Damien said during the briefing.

"What can we expect from them?" A soldier asked.

"The city overlooks a hill. Therefore, we can expect them to try and envelop us from all sides. But the terrain gives us a serious advantage over them: they'll have to charge over two hills instead of merely one to attack this city directly, and the deep defensive lines that the theater shield affords us doesn't give them much to do but charge and hope for the best. Our strategy is this: The 8th Infantry Division and the Hakudo militia are to spread out around the city and its surroundings, and dig in deep to deter enemy advances. It and artillery will be the main forces in dealing with enemy assaults. The 12th will be the quick reaction force, any minor breaks in the line gets hammered back by one of the battalions. The rest of the 12th and the 10th Armored are to hold the secondary and tertiary lines. And finally, a full breach is to be hammered by the 10th in its entirety to slow the enemy advance, while the remaining forces fall back to the next line. Even if we lose, my friends, it will surely by a Phyyric victory for them! To your stations! Arm the 1st layer mines! May the Force bring us victory!"

Bolstered by the short pep-talk, the commanders went out to prepare the troops for battle...

Sharp protrusions glistened against the blight of countless turbolasers, minute, small and inconsequential the Scythe class transport travelled harmlessly towards the Death Star; inside, Inquisitor Malorum waited, patiently....

Tarkins folded arms grew tighter around his waist as the range grew shorter with every moment. The emperor will be pleased with this, his thought echoed. The rewards shall be greater than that even of Vaders. His thin lips curled in a smile. The former dark lord was no longer the emperors pet, he was no longer the favoured son of an empire, the position, was open.

"Firing range in twenty two seconds, twenty One, twenty, Nineteen."

"Comscan reports a priority transmission."

Tarkin turned. "From who?"

"High Inquisitor Malorum Admiral...."

"Malorum" Tarkins voice dropped.

"We are ordered to break pursuit immediately and prepare for his arrival." The words crashed down on Tarkin like an avalanche, the glory, the prestige both stolen from him. "Malorum" His eyes darkened; had planned this.

"Break pursuit and prepare docking bay Z9 for his landing. No one is to enter the hanger bay without authorisation."

"Authorisation from who Admiral."

Tarkin looked on bewildered... "Authorisation from myself."

***

The hurrying darkness descended upon the durasteel deck of docking bay Z9, it's unfolding legs preying upon the smooth, pristine surface. Contrary to the traditional fanfare of troopers and pilots, the hanger was entirely vacant apart from one figure standing toothnecked and hands clasped behind his back.

"Admiral Tarkin is waiting excellency."

"Yes, he is isn't he." Malorums pale complexion betrayed no sign of emotion. "Lower the ramp." Rising from the passenger row, the high inquisitor doused his crimson robes, flailing them slightly as not to be a hindrance. Mirroring his master in posture and appearance, the pursuer of Imperial truth, descended the walkway.

Tarkin kept his eyes on a level field; he would not look up at this fool. Malorum was a manipulator and political nightmare, his skills and abilities to destroy rivalling that of even his own. Sadly, the emperor refused to accept his name on the list of traitors.

"Tarkin." The indifferent man nodded.

"Malorum old boy." Tarkin said joyfully. "Welcome to the death star."

"Spare me; you know why I'm here."

"I'm afraid I don't dear boy, alas my mental capacity does not extend to telepathy, perhaps if you give me a clue?"

"This." Malorum handed a data pad over. "What. Is. This?"

"I believe it is a list of traitors excellency."

"This list holds the names of five of my learners. They are innocent of these charges."

"I'm afraid the emperor believes otherwise." Tarkin started to smile. Mallorum had quite obviously surrendered his advantage to rage, the disadvantage of being a Sith Tarkin supposed.

"You placed them there."

"Naturally." Tarkin interceded. "It was my responsibility to track down all traitors to the emperor, if they're innocent they will be released after their trial."

"The emperor decreed no trials Tarkin." Mallorum grew in anger and rage.

"Well, you do have a problem old boy, but please, let me take your mind off your obvious failings as a teacher, instead, pray tell me, what brings you to my humble vessel?"

"I am taking command of the Jurai operation."

"Are you now? I assume you have authorisation?" Mallorum handed over a second data pad.

"The emperor believes this to be of an artists attention Admiral, not a hammer."

"Well if it is the emperors will." Tarkin nodded his head in defeat. "Then Jurai shall of course be yours."

"And oh...." Tarkins eyes caught a hidden paragraph. "What is this?"

Malorum regained his composure. "We are declaring the Emperor beloved by all, a living God. Admiral.

"Are you now." Tarkin continued to smile. Certainly this was an unexpected move by Prakith.............

***

In the battle itself the Death Star tapered away from the rebel vessel, its vast ion engines surrendering to demands of one man. The readings would be obvious, the reactor core cooled and slowed, but below, the blue orb of Jurai slowly disappeared.

The Nightcloak was operational.........

"Sir, the Death Star has ceased pursuit." Gidget said, frowning. "Energy readings indicate that it's cooling down."

"Odd. They would have fired in what, twenty seconds?" Holland asked.

"Yes." Then the young lady looked at the screens once more. "Captain, the planet..."

The few lights of Jurai's cities, the strange crystalline spires of the Godulan side of the planet, they all started to fade away in black. The Empire has truly begun the seige.

"An orbitial nightcloak. All energy sources, light, heat, everything is basically absorbed into the cloak." Rina piped in. "The Empire's planning to freeze it into submission."

"Damn. How long do we have before Jurai's supplies run out with this taken into account?" Holland asked.

"Not good." Rina said, typing away. "It has a month on the outside, and that's pushing it. Any counterattack Daniel's planning will have to do it within the next two or three weeks at best."

"Mmm." Holland rumbled. Then the hyperdrive signal beeped and turned from red to green. "Make the jump, now!"

At long last, after an eternity of battle, the Battlestar and the Defender were finally able to make the jump to hyperspace, and the famous stars in the windshield streaked out as they disappeared. The Empire's hold on Jurai was complete...for now.

OOC: The ending of my last post was intended to indicate that the attack was beginning. Feel free to respond.

OOC: The ending of my last post was intended to indicate that the attack was beginning. Feel free to respond.
OOC: You haven't really indicated such yet. All you had was the 10 PM your time deadline. Nevertheless...

IC:
"General, the enemy is advancing." A soldier said, looking over the holomap of the city and the fields and hills protected by the 50 mile shield.

"Very well. Prepare to hold the first line!" General Damien ordered. The call went out and the regiments protecting the first line prepared powerful antitank/antivehicular rockets and antipersonnel laser cannons while the artillery began tracking the enemy and the LAATs and Orca airspeeders rose into the air to provide some air support. The mechanized divisions also prepared to carry out the plans...

OOC: I presume that, since you say I'll have to charge over two hills, that the entire city is located within a kind of bowl, like a sort of watered down volcano shape?

IC:Gerspel, having transferred to Felfner's Eisen Damon, reacted quickly to the enemy escape as the ships began to warp back in, ordering them into orbit for and to ready the mostly intact marine corps for a special surprise.


The skies were filled with fire, smoke and flame from the rolling barrage spiraling up to join the flashes of furious dogfights between Thunderbolts, LAATs, and Orcas.

When the first enemy artillery response went up, missile battalions in close co-ordination with air-recon, orbital sensors, and ground recon units responded with their accurate drum fire, allowing the conventional Basilisk 188mm howitzers to continue their constant fire. 305mm siege mortar battalions, meanwhile, accompanied the advancing infantry and panzer regiments, laying their short-ranged but furiousl salvoes on any particularly fearsome strongpoints.

Tanks, tank destroyers, IFVs, and StuGs tore forward in their mixed battalion task forces, cyclopses and electric sweepers minimising, though hardly eliminating, the casualties from mines. Monomolecular wire provided a nasty holdup given its small size, but a burst from various sponson and pintle weapons could generally open a gap. As they advanced, casualties mounted as enemy mine operatives wised up to the tricks and contact was made with the line, but it wasn't expected to provide too much of an obstacle. Underground complexes could be stormed by infantry dismounts after the now carefully guided arty leveled the strongpoints, leaving the reserves (a far greater portion of the forces than usual) to take over from the first line and role on. The plan was that quickly replacing battered units with fresh, fully supplied ones in equal numbers would catch the retreating enemy on the wrong foot, devastating them and preventing them from escaping in useful numbers.

Should the plan be succesful, the army group could probably bring down a couple more cities before being rotated out to be replaced by a fresh unit. Combined with the Federal supply defiency, the plan to "cut off the head and rip out the heart" of the GFFA seemed to be in full swing.

OOC: I presume that, since you say I'll have to charge over two hills, that the entire city is located within a kind of bowl, like a sort of watered down volcano shape?
OOC: Sort of. The city itself is on the taller hill. The suburbs are on the lower hill and in the valley between, but they're basically deathtraps now. BTW, do you have an MSN screenname?

IC:Gerspel, having transferred to Felfner's Eisen Damon, reacted quickly to the enemy escape as the ships began to warp back in, ordering them into orbit for and to ready the mostly intact marine corps for a special surprise.
The Battlestar moved through hyperspace quickly, giving the crew some time to effect repairs. They will be jumping all over the galaxy to shake off enemy pursuit for a good while.

"What do we do now?" Jacob asked.

"First, we send out a Mayday to any GFFA member capable of fighting to help Jurai stay alive longer." Holland said, then had a thought. "Stuff a probe droid with the latest sensor and ground information up to the Nightcloak and we'll send it to GFFA HQ."

"Right." Jacob said.

Shortly, the Battlestar and Defender jumped out of hyperspace just long enough for a probot with the most up-to-date info on Jurai be sent to the GFFA and then they returned to hyperspace as quickly as they came.

The skies were filled with fire, smoke and flame from the rolling barrage spiraling up to join the flashes of furious dogfights between Thunderbolts, LAATs, and Orcas.
Orcas fired dozens of rockets and bolts of piercing red energy beams into the enemy air ranks while the heavier LAATs slashed at the Thunderbolts with their green beamlasers, blasted them with air-to-air missiles or just generally shot at them with their laser cannons. It was good that the shield continued to keep the number of enemy air units to a manageable level, but even so, the friendly forces continued to fight hard to achieve tactical air superiority...

When the first enemy artillery response went up, missile battalions in close co-ordination with air-recon, orbital sensors, and ground recon units responded with their accurate drum fire, allowing the conventional Basilisk 188mm howitzers to continue their constant fire. 305mm siege mortar battalions, meanwhile, accompanied the advancing infantry and panzer regiments, laying their short-ranged but furiousl salvoes on any particularly fearsome strongpoints.
In response, the heaviest artillery barrages from the tall hills concentrated their fire on the seige mortar battalions, blasting them with mighty turbolaser and counterbattery shell fire. A few Coredian artillery pieces attacked the Basilisk howitzers as well, but the main battery fire fell on the more powerful mortar battalions. In return, missile battalions dealt damage to the artillery ranks, destroying several pieces and countermissile fire did their best to nuke the missile battalions to oblivion.

Tanks, tank destroyers, IFVs, and StuGs tore forward in their mixed battalion task forces, cyclopses and electric sweepers minimising, though hardly eliminating, the casualties from mines. Monomolecular wire provided a nasty holdup given its small size, but a burst from various sponson and pintle weapons could generally open a gap. As they advanced, casualties mounted as enemy mine operatives wised up to the tricks and contact was made with the line, but it wasn't expected to provide too much of an obstacle. Underground complexes could be stormed by infantry dismounts after the now carefully guided arty leveled the strongpoints, leaving the reserves (a far greater portion of the forces than usual) to take over from the first line and role on. The plan was that quickly replacing battered units with fresh, fully supplied ones in equal numbers would catch the retreating enemy on the wrong foot, devastating them and preventing them from escaping in useful numbers.

Should the plan be succesful, the army group could probably bring down a couple more cities before being rotated out to be replaced by a fresh unit. Combined with the Federal supply defiency, the plan to "cut off the head and rip out the heart" of the GFFA seemed to be in full swing.
Today was one of those times when a serious concentration of fire would either make or break the battle. The IFVs and StuGs were targeted by the heavy squad-level weapons like E-11 blasters and heavy infantry blaster cannons as well as the even more numerous antipersonnel laser cannons. The enemy tanks and tank destroyers found themselves on the recieving ends of a fierce amount of antitank/antivehicle company-level fire, with the turbolasers and rockets performing very well up until they died. The Mechanized divisions added their firepower to the damage the enemy would incur, but until a breach was seen, they would stay put for now.

And let's not discount the militia sharpshooters, men and women with hunting rifles (and seriously powerful scopes) that actually proved to be more accurate than their military counterparts in searching for enemy commanders and calling in fire to their locations. After all, hunting requires a lot of patience and guts and an ability to put down animals without ruining the actual meat from a good distance away, especially when you want to hunt animals like Tyrannosaur and Velociraptor. And Coredian doctrine states that killing the commanders are top priority in any engagement...

OOC: And that's my cue.

IC:

"Call. Full house, Aces high."

"Hah, straight flush. Fork it ove-FUCK!"

The friendly game of poker in the Solari command post was disrupted by the sudden shattering wail of an incoming mayday transmission. Battlestar and Defender had gotten through to the most dangerous remaining nation of the Galactic Federation. With their military effectively untouched by the war with the ESUS, they were free to respond with full force. Assault Transports, led by the Charles Deglopper began embarking Marines. Entire regiments left the surface. Mobilizing within an hour of their reciept of the message, the 19th Marine Division was ready to depart for Jurai. All that remained was to gather their escorts, and their decoys. A powerful trio of warships gathered in the van of the tiny convoy. Intimidator, Montsegur, and a new vessel, frightening to look upon and awe inspiring to watch, the mighty Paschendale. To all apperances it was just a regular Solari Dreadnought. In fact it was classified as a battleship, and was more swift than any other ship of the wall had ever been able to claim. With a small cruiser and destroyer screen, they departed in a terrfying flash that defied almost every law of physics known to man, and yet, somewhow, still functioned as intended.

Moments later, the tiny fleet appeared above an embattled world. Assault transports never paused, diving immediately towards the surface, disgorging shuttles and drop pods filled with thousands of hostile Mardukans. The true warships began seeking out anything that might stop their troops from landing. The only major threats seemed to be a pair of victory class star destroyers. Desani Shadow Wolves scrambled from hangars, to join the battle above the city, while a pair of Gunships, bearing the commanders of the arriving army, broke away from the Intimidator. There was no time to wait. They couldn't fire yet, needing to build up enough power to unleash their batteries, but they were swiftly approaching the target point...

The first Marines touched down just seconds after they were launched, erupting from drop pods in a terrifying display. Massive armored forms, seeming more demonic than anything allied with Coredians could possibly be, shredded flimsy walls and revealed the horror that descended on the Boozians in full. Mardukans, more massive than any space marine, and armed to slaughter, had landed on Jurai behind the Boozians and their reserves. Within 15 minutes, with the landing of the shuttles, they would be thundering across the landscape, while their brothers above gave them as much covering fire as was possible in this mad situation.

OOC: The next posts should reflect an hours worth of combat(approximately), as my troops ready themselves, and deploy. I'm strapped for time, and won't be able to post again till tomorrow, so I included my arrival in this post to keep everyone from having to wait.

OOC: No, no screen-name. But how would Starwars style theater shielding limit the amount of air power entering an area?

As to Miehm/SL, I'm assuming you landed behind both attacking armies? If not, I'll edit

IC: The Boozians were rolling hot now, guns blazing and fighter bombers swooping in on enemy artillery. Squad level laser weapons made little impression on the StuGs and IFVs behind their thick frontal armour. Surprisingly, this meant the more durable Tiger and Elephant were taking the brunt of the hits. Militia snipers would do no good: in battle, every commander, from the General-Oberst leading the whole army down to the Unteroffizier commanding a single tank, kept their heads down. FlAK tanks added their firepower to the battle raging above, the artillery continued its dual, infantry leapt down to engage dug in forces.

And then things got hectic.

First, a flood of warnings came down from the fleet as they swung to obliterate any Solarians they could find. This was immediately followed by a rain of Valkyries: with the precious cargo of marines potentially threatened, General Stunkel had ordered a landing without confirming with the Heer commanders, and the heavy enemy commitment to the outer battle ought to clear the skies somewhat.

Next came the Solarians. Panic began to engulf rear echelon units, but hard knocks, prep-talks, and running away as fast as possible began to restore order. Third army was ordered to respond, splitting into two provisional units: kampfgruppe A, with VIII and IX korps under Vorkreufer, headed to relief First army, while VII and I Schlag korps, under the Sclagtruppen commander, General Harz, headed for Second. Both armies recieved simple orders from OKJ (Ober-Kommando Jurai): the only way to escape the Solari was to break through the line.

OKJs plan was simple, but what be a minor miracle to pull off: marine landing would disrupt command, communications and re-supply functions and destroy the tertiary Cordian lines from within, securing a firebase to command the valley, while First and Second armies would break the lines and cross the ridgeline as fighter bombers swept the military crest clean of resistance. The fleet would prevent any further Solari landings while Third pinned down those troops already on the ground, allowing the remaining troops to re-form and bring their full might to bear on one group at a time.

OKS (Ober-Kommando Schnapsewehr), however, had something else to contribute: Armeegruppe B was dispatched to join the battle, and would arrive soon, landing nearby to sieze a differant city, perhaps two, and commit assets to the other battles. Should a hold be established on between two and five cities, troops could switch to the defensive, having carved out a suitable occupation zone.

OOC: No, no screen-name. But how would Starwars style theater shielding limit the amount of air power entering an area?
OOC: There weren't any TIE fighters present at the Battle of Hoth in the Empire Strikes Back due to the theater shield. If there were, those airspeeders wouldn't survive.

((Is this closed? Or can I send a transmission to the Coredians that are outside of the battle to offer a safe haven within my galaxy?))

IC: The Boozians were rolling hot now, guns blazing and fighter bombers swooping in on enemy artillery. Squad level laser weapons made little impression on the StuGs and IFVs behind their thick frontal armour. Surprisingly, this meant the more durable Tiger and Elephant were taking the brunt of the hits. Militia snipers would do no good: in battle, every commander, from the General-Oberst leading the whole army down to the Unteroffizier commanding a single tank, kept their heads down. FlAK tanks added their firepower to the battle raging above, the artillery continued its dual, infantry leapt down to engage dug in forces.

And then things got hectic.
Learning quickly that squad-level weapons did little to the STuGs and IFVs, the squads concentrated their laser cannons on a few at a time, increasing the damage rate. They were bolstered by the famed Liger and Cougar units, who shot powerful beamcannons into the enemy lines, beams powerful enough to go through several enemies at once (although every few seconds they must recharge). At the advantage of close range, their vibroclaws and teeth sheered metal apart like they were meat as Coredian tanks and artillery units continued to concentrate their bombardments on the enemy's more powerful units.

That was not all, for Armored Terrain Tactical Walkers counterattacked the enemy armored and antiair units with massive amounts of mass-driver slugs, allowing sheer kinetic and thermal (the slugs are partially molten from the air friction) energy to obliterate the enemy forces.

The infantry themselves found their enemies a tenacious foe, but the thought of the enemy just desecrating their lands and enslaving their people kept the fight up, sometimes beyond human endurance...


First, a flood of warnings came down from the fleet as they swung to obliterate any Solarians they could find. This was immediately followed by a rain of Valkyries: with the precious cargo of marines potentially threatened, General Stunkel had ordered a landing without confirming with the Heer commanders, and the heavy enemy commitment to the outer battle ought to clear the skies somewhat.
OOC: The nightcloak Sithy just used is capable of preventing the entire electromagnetic spectrum from reaching the ground and from the ground to orbit, respectively. Everyone is forced to use couriers.

Next came the Solarians. Panic began to engulf rear echelon units, but hard knocks, prep-talks, and running away as fast as possible began to restore order. Third army was ordered to respond, splitting into two provisional units: kampfgruppe A, with VIII and IX korps under Vorkreufer, headed to relief First army, while VII and I Schlag korps, under the Sclagtruppen commander, General Harz, headed for Second. Both armies recieved simple orders from OKJ (Ober-Kommando Jurai): the only way to escape the Solari was to break through the line.

OKJs plan was simple, but what be a minor miracle to pull off: marine landing would disrupt command, communications and re-supply functions and destroy the tertiary Cordian lines from within, securing a firebase to command the valley, while First and Second armies would break the lines and cross the ridgeline as fighter bombers swept the military crest clean of resistance. The fleet would prevent any further Solari landings while Third pinned down those troops already on the ground, allowing the remaining troops to re-form and bring their full might to bear on one group at a time.

OKS (Ober-Kommando Schnapsewehr), however, had something else to contribute: Armeegruppe B was dispatched to join the battle, and would arrive soon, landing nearby to sieze a differant city, perhaps two, and commit assets to the other battles. Should a hold be established on between two and five cities, troops could switch to the defensive, having carved out a suitable occupation zone.
The 12th Mechanized Infantry responded quickly to the Marine incursions with ferocity worthy of any trapped predator, moving to entrap and destroy the Marines who dared to land with a massive volley of laser and missile fire. Hell, a battalion of unmanned animal mecha (Cougars and Timberwolves) even went into "feral" mode, slashing and biting at everything not Coredian or allied. Metal was little help against their claws and teeth, even diamond would suffer horrendous injuries. And injuries were healed by actually gorging on metal and flesh alike...

The other two battalions, the larger manned Sabercats, Command Wolves, Ursons, Ligers and other Zoids and Godulan-made mecha moved to stop the First and Second Armies cold with devastating volleys of turbolasers, missile strikes and the silver lightning of railcannon slugs. The other cities in the distance were warned using primitive shortwave radio of the enemy advance and they too would prove to be just as heavily defended as the city of Hakudo...

((Is this closed? Or can I send a transmission to the Coredians that are outside of the battle to offer a safe haven within my galaxy?))
OOC: TGs would be fine.

((Cool))

Unbeknownst to any of the warring factions, the Copen Protectorate had been watching. Even if they were peaceful, they knew mass genocide when they saw it.

A single ship was all they could send to offer assistance, but if they could get the Core Worlds to transplant their population within the boundaries of Copen Galactic Space, they could prevent the entire extinction of a civilization.

The small Excalibur Heavy Fighter, reaching only 32 meters in length, appeared within ten lightseconds of Jurai, keeping completely radio silent, with all systems off except for life-support.

The pilot: the most powerful Newtype Admiral of the Copen Armed Forces.

Feronen Selinorasi.

Knowing that the Jedi, and Sith, were capable of hearing psychic thoughts, Feronen concentrated, calling out to the Jurai royal family.

Masakis! Masakis!

Unfortunately, there were no members of the Masaki Clan in the vicinity of Jurai, just lots and lots of enemies. However, the Force nudged the Admiral into a different direction, a direction more conductive to finding a member of the Clan...

OOC:
In short, you'll either head to Konoha or meet up with the Battlestar, depending on what I feel is best.

((A note: my people are not force-sensitive, but Newtypes can feel its presence.))

Feronen could feel the Force telling him where to go. Even though he wasn't a Jedi, he knew it would help him.

Activating the fighter, he pushed the ship into full-throtle, hitting the afterburners after hitting maximum velocity and taking off at nearly thirteen hundred kilometer per second.

((Stats for Excalibur: http://www.wcnews.com/ships2/wc3excalibur.shtml ))

OOC: 1300 km per second is rather slow in terms of space. A lowly TIE fighter would speedblitz it rather easily.

IC:
The Force nudged him towards a rendzevous with a certain ship that just escaped and is now heading towards an empty system far, far away for a quick rentry, reversion and return to hyperspace...

Feronen realized that this little ship needed to move faster. The 1300kps just wasn't doing it.

Flipping a couple of switches and turning two separate dials clockwise, Feronen activated the jump sequence necessary to allow him to make it to his destination.

For a brief second, the engines sputtered, and then a blue flash emitted from them, propelling the ship to fifty times the speed of light.

((I know. I'm revising it to proper standards. I plan to make the Excalibur II move faster than 5000 kps for normal engines.

I'm taking off from work. I'll try to post later tonight.))

For some odd reason, it would turn out that the little fighter would arrive at the same time as the massive Battestar would revert, a coincidence that's not a coincidence...

OOC: You know, I don't think the new Battlestar Galactica would feel too out of place in a WC setting...

Ground Combat, northern continent; 501st D.Z.

When the NightCloak fell over Jurai, the Thrashian imperial forces were as ready as any military force could be. All storm troopers had been equipped with low temperature gear and all weapons had been prepped for freezing temperatures. Field Marshal Verrick had adopted a pre-fab control center that was dug into the ground to hide its heat signature from either bodies or machines, and as such was directing his troops as best as possible. At the moment his 501st scout teams had stumbled upon, rather by accident, one of the rumored underground strongholds that intelligence reports said the last of the Coredians were hiding.

* - * - * - *

The Coredian shivered in his boots. Even with his heavy heat jacket and temperature friendly helmet and gear he still felt the cold as bitterly as a person standing there naked. “Damned cold…damned Imperials...,” he muttered to himself. He shifted his blaster rifle that was slung over his shoulder and went back to pacing slightly, doing his duty as guard. And watch well he did; for he was guarding one of the only entrancing to one of the dozen underground strongholds. It was hidden in the very rock face and was further covered by the occasional snow drift which didn’t make the guard happy, but it did help conceal it.

Looking around in the dark and cold the guard decided he’d risk it. He pulled out a cigarette and thumbed his stick-flamer to light it up. Within moments he had a nice puff of smoke going from his lips. Sighing contentedly he didn’t notice a new pitch in the roaring wind that swam around him.

Seemingly to appear from nothing a vibro-knife came around the guard’s neck and an armored hand clasped his mouth. Without a sound and a tight jerk of the knife the guard fell to the snow covered ground with his neck sliced open. The body twitched for a moment then grew till, within moments snow began to cover it.

The storm commando cleaned the knife off in the snow and looked off into the snowy darkness. He lifted his hands and made a pattern of hand signals, marking off three fingers then one, then three again; lastly he made the fist and nodded. He bent down and started to add more snow to cover the dead guard.

Out of the darkness materialized a dozen armed storm troopers all in white camouflaged armor. They scanned the area with their blasters and before long began motioning behind them. Three entire companies were moving forward to the position, fanned out in attack formation. A few Stingray-class tanks rumbled quietly in between the ranks, their dark outlines giving the image that large monsters were moving through the dark. No lights were being displayed, all the men worked with heat sensors and night vision.

An officer stepped up the storm commando who now was waiting by the rock wall. He motioned at the wall. “This it?” The storm commando merely nodded and went to the wall. After a short time of pressing odd spots and running his hand over the rock he found a piece that pushed into the rock face. With a loud grinding sound the rock slid away to reveal a blast metal door. The officer smiled inside his helmet and turned to his adjutant.

“The techs set up a breech yet?” he asked. His number two nodded.

“They’ve wirelessly hacked into the first layer of the rebel scum’s computer fields. We’ll have access to the door within moments,” the man said confidently.

“Good,” said the officer. “Report this back to HQ.”

Just as the officer finished his sentence the door slid open as well. Several scout troopers went inside immediately, as did the storm commando. After a few moments a scout stuck his head out and motioned for the all clear sign. The officer nodded and waved for his troops to go. After a dozen minutes three companies of the 501st were flowing into this supposed haven of Jurai. It would not be a haven for long.


In Space

Admiral Daala about smashed her tea cup into the ground when she saw the enemy fleet, designated at belonging to Mini Miehm or the Solari coming out of a warp portal. She was about to have the fleet begin maneuvering to intercede when she watched as thousands of transports, without pause or flinching, entered strait into the darkened atmosphere of the planet. She could hardly believe it and neither could her adjutant.

“Did they just do what I think they did?” asked Captain Derek. Daala leaned back and laughed out loud. Many of the crew let out sniggers and other forms of laughter. Daala turned to Captain Derek.

“Yes they did. I guess they didn’t realize that the NightCloak is up. I mean, who would be foolish enough to enter an atmosphere where gigantic electrical storms were taking place due to the massive change in the planets ecosystem due to the total lack of sunlight?” asked Daala. She just couldn’t comprehend it. “Not to mention the extreme colds. Any troops they send aren’t prepared for those.”

Derek nodded his agreement. “We already had a report that a platoon of our men, those already armor-prepped for this in advance, of freezing stone still; even while walking.”

Daala shook her head in pity. “At least we’ll have quite a few new chaos marine ice sculptors, because that’s all those troops are going to be for landing not only on a now freezing planet that they aren’t acclimated to, but for landing on the pole of a planet that is freezing.”

“Don’t forget those massive electrical storms,” said Derek humorously. “ We lost quite a few supply transports just yesterday when a storm hit the twelve quadrant. Not many of those men will make it to the ground even. Least they won’t freeze.”

“I have to agree, being electrocuted is much easier than freezing,” said Daala. “Anyhow, prepared the fleet for space combat and deploy our outer frigates. They’re out of range, but that will soon change.”

“Yes Admiral,” said Derek. The bridge quickly got over its burst of mirth over the blunder made by the Coredian allies and began getting ready to join in with the other massive Imperial fleets in orbit to deal with this unexpected new enemy fleet.

Konoha

Fifteen Ha’Tak battleships rested on the edge of the space around Konoha. They had little to no damage on them because they came into Jurai space firing at the enemy to cover the allied fleets. They were the last to leave and last to arrive at Konoha. Master Zöllner von Rotenstein and the rest that escaped Raidon’s Fury were picked up by a Tel'Tac Cargo Shuttle from the flagship of the fifteen Ha’Taks. Raidon and Baku stayed with Daniel, he would not leave the watchful eyes of the crimson dragon.

Ten minutes later, ten more Ha’Taks exited hyper space next the Dominion fleet. These were carrier versions, all carrying a hundred Death Glider. Less then a minute later, a squadron of black Death Gliders exited one of the carriers. This Death Gliders were not the same as the others, they were one manned fighters. One that had a cloaking device, which was located where the second pilot would go. And the pilots were not clones, they were normal human. The leader, Black Dragon Alpha, was from a famous line of Dominionites, Hiroshi Sasaki was his name, Ken'ichi Sasaki, a Sasaki that lived from 1970-2045, used to be a bodyguard of the Count, one of his trusted men. So the Sasaki family was a loyal family of the Count and had a palace on Anubis Prime, located in what would be called Japan on Earth. Anubis Prime and Earth were like twins in ways, they both has the same land mass.

“Black Dragons, move out and start training mission 183.” said Hiroshi (http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y101/CountJWolf/kenface.jpg) in his radio.

He received five other “Copy that, Alpha” The six Death Glider moved toward the edge of the fleet and started running the mission. Doing false attack runs on their own Ha’Taks, barrel rolling, doing every crazy move in the book. Using the Ha’Taks as course to fly through, flying beteen them, flying over them. If the Coredians were watching, they would see one of the best squadron the Dominion has to offer. One that was used to attack pirates, which were not part of a royal family’s crew, in the space between the three system of the Dominion. The Black Dragons would run training missions until it was time to leave.

Thirty minute later, another fleet came into the system edge. These fleet has ten army carrier Ha’Taks, the one will the large box under them. Two of the boxes held two hundred , a thousand clones (http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y101/CountJWolf/Clone.jpg) in Dominion Battle Armor (http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y101/CountJWolf/DominionBattleArmor.jpg ). Four of them had four thousand clones and humans to use Lio-guardian battle armor systems (http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y101/CountJWolf/Lioguardian.jpg) & Great Enforcer battle armor systems (http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y101/CountJWolf/GreatEnforcer.jpg) & Archer Knight battle armor systems (http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y101/CountJWolf/ArcherKnight.jpg). The next three had a hundred Iron Kongs, a hundred Red Horns, two hundred Command Wolves and fifty König Wolves. The last one had the special forces; the first Zoid that has a human mind download in it, the one and only Death Stinger, one Deadly Kong, two Mugen Ligers, ten Liger Zeros, five Shadow Foxes, ten Gairyukis, two Geno Breakers, two Lightning Saixes, two Decalto Dragons and a five hundred Animal men unit. Each box has countless numbers of Warlocks.

The fleet waited for the call to take Jurai back…

OOC: Hello, GE, this is turning slightly dogpilish.

IC: Kehkler's fleet immediately broke off from orbit and made all ahead full for the Transylvanians. More than one officer noted how appropriate their names were (in Boozia, a transie was a semi-human undeserving of the rights afforded regulars, such as a Jedi or other force user) as torpedoes and nova round began to tear across space. Their first target was the transports, and all the numerous ships rounded on them, hammering away with guns and lances.

On the subject of transports, it was now that AGB arrived to join the fun, warping as close to the planet as was possible without depositing any unwanted deamons and begininig orbit. Cargo bays opened, and the Smaugs prepared to drop.

OOC2: I'll postpone the drop until I know what this nightshield does.

The army group brought with them other goodies from OKS: one was a knew plan. If the current attack failed, then all available troops, having been equipped with winter equipment, would cordon off the nearest five cities, wether they were shielded or not. The fleet would constrict their bloackade over that area. When the starving Coredians surrendered, that area would indisputable be the Boozian occupation zone.

Especially once they had cleaned out the Coredian filth and razed their cities.

OOC: Firstly, couriers? Electro-magnetic? What the hell? (and if this helps, Valks are atmospheric craft and are deployed into the atmosphere via a n assault boat, so I may be "using couriers" already)

Secondly, I'm begining to wonder if you appreciate just how much armour is coming at you. Taking casualties into acount, there are probably still thirty divisions down there. All have a panzer regiment, panzer divisions have two.
OOC: Could have told me at the beginning. I had no idea how many enemies I was facing. Even so, Coredians rarely care how many enemies are being thrown at them. More for the slaughter! Plus, you're charging up hills. A hard job for any army, especially a tank-centric one.

Thirdly, how would you get the AA? As a supporting arm, its kept behind the combat regiments.
Missiles, of course. Missiles and more missiles.

Fourthly, and this has been nagging me forever, how can you indirect-fire a turbo-laser. Or any laser. SW energy weapon artillery, despite being widely used, just doesn't ring true to me.
OOC: SW Artillery is obviously line-of-sight. I did also mention shell and missile variants for out of sight matters.

IC: Kehkler's fleet immediately broke off from orbit and made all ahead full for the Transylvanians. More than one officer noted how appropriate their names were (in Boozia, a transie was a semi-human undeserving of the rights afforded regulars, such as a Jedi or other force user) as torpedoes and nova round began to tear across space. Their first target was the transports, and all the numerous ships rounded on them, hammering away with guns and lances.

On the subject of transports, it was now that AGB arrived to join the fun, warping as close to the planet as was possible without depositing any unwanted deamons and begininig orbit. Cargo bays opened, and the Smaugs prepared to drop.

OOC2: I'll postpone the drop until I know what this nightshield does.
OOC: The Orbitial Nightcloak blocks every single member of the electromagnetic spectrum from entering or leaving the planet, absorbing all energy into the numerous satellites in orbit so that it'd be completely black. What this means is that communications and sensors that rely on EM energy, light, heat and all other parts of the spectrum are no longer reaching Jurai. Better prepare your winter gear, because it's gonna be COLD! Cold as Hoth by the time the campaign is over.

As soon as you read all the OOC stuff, delete yours immediately.

The army group brought with them other goodies from OKS: one was a knew plan. If the current attack failed, then all available troops, having been equipped with winter equipment, would cordon off the nearest five cities, wether they were shielded or not. The fleet would constrict their bloackade over that area. When the starving Coredians surrendered, that area would indisputable be the Boozian occupation zone.

Especially once they had cleaned out the Coredian filth and razed their cities.
The attackers proved too much for the city of Kanta, to the north of Hakudo and major resistance collapsed, but the defenders refused to give up. Now they shall lure the enemy into the city, fighting the pitched street-to-street battles that characterizes urban warfare. After all, there's just one more present to be presented to the NB troops once they fully occupy that city. And when the massacres began, when men, woman and even children fall to the bloodthirstiness of the Nova Boozia, that's when things will get interesting, for Coredians never forgave an enemy who did such things...

Meanwhile, resistance at Hakudo proved stiffer than the enemy realized. From one side to the other, the Coredian armored vehicles moved to places where a breach was about to occur and fought to push each enemy incursion back, taking losses each time, even as thunderstorms containing blizzards rolled overhead. Too bad a Masaki wasn't around, they'd take advantage of the weather to muck up enemy forces even more. Hakudo won't last forever, but the resistance meant that it would last longer than the enemy perhaps predicted...

Vader clawed his way from the rubble of the rebellions network of tunnels and escape routes. His face was one of stern anger and frustration, who the hell was shooting down on this planet? What idiots almost killed him? The Dark Lord rose to his full height, his robes flaying in the wind. "Commander Appo?" The link crackled with interference.

"Lord Vader. Command has established the orbital nightcloak, it is imperative that you return to Garrison command at once. We have received reinforcements from Boozian Naval forces, they're firing on our god damned positions." Vader clenched his left hand, the black leather crunching against the frost touched air.

"Order my shuttle to collect me at once and prepare to take me to their officer in command. I will deal with this situation." His voice sundered threat and damnation. Waiting in the chilled winds of Jurai, Darth Vader looked up at the crackling sky as electrical storms began to tear away at the atmosphere. "Let them be bathed in light." He chuckled as the first strikes of lightning fell.

In orbit.

Inquisitor Malorum had been given command of the Imperial Star Destroyer Praetor, thusly removing him from Tarkins face. A gift superior to the head of any rebel. But, there was a war on and Tarkin still had some orders to relay before surrendering command to his, his colleague . "Your list of communications in transcript Admiral." Tarkin took the pad and quickly sifted through those deemed high priority.

"Patch me through to..... Who is in command of the Boozians?"

"Unknown sir, they have yet to request orders or any tactical update of the situation?"

"And they are firing upon the planet yes?"

"Scans show multiple batteries firing upon populated and jungle areas Admiral, though we can't be to sure now, the nightcloak is masking all scans."

Moving through his transcript Tarkin found several high priority messages from General Constil. "Cease firing. Friendly fire severe." Tarkin drew a breath. Open a channel immediately, and take the Death Star in range of their flag ship. Discipline is the only way to insure victory. Relay order sto Admiral Daala instructing Thrashian forces not to offer Boozian ground troops reinforcements."

"Yes Admiral." Tarkin waited patiently for the screen to lighten up, after a few seconds of delay his rigid features would appear to his Boozian counterpart. "Admiral, what do you think you're playing at?"

Vader

Flying over the scene of fire, death and consistent explosions the Imperial shuttle descended towards the landing perimiter. Apparantly, hard wired communications were being established over the battlefield using civilian infrastructure, but the Boozians, doing as they pleased had destroyed most of the technicians efforts with their bombardment, setting back the campaign by several hours.

"Order them to prepare for my arrival." Vader seethed with rage, the darkside demanded justice.

Ground Theatre

The Imperial forces had stopped short of the capital, the bulk of the organic legions and been recalled to Garrison bases and troop facilities to begin to distribution of winter gear and equipment while the millions of battledroids began to scuttle across the country side. Seeker droids pathing the way for the advance quickly penetrated the depths of freezing jungle and fields in an effort to push the enemy armies back into the cities. Relaying locations of enemy forces, the mammoth Seismic tanks would quickly descend upon positions, crushing foes without mercy.

Ground Combat, northern continent; 501st D.Z.

When the NightCloak fell over Jurai, the Thrashian imperial forces were as ready as any military force could be. All storm troopers had been equipped with low temperature gear and all weapons had been prepped for freezing temperatures. Field Marshal Verrick had adopted a pre-fab control center that was dug into the ground to hide its heat signature from either bodies or machines, and as such was directing his troops as best as possible. At the moment his 501st scout teams had stumbled upon, rather by accident, one of the rumored underground strongholds that intelligence reports said the last of the Coredians were hiding.

* - * - * - *

The Coredian shivered in his boots. Even with his heavy heat jacket and temperature friendly helmet and gear he still felt the cold as bitterly as a person standing there naked. “Damned cold…damned Imperials...,” he muttered to himself. He shifted his blaster rifle that was slung over his shoulder and went back to pacing slightly, doing his duty as guard. And watch well he did; for he was guarding one of the only entrancing to one of the dozen underground strongholds. It was hidden in the very rock face and was further covered by the occasional snow drift which didn’t make the guard happy, but it did help conceal it.

Looking around in the dark and cold the guard decided he’d risk it. He pulled out a cigarette and thumbed his stick-flamer to light it up. Within moments he had a nice puff of smoke going from his lips. Sighing contentedly he didn’t notice a new pitch in the roaring wind that swam around him.

Seemingly to appear from nothing a vibro-knife came around the guard’s neck and an armored hand clasped his mouth. Without a sound and a tight jerk of the knife the guard fell to the snow covered ground with his neck sliced open. The body twitched for a moment then grew till, within moments snow began to cover it.

The storm commando cleaned the knife off in the snow and looked off into the snowy darkness. He lifted his hands and made a pattern of hand signals, marking off three fingers then one, then three again; lastly he made the fist and nodded. He bent down and started to add more snow to cover the dead guard.

Out of the darkness materialized a dozen armed storm troopers all in white camouflaged armor. They scanned the area with their blasters and before long began motioning behind them. Three entire companies were moving forward to the position, fanned out in attack formation. A few Stingray-class tanks rumbled quietly in between the ranks, their dark outlines giving the image that large monsters were moving through the dark. No lights were being displayed, all the men worked with heat sensors and night vision.

An officer stepped up the storm commando who now was waiting by the rock wall. He motioned at the wall. “This it?” The storm commando merely nodded and went to the wall. After a short time of pressing odd spots and running his hand over the rock he found a piece that pushed into the rock face. With a loud grinding sound the rock slid away to reveal a blast metal door. The officer smiled inside his helmet and turned to his adjutant.

“The techs set up a breech yet?” he asked. His number two nodded.

“They’ve wirelessly hacked into the first layer of the rebel scum’s computer fields. We’ll have access to the door within moments,” the man said confidently.

“Good,” said the officer. “Report this back to HQ.”

Just as the officer finished his sentence the door slid open as well. Several scout troopers went inside immediately, as did the storm commando. After a few moments a scout stuck his head out and motioned for the all clear sign. The officer nodded and waved for his troops to go. After a dozen minutes three companies of the 501st were flowing into this supposed haven of Jurai. It would not be a haven for long.
It was an unlucky situation for the stronghold codenamed Mordor. The sentries were dead, the planet was turning cold and the enemies were closing in. But it was not for nothing that it was called a stronghold. Flowing in and out of the shadows, lightsabers and vibroswords from the few Jedi and Shinobi protecting the stronghold flicked in and out of unsuspecting commandos, severing heads and thrusting into chests, frustrating Imperial efforts to track and eliminate them as they used their powers to confuse them. Blasters chattered at chokepoints, E-11 Heavy Repeating Blasters mowing down the members of the 501st, while lighter but no less dangerous pistols made sure that hot blood froze on the cold stone. Concussion grenades and thermal detonators were thrown at opportune times. A few Coredian droidekas joined the fray, programmed to add to the slaughter in the narrow tunnels. And outside, automated beamcannons tracked and literally cut into the enemy's advance, sweeping and slagging the enemy tanks and cutting down what stormtroopers they could detect. And the deeper the people retreated into the massive network of tunnels, the harder it would be for the 501st to dislodge them, until they somehow managed to reach the central chambers, where every child was given a gun and every civilian were expected to repel the Imperial forces to the last man. In theory, at least. In practice, many were as frightened as they were cold, and the only consolation to come would be that their deaths would be quicker by blaster than by the cold...

Hulking marines stepped from landing craft, and the massive Assault Transports hovered overhead, firesupport, nominally tactical command, and an awesome amount of armor all in one. Unlike regular Solari designs, all the true cannon of an Assault Transport like the Deglopper were positioned ventrally, with missile batteries on the dorsal aspect. They were horribly outnumbered, but they had the mother of all fire support companies. Dorsal missile batteries belched hatred and destruction, firng effectively blind, their multiple warheads would be seeded all across the opposing army, and since these warheads were nominally designed to destroy starships in the vast depths of space, it seemed rather likely that there would be few survivors on this potion of the Solari advance.

Until the fleet Shadow Wolves dove into combat against the Thunderhawks, there had not yet been any true contact between Solari and Boozians. Now, hundreds of plasma cannon rippled fire through the darkness, seeking out foes that were almost impossible to see in the blackness. Radar barely functioned in this bizarre blackout, and missiles simply would not be trusted in these conditions. So, it came down to gun on gun, and the Solari had some pretty big, and fast moving, guns.

The pair of Gunships were forced to pause at the edge of the cities Shield, and request entrance as best they could, what with the sudden limitation of even their LOS systems, and forget broadcasting anything past a few kilometers, anything that broke the horizon was worthless.

---

The three Solari behemoths crunched into the Boozian fleet, massive shells ripplin out in a wave of nearly unstoppable destruction. A lance of energy leapt from the prow of the Intimidator, which was doing a relatively good imitation of a Super Star Destroyer more than twice its size, taking hits and simply slugging back. Missiles and particle beams filled the void surrounding the lean dozen ships of the Solari squadron, lashing at any ship that came near, and even a few that didn't. Montsegur and Paschendale worked in deadly concert, pinning an enemy battleship between them, where their massive batteries could shred its defenses with ease. Attentive comm officers would notice an eerie keyboard melody beginning to pipe over their headsets, soon followed by thundering drums, and the death wail of electric guitar. The horror and pain of a forgotten battlefield from a lost world was brought to visit oppressors of a new age, as Paschendale brought vengeance from a bygone era. There was only a small hope that they could actually DESTROY the opposing fleet, but they could wreak untold havoc, and see the Marines safely to the ground beforew they were forced to flee from the enemies arrayed against them.

Thrawn was the Imperial commander watching the battle unfold, the arrival of many solari vessels was an annoyance, but hardly a problem. Their descent was one into madness and chaos. They would be unprepared for the cold below. They would be expecting the rigours of jungle warfare, a planet rife with heat and warmth, not the manifestations of the Empires latest technological terror.

After receiving direct authorisation from Inquisitor Malorum, the red eyed Chiss sought to end this small invasion. "Transmit the following orders on all communication bands. Fire at will."

The surrounding Imperial warfleet danced with obvious glee as their guns erupted in a spew of fire. Ignoring the warships, leaving them for the Death Star, the bulk of the Imperial fleet that was in range targeted the relatively defenceless troop transports. Bombard Cruisers released their concussion warheads in an almost infinite stream, each one locking on to the enemies communications, heat and engine signatures. The Star Destroyers themselves fired their turbolasers as to graze the planets horizon, being sure not to bombard the surface itself. And in pursuit, were fast, small, nimble Tartans, their array of countless laser banks acting as point defence system against incoming ordanance; and, when the opportunity presented itself, they would consume the enemy in a hail of fire.

The Dimensional Interdictors too were brought online, their triple bulbs waiting to prey on any fleeing or arriving forces.

Thrawn was the Imperial commander watching the battle unfold, the arrival of many solari vessels was an annoyance, but hardly a problem. Their descent was one into madness and chaos. They would be unprepared for the cold below. They would be expecting the rigours of jungle warfare, a planet rife with heat and warmth, not the manifestations of the Empires latest technological terror.

After receiving direct authorisation from Inquisitor Malorum, the red eyed Chiss sought to end this small invasion. "Transmit the following orders on all communication bands. Fire at will."

The surrounding Imperial warfleet danced with obvious glee as their guns erupted in a spew of fire. Ignoring the warships, leaving them for the Death Star, the bulk of the Imperial fleet that was in range targeted the relatively defenceless troop transports. Bombard Cruisers released their concussion warheads in an almost infinite stream, each one locking on to the enemies communications, heat and engine signatures. The Star Destroyers themselves fired their turbolasers as to graze the planets horizon, being sure not to bombard the surface itself. And in pursuit, were fast, small, nimble Tartans, their array of countless laser banks acting as point defence system against incoming ordanance; and, when the opportunity presented itself, they would consume the enemy in a hail of fire.

The Dimensional Interdictors too were brought online, their triple bulbs waiting to prey on any fleeing or arriving forces.

The Assault Transports took a couple of grazing hits, dangerously depleting their shields, before they dropped even closer to the surface. If the enemy wanted to destroy them, he would HAVE to risk bombarding the planet. Their altitude made it nearly impossible to strike them from their current angle. They would either have to entirely redeploy their assets, allowing more reinforcements to arrive, or risk hitting the planet. Flying just a thousand meters above the surface, they were as low as any but the most mad starship pilot was willing to risk flying. Tartan swarms flew into the rear sights of the Solari gunners, and took a load of superaccelerated buckshot for their efforts, hammering away at armor and shields, and being hammered in return with hundreds of tons of rapidly moving pellets. Accuracy was wanting, but who needed accuracy when you were firing a shotgun with a bore larger than any prespace naval cannon had ever dreamed of being? Secondary and PD armament blazed with fury, rippling shot and particle beams across the encroaching enemies.

On the ground below, the armored troopers of the 19th marine division advanced implacably across the frozen landscape. They were disturbed by the cold, and upset by the swiftness with shich their seemingly infinite suit batteries would be depleted in this icy hell, but inside their armor they were warm. And the sheer cold of this planet ensured that their most powerfuyl weapons were more dangerous than ever, being useable at effectively fully automatic fire with little risk of overheating. Plasma troopers rejoiced in this strange cold, and Bead Gunners hefted their deadly cannon, preparing to reap a brutal harvest as soon as they hammered into the remnants of the Boozian line.

IC: Kehkler's fleet immediately broke off from orbit and made all ahead full for the Transylvanians.

OOC: Sorry to burst your bubble, my fleet is not in Jurai. It is at Konoha. And you don’t know me (Only CW knew my FT version, this will be the first time I meet you), we are an unnamed forces that will be fight you and the rest. And it is Dominionites for my FT version. IC post will come later.

IC:
Konoha

The massive Dominionite fleet waited in the space. The clones, on the army carriers, ran unarmed drills. The Warlocks duel with each other to test their fighting styles. The Admirals, Captains, Generals and Masters were in meeting on the four or five battleship Ha’Tak motherships.

A war was being planned out but to get up to date info on the battlefield, they need to launch a few probes to Jurai. So…those probes were prepared.

OOC: Sithy, I hadn't been rping much more than a suppresive salvo on Coredian missile positions, but I can retcon more heavy ortillery for continuity. Please try not to kill any named characters without asking.

Transylvania, forgive me, but I had only skimmed your post and I was unaware you were debuting. In many FT rps I have been involved in, it's not impolite to assume you know all the participants. After all, we all speak to each other without bothering to really rp translators, so by comparison its not such a big thing. Sorry if I offended you.

IC:Furry white and grey greatcoats dragging behind them, Feldwebel Meyer's squad slipped through the eery, snow covered streets of Kanta. If a shadow moved, a grenade was pumped in to be certain. Strange noises were likewise dealt with. Should a position be located, the covering heavy bolter team would suppress it to allow a close engagement.


Panic was everywhere. Tanks clashed with tanks, Solarians advanced into the rear, and the air battle became even more hectic. Third army seemed to be doing its job fairly well, but the advance was slowing, and deploying infantry, even opening top hatches, had become a suicidal action. But there was no way the soldiers could be re-equipped until they took the city. More motivation.

On the two battlefields where the troops of Third clased with Solarians, lances began to... pinpoint was hardly the right word, as they were blind-firing, 100% reliant on ground observers, but they were putting fairly accurate fire down on the enemy ships. AGB, meanwhile, was moving its aircraft in to support those of AGA.


"Uh, oh. Forbid all firing without a direct link t ground troops. Comm, send the following to US ships: "Negative. Will cease blind fire, but guided high accuracy will be maintained in our operation zones. As to what I think I'm playing at, I'm playing war. And it hurts. Live with it. Also, You really don't need to get extreme on us. We're sorry, okay?"

"Admiral, are you sure it's entirely wise to disobey the..."

"What's the worst they can do?"

"With respect, they could kill every last one of us."

"Okay, point."


"Shuttle inbound."

"Ask them who they are and request..."

"You'd better not, ma'am. I can feel a serious super-natural migraine, or as, transies would say, a dark disturbance in the force."

Tarkin received the response, narrowed his eyes and simply snorted. "You have no idea what the empire is doing here do you? Your military has refused to request a tactical update, you have attacked Imperial forces and begun the mass slaughter of countless civilians. All orbital strikes are to cease immediately. You are attacking the cities I see." Tarkin glanced at his data pad. "Has it perchance caught your mind that we are attempting to drive the enemy there? Out in the jungles and forests they will fall to the cold. They will have no choice but to flee to the urban environments. We do not want the civilian peoples massacred, they must be left alive. Cease your attacks, or we will be forced to do it for you." Tarkins voice grew softer. "Perhaps on our next venture you will learn the appropriate methods of war? It is not merely enough to destroy your opponent admiral, down on the planet they have no hope of victory, the reinforcements sent will only give them time before they must retreat to the cities."

Surface

Vaders shuttle landed as missiles streamed over head, apparently reinforcements were arriving from the enemy in orbit. Despite their numbers, they would be too few in the end, a saving grace against the infinite numbers of the eternal empire. Vaders shuttle ramp extended, leaving him open to disembark.

His breath streaming pale in an icy wind slowly crystallised and fell to the solid ground below. "Who is in command here?" Vader demanded.

IC:Furry white and grey greatcoats dragging behind them, Feldwebel Meyer's squad slipped through the eery, snow covered streets of Kanta. If a shadow moved, a grenade was pumped in to be certain. Strange noises were likewise dealt with. Should a position be located, the covering heavy bolter team would suppress it to allow a close engagement.
OOC: How many NB troops have entered Kanta?

IC: The heavy-handed measures of the enemy found many casualities for the urban defenders, but they had many plans to slow them up. One of them involved a broken building mysteriously collapsing on top of Meyer's squad, almost as if someone used telekinesis to push the structure on top of them. The someone who did it waited out the enemy, silently waiting in the shadows to strike.

Panic was everywhere. Tanks clashed with tanks, Solarians advanced into the rear, and the air battle became even more hectic. Third army seemed to be doing its job fairly well, but the advance was slowing, and deploying infantry, even opening top hatches, had become a suicidal action. But there was no way the soldiers could be re-equipped until they took the city. More motivation.
Even with the slowdown that the Solari League gave the Coredians, the enemy had managed to breach the first line of defense, the outer hills and are now heading down to the snow-covered valley of the second line of defense. And that's when things got interesting, for the valley was the widest portion of the defensive zone, a plains in the bowl of the city defenses. Perfect.

"Sir, they've breached the first defensive lines. Falling back to #2." A soldier reported to General Damien, now clad in a heavy winter cloak.

"Very good. They'll suffer right there. Order what artillery we have left to load antimatter shells and attack the Central Section." The General ordered.

"Sir, our armor..."

"Is to fall back to the Second Line ASAP."

"Right sir."

The armored divisons, the only units capable of standing up against the cold, unleashed firing retreats upon the enemy, opening a slight gap to allow the artillery to fire using spotters on the ground. A shell then boomed, whistling into the air, aiming for a cluster of enemy Third Army units. The shell landed, breaking open the magnetic casing that held the antimatter in place...

And then the world around the NB forces vanished as matter and antimatter mutually annihilated each other, creating a dome of plasma that spread outward in the classic fireball of doom, leaving a large crater to show its passing. The forward regiments shuddered under the shockwave even as they fell back swiftly, and several blue-on-blue casualties were incurred. But the enemy, the General believed, would suffer worse. And it is only the beginning. Several more shells rained down on enemy positions, resulting in the same situation...

OOC: Since you apparently didn't attack on the way down and they are freash, I'd say forty divisions. But if you intended to attack them on the way down, that's fine. And the armoured units will be mostly useless in an urban enviroment.

IC: "You are failing to appreciate the thrust of my statement: all unguided fire will cease. All current bombardment is high-accuracy energy weapons firing on enemy forces within our operational zone. That means unless you actually stand under the targets, there's a snowballs chance in an ion storm of your assets getting hit. Ceasing now could mean an inordinate loss of troops. Neither of us are down there with a las-gun, and I will not sacrifice the lives of those men and women because a nominal superior ordered me to. Kill me if it makes you happy. I ask only that you leave my crew and fleet. They had no say in this.

"As to attacks on the civilian populace, orbital assets have not targetted them, and collateral damage is a natural conseqence of combat. Speak to the Heer Kommandant Jurai if you're concerned about civilian extermination."


"Sir, we have anti-matter artillery targetting third army assets."

"Maintain close engagement with Solarian troops to maximise friendly fire, and send any available aircraft to origin points."


The commander of the temporary operations centre strutted onto the deck of the preatorian that was serving as a make-shift hangar. She was the archetypal Schnapseheer officer: slight, tense, carrot-ginger hair in a tight bun, wearing a black panzer greatcoat with the markings of a high-echelon HQ officer where the divisional insignia were usually displayed. She whipped off a neat salute.

"Lord Vader, I beg to report that I am in command of operations undertaken relating to this base. The most senior officer present is General-Feldmarschall Haldwische, and he requests that, as he is occupied, you would meet him in the operations room. Thank you."

OOC: Sithy, I hadn't been rping much more than a suppresive salvo on Coredian missile positions, but I can retcon more heavy ortillery for continuity. Please try not to kill any named characters without asking.

Transylvania, forgive me, but I had only skimmed your post and I was unaware you were debuting. In many FT rps I have been involved in, it's not impolite to assume you know all the participants. After all, we all speak to each other without bothering to really rp translators, so by comparison its not such a big thing. Sorry if I offended you.

IC:Furry white and grey greatcoats dragging behind them, Feldwebel Meyer's squad slipped through the eery, snow covered streets of Kanta. If a shadow moved, a grenade was pumped in to be certain. Strange noises were likewise dealt with. Should a position be located, the covering heavy bolter team would suppress it to allow a close engagement.


Panic was everywhere. Tanks clashed with tanks, Solarians advanced into the rear, and the air battle became even more hectic. Third army seemed to be doing its job fairly well, but the advance was slowing, and deploying infantry, even opening top hatches, had become a suicidal action. But there was no way the soldiers could be re-equipped until they took the city. More motivation.

On the two battlefields where the troops of Third clased with Solarians, lances began to... pinpoint was hardly the right word, as they were blind-firing, 100% reliant on ground observers, but they were putting fairly accurate fire down on the enemy ships. AGB, meanwhile, was moving its aircraft in to support those of AGA.


"Uh, oh. Forbid all firing without a direct link t ground troops. Comm, send the following to US ships: "Negative. Will cease blind fire, but guided high accuracy will be maintained in our operation zones. As to what I think I'm playing at, I'm playing war. And it hurts. Live with it. Also, You really don't need to get extreme on us. We're sorry, okay?"

"Admiral, are you sure it's entirely wise to disobey the..."

"What's the worst they can do?"

"With respect, they could kill every last one of us."

"Okay, point."


"Shuttle inbound."

"Ask them who they are and request..."

"You'd better not, ma'am. I can feel a serious super-natural migraine, or as, transies would say, a dark disturbance in the force."

With no returning lance fire from the opposing fleet, the Solari vessels blew through the fight, twisting and rolling, unleashing fire and destruction with every minutes, mounting up damage and hits on the seemingly oblivious Boozians. Were their vessels so slow that they simply couldn't keep up with the furious pace of Solari warfare? Or were they more concerned with destroying the already unloaded Transports? Either way, they were as good as dead if they didn't start fighting back. Thousands of tons of shells had cluttered the space around the three massive ships and their escorts before they even noticed the lack of return fire. A second beam of coruscating energy lanced from the prow of the Intimiator, hopefully bisecting another battleship.

The first blooms of plasma cannon heralded the arrival of the Solari troopers, unleashing seemingly unending vollies of rapid fire death. With no real risk of overheating in these frigid temperatures they could fire with impunity, targeting tanks, infantry, and anything else that might happen to look hostile. The shattering fury of their charge was presaged by the tearing guitar of 2 Minutes to Midnight, granting an extra boost of adrenaline before the massive 4 armed and horned marines crashed into the opposing lines, right on the tail of the bombardment. At the forefront of the battle strode a terrifying sight, a mardukan standing near to 4 meters in height, weilding a pair of plasma cannon like they were toys, and unleashing blasts with relentless abandon, not caring whether they struck foe or ground. Beside the colossus walked a mardukan carrying an anti-personnel Bead cannon, and weilding a pair of pistols as well, dealing out death indiscriminately. Marines fell, as bolt guns found seams or weak points in their armor, but the vast majority of shots simply washed off of them like nothing more than BBs. Slugs from the transports overhead fell among the Boozians shattered lines, causing even greater terror.

The Transports scattered after the first few lance batteries struck home, shattering armor and defenses with no regard to the sheer TOUGHNESS of the massive vesselsa they wre engaging. Now the bolts fell among infantry on both sides, killing Mardukans with abandon, but surely doing greater damage to the exposed boozian troopers.

---

Approximately 30 minutes after battle is truly joined between the Solari and Boozians

An entire regiment fell back to their shuttles, after encountering a solid wall of Boozian tanks, without more heavy weapons they'd never make it through the sheer power of the assaulting armor units. Instead they extracted back towards the scattering Transports, chased away by the increasingly accurate Boozian barrages, hitching a ride to another battle, somewhere where they wouldn't have to fight through a wall of tanks to make a difference... Somewhere like THERE. Beams of energy swept across the ground, plowing through some OBVIOUSLY atacking force, while they tried to gain entrance to some kind of complex. There seemed to be a great number of opponents, somewhere in the neighborhood of a few companies.

Solution: Make less opponents. Secondary batteries tracked towards the surface, picking out tanks and other heavy vehicles for special attention, their heat emissions showing bright through the blasted and frozen waste that was once Jurai, before swift moving slugs, weighing a bit over 5 tons a piece, slammed into the targets they had recieved, hammering at the unknown stormtroopers.

Massive speakers on the sides of the descending shuttles began the terror, "A light, in the black? Or just a FEAR OF THE DARK!", and the mindbending strains of Iron Maiden reached out to caress the fragile psyches of the Thrashian infantry, bringing ancient terrors and modern fears to roost, with the sudden arrival of a single ship, hovering above them, reaching out to touch their tanks with the gentle hand of 5 tons of metal. Marines fell from the hovering Transport, riding pillars of flame to the surface, seeming half real and half dream, unleashing rage and plasma into the busy troopers, firing and advancing, taking casualties from those that noticed the assault, but moving in nonetheless. Bringing death and hatred to the most vile of traitors, those that were named friend and ally and now fought beside their most hated foes. There was a special place in hell reserved for such as they. "Awake legions of Thrashia, Doom is upon you."

Seeming an unstoppable tide, the Solari stood in battle once again, driven back by the resolute assault of the Boozians, with blood in their eyes an entire regiment(or close enough to it) charged into the jaws of Mordor, following right behind the Thrashian stormtroopers...

OOC: NB, you need to get AIM or MSN, or something similar. I mean, all you need to do is get an AIM account and use AIMexpress from a public computer if necessary, but you really need some kind of messenger service.

OOC: Would have thought antimatter weapons would incur more losses than just a bare mention. Oh well.

IC:
"Sir, we have anti-matter artillery targetting third army assets."

"Maintain close engagement with Solarian troops to maximise friendly fire, and send any available aircraft to origin points."
The problem with keeping in close engagement with the rear enemy forces is that they seemingly forget about the forces they're supposed to fight. And that continues to give an advantage. Antiaircraft flak vehicles lit off as soon as enemy aircraft were seen, shooting off enough laser ordinance to make the sky glow red with fire. In the meantime, artillery continued to crater the ground with antimatter shells, putting the enemy between Coredian artillery and Solari units in a classic sandwich position. And let's not discount the still large numbers of armor units, including a few half-remembered ACS units that Coreworlds bought from the then-Miehmish allies ten years ago, taking the opportunity of the antimatter assaults to compound the confusion and disorder the enemy currently appears to be incurring, and even advanced to assist the Solari forces at some areas...

OOC: http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=11655521#post11655521

IC: With the breakthrough achieved at both points of attack, enemy flak positions would now be vulnerable to the artillery. And in turn, enemy artillery bases ould be vulnerable to attack from the air. Hopefully the guns could be silenced before Third ceased to exist as a formation, but between their retreat, inevitable blue-on-blue from the anti-matter, and combat casualties, the Solarian threat was no longer a primary concern.

The enemy ought to be running out of airfields by now, and the arrival of AGB had compensated for extensive casualties. Soon air-superiority ought to be great enough to pin down the tertiary defences and prevent them from re-forming after their battle with the marine corps. That way, they would present little obstacle to the link up of First and Second, assuming they made it out of the valley killing ground.


In space, furious dueling fighting embroiled the two fleets. The conventional batteries and those lances unnocupied with the ground ships spilt the first Solarian blood, while more and more lances were swiftly re-aimed. Simply insane firepower was concentrated on one ship at a time, from the biggest to the smallest.

OOC: http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=11655521#post11655521

[QUOTE]IC: With the breakthrough achieved at both points of attack, enemy flak positions would now be vulnerable to the artillery. And in turn, enemy artillery bases ould be vulnerable to attack from the air. Hopefully the guns could be silenced before Third ceased to exist as a formation, but between their retreat, inevitable blue-on-blue from the anti-matter, and combat casualties, the Solarian threat was no longer a primary concern.

The enemy ought to be running out of airfields by now, and the arrival of AGB had compensated for extensive casualties. Soon air-superiority ought to be great enough to pin down the tertiary defences and prevent them from re-forming after their battle with the marine corps. That way, they would present little obstacle to the link up of First and Second, assuming they made it out of the valley killing ground.
Of course, the air assaulters were still stopped by the theater shields and that was enough to keep the attrition rate up against the enemy, especially friendly air support flying under the shield. LAATs still took the opportunity to sweep down their composite beamcannons every now and then, raking enemy forces and artillery with slashing firepower. That was the main saving grace of the Coredian forces and combined with the tenacity and sheer grit of the soldiers of the Imperial Republic, the second line continued to hold against all odds, stalling the enemy enough for the armored regiments to concentrate their firepower and attack the enemy divisions.

If anything, it would take the Empire's other forces to finally subjucate the city of Hakudo...

Dominionite Fleet, Konoha

The Death Stinger, a large walking scorpion type Zoid with dark green and white armor, has the firepower unlike many of the Zoids the Dominionite Zoid units. It was a walking death dealer, the weapons list was huge for this one Zoid; two laser cutters, laser fangs, four 35mm vulcan cannons, a 930mm 2-barrel shock cannons, two 120mm hyper beam gun, two 120mm hyper laser guns, two 105mm linear cannons and the last weapon was the charged particle cannon, located in the tip of it’s tail. The support equipment of the Death Stinger are two rocket boosters and E-Shield generator.

And the Death Stinger is not only special for only the firepower it has. This Zoid had a human mind in it’s mainframe, making it more then normal Zoid’s AI. All Zoids made by the Dominionite Zoid factory have AI, which make them howl, growl, etc like their animal counterpart do and the AI is a safe guard for the pilot of the Zoid. Say that the pilot is knock out, the AI will take over and try to escape the battlefield or take over the fighting.

Now back to the Death Stinger, the human mind was from a famous Dominionite Zoid pilot. The man was just a normal human pilot, one that could hang with Warlock pilots, the man had piloted almost every Zoids that was made by Dominionite Zoid factory. That is a long list of Zoids. The man’s name was Robbie Hunter and only goes by Hunter now. The reason why his mind was placed into the Zoid’s mainframe was not that the Dominion is evil but that Robbie loss he use of his leg at the age of thirty-five. It happened in training mission when a rouge Zoid attacked Robbie not in his Zoid. Before his Zoid, a Murasame Liger, could step in, the rouge Zoid knock him over and step on his legs. Robbie asked to have his download into the Death Stinger, so that he could always pilot a Zoid and fight for the Dominion.

OOC: http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=11655521#post11655521

IC: With the breakthrough achieved at both points of attack, enemy flak positions would now be vulnerable to the artillery. And in turn, enemy artillery bases ould be vulnerable to attack from the air. Hopefully the guns could be silenced before Third ceased to exist as a formation, but between their retreat, inevitable blue-on-blue from the anti-matter, and combat casualties, the Solarian threat was no longer a primary concern.

The enemy ought to be running out of airfields by now, and the arrival of AGB had compensated for extensive casualties. Soon air-superiority ought to be great enough to pin down the tertiary defences and prevent them from re-forming after their battle with the marine corps. That way, they would present little obstacle to the link up of First and Second, assuming they made it out of the valley killing ground.


In space, furious dueling fighting embroiled the two fleets. The conventional batteries and those lances unnocupied with the ground ships spilt the first Solarian blood, while more and more lances were swiftly re-aimed. Simply insane firepower was concentrated on one ship at a time, from the biggest to the smallest.

The Intimidator, still doing a reasonable impression of an SSD much larger than her own four and a half kilometers, was the first vessel to be targetted by the opposing fleet. Fire built up on her shields, seeming to reach the point of cataclysmic failure, and the destruction of the vessel, when it all suddenly DIED. No one had ever actually tried something like this before, and even though the shields were rated for it, the guns WEREN'T. Massive energy buildups could be detected in every barrel of the massive ship, all 19 of them, and a blaze of unleashed fury came rippling out. Turrets swung wildly through the Boozian fleet, pouring out every joule of power they had taken in, melting the barrels of the guns due to the outflow of power, but preserving the hull integrity of the vessel. It should have been impossible, and the shields were well and truly broken, but the ship survived, accelerating straight ahead, unleashing every remaining gun it posessed, as well as letting fly with its hundreds of missile pods. The remainder of the fleet followed it out of the depths of the Boozian armada. There was nothing more theycould do, so they ran, heading for the edge of the interdiction circle. There was no way the Boozians could keep up, but let them try, it just meant more room for any more reinforcements to arrive and break through...

A few Solari transports remained near enough to add their wrath to the battle unfolding on the ground, shells weighing many tons simply slammed into advancing tanks, while Particle Beams ripped their way across the gathered forces, occasionally killing an ally or two, but the sheer number of Boozians below them meant that there was no way they could avoid simply slaughtering them in the hundreds or thousands. They should have been scattered in terror by this point, their tanks flaming wrecks, and the massed Mardukans chasing them away. No way could any SANE individuals hope to stand up to the vast amount of power being poured into their rear ranks. They didn't even have anything that could tag them from the ground, uinless they had an SHBT hidden away somewhere, or a Titan, or something similarly large and menacing. They simply didn't have the forces to oppose several massive and adequately armed transports.

"Then you may lead the way." Vader said passively. Escorted through a bustling network of hastily erected corridors and prefabricated armour domes, Darth Vader, the emperors emissary was brought to the hub of main operations.

***

Captain Adrose was the officer in charge of aerial support for the four fifty second. His Star Destroyer the Signature, was one of the newer Victories to come off the production lines of Kuat, complete with reinforced shielding and armour, the vessel was designed for atmospheric combat. "Battle reports captain. From sector twelve-C."

"Seems we have significant resistance in that area. Has General Constil requested support?"

"Not as yet, but we're expecting the grunts to need naval help."

Adrose chuckled slightly as the commodore retreated to the operations pit. Tactical briefings, troop deployments, countdowns and reinforcement schedules all littered the holotable.

"Commsacn reports incoming."

"Imperial?"

"No; they're Solari captain." Adrose frowned slightly. "Exact numbers unknown, however two are approaching our location."

Unacceptable Adrose thought. "Order the Iron to follow us up, above the cloak. As soon as we've cleared the electromagnetic disturbance get me Admiral Tarkin at once. We must...."

"Captain..." The Commodore said slowly. "The Nightcloak is falling...."


Inquisitor Malorum

Grand high Inquisitor Malorum watched the unfolding situation with obvious distaste. The rebellion had somehow garnered reinforcements from whatever hole they scurried out of. Their presence was annoying and unacceptable to Imperial morale and the ideological conflict.

"Order the fleet to begin precision strikes upon enemy vessels and infantry immediately."

The stunned staff turned disbelieving. "But Excellency." Captain Addre offered..... "Moff."

"Moff Tarkin is not in command of this fleet is he captain? Destroy and decimate the enemy then raise the cloak again. A few fleeting moments of sunlight will change nothing. Disrupt communications so they can't issue the Masakis a status report, and secure my planet." A confused command staff looked on in disbelief. This was the first time they had ever witnessed a direct contradiuction to Moff Tarkins demands, not even Vader had the will to enter such a conflict.

"Captain..." Malorum said gently. "Allow me to make myself clearer. I am not vein captain, nor do I enjoy my little toys like your esteemed Admirals of the fleet. The emperor has sent me here to get the job done and completed within time and on schedule, you will find my orders to be new, and, more importantly, successful." Malorum turned towards the planet below. As the black void gave way it revealing a snow scape of pure white.

"Order all forces to open fire."

Revealed in the light of the sun, the battlefield was a horror to behold. Boozian tanks and infantrymen lay mangled alongside Coredians and Mardukans. Powered Armor and ACS squads, respectively belonging to the Solari and Coredians, scoured the battlefield. A flash of relativistic lightning would streak across the landscape, and transfix a vehicle or a trooper, and be followed by a wracking explosion, leaving a decimated hulk or a shattered corpse in its wake. Hypersonic CRACK!s announced volleys of bead fire shattering the air, turning bodies to waste, and spangling off of vehicle hulls, before the deadly wash of plasma guns would wipe the vehicle away as well.

OOC: To be finished at a later(tomorrow) date, due to time constraints.

It was an unlucky situation for the stronghold codenamed Mordor. The sentries were dead, the planet was turning cold and the enemies were closing in. But it was not for nothing that it was called a stronghold. Flowing in and out of the shadows, lightsabers and vibroswords from the few Jedi and Shinobi protecting the stronghold flicked in and out of unsuspecting commandos, severing heads and thrusting into chests, frustrating Imperial efforts to track and eliminate them as they used their powers to confuse them. Blasters chattered at chokepoints, E-11 Heavy Repeating Blasters mowing down the members of the 501st, while lighter but no less dangerous pistols made sure that hot blood froze on the cold stone. Concussion grenades and thermal detonators were thrown at opportune times. A few Coredian droidekas joined the fray, programmed to add to the slaughter in the narrow tunnels. And outside, automated beamcannons tracked and literally cut into the enemy's advance, sweeping and slagging the enemy tanks and cutting down what stormtroopers they could detect. And the deeper the people retreated into the massive network of tunnels, the harder it would be for the 501st to dislodge them, until they somehow managed to reach the central chambers, where every child was given a gun and every civilian were expected to repel the Imperial forces to the last man. In theory, at least. In practice, many were as frightened as they were cold, and the only consolation to come would be that their deaths would be quicker by blaster than by the cold...


The officers at the scene quickly reviewed the situation of invading the hidden stronghold via the first discovered entrance as faulty. It was a single hall and was harder to supply. Therefore they switched to a larger entrance area, one found by the increasingly further attacks made deeper into the stronghold. Stormtroopers secured the new entrance and guarded it.

Hackers and intelligence officers worked on getting control of the strongholds mainframe in order to find a full picture and schematics of the place, as well as collecting and mapping out the areas found by the probing storm commandos. That reports of defenders wielding lightsabers was there did not disturb infantry officers. Several Imperial Knights were already on their way here with Grand Master Helios.

The original entrance was still being used, but a demo platoon had just finished up their duty and was heading through to the new entrance where the 4th division was prepping for a major thrust into the stronghold. That they heard sounds of combat behind them or the deep bass yell of what seemed like an elephant did not disturb them. Anyone following would soon learn a valuable and short lived lesson.


Somewhere like THERE. Beams of energy swept across the ground, plowing through some OBVIOUSLY attacking force, while they tried to gain entrance to some kind of complex. There seemed to be a great number of opponents, somewhere in the neighborhood of a few companies.

Solution: Make fewer opponents. Secondary batteries tracked towards the surface, picking out tanks and other heavy vehicles for special attention, their heat emissions showing bright through the blasted and frozen waste that was once Jurai, before swift moving slugs, weighing a bit over 5 tons a piece, slammed into the targets they had received, hammering at the unknown stormtroopers.

Massive speakers on the sides of the descending shuttles began the terror, "A light, in the black? Or just a FEAR OF THE DARK!", and the mind-bending strains of Iron Maiden reached out to caress the fragile psyches of the Thrashian infantry, bringing ancient terrors and modern fears to roost, with the sudden arrival of a single ship, hovering above them, reaching out to touch their tanks with the gentle hand of 5 tons of metal. Marines fell from the hovering Transport, riding pillars of flame to the surface, seeming half real and half dream, unleashing rage and plasma into the busy troopers, firing and advancing, taking casualties from those that noticed the assault, but moving in nonetheless. Bringing death and hatred to the vilest of traitors, those that were named friend and ally and now fought beside their most hated foes. There was a special place in hell reserved for such as them. "Awake legions of Thrashia, Doom is upon you."


When the unexpected arrival of several transports, not Imperial ones either, smashed into the side of the advancing 30th company, 501st, there was temporary pandemonium. But it was only short lived. The 501st were the best of the best of the best, and they reacted as such.

As the falling wave of massive marines smashed into the still forming firing line of troopers more and more stormtroopers began concentrating their fire. Several tanks were turned to shrapnel as the transports hovering above began firing off missiles and plasma cannons. The explosives tore through the surrounding troopers and even caused a slight hole to form in the line, but this gap was quickly filled as more troopers, as troopers from the rest of the 4th Division coming up from the rear, advanced.

The battle was even further put under more control when just as the first few minutes had past two burning beams of energy emanated over the frozen tundra. A tall red armored figure with a black cape strode the field like a storm. Grand Master Helios had arrived.

“Seems my enemies come to me,” Helios remarked to himself inside his helmet. Using the force he jumped above a charging marine and dropped right behind him. The tall brute turned with a bemused look on his face and it stayed there as it’s head rolled to the snowy ground. Helios turned and watched as three marines turned to him, his lightsabers an obvious magnet for attention; which he did not mind at all.

Helios let go of his light sabers and let them hover. Then with lightning speed they flew forward and cut down the marines, one lost his arms, another cut in half at the waste, and the third being bisected down the middle along the spine. Using the almighty Force Helios directed his lightsabers through the air like a maestro would an orchestra. The shining red blades cut through marines like a hot knife through butter.

Beside Helios strode two of his personal stormtroopers armed with heavy gatlin-style blasters. They rained death and destruction into those marines that managed to avoid the dance of death that Helios was creating.

Combined with this fearsome and awe inspiring trio was the newly formed line of 30th company. It advanced behind the Grand Master and methodically cut down the marines with concentrated fire. The marines fought as individuals, crazed mad men out for glory and combat. However it was the iron discipline of the stormtroopers that held the high ground.

- - -

The stormtrooper officer puffed on his cigar several times as he looked through the lenses of his monoculars studying the scene of battle before him. He had been alerted to the sudden arrival of the few transports that had attacked the advancing 4th division. Several of his spotter boys had already painted the target with laser range-finders.

“Sergeant, do you have them targeted yet?” asked the officer. He turned to look at the stormtrooper sergeant who gave the thumbs up sign and motioned to the trooper who sat in the targeting and firing seat of the battery. The officer stood on the railing of one of Jurai’s largest AA planetary turbolaser batteries, recently captured by Thrashian soldiers only a day before. It had been quite easy to get it back online.

The trooper looked through his optical sights, since those were the only ones still working, and locked onto the Solarin transports. He chuckled and then gave the signal to his sergeant. The officer saw it and nodded.

“Fire at the damned bitch.” With a roar like a beast unleashed, the massive planetary turbolaser battery opened fire and brought swift destruction to the hovering transports.

- - -

Lieutenant Meade was rather shocked when he saw the group of marines bypass 30th company and rush into the old entrance of the Coredian stronghold. He looked down at his computer and watched as the count-down reached ‘3’.

“Do they not know-?” Meade was quickly interrupted as he watched the timer reach ‘0’ and the entire rock face shudder. Massive explosions rippled through the ground as the several tons of plexi-explosive that had been set within the hall of the entrance went off. The demo team that had set them had already gone through within safety of the blast; however Meade had very few doubts that the group of marines that had entered were now more than a little dead.

His guess was stood correct when a rather toasty and steaming helmet and head of a marine landed in the snow in front of his feat. A torn and shredded torso followed a few passes away as did another unrecognizable limb.

In Space

Admiral Daala watched as the newly arrived Solarin ships smashed into the Boozian fleet. It was rather interesting to watch in a detached sort of way. Daala however had no time to think on it.

“Captain Derek order the Pegasus and the Sword to form a firing block at section three. I want their heavy batteries to work on those lighter cruisers,” ordered Daala. Derek nodded wordlessly and went about his business.

Two Venator Mk II Star Destroyers maneuvered ‘above’ the battle between the Boozians and the Solarin fleet and began sending a hail of heavy turbolaser fire into the Solarin ships. Other carracks and a few Dreadnoughts joined in with their own ordinance. The Olympus itself took up a commanding position with its great size and began hosing down Solarin capital ships, ship by ship, with its massive fire power, enough to match a fleet.

- - -

Out of hyperspace along the properly laid out approach paths of the Imperial forces arrived a great specter. Its great size at first heralded the arrival of a seemingly second death star. However this was not so but yet even more frightful in through. The Thrashian made Torpedo Sphere had arrived in the Jurai system. Its great spherical grey-metal surface shined in a half light as the nearby sun peaked from behind the planet itself.

Commandant Spears stood in the command center of the Hand of Ares confidently. His command team and specialists worked their controls with experience and efficient speed, everything that a veteran crew was meant to do.

“Commandant, we’ve just received a greeting message from Admiral Daala. We’ve also received out attack orders,” reported the communications ensign. Spears was momentarily taken aback.

“Already? I thought this system was pacified?” Spears was not happy with this new development. It had not been included in his briefing from the Emperor Treize.

The ensign shrugged. “We’ve been given a full data analysis update on the situation. Our own fleet under Admiral Daala is nearby but out of range, yet we are ordered to begin orbiting procedures and come at speed to aid the fleet. Daala wants our fire power apparently.” Spears gave the ensign a tight look and was glad to see him flinch. He didn’t allow insubordinate talk like that exist on his ship.

“Very well then, an order is an order. Also, send my compliments to the current Galactic Imperial stage commander here. If he or she happens to have other orders we need, then be sure to relay them to me ensign,” said Commandant Spears. The ensign nodded and went back to working his controls. Before long both the messages had been sent and the helm had begun moving the massive Torpedo Sphere into an orbit path around Jurai.

For some odd reason, it would turn out that the little fighter would arrive at the same time as the massive Battestar would revert, a coincidence that's not a coincidence...

OOC: You know, I don't think the new Battlestar Galactica would feel too out of place in a WC setting...

The tiny Excalibur burst from its jump speed within five thousand kilometers of the Battlestar, floating forward as its auto-brakes activated. Unfortunately, power had now become a problem. The distance between Feronen's last location and this one had drained the entire fighter.

Hmmm...it couldn't have been just the distance. I must have passed through something...

Feronen looked around through the canopy of the cockpit, observing his surroundings until he finally noticed the ship.

Coredian design...I wonder if there is a jedi onboard...

Feronen then began to concentrate, projecting his thoughts to the nearest of psychic and force-sensitive beings.

Is there anyone out there? Masaki family! Are you there?!

The door slid open, and several officers glanced up, then did a double take. The nase commander saluted again.

"I beg to report that Lord Vader wishes to speak to General-feldmarschall Haldwische."

Had it been anyone else, she would've stuck her head through the door and said "Hey boss, someone to see you. Should I let him in?", less out of actual indiscipline than a desire to create the impression of it. But this was Darth Vader, one of the few "transies" who had won the respect of the Boozians, principally through graphic demonstration of his powers and prowess.

Haldwische saluted, bringing the number of people he had given the honor as a Field Marshall up to four.

"You require something?"


A few preatorians were taking potshots at the transports, and the lances were joining in again, a mercy for the troops caughtin the valley, where the attack was begining to run out of steam. Pioneers had cleared out afew temporary airfields, basicly patches of bull-dozed snow, but air support remained limited.

(posted)

The officers at the scene quickly reviewed the situation of invading the hidden stronghold via the first discovered entrance as faulty. It was a single hall and was harder to supply. Therefore they switched to a larger entrance area, one found by the increasingly further attacks made deeper into the stronghold. Stormtroopers secured the new entrance and guarded it.

Hackers and intelligence officers worked on getting control of the strongholds mainframe in order to find a full picture and schematics of the place, as well as collecting and mapping out the areas found by the probing storm commandos. That reports of defenders wielding lightsabers was there did not disturb infantry officers. Several Imperial Knights were already on their way here with Grand Master Helios.

The original entrance was still being used, but a demo platoon had just finished up their duty and was heading through to the new entrance where the 4th division was prepping for a major thrust into the stronghold. That they heard sounds of combat behind them or the deep bass yell of what seemed like an elephant did not disturb them. Anyone following would soon learn a valuable and short lived lesson.
The defenders in Mordor continued to hold the line against the 501st. The narrow tunnels and home-ground familiarity proved to be an advantage as blasters shot out of nowhere and lightsabers and fancy powers continued to give the elite forces headaches. Of course, with the arrival of the Imperial Knights, the Jedi and Shinobi moved off to engage them. Soon, fierce fireballs erupted from mouths, clones were created to increase numbers, and lightning and other powers lit off from fingers as they engaged the enemy Knights in duels that would shame the Old Sith Wars...

The tiny Excalibur burst from its jump speed within five thousand kilometers of the Battlestar, floating forward as its auto-brakes activated. Unfortunately, power had now become a problem. The distance between Feronen's last location and this one had drained the entire fighter.

Hmmm...it couldn't have been just the distance. I must have passed through something...

Feronen looked around through the canopy of the cockpit, observing his surroundings until he finally noticed the ship.

Coredian design...I wonder if there is a jedi onboard...

Feronen then began to concentrate, projecting his thoughts to the nearest of psychic and force-sensitive beings.

Is there anyone out there? Masaki family! Are you there?!
"Captain, there's a fighter that somehow followed us." Gidget said, reporting a scan.

"Really? Then we'll take it--" Captain Holland was stopped by Jacob, who had his eyes closed.

"No. This isn't Imperial. Somebody calls to a Masaki, meaning either me or Rina. I'll take the message." He smiled. Unknown fighter. I, Jacob Masaki, answers your call. Who are you?

IC:Furry white and grey greatcoats dragging behind them, Feldwebel Meyer's squad slipped through the eery, snow covered streets of Kanta. If a shadow moved, a grenade was pumped in to be certain. Strange noises were likewise dealt with. Should a position be located, the covering heavy bolter team would suppress it to allow a close engagement.

OOC: How many NB troops have entered Kanta?

IC: The heavy-handed measures of the enemy found many casualities for the urban defenders, but they had many plans to slow them up. One of them involved a broken building mysteriously collapsing on top of Meyer's squad, almost as if someone used telekinesis to push the structure on top of them. The someone who did it waited out the enemy, silently waiting in the shadows to strike.
OOC: Nova Boozia, you forgot this. Don't forget to note status of your armies attacking Hakudo, as I can't post without a status update.

OOC: Thanks for that. And I have MSN: Robin2610@hotmail.co.uk. And that's not meant to be a link, I just kind get rid of it.

IC: Ober-soldat Hakenpeffer lay spread-eagled on the medical bed.

"Her readings are rising. I think she's waking up."

An astropath looked up from his book, saw the readout, and layed down the novel.

"Remind me were this one came from?"

"Dug her out of a collapsed house. No other life readings."

"Ah, yes. That's why I'm here."

The medic's eyes shot over to the psychic.

"What?"

"Me and several others felt a spike of some kind, and we've been dispatched to investigate curious events co-inciding with it."


Outside, the patrols continued as armoured forces bgan to set up the planned cordon

Soon, other strange reports would occur. A squad would lose contact with the rest of the NB forces as *something* slaughtered them with incredible speed, leaving nothing but severed heads and torsos with holes burned in them. An armored vehicle would mysteriously explode as its fuel overloaded, perhaps slowing down others in its path. A man would find himself frozen to death as the cold air forced its way *through* his armor like it was summer clothes. This and other events would seem quite unsettling indeed, as if the Coredian dead were rising up in vengeance...

OOC: *Waits for Hakudo status report*

Dominionite Fleet, Konoha

On the same army carrier Ha’Tak as Hunter, a lone man in a dark blue military looking uniform was looking at a Mugen Liger. He was Commander Charles Jaegar Lehnsherr (http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y101/CountJWolf/CharlesJaegarLehnsherr.jpg), the pilot of the Mugen Liger and a royal family member. A twenty-one year old vampire, one that has undergone the Project: Daywalker treatments. Somehow a Dominion royal family members, the House of Wolf, would always be in a fight. Be it one of the Princes or Princesses, one of the grandchildren or great-grandchildren.

Charles’s father was a Prince of the Dominion and General of the 46th Clone division and the Warlock temple guards. Daniel has met his father, Prince Reinhold, during the first meeting of the Dominionites and the Coredians. Now, it was time for the son to met Daniel.

The Mugen Liger growled as Charles looked at it. “The time will come my friend, the time will come.” he said, his soft voice had a soft germen accent.

He heard foot steps behind him. He looked around, his dark gray eyes looked to see who was walking up on. He saw it was Captain Shiro Castillo (http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y101/CountJWolf/ShiroCastillo.jpg), his second cousin and one of the many son of Lord Salvador Castillo-Saint Clair. And the pilot of the other Mugen Liger. The reasons for the Japanese first name is that his mother was of Japanese origin and that Salvador has nothing to do with his children. Shiro was born out of wedlock like the rest of Salvador’s children. And Shiro is a half vampire/ half human hybrid.

“CJ, are you ready for this?” asked Shiro, a small hint of a Japanese accent could be heard in his voice.

“Yes, Shiro. You?” asked Charles to his one year young cousin.

“Same. Heard you want to met with Daniel?” asked Shiro.

“True.” said Charles.

“Great-Grandfather and your father have both told me about him, the way they see him to be a warrior of good. And during my meeting with Master Raidon, he told me about what Daniel was like when they were both children.” said Shiro.

“Yes, I have heard those stories too.” said Charles.

When the unexpected arrival of several transports, not Imperial ones either, smashed into the side of the advancing 30th company, 501st, there was temporary pandemonium. But it was only short lived. The 501st were the best of the best of the best, and they reacted as such.

As the falling wave of massive marines smashed into the still forming firing line of troopers more and more stormtroopers began concentrating their fire. Several tanks were turned to shrapnel as the transports hovering above began firing off missiles and plasma cannons. The explosives tore through the surrounding troopers and even caused a slight hole to form in the line, but this gap was quickly filled as more troopers, as troopers from the rest of the 4th Division coming up from the rear, advanced.

The battle was even further put under more control when just as the first few minutes had past two burning beams of energy emanated over the frozen tundra. A tall red armored figure with a black cape strode the field like a storm. Grand Master Helios had arrived.

“Seems my enemies come to me,” Helios remarked to himself inside his helmet. Using the force he jumped above a charging marine and dropped right behind him. The tall brute turned with a bemused look on his face and it stayed there as it’s head rolled to the snowy ground. Helios turned and watched as three marines turned to him, his lightsabers an obvious magnet for attention; which he did not mind at all.

Helios let go of his light sabers and let them hover. Then with lightning speed they flew forward and cut down the marines, one lost his arms, another cut in half at the waste, and the third being bisected down the middle along the spine. Using the almighty Force Helios directed his lightsabers through the air like a maestro would an orchestra. The shining red blades cut through marines like a hot knife through butter.

Beside Helios strode two of his personal stormtroopers armed with heavy gatlin-style blasters. They rained death and destruction into those marines that managed to avoid the dance of death that Helios was creating.

Combined with this fearsome and awe inspiring trio was the newly formed line of 30th company. It advanced behind the Grand Master and methodically cut down the marines with concentrated fire. The marines fought as individuals, crazed mad men out for glory and combat. However it was the iron discipline of the stormtroopers that held the high ground.

- - -

The stormtrooper officer puffed on his cigar several times as he looked through the lenses of his monoculars studying the scene of battle before him. He had been alerted to the sudden arrival of the few transports that had attacked the advancing 4th division. Several of his spotter boys had already painted the target with laser range-finders.

“Sergeant, do you have them targeted yet?” asked the officer. He turned to look at the stormtrooper sergeant who gave the thumbs up sign and motioned to the trooper who sat in the targeting and firing seat of the battery. The officer stood on the railing of one of Jurai’s largest AA planetary turbolaser batteries, recently captured by Thrashian soldiers only a day before. It had been quite easy to get it back online.

The trooper looked through his optical sights, since those were the only ones still working, and locked onto the Solarin transports. He chuckled and then gave the signal to his sergeant. The officer saw it and nodded.

“Fire at the damned bitch.” With a roar like a beast unleashed, the massive planetary turbolaser battery opened fire and brought swift destruction to the hovering transports.

- - -

Lieutenant Meade was rather shocked when he saw the group of marines bypass 30th company and rush into the old entrance of the Coredian stronghold. He looked down at his computer and watched as the count-down reached ‘3’.

“Do they not know-?” Meade was quickly interrupted as he watched the timer reach ‘0’ and the entire rock face shudder. Massive explosions rippled through the ground as the several tons of plexi-explosive that had been set within the hall of the entrance went off. The demo team that had set them had already gone through within safety of the blast; however Meade had very few doubts that the group of marines that had entered were now more than a little dead.

His guess was stood correct when a rather toasty and steaming helmet and head of a marine landed in the snow in front of his feat. A torn and shredded torso followed a few passes away as did another unrecognizable limb.

The planetary battery would only get one shot. Less than a second after it fired, a bolt from one of the transports main guns sought it out, hammering a 100 ton slug into the position. The instant after the shot leapt from the cannon, the bolt slammed into the transport, hammering away at shields and ripping deep into the heavy armor plating. Only the fact that it was DESIGNED to survive planetary defenses kept it airborne in those few precious seconds. Moments later, with Gold, Silver, and Steel all shattered by the imperials, and Alpha and Charlie companies of Bronze Battalion shattered in the open, the transport DETONATED, unleashing a massive fireball, directly above the Thrashian army. Nothing could be reasonably expected to survive outside of the mountain fastness, and even a large portioin of the mountains fce would be reduced to glowing stone when the antimatter reactor of the transport lost containment...

All that remained of the 11th Mobile Armor Regiment was a single compoany, Bravo of Bronze, the Bronze Barbarians. Minus portions of a single plattoon, an entire company of powered armor stalked the halls of Mordor, after the passageway had exploded, catching the tailing elements, and the company Tank Gunner, in a deadly rush of stone and fire. On the other hand, no one had ever stopped Bravo. 90 Mardukan marines, encased in armor solid enough to survive a nearby nuclear blast, stalked their first victims.

The first enemies they approached were obviously the demolition team, and when the front pair unleashed their guns, there was little hope of anyone without some kind of serious armor surviving the assault. No one killed Barbarians and got away with it. Once they had ripped through the demolitions team, vaporizing a decent section of hallway in the proccess, they continued their advance through the tunnels. Anyone who saw these apparitions coming would be forced to consider whether or not his blaster rifle had a hope of scratching the armor of these behemoths, or whether it might really be safer in the long run to lay down his gun and run like all hell. Wielding plasma rifles like carbines, and cannon like rifles, the massive soldiers crunched into any opposition, searching for the Coredian holdouts. Quad-dextrous Mardukans weilded a pair of pistols and boma blades, firing rapidly and accurately, and hacking anything that came within reach of their blades, each measuring well over a meter long. They may not have had any air support left, but they certainly had plenty of power for close in work.

The planetary battery would only get one shot. Less than a second after it fired, a bolt from one of the transports main guns sought it out, hammering a 100 ton slug into the position. The instant after the shot leapt from the cannon, the bolt slammed into the transport, hammering away at shields and ripping deep into the heavy armor plating. Only the fact that it was DESIGNED to survive planetary defenses kept it airborne in those few precious seconds.


The stormtrooper officer watched through his monoculors still, watching as the transport tried firing off some kind of main cannon or other. "What does that joker think he can hit?" The officer laughed to himself and put his monoculors down. The digital range finder on its side read '53 kilometers.'

The round that the transport fired off smashed into a road side where a few vehicles from a local supply depot were. They were thrown off the road by the impact of the missile, but the transport's final act was in vain and the stormtrooper officer took a small bit of happiness with him as he went to go report at the local FCB as a fire ball exploded far off on the darkened horizon.



Moments later, with Gold, Silver, and Steel all shattered by the imperials, and Alpha and Charlie companies of Bronze Battalion shattered in the open, the transport DETONATED, unleashing a massive fireball, directly above the Thrashian army. Nothing could be reasonably expected to survive outside of the mountain fastness, and even a large portioin of the mountains fce would be reduced to glowing stone when the antimatter reactor of the transport lost containment...


Helios found himself directly below the transport when it exploded from the exacting vengence of a direct hit from a heavy AA turbolaser cannon. At first he thought the beastly thing had actually survived the assualt, but was not to be dispointed. It was quite a blast. Thanks to his initial position, and the use of several nearby marine bodies that he lifted with the force to be between him and the transport, the blast did not really harm him.

However when the steam and falling bits of metal cleared, he saw that more than half of 30th company had been laid low. He put away his lightsabers and walked over to a still standing stormtrooper officer.

"Whats the number dead?" Helios asked. The trooper's armor showed him to be a sergeant major. He didn't seemed fazed in the slightest when he answered back.

"Intial report, more than 78% dead; 12% wounded; 10% at optimal fighting ability," the clone trooper sergeant major answered. The wind picked up and more snow was blown over the area. The black burn spots that had been created by the blast started to fade into white again.

"Take command and report back to the nearest Forward Command Base. Have the rest of 4th division continue on to the stronghold. Also, did the demo team do their job?" Helios turned to look at the rock face. Sure enough a large black charred section was there, outstanding in that a large bit of twisted metal hung out like a still buried knife blade.

"Affirmative sir," said the sergeant major. He held his hand to the side of his helmet, in obvious conversation through his comm. "Also, Lieutenant 311A-0 reports that a group of enemy marines followed the demo squad in. Its possible that some of them might have made it through. Not many should however."

"Why's that?" asked Helios, rather curious as to know what any small number of Marines could do.

"Well sir, the hall was lined with explosives for about half a kilometer. The marines entered when the timer hit 00:03. Estimates are that only a handful would have been able to withstand the blast and survive." The sergeant major motioned over to his underlings and the 30th company, or rather its remnants, began picking itself back up. A large formation of other clonetroopers, the 12th Grenadiers, 501st, marched past with their signature heavy weapons. Several tanks and APCs rummbled past between formations as well.

Helios pulled out his own comm bead and connected to the main command line. Within a few moments he had contact with a Major 009, commanding officer of the 20th Brigade which had established a hold within the stronghold, which they said was named 'Morder.'

"Major, report. Has that demo team checked in yet?" asked Helios. He walked off the recent battleground and headed to where behind a hill his personal transport sat, a large speeder bike armed with a large laser cannon on its belly. The line was slightly fuzzy, better than expected even, and the major answered.

"No Grand Master, they have not. Our forward command post reports that enemy soldiers who are large and armored are within Mordor. I am assuming that these are forces that the enemy has brought from the surface?" Helios had to hand it to the clone major, he seemed astute.

"That would be correct Major. Some may have died in the explosion your boys set in place, but a few may be still alive. See to it that they are dealt with. Galactic Imperial forces are coming soon to reinforce out position in this rebel stronghold, and it will soon be a massacre for them." Helios jumped up onto his bike and felt the handle bars of his precious machine. He revved the egines and rode off into the darkened night.


---


Field Marshal Verrick was slightly put out when he recieved confirmation on the fact that the NightCloak had been drawn down. It was only until he was told that enemy allied units had actually managed to make land-fall that he swore. The only compensation was that with the cloak down, they would be large glaring targets for the fleet in orbit, or for the Victory Star Destroyers in atmsphere. Verrick saw to it that the positions that his intelligence were aware of were passed on to the commanders of those Star Destroyers.

An aide stepped up next to the Field Marshal's shoulder and saluted. "Sir, I have the full report that you requested from Major General Herst." Verrick took the data pad from the Lt. Colonel and turned to his chair. He sat down and began the playback. A small image of Major General Herst appeared, a short stocky man with a tremendous set of eyebrows.

"The 23rd Corp and 80th Light Foot Division, 10th Legion, have accomplished their mission assignments. A major group of Coredian army forces have been driven from the moorlands in the south-east and into a major port city that sits on the large in-land sea.

"The 2nd Armored Division supported by the 19th, 12th, and 9th brigades, of 10th Corp, have cut off and surrounded a large pocket of Coredian infantry in the central plains area. Fighter Wing 34 has been running strafing runs on them for the last 18 hours, and a line has formed at this location. Estimates say that we would lose 20% of any forces that attempt to directly remove this group of enemies.

"Remaining 10th Legion forces, some 40,000 troopers, has advanced along the main central river, using it as a base. 3rd and 4th Legion elements have linked up with the 12th Grenadier regiment at San-lo, on that river and a solid front has been formed between Major General Bast and myself. We are attempting a joint operation to push all remaining forces either into the river where they may be destroyed or beyond the highlands where they have to retreat to their cities."

Verrick soaked all this information in like a spunge. Part of his job was to do this and more, he calculated and worked in his mind the large groups of men that he had to deal with. The image of Major General Herst faded as the image cleared and the program turned off as per its programming. Verrick stood and went to his command hologram table.

It showed the dispositions of the 1st Army Group, 12 Legions in all, including the famed 501st. It was the 501st that was the farthest north, and reports from it had shown that they had run into a hidden underground stronghold. Similar reports had filtered through from other legion commands as well.

To counter the threat of being attacked in the rear from a passed over hidden base, Verrick had seen to it that constant patrols were formed over the vast territory that they had occupied thus far. An entire Legion had been devoted to this task even. Once one was found it would be ringed off and beseiged. The stronghold in the north under attack by the 501st would be the only one directly assaulted.

"Damn but I wish I had a good cup of tanna leaf," Field Marshal Verrick muttered to himself. He went back to his normal routine and bagan issuing orders based upon the new situation.



All that remained of the 11th Mobile Armor Regiment was a single compoany, Bravo of Bronze, the Bronze Barbarians. Minus portions of a single plattoon, an entire company of powered armor stalked the halls of Mordor, after the passageway had exploded, catching the tailing elements, and the company Tank Gunner, in a deadly rush of stone and fire. On the other hand, no one had ever stopped Bravo. 90 Mardukan marines, encased in armor solid enough to survive a nearby nuclear blast, stalked their first victims.

The first enemies they approached were obviously the demolition team, and when the front pair unleashed their guns, there was little hope of anyone without some kind of serious armor surviving the assault. No one killed Barbarians and got away with it. Once they had ripped through the demolitions team, vaporizing a decent section of hallway in the proccess, they continued their advance through the tunnels. Anyone who saw these apparitions coming would be forced to consider whether or not his blaster rifle had a hope of scratching the armor of these behemoths, or whether it might really be safer in the long run to lay down his gun and run like all hell. Wielding plasma rifles like carbines, and cannon like rifles, the massive soldiers crunched into any opposition, searching for the Coredian holdouts. Quad-dextrous Mardukans weilded a pair of pistols and boma blades, firing rapidly and accurately, and hacking anything that came within reach of their blades, each measuring well over a meter long. They may not have had any air support left, but they certainly had plenty of power for close in work.

As the group of hulking marines walked through the doorway and into the ante chamber of a larger room several dozen flash bang grenades went off, temporarily blinding the ones in front. It was then that five solitary figures clad in red armor went into action.

Five Imperial Knigts, fully trained by the Grand Master Helios, went into a frenzy of combat. The first few marines were easy pickings, their confusion won by the flashbangs.

One Knight used his lightsaber to viversect a marine and then jumped onto the shoulders of another and with a quick thrust down, coocked the inner organs of the towering figure. He fell back to the ground before a large blast of plasma hit him. Another used a longer version of the lightsaber, two ends emmiting the lightsabers in the fashion of a pole-arm weapon. He wove in and out of the marines, cuting and slashing arms, legs, torso, and the occasional head. The Knights, within several minutes, had cut down more than 20 marines. However not all was going their way.

An Imperial Knight had just plundged his blade into the chest of a marine and was attempting to cut away when a second marine appeared at his side and slammed home a loudly blaring chain-blade sword. The Knight was torn to pieces, his armor no use agains the grinding action of the chain-blade or the tremendous force behind which it was weilded. Another Force Adept Knight lost his right arm and most of his torso for not dodging a blast of plasma from a tall marine, but gained revenged when he unleashed a large and powerful ball of force lightning into the marines face, completely torching its head and turning its flesh to ash.

The three remaining Imperial Knights drew back for a moment from the doorway area. More marines came through, walking over the cooking remains of more than 50 marines. "Die!" They all screamed and charged.

Within the first few moments the Knights cut down and killed more than another 25 marines, but two of the knights were simply swamped and over powered by the sheer number and size of the marines. They let off powerful force lightning balls, but were sent to the halls of the dead swiftly by the marines.

The last remaining Imperial Knight unclasped his cloak and let it fall to the floor. He took out a second light saber and stared down the remaining group of marines. "Come on!" He charged forward and met the enemy before going down in a hail of plasma fire.

ooc: I've cut down your marine numbers down to what they should respectively be MM. Your men are not unfallible. To make it more even I even let you have five of my Imperial Knights, of whom there are only 100 over all. Pretty nice exchange wouldn't you say? Now you have an appropriate number of marines left, those who could have reasonably survived the demo charge explosion, you have 15 marines. use them creatively.

Ah, good! A Masaki family member. I am Admiral Feronen Selinorasi of the Copen Protectorate Armed Forces. We've been monitoring your situation for quite some time now, and we feel that your people would do better within an asylum, of sorts. Our Supreme Chancellor, Devon Parker, as well as the rest of the Senate, offers our protection to your people.

But, before I continue, could you please pull me into one of your hangars. My ship is...out of power, so to speak.

ooc: I've cut down your marine numbers down to what they should respectively be MM. Your men are not unfallible. To make it more even I even let you have five of my Imperial Knights, of whom there are only 100 over all. Pretty nice exchange wouldn't you say? Now you have an appropriate number of marines left, those who could have reasonably survived the demo charge explosion, you have 15 marines. use them creatively.
OOC: That's godmodding, plain and simple. You can't decide an opponent's losses whether or not you think it's fair. In the meantime...

IC:
The stormtrooper officer watched through his monoculors still, watching as the transport tried firing off some kind of main cannon or other. "What does that joker think he can hit?" The officer laughed to himself and put his monoculors down. The digital range finder on its side read '53 kilometers.'

The round that the transport fired off smashed into a road side where a few vehicles from a local supply depot were. They were thrown off the road by the impact of the missile, but the transport's final act was in vain and the stormtrooper officer took a small bit of happiness with him as he went to go report at the local FCB as a fire ball exploded far off on the darkened horizon.
The planetary battery the enemy has captured was damaged by the explosion the 100 ton shell has created, and to complete the obscenity, a nuclear charge was triggered by the seismic rumbling, vaporizing the battery and all who were either inside or around it. Either way, the battery is useless.


"The 23rd Corp and 80th Light Foot Division, 10th Legion, have accomplished their mission assignments. A major group of Coredian army forces have been driven from the moorlands in the south-east and into a major port city that sits on the large in-land sea.
Driven to the port city of Hiroshima, the 15th Armored Division and 17th Infantry Division have dug in against the enemy forces on the penninsula, creating a chokepoint from which they could hold against overwhelming numbers. Turbolasers and beamlasers lit off every now and then to deal with the enemy armored ranks and the artillery bombarded the 10th Legion's positions with antimatter and high-explosive shells, with massive explosions shaking the city with every plasma dome (from the antimatter) formed. Civilians are streaming out in droves onto the sea, protected from the cold by makeshift icecutters who attempted to get them to the Godulan side of the sea, where they would definitely be protected.

OOC: In other words, if you guys want to kill my people on Godular's side, you'll have to accept any consequences he sends your way.

"The 2nd Armored Division supported by the 19th, 12th, and 9th brigades, of 10th Corp, have cut off and surrounded a large pocket of Coredian infantry in the central plains area. Fighter Wing 34 has been running strafing runs on them for the last 18 hours, and a line has formed at this location. Estimates say that we would lose 20% of any forces that attempt to directly remove this group of enemies.
Ah, yes. That would be the 25th Mechanized Infantry Division with a detachment of antiaircraft and antiarmor Zoids barely protecting them from air and armored enemies. Forming themselves into a classic circle position, the tactic ensured that any attempt to outflank the Coredian's position would be met with failure as it would be a literal bloodbath on any side, with the frozen-soft fleshy troopers in the center, barely warmed by the animal mechas' own heat output. Mammoths and Cougars, Wolves and Bears, and a large number of antiinfantry insect units made up the bulk of the 25th Mech...

Ah, good! A Masaki family member. I am Admiral Feronen Selinorasi of the Copen Protectorate Armed Forces. We've been monitoring your situation for quite some time now, and we feel that your people would do better within an asylum, of sorts. Our Supreme Chancellor, Devon Parker, as well as the rest of the Senate, offers our protection to your people.

But, before I continue, could you please pull me into one of your hangars. My ship is...out of power, so to speak.
Very well. Jacob said. "Captain, can you open one of the hangars? I'm going down to meet the pilot, an Admiral Selinorasi."

"Very well. Hangar bay A will be opened." Holland nodded.

The admiral will note that the port side of the Battlestar has been opened and a tractor beam pulled him into the bustling hangar. He would notice, among other things, numerous fighting, crooning, oversized, biomechanical animals and a 1-meter-tall Timberwolf coming over to sniff him out.

Then a young man wearing a blue cloak and sporting a 'casual scientist' look (rolled up sleeves, shirt unbuttoned, etc) and a pair of white gloves, sporting brown hair and blue eyes entered the hangar bay with a *pop* of displaced air, teleportation. Meet Jacob Masaki, the Jedi Alchemist. "Down, Kouga. He's a guest."

The wolf moved to his master's side protectively as Jacob idly scratched his ears.

Upon landing, the Excalibur's canopy hissed, presurizing to fit with the current location, until it made a faint click as it released. Feronen then pushed it up so that it would hang over the left side of the fighter.

He stood up, taking in what he saw, keeping a careful note on the Timberwolf who had walked over to Jacob.

"Greetings," said Feronen, hopping off the right side of the fighter to land with a clack of metal shoes against metal floor. He then began to move towards Jacob, offering his hand to shake the Jedi's. "It is an honor to meet someone of the royal family of the Core Worlds. As I said before, I am Admiral Feronen Selinorasi of the Copen Protectorate Armed Forces."

(ooc: side note - US, CW, and I have already come to the agreement that my lessoning of MM's marines was not a god-mod. Have a good day.)

As the thrust continued, more and more aircraft were managing to get airborne as CEVs simply tidied up the ruts left by the columns into improvised runways. Artillery hammering continued as the troops ground forward, preparing for the final push up the hill.

Upon landing, the Excalibur's canopy hissed, presurizing to fit with the current location, until it made a faint click as it released. Feronen then pushed it up so that it would hang over the left side of the fighter.

He stood up, taking in what he saw, keeping a careful note on the Timberwolf who had walked over to Jacob.

"Greetings," said Feronen, hopping off the right side of the fighter to land with a clack of metal shoes against metal floor. He then began to move towards Jacob, offering his hand to shake the Jedi's. "It is an honor to meet someone of the royal family of the Core Worlds. As I said before, I am Admiral Feronen Selinorasi of the Copen Protectorate Armed Forces."
"Pleasure to meet you, Admiral." Jacob shook Feronen's hand as crew worked on the fighter. "This way, please."

Jacob was still learning the routes to each area for this brand new ship, but at least he knows where the stateroom is. There, the meeting will take place with a few refreshments.

As the thrust continued, more and more aircraft were managing to get airborne as CEVs simply tidied up the ruts left by the columns into improvised runways. Artillery hammering continued as the troops ground forward, preparing for the final push up the hill.
General Damien stared at the holomap. Even with the Solarin League's help, the Nova Boozia forces continued to push forward, and he knew that the hill the city itself was on would make or break the seige of the city. He saw spider and scorpion units ensnare tank units and crush the crew within with their claws, taillasers and fangs. He saw Cougars and Wolves, injured and bleeding, but unwilling to give up as they slashed apart men and vehicles alike. He saw an EMP vehicle blast things with balls of electromagnetic energy before being overrun. Then he saw the troops and their units mass their fire against the enemy as they struggled up the hill. He nodded, that was a good idea. Make them bleed. Make all the bastards bleed.

"Sir. We have an evac plan waiting for you." A soldier said. "We'll fall back to the Temple. Master Tilton will be waiting."

Damien seemed not to listen as he spoke a monologe of lament that would go down in history. "How far Jurai falls! How fierce the enemy becomes! Our allies seem broken, our nation seems in pieces. Even our famous Jedi and Ninjas, first in battle, fall before the bloodied hands of our enemies! Who will save us? Who will free us? Who is like the Empire, invincible against all it conquers...?"

"Sir." The soldier had tears in his eyes from the lament and would remember it forever.

"Ah, very well. Prepare all traps within the city itself. And prepare the last present for when the city is overrun." The General said. "All units are to hold the line to the last man."

"Y-yes sir." The soldier nodded and went to carry out his orders.

Meanwhile, at Kanta...

Soon, other strange reports would occur. A squad would lose contact with the rest of the NB forces as *something* slaughtered them with incredible speed, leaving nothing but severed heads and torsos with holes burned in them. An armored vehicle would mysteriously explode as its fuel overloaded, perhaps slowing down others in its path. A man would find himself frozen to death as the cold air forced its way *through* his armor like it was summer clothes. This and other events would seem quite unsettling indeed, as if the Coredian dead were rising up in vengeance...

Outskirts of the System

Lt. Commander Sarah Durin stood silently on her scout cruisers silent bridge. She contemplated the fate of all those embattled on the planet of her enemies and allies. She remembered a prophecy believed by those of her faith, those who resided in the bleak rim of space which was her home,

All the is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.

To some these were verses of hope, they thought that the Farstars would finally after so much strife and suffering rise to power and finally have peace after so long of a rebellion. Sarah though feared she new the truth…she was apart of a secret organization in the Farstars lead by Hawkins himself. They were known only as the Fellowship, an association of what few force-sensitives, Jedi and Rebels who remained in the Farstars, who attempted to affect change in their state from within, carefully and slowly, methodically. And so she feared the truth of that prose, its true ominous nature, that spoke of the complete fall of a former ally who would then be reincarnated into a state that was something different and dark, an enemy finally.

“Skipper, its time.” Her XO whispered into her ear as they watched the Solarii reinforcements fight for survival. “If we are going to send the signal to the fleet it is now or never.” He said grimly.

“What good would it do Frank? This battle was over before it started, and we do not have the resources to through away good men and women’s lives in a futile fight. No the Cordians stand on their own for now, we can not affect any change here, now is not the time for us to try.” Ever since the Fall of the Third Republic the remnant of its supporters had fled and survived in the Galactic Rim, throughout that time they had struggled to survive, against Imperial punitive raids (which were a good way to train their troops), the continual threat of Pirate attacks, even slavers. Where were the Cordians and their mighty fleets then? Fighting in far off galaxies not worried about the plight of their neibors closer to home. It was like the current generation of Masakis’ did not care about the Farstars existence. Perhaps Hawkins had been right, their alliance died with Andrew Masaki…did it matter currently though. There was nothing that could be done here. It was over.

“Recall the scouts and recon drones, we are leaving the system to rendevous with the fleet, we are going home.”

"Pleasure to meet you, Admiral." Jacob shook Feronen's hand as crew worked on the fighter. "This way, please."

Jacob was still learning the routes to each area for this brand new ship, but at least he knows where the stateroom is. There, the meeting will take place with a few refreshments.

Feronen followed Jacob closely, making sure that his pace did not falter.

Feronen followed Jacob closely, making sure that his pace did not falter.

The two men reached the meeting room, the wolf guarded the entrance and Jacob spread his arm. "Take a seat please. Would you like a drink or something to eat?"

Johanas Leitz, the astropath, flattened himself against a wall along with the platoon he had been ordered to accompany, trying to locate this mysterious supernatural foe.

"I think we're getting close to whatever it is."

There was a muffled cry from the direction of the rearguard.

"And he knows we're here."


The armoured forces continued on, battered, desperate, some dueling hand to hand as limbs smashed into their vehicles, but no-one stopped. You looked to the front. That was war.

The two men reached the meeting room, the wolf guarded the entrance and Jacob spread his arm. "Take a seat please. Would you like a drink or something to eat?"

"Thank you, but no," replied the Admiral, taking a seat in the nearest chair provided. "I would much prefer to discuss the business at hand. Time is of the essence." He crossed one leg over the other, folding his hands and placing them in his lap.

Johanas Leitz, the astropath, flattened himself against a wall along with the platoon he had been ordered to accompany, trying to locate this mysterious supernatural foe.

"I think we're getting close to whatever it is."

There was a muffled cry from the direction of the rearguard.

"And he knows we're here."
The darkness of the Nightcloak produced a dangerous foe for the Nova Boozia forces. The One who conducted hit-and-run attacks wore dark clothing, nothing like the bright tunics of the Jedi, all the better to blend in the shadows of the darkened buildings. The cold never bothered him for his powers were capable of handling the deep freeze.

He sensed the bright aura of the astropath even as his own aura was suppressed like a snuffed candle. He watched. He waited. He struck silently, eliminating this trooper and that trooper with a blade as black as midnight and eternally sharp, the edges producing cuts so smooth that men would not even feel the touch before they died. The Astropath was his prey and the One was the hunter, toying with the psychic fool. Such is the way of things.

The armoured forces continued on, battered, desperate, some dueling hand to hand as limbs smashed into their vehicles, but no-one stopped. You looked to the front. That was war.
The enemy never stopped and so they were forced to stop. Pincers continued to crush tanks like tin cans and tail blades slashed into armored vehicles, dripping metal-eating acid hypodermically, others simply shooting inside the armor to . The Spiders bit into the columns, dripping more acid to dissolve the enemy within. The Cougars and Wolves slashed open the innards of the men who fought on the outside, assisted by the extreme rate of fire of the infantry blaster rifles. And all around, massed volleys of laserfire and railslugs punched into the armored columns, aided by the simple factor of being on the higher ground than the enemy. Never will Hakudo's defenders give up the city, not while there was a single soldier left alive...

"Thank you, but no," replied the Admiral, taking a seat in the nearest chair provided. "I would much prefer to discuss the business at hand. Time is of the essence." He crossed one leg over the other, folding his hands and placing them in his lap.
"Very well. What do you wish to discuss?" Jacob asked as he sat down with a light wine.

Ha’Tak battleship The Gold Lightning, Dominionite Fleet, Konoha

Located deep within the Ha’tak was the stargate room, a large room that housed the ship’s large stargate. The Dominion found their first one in Egypt back on Earth, that one is long gone. Dominionites study the design of these rings, which were on the planet they have travel to, for over four year hundred years before they were placed into Ha’Taks. By then, they had learned how to make them and the hud for the stargate. One of the things that needs to be placed on Jurai after it was retook, so the Coredians would have Dominionite clones anytime they need them.

The stargate opened with a massive blue wave like thing, it shot out outwards into the room. Then it shot back and from a what looked like a wall of water. The room had only a small group of people; Master Konrad Zöllner von Rotenstein, Master Maximilian der Deutschmeister, General Annie Saint, General Nic Devine, Five Star Commander Ludolf König and Admiral Wolfgang Schutzbar. These people knew who was coming through the stargate.

The first to step out was Field Marshal Friedrich Wildegraf Lehnsherr (http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y101/CountJWolf/FriedrichLehnsherr.jpg), the blue of the gate danced across his armor. Friedrich, a Prince of the Dominion and son of JWolf, is hundred ninety years old and a warrior of the Dominion. His mighty blade rested on his shoulders. He walked down the steps of the platform, towards the small group.

The next to step through was Field Marshal Marc Howlett (http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y101/CountJWolf/MarcHowlett.jpg), a man that married into the House of Wolf and making him into a Prince of the Dominion. His wife is Princess Hermione Howlett, formally Hermione Saint Clair, daughter of JWolf. He is six hundred and two years old vampire. He was born a mutant with the power to Genetic scanning field allows him to mimic the natural strength and intelligence of others along with the superhuman powers of anyone in his vicinity. So right now, he has the Friedrich’s powers of selectively generate heat and electricity and has retractable claws. He followed behind his young brother-in-law.

A Master Warlock step through next, another husband to a daughter of JWolf. Prince Matthew John Norris (http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y101/CountJWolf/MatthewJohnNorris.jpg), husband to Princess Elizabeth Darkholme-Norris. With a lightsabers at each hip, he walked behind his brother-in-laws.

The last to step through was a High Warlock Temple Guard, the three hundred year old Jason Howlett (http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y101/CountJWolf/JasonHowlett.jpg). Son of Prince Howlett. He was blessed with his father’s power to mimic whatever mutant power were near him.

The four stopped at the end of the steps and the small group bowed to the three Princes and Jason. The stargate die down after they step off of the end of the stairs. The number of royal family members has gone from three to seven. If the Coredians knew that there were royal family members from another nation going to fight for their nation, what would they think about the Dominion.

"Very well. What do you wish to discuss?" Jacob asked as he sat down with a light wine.

"The state of the war your people are engulfed in," he replied. "The Empire has pushed your people back into a corner in which there is no escape. Jurai will fall, as will the rest of your worlds. That is why I am here; to offer your people asylum within our galaxy. We're so far off the charts, it's doubtful that the Empire even knows of our existance, let alone has the means of traveling to it."

Feronen uncrossed his legs and placed his hands on the arms of the chair.

"Think about this," he continued. "If we could evacuate your people to our galaxy, it would give you some time to muster your forces to counter attack the Empire. Hell, we'll even back you with our own forces, if need be. Even if the Empire were to find out where you had fled to, breaking the Protectorate's sovreignty would bring the full might of all our member nations down upon them."

"The state of the war your people are engulfed in," he replied. "The Empire has pushed your people back into a corner in which there is no escape. Jurai will fall, as will the rest of your worlds. That is why I am here; to offer your people asylum within our galaxy. We're so far off the charts, it's doubtful that the Empire even knows of our existance, let alone has the means of traveling to it."

Feronen uncrossed his legs and placed his hands on the arms of the chair.

"Think about this," he continued. "If we could evacuate your people to our galaxy, it would give you some time to muster your forces to counter attack the Empire. Hell, we'll even back you with our own forces, if need be. Even if the Empire were to find out where you had fled to, breaking the Protectorate's sovreignty would bring the full might of all our member nations down upon them."
Jacob nodded. "I thank you for your offer. Many refugees would have fled the major parts of Coreworlds to what they believe to be strongholds. Sending them to you would certainly help lower the strain of overcrowding in some places."

Jacob nodded. "I thank you for your offer. Many refugees would have fled the major parts of Coreworlds to what they believe to be strongholds. Sending them to you would certainly help lower the strain of overcrowding in some places."

"It might even do your people better to just abandon your worlds and move, but we'll start with moving the refugees." Feronen wheezed for a moment before taking out an albeuterol inhaler and used it. He then put it back in its respective pocket. "Pardon me. As I was saying, we can start by moving the refugee populations into our Space Colonies. They're twenty two miles in length, and four miles in diameter, and can hold up to three million people without duress to its resources. We can start by redirecting fifty of these colonies via tesserection to your nearest fortress world."

"It might even do your people better to just abandon your worlds and move, but we'll start with moving the refugees." Feronen wheezed for a moment before taking out an albeuterol inhaler and used it. He then put it back in its respective pocket. "Pardon me. As I was saying, we can start by moving the refugee populations into our Space Colonies. They're twenty two miles in length, and four miles in diameter, and can hold up to three million people without duress to its resources. We can start by redirecting fifty of these colonies via tesserection to your nearest fortress world."
"Alright. I say you should head for the following systems: Andila, Athens, Kyoto and Sparta. The refugees (+24 million) there are straining the local government's ability to protect them. I'll call ahead." Jacob said.

"Alright. I say you should head for the following systems: Andila, Athens, Kyoto and Sparta. The refugees (+24 million) there are straining the local government's ability to protect them. I'll call ahead." Jacob said.

"Please send the coordinates on this frequency," he said, handing a datapad he had procured from his other pocket, which was about the size of an I-Pod. "The transmission will be relayed via my starfighter directly to the Protectorate so that they can start the evacuation process."

"Please send the coordinates on this frequency," he said, handing a datapad he had procured from his other pocket, which was about the size of an I-Pod. "The transmission will be relayed via my starfighter directly to the Protectorate so that they can start the evacuation process."
"Alright." Jacob typed in the coordinates of the four systems. He then handed it back to the admiral. "Done."

"Alright." Jacob typed in the coordinates of the four systems. He then handed it back to the admiral. "Done."

The Admiral took the data pad back and began typing a few things into it. After he finished, he sent the data via laser communication (which increases the speed at which it transmits) to the fighter.

The fighter's main computer processed the message, and then sent its own communications laser through a pre-ordained tesserection.

At the Colonies

Not more than five minutes later, the Colonies responded and began their operation, only sending ten colonies to each system, keeping the last ten colonies on standby.

The colonies that deployed were escorted by two Macross-class Super Dimension Fortresses each, which would also assist the evacuation by transporting eighty thousand civilians at a time to each colony.

Each group would arrive in-system via tesserection, which would follow with a message similar to this.

"Attention, Coredian forces. We, of the Copen Protectorate, have been given permission to relocate your refugee populaces by your Lord, Jacob Masaki, and our own government. We will be sending down our Super Dimension Fortresses to transport the civilians to the colonies themselves, and then take them to our own galaxy to place them on a refugee planet where they will be protected.

Back at the Stateroom

The Admiral received a direct confirmation from the colonies that the evacuation was underway, and smiled at Jacob.

"Well, Master Masaki, the evacuation is underway as we speak." He grinned wider. "Now, about those refreshments...do you, by chance, have any Cherry Kyoto Sencha Tea?"

Meanwhile, as the enemy continued to scour the lands of Jurai of Coredian troops, a small probe with large sensors exited hyperspace and quietly moved into one of the outer moons of the gas giant Haven. Its task is to simply observe the latest enemy disposition over Jurai for the Military High Command to pour over. After all, the High Command has been ordered to plan a counterattack to take back the capital planet by any means necessary and it wouldn't do to go in blind...

At the Colonies

Not more than five minutes later, the Colonies responded and began their operation, only sending ten colonies to each system, keeping the last ten colonies on standby.

The colonies that deployed were escorted by two Macross-class Super Dimension Fortresses each, which would also assist the evacuation by transporting eighty thousand civilians at a time to each colony.

Each group would arrive in-system via tesserection, which would follow with a message similar to this.

"Attention, Coredian forces. We, of the Copen Protectorate, have been given permission to relocate your refugee populaces by your Lord, Jacob Masaki, and our own government. We will be sending down our Super Dimension Fortresses to transport the civilians to the colonies themselves, and then take them to our own galaxy to place them on a refugee planet where they will be protected.
"Ah, finally the Jedi does something about the refugee problems." The Governor of Andila and the sector controlling the four systems noted with relief. The refugees have been straining the food stores of the world for a while now. She replied to the Copen Protectorate forces.

"We give thanks to the Copen Protectorate and our government for their prompt assistance. The refugees will be ready to board the ships as soon as we notify them." She answered.

In that case, the notifications took a few minutes to reach the makeshift towns of tents that the refugees were forced to live in. Some cheered, some cried, some simply gave thanks that now the Empire won't touch them.

"Ah, finally the Jedi does something about the refugee problems." The Governor of Andila and the sector controlling the four systems noted with relief. The refugees have been straining the food stores of the world for a while now. She replied to the Copen Protectorate forces.

"We give thanks to the Copen Protectorate and our government for their prompt assistance. The refugees will be ready to board the ships as soon as we notify them." She answered.

In that case, the notifications took a few minutes to reach the makeshift towns of tents that the refugees were forced to live in. Some cheered, some cried, some simply gave thanks that now the Empire won't touch them.

The twelve hundred-meter-long Super Dimension Fortresses picked out the largest of areas to land on the planets, preferable on very large beaches, savanas, and on the edge of deserts, where they could actually fit themselves.

No soon had they landed when the defensive Destroids took up positions to ensure the safety of the civilians, some staying on the planet to show that they had no intention of ditching the refugees.

On the colonies, relief aid was immediate, with the Copen Red Cross quick to provide food, living arrangements, and medical attention to the refugees that arrived.

In space around each colony group, defense was considered paramount as the defensive Chivvay-, Musai-, and Nahal Argama-class support ships, numbering at nearly one thousand per colony group, kept a careful watch to the surrounding space, intent on defending against any threat posed to the refugees and the colonies harboring them.

The Copen Protectorate Armed Forces would be the Guardian Angels of the Coredians.

The refugees numbered in the thousands, and with the assistance of the Coredian garrisons, the boardings were mostly smooth. There were a few scuffles here and there as civvies pushed and prodded to get on board, but stun batons took care of that. Otherwise, the refugees were simply too glad to do much else but take up residence in the colony ships.

The refugees numbered in the thousands, and with the assistance of the Coredian garrisons, the boardings were mostly smooth. There were a few scuffles here and there as civvies pushed and prodded to get on board, but stun batons took care of that. Otherwise, the refugees were simply too glad to do much else but take up residence in the colony ships.

As each colony was filled, its SDFs, after having retrieved their Destroids and the last load of civilians, and one hundred support craft would take escort positions before tesserecting back to the Copen Galaxy.

This process would continue until all fourty colonies had evacuated every single refugee civilian off of the planets they had occupied.

Because of the sheer number of refugees, it would take a full day for all the refugees to be safely placed on the colony ships. But at last, they would be safe...

for now...

((OOC: Let's say this next conversation takes place while things are happening with the refugees.))

Back on the Battlestar, inside the stateroom

"So, Master Masaki, what do you plan to do?" Feronen sat back and relaxed somewhat. "Take back Jurai? Demolish the Imperial's home while they're out and about? Retreat and consolidate? Any course of action will be assisted by our own fleet, of course."

So many questions. I must be careful. Jacob thought warily. "Not sure yet. My brother will have to decide the matter with the advice of the High Council. One thing is for sure, Jurai won't be in Imperial hands forever."

*slice*

"Who's left, and what kind of ordinance do we have?" The harsh voice of 2LT Denat Tral sounded over the helmet comms of the marines, and they quickly uploaded the data to his toot. The remainder of the Bronze Barbarians was a rather motley group, drawn from 3 different squads, they were pretty well mangled. On the other hand, they were all armed with decent weapons, and had plenty of ammo, scavenged from their dead comrades. Everyone was outfitted with a plasma weapon of some type, and several picked up bead rifles for close in work. Finally ready to go, a pair of privates carrying pistols led the way, as an eerie melody began wafting over the troopers comms, the heavy bass rhythyms and anger of Iron Maidens Wrathchild accompanied the marines deeper into the tunnel. They moved towards the sounds of fighting, easily picked up, even if they were hundreds of meters away. Activating active-camo systems, the small group disappeared into the gloom, blending poerfectly into the walls and background as they moved swiftly through the complex. There would be nothing more than a ripple visible to their opponents, before death in the form of a plasma bolt, or superaccelerated bead, or blade reached out to silence the imperial troops forever.

The first battle they entered would tell much about the combat ability of the troops defending this place. And whether or not there were even any regulars LEFT defending this area.

OOC: I have no idea how many attacks there are on my transports bythis point, so if I could get someone to reiterate their strikes, it'd be appreciated. The only ones I know for certrain are NBs.

Hakudo City, outskirts:

A massive transport drifts over the embattled boozians, drawing fire from the Praetorians, and lances in orbit. On the other hand, it also brings destruction to the troops on the ground, rippling out hundreds of tons of explosives with a barrage of missiles slamming hard into the advancing front, their accuracy restored by the dropping of the cloak. Turrets tracked and fire, primaries seeking out the heaviest opponents for dsestruction, while secondaries and PD armament dealt with the Thunderhawks still in the air, and the tanks still on the ground. There was no way the Boozians could survive the remnants of the 19th coming in hard on their rear, while the massive ship hovered over them, threatening them destruction in the same manner as they had destroyed the Thrashians. If the enemy did not stop their fire, the ship would be destroyed, and so would a goodly portion of the opposing army, and a section of the defenses. On the other hand, there were still Coredian ACS to deal with, and the detonation would not be nearly sever enough to stop them from advancing and holding the line wile the 19th came up to plug the gap.

Ha’Tak battleship The Gold Lightning, Dominionite Fleet, Konoha

On the bridge of the Gold Lightning, Friedrich‘s sword rests on the wall. He looked at the people on the bridge with his light brown eyes, his brother’s son being one of them. Marc and Matt stood with Master Konrad and Master Maximilian near the holo-map station. Jason, Charles, and stood off to the side. They were talking to each other.

Princess Lin Ming Cai (http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y101/CountJWolf/LinMingCai.jpg), a daughter of JWolf, wearing a tight purple dress stood with General Annie Saint. The two ladies were talking with Five Star Commander Ludolf König about the Zoid units.

“Send a message to the planet. Father wants Daniel to know that th Dominion is here to help” said Friedrich to the comm operators. “Open a channel to the planet.”

“Yes, my lord.” said the young blonde hair woman at the station. She hit a few buttons on her station. “Open, my lord.”

Friedrich turned toward the monitor. So if the Coredians had screen near them, they would see who was talking to them.

“Greeting Master Daniel and other Coredians, I’m Prince Friedrich Wildegraf Lehnsherr. A Field Marshal of the Dominion Armed Forces. My Father, the God-Emperor Count JWolf, has send me to your system to deliver a message from him.” he said, taking a small pause. “Kafr ash Shaykh, in the Ra system, is open to any Coredian civilians. We know of what the lackeys of Empire will do to your people or any civilian. If you accept this offer, I will send Dominion transport ships to pick up your people.”

So many questions. I must be careful. Jacob thought warily. "Not sure yet. My brother will have to decide the matter with the advice of the High Council. One thing is for sure, Jurai won't be in Imperial hands forever."

"Good," he said. "It's about time someone put the Sith in their place, and with our help, it could be permanent, although, from what I can tell, this fight would probably turn into a war of attrition in less than a month, and could go on for gods know how long."

On Konoha, I found that I was remiss in recieving dispatches from Transylvania. "Oh. Damn. Better answer."

"Your gesture of kindness will never be forgotten, Princess. Give my thanks to the Emperor. Any citizens will of course be free to run to your systems, but watch out for spies in the midst."

"Good," he said. "It's about time someone put the Sith in their place, and with our help, it could be permanent, although, from what I can tell, this fight would probably turn into a war of attrition in less than a month, and could go on for gods know how long."
Jacob smiled sadly. "It's been a war of attrition for about ten years now, on and off. This is just the latest push by the Empire to try and finish us off. The more allies we can gather, the better we'll be able to deal with the Empire's evil."

Jacob smiled sadly. "It's been a war of attrition for about ten years now, on and off. This is just the latest push by the Empire to try and finish us off. The more allies we can gather, the better we'll be able to deal with the Empire's evil."

"Well, I can give you something that would knock your socks off."

Feronen pulled out the data pad again and typed a few things up.

"I'm asking the Supreme Chancellor to contact the Orks in the Galactic East of our galaxy. If he can convince them to wait a little while longer, he may be able to give you some time by sending the Orks on a Waagh! against the Empire."

"Well, I can give you something that would knock your socks off."

Feronen pulled out the data pad again and typed a few things up.

"I'm asking the Supreme Chancellor to contact the Orks in the Galactic East of our galaxy. If he can convince them to wait a little while longer, he may be able to give you some time by sending the Orks on a Waagh! against the Empire."
"Um. Orks?" Jacob asked. It's clear that aside from a certain allied nation, Coredians don't really trust Orks. "Once they get involved, Chronosia will. And then we would have trouble, even with you on our side."

On Konoha, I found that I was remiss in recieving dispatches from Transylvania. "Oh. Damn. Better answer."

Ha’Tak battleship The Gold Lightning, Dominionite Fleet, Konoha

After getting the message from Daniel, Friedrich send one straight back. “My father knows how to watch out for spies. They can get in but can’t get out. You know what I mean by that. The Ra System and the Iris System are open to your citizens. And Bob does not have any of your ship‘s IFF in his data bases. So warned your people that they will loss everything but life support as they come into the system.” He said. “Their ships will be towed to nearest space station in the system.” Then stopped by his younger half sister as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

Lin Ming whispers something in his ear. Then walks off again. “My young sister just told me something to ask you. Are we going to take Jurai back?” asked Friedrich.

"Um. Orks?" Jacob asked. It's clear that aside from a certain allied nation, Coredians don't really trust Orks. "Once they get involved, Chronosia will. And then we would have trouble, even with you on our side."

"Hmmmm...that doesn't sound good..." Feronen deleted the message before it was sent, thinking about the possibilities.

"We do have the remnants of the Casseiopeia Galaxy residing within our territory, and we also have the Fedral Union as well...I don't know how much help the Safavids would be...they're more peaceful than anything else..." He thought for a bit while waiting for Jacob's answer.

Ha’Tak battleship The Gold Lightning, Dominionite Fleet, Konoha

After getting the message from Daniel, Friedrich send one straight back. “My father knows how to watch out for spies. They can get in but can’t get out. You know what I mean by that. The Ra System and the Iris System are open to your citizens. And Bob does not have any of your ship‘s IFF in his data bases. So warned your people that they will loss everything but life support as they come into the system.” He said. “Their ships will be towed to nearest space station in the system.” Then stopped by his younger half sister as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

Lin Ming whispers something in his ear. Then walks off again. “My young sister just told me something to ask you. Are we going to take Jurai back?” asked Friedrich.
That, I had to smile about. It was obvious we're trying to make plans to that effect, but right now, security is key, especially with a ship-to-surface transmission. We're paranoid, but we have good reason to be. "Not really sure. Certainly not soon. The Empire's strength is overwhelming over there, last I checked."

"Hmmmm...that doesn't sound good..." Feronen deleted the message before it was sent, thinking about the possibilities.

"We do have the remnants of the Casseiopeia Galaxy residing within our territory, and we also have the Fedral Union as well...I don't know how much help the Safavids would be...they're more peaceful than anything else..." He thought for a bit while waiting for Jacob's answer.
"Well, the Fedral Union might be useful, but last I checked they only dealt in Milky Way affairs." Jacob said. "They've never troubled themselves to come here."

That, I had to smile about. It was obvious we're trying to make plans to that effect, but right now, security is key, especially with a ship-to-surface transmission. We're paranoid, but we have good reason to be. "Not really sure. Certainly not soon. The Empire's strength is overwhelming over there, last I checked."

Ha’Tak battleship The Gold Lightning, Dominionite Fleet, Konoha

“Well tell Master Raidon if anything happens, to contact me ASAP.” said Friedrich. “Later, Master Daniel.” The message was end after that.

On the surface, Raidon watching the whole thing. He looked at Dominion. “I think I saw Master Norris onboard that ship. And a lot of royal family members. Looks like the Dominion is a true ally to you and your republic.” he said.

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

When the Coredians arrived at the Ra system or the Iris system, their ships would loss power on the edges of the two systems. But they would have life support, so everything would be alright.

For the ones heading towards Ra system, they would see a ten planet system. Four planets like Earth and six gas planets. The planets in this lay out; the Ra Sun, Icebere [Ice-bare] (Jupiter type planet), Kafr ash Shaykh (Earth type planet) ((90% landmass/10% water)), Al Wadi al Jadid (Earth type planet) ((50% landmass/50% water)), Goldenwarren [Golden-warren] (Jupiter type planet), Fallentol [Fallen-toll] (Uranus type planet), Suhaj (Earth type planet) ((15% landmass/85% water)), Runegrove [Rune-grove] (Saturn type planet), Matruh (Earth type planet) ((35% landmass/65% water)), Poundvale [Pound-vale] (Uranus type planet), and Kendalfax [Kendal-fax] (Neptune type planet). The planets are rotating around the Ra Sun.

They would see Ha’Taks hovering through the ships. Space ships around the earth sized planets, the space stations have the same outside of the Ha’Taks. One space station, sized like a large castle, was around Fallentol. The home base for the Dominion’s own space pirate, Lord Remy Barrilleaux-Saint Clair and his White Tigers. Towing ships, long and blocky, would tow the Coredian ships to the nearest space station.

For the Coredian heading towards the Iris system, they would see that it was the mining system of the Dominion. Another ten planet system with only two Earth type planet. The planets in this lay out; the Iris Sun, the mining planet Jonascaster [Jonas-caster], the mining planet Eagleclaw [Eagle-claw], the mining planet Runedale [Rune-dale], the mining planet Sodton [Sod-ton], the mining planet Timberford [Timber-ford], the mining planet Icetol [Ice-toll], Al Qahirah (Earth type planet) ((48% landmass/52% water)), Al Bahr al Ahmar (Earth type planet) ((48% landmass/52% water)), the mining planet Wind Grotto, and the mining planet Holly Gulch. The Coredian would see the same type space station as in the Ra system around Al Qahirah and Al Bahr al Ahmar. Ha’Taks would be seen too. The same towing ships would be same as in the Ra system.

At the space stations, the Coredian would be greeted with hot meal and cold drinks. Plus if they were spies in the groups, Warlock would handle it. X-ray scanner would scan the Coredian, unknown to them too, looking for hidden weapons and bombs.

Who's afraid of the sun
Who would question the goodness of the mighty
We who banish the threat
When your little ones all go nighty nighty
Well there's no time for doubt right now
And less time to explain
So get back on your horses
Kiss my ring and join our next campaign

And the Empire grows
With the news that we're winning
With more fear to conquer
And more gold thread for spinning
Till it's bright as the sun
Shining on everyone

Jurai

You require something?

The words smacked of disrespect, this man, this marshal was stupid as he was incompetent. "Yes." Vader said as he slowly entered the room. His tall form cleaving its way through the chaotic tangle of clerks and assistants, each one scuttling from post to post. "I do require one thing from you Field Marshal, I want you to fall on your sword. "Vaders tone rose with a jovial hint. "Or better yet." He said as his hand clasped the metal hilt of his blade. "Use mine." The crimson rod of energy shot out.

"You are in command now, Field Marshal Schnapseheer, I am confident that you are aware of basic protocols regarding any Imperial offensive?"

Mordor

Yellow eyes gasped at the sight of Jurai, white snows and drifting ice were a sight unknown to the creatures of Byss. The Sentinels were rarely allowed leave from the emperors citadel; their. ... talents were often more desired in the service of the emperors stores and vaults rather than the subjugation of a few pathetic humans.

So far the battle was proving successful, the deployment of countless droids and soldiers, the mass bombardment of fortresses and valleys, and the decimation of space fleets and squadrons had all accumulated to this moment. The end to the rebellion and the end to the war.

With a sharp scrape of gauntlet on vibrostaff the sentinel took his position at the front of the Imperial army, his fourteen foot high body leading the merciless onslaught of millions of battledroids, each one walking in unison, marching, fighting and killing for the emperors glory; their destination was Mordor.

Never had the empire deployed so many units for one battle, never had an Inquisitor been asked to pacify a planet in such a brutal way, but Malorum was capable, his will was present, and by the emperors grace he would prove victorious. "Progress reports your excellency." Malorum clasped the pads tightly, the trails of his red robes lingering on the rests of his chair. Solarian ships destroyed. Transports destroyed. Battlestar....located The inquisitor looked up hopefully...

"Order always prevails."

"Pardon excellency?" Malorum was to enthralled to notice. His mind sharp as a razor was ticking, turning and working. He had so much to organise, so much to.

Blade struck stone as the cortosis staff missed a rebel grunt who was only to be caught off guard by a flanking Droidika, its blue shields warding off any futile attempts to destroy it.

Mordor was, apparently going well, time to spread these fortuitous events..... "Commscan, relay the following orders. Moff Tarkin is to proceed immediately to the Bastion system. He is to open order package orange. Admiral Thrawn is to be deployed to destroy the new rebel battlecruiser without any delay. And someone please, raise the nightcloak. I want no dawn for them."

The stronghold of Mordor was covered by countless intricate tunnel systems, each one an avenue of attack or defence, but now, it was a tool for the empires massed hive of destroyers. The great mountain was alive with units from B2's to Chameleons, each one probing until they located an entrance, until a weakness was discovered.

Thousands were inside now, and thousands more were continuing to pour through, all led by the sentinel.

OOC: More to follow when I'm awake. Wicks reply to come up as well.

OOC: See OOC thread for explanation.

IC: An Oberst-Leutnant stood up, drawing all eyes to herself.

"What is the meaning of this! "Fall on your sword?" We're soldiers, proffesional soldiers, and we don't have time for your practical jokes!"

"Verbrauchbar! Silence!"

The officer did as she was told, regulating her breathing until she could talk normally.

"I am sorry, but this intrusion id too much to tolerate."


"Eisenmann? Eisenmann?"

The platoon commo switched off his backpack set.

"Gone, sir."

"Verdammt! I want everyone who's left to dig in real close. As in the same hole in the ground. If he comes now, we'll have him."


The troops struggled on and on, fighter-bombers diving in for support as the tanks, what was left of them, threw the enemy about with their 6-inch guns.

"Eisenmann? Eisenmann?"

The platoon commo switched off his backpack set.

"Gone, sir."

"Verdammt! I want everyone who's left to dig in real close. As in the same hole in the ground. If he comes now, we'll have him."
Fools. The Black One smirked as he saw the enemy bunched up like scared children in the foxhole. His body flickered out of existence...

and flickered back into existance in the middle of the hole, his blade making short work of everyone within reach, before flickering out to another hidden spot to watch his handiwork...

The troops struggled on and on, fighter-bombers diving in for support as the tanks, what was left of them, threw the enemy about with their 6-inch guns.
The enemy suffered. Every inch they pushed the Coredians back, they suffered for it. Every centimeter that was repulsed, blood was spilt. The enemy fighter-bombers no longer knew who was friend and who was foe and would surely attack as many friendlies as enemies as they dove in to attack the Coredians. A light hail of blasterfire rained out at the fighter-bombers as they approached, hoping to hit the cockpit or another vital spot. The Solarian League was slaughtering the rearguard of the enemy forces, and between the Coredians and TSL, the Nova Boozia forces, no matter if they managed to take the city, would be slaughtered one way or another.

The armored division was splintered, every tank and mecha for itself. But at last, after hours upon hours of dirty, freezing fighting, cracks began to form against the Coredian defenses. Slowly, but surely, the enemy pushed the troops back into Hakudo, into the final lines of defenses, even as fire continued to rain down upon the Nova Boozians from all sides.

"Sir. It is time. Hakudo is about to fall." The soldier standing by Damien said.

"I know." He replied, barely above a whisper. "Lure the enemy into the city. Force them to fight street-to-street. Once they are within range of victory...we shall snatch it away from them."

"Yes, sir." The command center rocked with the sounds of explosions everywhere. The General boarded one of the few remaining Ligers with a pilot and then began to make his escape through a narrow corridor free of enemies, for now.

"Well, the Fedral Union might be useful, but last I checked they only dealt in Milky Way affairs." Jacob said. "They've never troubled themselves to come here."

"Yeah...they are a bit of a pain to get them involved in anything outside of the Milky Way..." Feronen thought for a moment. "And even if we did get them involved, they'd probably try to set up a permanent garrison, and neither of us want them doing that."

He sighed. "The only people we could possibly trust is the Casseiopeians, since they're under new management since that last conflict. Granted, they use nukes as their main weapon now, and pretty much throw them around indiscriminantly, but they might be enough to hold the tide of Sith pushing down on you, provided we plan this out right."

"True." Jacob nodded. "The Cassiopeia Galaxy has even assisted us in the Mationbuds conflict. They'll likely want to be part of any counterinvasion of Jurai."

"True." Jacob nodded. "The Cassiopeia Galaxy has even assisted us in the Mationbuds conflict. They'll likely want to be part of any counterinvasion of Jurai."

Feronen continued to ponder. "Well, until we can get a hold of them, we're going to have to use hit-and-run tactics on the Imperial fleet around Jurai." Feronen's eyes lit up. "And I know exactly what could help us with this."

He looked around the room. "Do you have a large screen or a holopad that I could hook my data pad up to?"

"Um." Jacob checked for a socket to said hologram. He pointed to a USB build into the table. "Right here."

((I'll be listing off a number of units, some of which have been modified to fit current FT standards, although the links don't have them, since these are just the canon variants. The only things that stay the same are the weapons, the equipment, and the size and power core.))

"Thank you," he replied. He took the data pad and used its extension to plug it directly into the holo-projector, and then began cycling through the data of prototype, specialty, and mass produced units used by the Copen Armed Forces. "Ah, here it is." A picture then came up, followed by a list of specifications and tactical data.

(( http://mahq.net/mecha/gundam/msgundam/man-08.htm ))

"This is the Elmeth, a prototype psycommu unit that is capable of long range attacks from hidden locations. It is specifically meant for hit-and-run tactics."

Another picture came up, showing its primary weapon. (( http://mahq.net/mecha/gundam/msgundam/lineart/man-08-bit.jpg ))

"This is the Bit, the primary weapon used by the Elmeth. This weapon is capable of flying at any range, having its own onboard reactor, maneuvering thrusters, and single beam gun, and can keep going as long as the pilot can control it. Since the Elmeth uses twelve of these little buggers, the Newtype pilot can easily use them as effective all-range weapons."

Another picture came up, showing a different unit altogether. (( http://mahq.net/mecha/gundam/0083/rx-78gp03.htm ))

"This is the Dendrobium Orchis, a mobile armor with the equivalent power of a destroyer and the speed of a light fighter when at max afterburn. Its only drawback is that it has the maneuverability of a sleepy rancor, and requires a huge turn radius to make a full one eighty."

The holo then focused on the mega beam cannon attached to its starboard.

"Despite this drawback, the mega beam cannon makes up for it, packing the punch of at least four heavy turbolaser turrets. The cannon itself requires fifteen seconds between each shot to recharge, but the 108-tube micromissile launcher and the 3-tube large missile launcher make up for this as well, allowing it to barrage the enemy while it's flying past them at full speed."

The holo then focused on the left claw of the Orchis, which looked like it was holding an over-sized lightsaber.

"Finally, its mega beam saber is the final blow. The actual length of the beam saber could literally cut the entire command tower of a Star Destroyer right off, provided its shields are down, or are below twenty percent strength."

The hologram then shut down, and Feronen turned back to Jacob. "There are a lot more, but these are just a taste of what we can provide."

"Very nice. They're a lot like the mecha we're building for the war effort." Jacob nodded.

"Very nice. They're a lot like the mecha we're building for the war effort." Jacob nodded.

"Well, we don't have much data on the war machines your forces employ on the battlefield. We'd like to know, especially since the Council of War has been planning a large-scale rescue attempt for Jurai since the Empire made planetfall on it."

"Hmm. I'd like to keep that quiet right now. We don't know you very well and I'm taking a big gamble putting the safety of the refugees in your hands already." Jacob said. "Suffice to say, they won't be too different from what you probably use."

"Hmm. I'd like to keep that quiet right now. We don't know you very well and I'm taking a big gamble putting the safety of the refugees in your hands already." Jacob said. "Suffice to say, they won't be too different from what you probably use."

"Your reasons are quite understandable," Feronen said. "I can assure you that your people are safe, and shall remain that way while they are under our watchful eye." Feronen lifted his data pad up again and typed in a few numbers. "These are the coordinates and security codes for a tesserection gate that we set up several years ago within this galaxy. It's near the galactic fringe in the Galactic North. Should you wish to visit your people, I have also provided the coordinates for where we placed the refugee colonies. They are orbiting the largest gas giant in that system."

Feronen then handed the data pad to Jacob. "I am giving you this data pad to keep," he said. "If you need to reach me, or any other official within the Copen Protectorate, this data pad will provide you the means to reach us."

Feronen then stood. "Now, I must return to my galaxy." He smirked. "I have a warfleet to attend to. It was a pleasure to meet with you, Master Masaki." Feronen extended his hand for another handshake.

"Alright. Thank you very much." Jacob shook the Admiral's hands and retrieved the datapad.

Sometime after the meeting

Feronen began the take-off procedure, turning his Excalibur to point out the hangar. When the hangar doors opened, he pushed up on the throttle and took off into space.

Some two kilometers from the ship, Feronen's Excalibur flashed a bright white before it disappeared, bound for the gate in the Galactic North.

Coruscant - Some time prior


Hawkins circled, his speed so fast that it dazed and confused the dark knight, his eyes shaken, vision blurred and then it came. The punch sent him flying across the hanger, pike free from his grasp and rifle scattered along the floor. Sirius fell against the bulkhead door, blood trickling from his lips.

Sixty-Six looked on with indifference, yet he knew what the emperor would demand. His head for letting his own apprentice be slaughtered like this. "CIC, this is clone officer 66 reporting that knight Hawkins has begun attacking Lord Sirius please advise?"

The channel was filled with static for a moment. "Reinforcements dispatched, they will be there momentarily."

"Command blast doors are sealed I repeat blast doors sealed closed."

"Reinforcements are being dispatched from the Justice, gunboat will arrive in three minutes. CIC out." The channel returned to static as Sixty-Six decided he had to do something.

"Knight Hawkins." The clone officer said passively. "Cease at once, or you will never leave Coruscant alive."

Before Sixty-six had spoken Hawkins had already advanced onto Sirius and he reached now with his large had, and picked the Sith up by his throat. He pushed him into the wall so hard that the armor buckled. He considered the clone's words and his deep laugh held no emotion but bitterness.

"What good is life Clone when I allow things such as this to live? I owe him dearly, as i am sure you remember." He squeezed harder enjoying the Sith's struggles.

"You would due well to remember I did not start this fight, he did. I wonder if any of us were ever to leave this planet alive after the stunts your Emperor just pulled. I wonder if already your Fleets have not descended upon Jurai..." His eyes then looked darkly upon the trooper, whose latest reincarnation could be erased just as easily as Sirius' own life. "Or even Galloway's world? I would appreciate an honorable answer if only between soldiers such as us."

"Jedi. If you kill him, you will die. You cannot defeat the empire here, in the very heart of its power. Your rebellion is coming to an end, you can die here, or flee to whatever worlds you hold dear and see to their defence. I say to you truthfully, that Jurai has already fallen to the Imperial fleet, forces and ideals. You will do only the same if you continue this action."

The helmet com buzzed "ETA TWO MINUTES."

"You can turn and attempt to kill Lord Sirius, or suffer a heavy Gamma blast to your chest, it is your decision....." Sixty Six raised his E-11B rifle.

"Who's left, and what kind of ordinance do we have?" The harsh voice of 2LT Denat Tral sounded over the helmet comms of the marines, and they quickly uploaded the data to his toot. The remainder of the Bronze Barbarians was a rather motley group, drawn from 3 different squads, they were pretty well mangled. On the other hand, they were all armed with decent weapons, and had plenty of ammo, scavenged from their dead comrades. Everyone was outfitted with a plasma weapon of some type, and several picked up bead rifles for close in work. Finally ready to go, a pair of privates carrying pistols led the way, as an eerie melody began wafting over the troopers comms, the heavy bass rhythyms and anger of Iron Maidens Wrathchild accompanied the marines deeper into the tunnel. They moved towards the sounds of fighting, easily picked up, even if they were hundreds of meters away. Activating active-camo systems, the small group disappeared into the gloom, blending poerfectly into the walls and background as they moved swiftly through the complex. There would be nothing more than a ripple visible to their opponents, before death in the form of a plasma bolt, or superaccelerated bead, or blade reached out to silence the imperial troops forever.

The first battle they entered would tell much about the combat ability of the troops defending this place. And whether or not there were even any regulars LEFT defending this area.


The first operational procedures that the 5th Storm Commando Company, 3rd Brigade, 501st Legion did when defending a point was in gathering intelligence and setting up listening posts. They operated on the use of infrared, UV lighting, motion, and even sound detectors. All was used to detect enemies. The commandos themselves used chameleon armor that allowed them to be visually invsible as well as on infrared and UV, however they were very capable of being picked up on motion and sound. Their enemies were no exception.

"Sergeant, this is listening post alpha, we've got hot ones moving down the access tunnel five-jade-charlie. Demo squad from 4th platoon was suppose to be coming through there but never came through. Not to mention those Imperial Knight characters," said the communications trooper. He sat watching through a visual camera lense, overlayed by motion sensors, showed the pressence of several large beings moving through the halls toward 5th Company's position.

"Can you confirm that corporal?" came the sergeant majors voice over the tightbeamed comm.

"Affirmative sir, I'm counting at least a platoon strength. I would hazard a guess at something along the lines of Chronosian Marines, but our allies are not even involved in the campaign."

"Which would mean that their enemies, specially coming in with camo geared up. Very well comms, send our the alert and bring online the barricade defense systems."

"Yes sir sergeant."



The hallway was a metal one and the commandos had taken to that well. The first thing they did when they occupied their little section of the maze was to take over any computerized defense systems that the Coredians left behind. One of those were several automated vulcan cannons.

Through the bottom of the floor and extending through the side of the wall several sections of the wall and floor withdrew. Large hulking multi-blaster cannons stared down the hallway with death as their mission. With a push of a button by the controller more than 400 meters away the picket line of automated cannons let loose a torrent of blasts, filling the hallway where the intruders were.


Encircled Coredian Position, Central Plains, 10th Legion CP

Major Kusinagi was rather disheveled as he worked his way through the great amount of down wind caused by the massive machine in front of him, as it hovered high above the ground. The general had sent him to liason with the commander of the seismic tank and see to it that it's commander knew full well the situation and the task that was needed at hand.

A hover car took the major up into a small hanger. He was greeted by several Imperial stormtroopers and a junior officer.

"I'd like to speak with the commanding officer of this tank," asked Kusinagi. "And I need to do so quickly."


High Orbit, Command Ship Olympus, Admiral Daala's Flagship

Captain Derek marched across the bridge of the ship and liked the metallic snap his boots made as he did so. It had a nice ring to it. He came to attention before Admiral Daala who sat in her command chair.

"Admiral, the Solarin fleet has withdrawn out of range. Commandant Spears has broken off persuit due to lack of speed capabilities and is now coming on an orbital path to align with our own."

Admiral Daala nodded at her adjutant's report. With so many Imperial ships in the system it was more than a wise decision for any commander to withdraw when such odds were against him. However reports from the ground and Field Marshal Verrick were more than a little disapointing. The Coredian ground forces, those that remained, were proving difficult. Unofficial reports even said that Nova Boozian forces were becoming a problem to the general advance of the campaigns end.

"Have we recieved any further orders from Julian Prime?" asked Daala. Grand Admiral Thrawn, or rather a clone of that infamous and genius commander, was stationed there and had taken a large part in planning the operation that Daala was now executing. That the Emperor Palpatine still had Thrawn on his own staff did not surprise Daala in the slightest, but it had been Tarkin's unexpected arrival that had set her heart racing.

Captain Derek checked his data slate. "Yes ma'am we have. Major Admiral Kilani has ordered that we begin withdrawing operations here within the next three weeks. He has set the dead line as to when he wishs for the task force to return, as well as the Olympus."

"Very well," sighed Daala. "Have your S2 officer handle the planning of this withdrawel. Inform Field Marshal Verrick as well. We'll hand over our position to the droid armies that Tarkin has on the planet." Derek waited a moment for more orders but when none came he turned and left.

Daala sat quietly and began contemplating as to why they were being withdrawn from the fight.

The pain of friends lost suddenly hurt what was left of Hawkins' soul. There was nothing more that could be accomplished here besides satisfying his own thirst for vengeance. Whatever Hawkins was, he could not afford to be an avenger. He already knew the bitter rewards that brought. He also was not simply a Jedi, the murder of his apprentice, the man he considered his son had seen to the death of that.

With sudden motion Sirius was thrown across the room with such velocity the Clone's eyes could barely discern the action, until the Sith came to rest at his feet. Hawkins fallen second blade found itself moving through the air till it was replaced in his left hand.

Holding both blades across his body Hawkins spoke to the clone leader,

"For now he is not worth killing...As for dying, I have done that once before, it is something I do not fear. We are alike in that if anything Clone. There is no death only the Force. That is something even I still believe."

"You may be right about Jurai and the mass of force arrayed against me in this trap, but you are wrong in one thing. Ask yourself then answer: Who am I? I am no Jedi, that man died, now you face... Me!"

Hawkins shut his eyes briefly when he opened them they were a jet black, his body became overtaken in a dark aura, one of unadulterated anger and hate. Not an aura of power like the dark-side that thirst for only more power, but rather a more base emotion that just was it purpose known to only him. And that alone made it more fearful The “Jedi's” wounds and burns suffered in the battle with Sirius began to steam and hiss eventually healing with rugged scars, upon scars.

He began a methodical march towards Sixty-Six, his voice counting down from ten, as he neared the end of the clone's ultimatum. "Three-Two-One. I believe time is up." Hawkins said less then ten meters from the clone.

OOC: This is all fluid timed, Sithy will fill the gap soon

IC: "Okay, you heard him, I want all our troops pulled out of both cities under rearguard and arty cover. And will someone please get me a medic, the Field-marshall's loosing a lot of blood."

The newly promted Field-marshall Leitz turned to the ops screen.

"Tranfer fifth army to Hakudo, they may attempt a breakout and I want the Solarians finished off once and for all."


In Hakudo, the howitzers finally fell silent as provisional regiments formed of units too shattered for effective consolidation were brought to the front. Air power began to be pulled back to airfields outside the theater shielding as the the troops began the long march to safety, covered by protective fire from hasty artillery bases erected along the route.


In Kanta, the troops also began their retreat, leaving the corpses behind them.

OOC: This is all fluid timed, Sithy will fill the gap soon

IC: "Okay, you heard him, I want all our troops pulled out of both cities under rearguard and arty cover. And will someone please get me a medic, the Field-marshall's loosing a lot of blood."

The newly promted Field-marshall Leitz turned to the ops screen.

"Tranfer fifth army to Hakudo, they may attempt a breakout and I want the Solarians finished off once and for all."


In Hakudo, the howitzers finally fell silent as provisional regiments formed of units too shattered for effective consolidation were brought to the front. Air power began to be pulled back to airfields outside the theater shielding as the the troops began the long march to safety, covered by protective fire from hasty artillery bases erected along the route.
"Sir, reports from the front. The enemy appears to be retreating." The pilot of the Liger said to General Damien.

"Odd. Just when they were winning. Ok. All units fall back to the Temple, but leave a garrison at Hakudo to watch for enemy. Take the wounded as well." The General ordered.

"Yes, sir." The pilot said and began to give out the orders on shortwave.

Using the remaining underground tunnels and the lull in the fighting, troops and equipment began to swiftly move for the Temple, leaving a couple of regiments at Hakudo to continue the fighting if the fighting continued. The Ligers and Battle Wolves ran swiftly through the blizzards that constantly howled over the severely cold plains, avoiding all known enemy positions as they stampeded for the Temple. Whatever the Imperial plans were, they would have to conquer the Temple's vast defenses, with enough supplies to handle anything short of the Death Star itself for weeks, or so the planners said.

In Kanta, the troops also began their retreat, leaving the corpses behind them.
The Black One disappeared from view as soon as the enemy began retreated. He suspected that it was more than simple fear of him that forced the enemy to retreat and he didn't want to be around when it happened.

He showed up at the Temple later on, bowing before Master-General Press Tilton, commander of all remaining ground forces until General McNeil returns with the coalition of the willing. "General, the Nova Boozia forces are retreating from Kanta."

"I see. Thank you, Hiei." The General said to the short yet extremely dangerous young man in black. "Confirms what news I learned from the front at Hakudo. The Empire's planning something. Keep on top of things."

"Yes, sir." With a bow of his head, the scout assassin disappeared without a sound.

"Well," Master Tilton said to the air. "Whatever happens next, we'll know soon."

"Pathetic, truly pathetic." Sixty-Six said as his jet pack ignited. Flying from the cold floor below the clone commander landed gently upon the gantry above. Pulling a stun gernade from his holster Sixty-Six allowed it to fall to the ground, its pin already pulled. Can't kill the scum, not yet... flipping the E-11 onto stun he decided to face Hawkins, the force, with the best of the empires technology.

The link buzzed with activity. "We're on the hanger bay doors, coming through the access hatch." Above, a small portal opened allowing several Imperial Marines to repel through, two Imperial guards leading the charge. Each one touched down softly facing knight Hawkins.

"I had best close this." Sixty-Six frowned. Pulling the hatch until it slammed, the most devious clone known to date joined the fray below. "Gunboat Artraes on link."

"Go ahead commander."

"Weld that hatch closed. I'll see to this Jedi."

The grenade was not unexpected, without any motion the weapons velocity was negated and it began to move away form Hawkins when it exploded a black shield flashed quickly protecting Hawkins from any danger. It was then that the Clone repositioned replaced by the Guards.

The two Imperial Guards blocked Hawkins path for two seconds, In that time a massive wall of kinetic energy impacted their bodies. The ensuing maw of destruction was fierce and short, when it subsided there was nothing to mark there presence but a bloody smear. Hawkins then disappeared. It was not a teleportation technique or anything as complicated as some of the techniques favor by the Masakis, he was simply moving so fast that his movements could not be tracked visually. He sprinted with long strides to the opposing wall and ran upwards along its vertical surface until he was above the catwalk, then in one leap he was behind the Clone’s commander. His two saber’s swinging in a neat controlled move which would bisect the vaunted Sixty-Six’s torso from his legs.

A splatter of blood erupted as the Imperial guards fell dead, gone into the darkness. Turning, Sixty-Six was awe struck by the speeds of this man, this was unlike anything the Masakis had ever used. But a clones trained reflexes took over.

Firing in vain hope Sixty-Six by luck caught Hawkins just before he made impact; sending the Jedi knight flying back into the silver wall. "Gas him." The clone commander ordered.

Below, the surviving marines quickly lifted up their weapons, two tube shaped barrels pointed towards the Jedi. From their silent barrels came a stream of gas, it's contents a simple virus developed by the technicians at the Maw installation in the Outer Rim. It's function was one of an almost instantaneous result. The Viri would attack and paralyse the nervous system, then latch on to a bodies midichlorians, slowly enveloping the Jedi in a Yasimalri like force void. Giving the Imperial forces enough time to contain and imprison the wretch, before the body adapted and it's natural defences acted.

Sixty-Six fired several more stun blasts just to be sure.

Dimalia System, Copen Galaxy

It had been some time since the fleets of the Copen Armed Forces had been assembled for such a conflict. This time, however, they would rise to victory and free the Core Worlds from the tyranny of the Sith.

Admiral Feronen was supervising the fleets assembly, with ships moving into complex formations and going through training as well.

Command Deck of the flagship Perseus

Feronen sat at his chair, pondering how he would deploy the fleets. With all the tactical data coming across the main viewscreen on how the battle was progressing at Jurai. The only main factor that kept the plan from being complete was the black storm over the entirety of Jurai.

It blocked everything: thermal scans, radio transmissions, and even direct laser communications.

A man stepped up behind Feronen's chair. "Admiral, sir?"

"Yes?" he replied, swiveling his chair to stair at the man.

"The fleet is at eighty percent strength," said the man. "The other twenty percent is on mandatory defense and patrol and cannot be recalled. The Military Council has specifically stated that's what they want them for."

"Good enough," said Feronen. "We'll just have to be careful with how we deploy our forces." The main Imperial Fleet was on the main screen now, with the black storm over Jurai in the background, orbiting the planet.

He frowned. "If only we could see the surface..."

"Intelligence is working on finding out what that storm is, sir."

"Good," said Feronen. "I want that information as soon as possible."

"Yes, sir," replied the officer, who left immediately to supervise the intel-ops.

For now, we must hold our cards. Feronen then focused back on the main image of Jurai in its current state.

The impact of the concentrated blast of gamma radiation from the Clone’s rifle elicited a groan of discomfort from Hawkins as it drilled a whole clean through his flank as he was propelled of the catwalk as he fell the wound had already begun to heal. As he hit the hanger’s deck he rolled onto his knees and paused to analysis the situation. He sprinted forward again to renew his assault on the reeling Sixty-Six disappearing with a blur of speed yet again. This time though he unknowing traveled through the invisible, order less and tasteless wall of viral gas. Within a second his motions slowed to the level one would expect from a Jedi Knight. Hawkins had sensed something was wrong. He launched himself backwards attempting to escape whatever was causing the limits on his power. He then jumped upwards attempting to land on top of the catwalk, as he rose the Clone’s stun blasts impacted the hanger were he just was. Hawkins had to reach out his hands to pull himself onto it, lest he fall the six meter to the hanger’s floor.

He was breathing hard now it seemed every move he made was weighed down, sluggish and all consuming of his energy.

“It feels like a couple Yasimalri are in this hanger…funny I know there is any here.” Grumbled Hawkins, the Empire have been searching since its beginning for more effective methods of combating those Jedi or others with force powers. It seemed they had finally found one. “Suppose I should feel honored…” He laughed as his breathing settled. His previous exertions were due mostly from the shock of being so abruptly cut off from the force. A condition that has paralyzed Jedi in the past who knew nothing but the Force. Hawkins was different he spent the first 25 years of his life unknowing of the Force, eight of those years had been in his world’s Marine Recon Force. Which through surgical alterations gave their troops the power and speed granted by other militaries marine by bulking exo-skeletons. Hawkins had not had to rely on the internal servos and targeting computers inside his body since he had become Jedi, nor the weaponry .

“Guess today has been full of surprises, let me give you all one of my own.” He remarked bitterly he brought up his hands one was aimed at the two soldiers carrying the tube like devices, the other aimed at Sixty-Six. The three anti-personal lasers in each of his hands activated for the first time in two decades as death rained upon the clones and Sixty-Six. Hawkins then rolled off of the catwalk, when he landed a large beam was emitted from his left foot impacting the catwalk were it was connected to the hanger’s wall, it was a beam capable of destroying AT-ST. Targeting icons replaced Hawkins vision as he began to return fire at the large group of Clones now firing at him.

The situation was bad though he was exposed in the open even as he killed the Clones more still appeared. It was then that the nano-computer made him aware of another threat from behind, it had already forced his body to dodge, the first stun blast missed completely as Hawkins spun around seeing Sixty-Six behind him. He began to run towards his enemy as a second and third blast missed. He began to raise his hand to target the clone, and fired just as the fourth blast hit him in the chest sending his shots into the ground. He was still running forward attempting to fire again as the fifth shot hit him just he fired again. This time as Hawkins fell to his knee he got the satisfaction of seeing a laser take the clone in his right shoulder and another in his thigh. That was all he saw before a dozen blasts took the stunned Jedi in the back from the platoon of troopers. He fell from his knees onto his chest and face unable to move but it was ironic he still had sensory perception of what was going on around him. The blood now flowing from the Clones two wounds was his only satisfaction.

OOC: Wick, I seem to have misplaced your MSN SN. Do you have it?

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Unterfeldwebel Beier poked his head up.

"All clear."

His squad got right to work. While the cratering charges had done plenty of work, the holes needed shaping and shoring up. Slots had to be dug, for a stove or an arsenal. A grenade pit was needed, and a rim to rest your rifle on. Water from the balst had to be pumped out, snow shifted to form a crude fort around the edge of the dugout facing Kanta. More discreet barricades ran along the edges to the shallow slit-trenches to the next holes in either direction and the platoon HQ hole.

When all this was finished, they began to dig positions for the platoon chimeras, simple three sided affairs, but thick and tall, a quick and easy hull-down with various slits for the prow weapon and smoke launchers. Finally, they were done, and moved on to the next area requiring help, an artillery firebase north of their position.


In orbit, ships bearing floods of reservists warped in, accompanied by the first token batches of replacement heavy machinery. The majority of these went to Fifth army and were assigned just as they began to roll south to relieve Third, which, even with the enemy retreat and re-enforcements from troops leving the city, was still having a hard time keeping the Solarians at bay on two fronts. Around Hakudo, the snow-works were already begining to appear.

Bit by bit, the cities were being throttled.

In Orbit

The nightcloak was active, the Imperial fleet victorious with her many guns pointed down towards the cities and population centres below."I could wipe them out here and now." Malorum said with a casual glint. "Just upon a simple word." His mouth fermented at the thought. "But no, it would be too easy. It would be a hollow victory. Commander, have the dispatches arrived yet?"

"Yes sir. General Constil reports the locations of all major rebel generators. He also indicates that the fifth, sixth and eighth armies are enveloping their targets. We are ready for ion bombardment."

"Then make it so."

From the black skies above Jurai, the Imperial forces began saturating her with countless blue ion bolts, their destination the many necessary power plants and generators keeping the civilian population alive.

Landing Zone

Troops were packing up, droids re-entering their racks for the journey back to Pentova. The Imperial operation had seen a vast overuse of infantry, armour and resources for a planet of limited strategic gain, yet, the ideological victory was one that could not be measured.

Coreships slowly activated and ascended into the black heavens....

In the command centre General Constil paced with a certain set of nerves. It had been some time since the empire had used this tactic, but it was effective nonetheless. "You may begin operations." The portly officer authorised.

In the background some distance away, the Imperial technicians began drilling into the mantle of Jurai, the vast five hundred meter long drill coursing its way through rock, magma and other molten materials. Passing the asthenosphere, it's shields activated, pushing further down through the toffee like substance, until, they reached the racing torrents of magma. Inside, a tactical hypermatter device........

"Has the tunnel collapsed behind the dril?" Constil asked concerned.

"Yes general, in a matter of days the very notion of our task will be concealed forever, the planets own tectonic plates shall see to it." A snide laugh erupted.

"Excellent."

In Orbit

The nightcloak was active, the Imperial fleet victorious with her many guns pointed down towards the cities and population centres below."I could wipe them out here and now." Malorum said with a casual glint. "Just upon a simple word." His mouth fermented at the thought. "But no, it would be too easy. It would be a hollow victory. Commander, have the dispatches arrived yet?"

"Yes sir. General Constil reports the locations of all major rebel generators. He also indicates that the fifth, sixth and eighth armies are enveloping their targets. We are ready for ion bombardment."

"Then make it so."

From the black skies above Jurai, the Imperial forces began saturating her with countless blue ion bolts, their destination the many necessary power plants and generators keeping the civilian population alive.
Power suddenly shut down in all the major cities, forcing their shields to drop and exposing the cities to the supercold temperatures of the sudden Ice Age Jurai is going through. The emergency generators of each city were now forced to kick in, the only barriers left between a cold psuedo-life akin to Russian winters and a frozen death, not even enough to maintain the shields at their current size. Only the Temple and the nearest three cities to it: Kyoto, Yokohama and Hiroshima, still had power remaining due to the fact that the power stations are all underneath the Temple itself thanks to a law in building codes pushed through by the Senate decades ago. The shield itself was then optimized to turn aside ion cannon bolts to keep the Temple from suffering bombardments.

"General, we've lost contact with Kanta, Nagasaki, Hakudo, Shimonoseki, and Edo. Contact with Sapporo and Nagoya have been cut by 80%. The Empire's bombarding their power stations with ion cannons!"

"What? That will kill the civilians left in the cities!" General Tifton cried out. He growled. "They're freezing us out."

"We still have the tunnel network." The soldier said.

"Won't last forever. The Empire by now would know to cut them off with the seismic tanks." Press said. "Not like we have a choice anyway. Try to notify the other cities to withdraw to the Temple area. If they can't, have them concentrate the people and supplies into the largest buildings they can find and only use emergency power on those buildings. That should keep them alive for a while."

"Yes, sir!" The soldier shouted orders to other troopers and then couriers went out on the dangerous task of keeping in touch with the other cities.

Press Tilton sighed. "This just gets better and better..."

Landing Zone

Troops were packing up, droids re-entering their racks for the journey back to Pentova. The Imperial operation had seen a vast overuse of infantry, armour and resources for a planet of limited strategic gain, yet, the ideological victory was one that could not be measured.

Coreships slowly activated and ascended into the black heavens....

In the command centre General Constil paced with a certain set of nerves. It had been some time since the empire had used this tactic, but it was effective nonetheless. "You may begin operations." The portly officer authorised.

In the background some distance away, the Imperial technicians began drilling into the mantle of Jurai, the vast five hundred meter long drill coursing its way through rock, magma and other molten materials. Passing the asthenosphere, it's shields activated, pushing further down through the toffee like substance, until, they reached the racing torrents of magma. Inside, a tactical hypermatter device........

"Has the tunnel collapsed behind the dril?" Constil asked concerned.

"Yes general, in a matter of days the very notion of our task will be concealed forever, the planets own tectonic plates shall see to it." A snide laugh erupted.

"Excellent."
A pair of eyes, hidden by the snow, noticed the Imperial drill planting something into the interior, the ground shaking under his boots. This is troubling. I sense evil intent for the planet. The General must learn of this.

The next thing anyone could hope to know, the eyes were gone and the General soon cursed the Empire for this device can only prove to be yet another attempt to cower Jurai into submission. And there was no way of notifying Daniel Masaki at this time, aside from the Force. Then he had a thought. Godulans. We should enlist their help in finding this device...

Aboard the flagship Perseus, Dimalia System, Copen Galaxy

Feronen noticed the large blue flashes coming from the Sith fleet on his viewscreen.

"What in blazes...?" he asked out loud.

"Sir!" The tactical officer swiveled in his chair. "The Sith are bombarding the planet with an ion bombardment! I'm assuming they're trying to disable the power generators for the city-shields!"

"Mobilize the fleet and prepare for engagement!" Feronen stood up from his chair and waved his hands in an encompassing gesture. "I want the Chivvays and Musais to be at the forefront of the attack! Have them keep their mobile suits on standby for immediate deployment!"

"Yes sir!" The tac officer turned back to his station.

"Comms, inform the SDFs to keep their pin-point barrier systems ready to activate as soon as we enter Jurai's orbit!"

"Aye, sir!" The comms officer proceeded to relay information.

The fleet had begun to pack their fighters and mobile suits back into their hangars for immediate departure. Ships were crossing each other's paths as they moved into formation, making sure not to ram into one another.

Within the hour, the entire fleet was ready to depart, the Musais and Chivvays prepared to lead the charge, with the Nahel Argamas just behind them, and the SDFs behind those.

For the first time in over four hundred years, the entire Copen Starfleet had been assembled for war.

((OOC Notes: Macross-class SDFs are approximately the same size as an Imperial Star Destroyer Mk. II.

Chivvays, Musais, and Nahel Argamas do NOT exceed 500 meters in length, and only carry mobile suits. Chivvays = 8 MS per ship. Musais = 5 MS per ship. Nahel Argamas = 12 MS per ship. Also, Chivvays, Musais, and Nahel Argamas rely only on their armor for protection, lacking shields entirely, and are considered expendable.

Macross-class SDFs have two shield types: the Pin-point Barrier system, which deploys three discs that are roughly 200 meters in diameter and are controlled by three separate crewman, and can take barrages from anything but a superlaser without a problem. However, since they are controlled by a human, they cannot be there to deflect all incoming shots.

The Omni-directional Barrier System is a large, spherical energy shield which can deflect anything. However, its duration is only thirty minutes, and it has a tendency to destroy everything around it in a five kilometer diameter when it overloads

The main gun of the Macross-class is equivalent to that of the Axial Superlaser on the Eclipse-class SSD, but is a one-shot deal per battle, requiring the gun to be removed from the ship to be recharged, although it is usually just replaced by another. Also, due to the cost, only four ships in the entire fleet have them.))

Copen Armed Forces

Battlegroup Nosferatu

Macross-class x50 (lead by Flagship Perseus)
-400 Excalibur II Heavy Fighters each (20,000 total)
-150 Longbow II Bombers each (7500 total)
-Elmeth (on Perseus)

Musai-class x500 (ten per Macross)
-Den'an Gei x5 each (2500 total)

Chivvay-class x250 (five per Macross)
-Den'an Gei x6 each (1500 total)
-Berga Dalas x2 each (500 total)

Nahel Argama-class x100 (two per Macross)
-Berga Giros x4 each (400 total)
-Berga Dalas x4 each (400 total)
-Vigna Ghina x4 each (400 total)

Battle Group Nova

Macross-class x50 (lead by Flagship Ananke)
-400 Excalibur II Heavy Fighters each (20,000 total)
-150 Longbow II Bombers each (7500 total)
-Dendrobium Orchis (on Ananke)

Musai-class x500 (ten per Macross)
-Den'an Gei x5 each (2500 total)

Chivvay-class x250 (five per Macross)
-Den'an Gei x6 each (1500 total)
-Berga Dalas x2 each (500 total)

Nahel Argama-class x100 (two per Macross)
-Berga Giros x4 each (400 total)
-Berga Dalas x4 each (400 total)
-Vigna Ghina x4 each (400 total)

Battlegroup Apollo

Macross-class x50 (lead by Flagship White Devil)
-400 Excalibur II Heavy Fighters each (20,000 total)
-150 Longbow II Bombers each (7500 total)
-Neue Ziel (on White Devil)

Musai-class x500 (ten per Macross)
-Den'an Gei x5 each (2500 total)

Chivvay-class x250 (five per Macross)
-Den'an Gei x6 each (1500 total)
-Berga Dalas x2 each (500 total)

Nahel Argama-class x100 (two per Macross)
-Berga Giros x4 each (400 total)
-Berga Dalas x4 each (400 total)
-Vigna Ghina x4 each (400 total)

Battlegroup Kaempher

Macross-class x50 (lead by Flagship Jaeger)
-400 Excalibur II Heavy Fighters each (20,000 total)
-150 Longbow II Bombers each (7500 total)
-Rafflessia (on Jaeger)

Musai-class x500 (ten per Macross)
-Den'an Gei x5 each (2500 total)

Chivvay-class x250 (five per Macross)
-Den'an Gei x6 each (1500 total)
-Berga Dalas x2 each (500 total)

Nahel Argama-class x100 (two per Macross)
-Berga Giros x4 each (400 total)
-Berga Dalas x4 each (400 total)
-Vigna Ghina x4 each (400 total)

Planetary Invasion Forces

Ten Divisions
5000 troops each
500 Type 61 MBTs each
250 Destroid Tomahawks each
250 Destroid Spartans each
250 Destroid Defenders each
100 Destroid Monsters each

((MAJOR OOC NOTE:

This is eighty percent (80%) of my ENTIRE armed forces, so I'm putting my all into this coming counter-invasion. There will be a Factbook up by tomorrow, so I won't actually go through with it until I finally have that finished.

Any complaints, TG or e-mail me at feronenkun@hotmail.com ))

OOC: Copen. Please tune into MSN asap.

"Priority message from Coruscant Excellency."

"Oh?" Malorum raised an eyebrow as he picked up a data pad. "Commence transfer." Commscan dutifully responded allowing the transmission to download. In it was a list of directives from the new instated warmaster. "Hmmmm." His voice demonstrated considerable concern. But orders were orders. "Commscan. Order all organics to begin leaving Jurai as soon as possible. And order our droid forces to forgo the surrounding of the cities. Advance and kill everything."

"Everything?"

"Yes." Malorum said with regret. "The new Warmaster is insistant." Turning towards the storm incrusted planet of Jurai Malorum followed his second orders. "Charge the satellites particle cannons. Fire on civilian targets at will.... And alert the Boozians, they may commence their slaughter."

"Yes Excellency, will there be anything else?"

"Jump the fleet into Hyperspace as soon as possible. We have a rebellion to end."

Alexander Kathii sauntered into the Council of Tribes, still high from victory. He had been elected as the new Prime Minister mere days ago, and national confidence was running high. While the costly undeclared wars over the trade routes with the GFFA were dragging down public opinion of the GFFA-ESUS war, the economic rebound was frightening. People wanted someone decisive, someone who could command the nation after the disorder of the end of one hundred and twenty years of Talon rule. Someone who could control what remained of the old clans. And Alex was more than capable.

The crowds in the Council, however, were quite different than they usually had been. There was absolutely no noise whatsoever in the massive building, the speaker commanding the normally chaotic assembly with words.

Bruce Halsey, new Minister of the Military, stood on the podium, peering out across the entirety of the group here. It had come down to the wire; his speech would determine the path of the nation. Shall we go to war? He glanced around, seeing the dozens of cameras. They would transmit this session to almost every corner of the universe, a strong message on the position of No Endorse.

"My fellow No Endorsians," he began, speaking slowly into the microphone. "Many of you have expressed your concerns to me over the events happening in Coreworlds. This nation has long been embroiled in difficulties, a civil war in the Misaki family tearing it to shreds."

"Many of you remember Dread Lady Nightshade and the weak Imperial legacy she left. She and Alexander Misaki have been dueling over the fate of Coreworlds for some time now. Operating from Tenetia, the Dread Lady has caused pain upon countless multitudes. She unleashed a brutal attack upon the devious nation of Thrashia, ending in the biological defilement of an entire planet. Even then, she could not effectively maintain control over the Black Throne, eventually turning its control over to Lord Remiel for safe keeping. She failed in her endeavors as the Dread Queen of the Empire, decimating the black throne."

"Now Palpatine has returned. You all know of this, it is no secret that the Black Throne once again pulses with a Dark energy unimaginable to us mere Khale-chin, us non-force users. But now he has offered us a chance."

"Palpatine, the old Father of the Empire, has decided to renew the crusade against Jurai. Currently, fleets numbering in the thousands besiege the tiny green marble, marring its noble surface. Vessels clash in the black, spouting gouts of flame in fierce battle to humble all others.

And to ascend to the final pinnacle of injustice, there are rumors of a Nightcloak being used against this planet, blocking out the life-giving flames of the system's star." There were numerous murmurs throughout the hall. A Nightcloak? They were using such a weapon? What was this news? Why hadn't they known earlier?

"Men sweat, bleed, and die with every passing moment. Their tears are freezing in the sub-zero temperatures of a Nightcloaked planet, their bodies are racked with aches and pains from atrocious injuries inflicted upon them in the ice and snow. Numberless hordes of Storm Troopers march onwards, like the Roman Legions of ancient Earth, leveling cities to nothingness."

"It is true that we owe ancient loyalty to Lord Palpatine. However, we cannot sit by and allow Jurai to be defiled with Godless weaponry as the Nightcloak. We cannot stand by and watch the green grass slowly strangle from lack of sunlight, we cannot allow the very air to freeze as solid as this ground we walk on. Jurai's population does not deserve this lot! The people of Jurai deserve to be able to sit on beaches in peace when they grow old. They deserve to be able to go out in their yard, and play with a dog, swing on a swing. They deserve to go to work, to church, to school. And to this end, we must ensure that they may live to see their grandchildren inherit the beauty that is their home world!"

"Brothers and sisters of the Inferno, we have a choice. We may stand back, as we would have done in the past, and watch this happen. We may also aid Palpatine in this great rape of the Forgemaster's beauties, as would be our lot under the Galactic Empire. Lastly, we can make our own stand."

"Shall we sit back? I say NAY! Shall we aid and comfort the perpetrators of this atrocity? I say NAY! We cannot allow the Rape of Jurai, the desiccation of a pristine world, to go unanswered! We have seen the destruction on Avalon, and we shall not let such disasters occur again! I have ordered a general mobilization of the fleet, an action not taken in years. For freedom, for glory, and the flame of life, we shall make a stand. We have the ability to make a difference; our vessels can stand toe to toe with those of any nation in existence! Let us show that there is a basic standard in the universe, let us show that the torch of goodness cannot be extinguished."

"Rise up brothers, rise up sisters, and let us support the nation of Coreworlds in its most dire hour."

Thunderous applause shook the room, the senators in almost unanimous agreement: to war. Alexander Kathii had but to sign the order, his first act in office the damning of millions to death.

"One moment brothers and sisters," called Bruce, trying to add one more item. "This war means that the Inferno will need all of its military capabilities. We must unfortunately politely disentangle ourselves from supplying the GFFA war effort. We cannot afford to defend men who slaughter planets with bio-weapons when we stand against other men elsewhere in the universe." There were numerous nods of agreement throughout the room.

Alexander Kathii could almost dance with glee. Bruce was perfect in every way, he saw what others would overlook, and could convince without trying. Now the path was clear.

========================

The vast fleets of No Endorse were brought online, their numerous hulls piercing the void. They would go in with half of the total force, an unheard of number, with the Forgemaster as their guide. Supply caravans were hurriedly prepared and sent on their way to various Coreworlds staging areas.

To support the effort, a chant was sung by youngsters and oldsters alike, spreading explosively via the holonet and word of mouth. Soldiers sang it in the mess, and fathers hummed it at work. Within a few days, the nation was united like in times of song.

To Jurai, to Justice,
to the end of our lives,
come one, come all,
and bring all your sharp knives,
for the Dark Lord is seething,
his vast fleets are come,
come all, come one,
let's go have some fun.

Respond to the call, brothers,
cast in your lot,
for the ones that come hither,
shall ne'er be forgot.



ooc note: 'Khale-chin' is the pronunciation of an old NE word, not the spelling. It was used to describe those without the psychic abilities the neighboring Eshirians had, later extended to also encompass non-force wielders. Essentially a term for 'normal humans.'

High Orbit, Thrashian Fleet Rally Point, Olympus Command Bridge

It had taken several days of withdrawing for the clone legions of Thrashia to fall back from their front-line positions. The countless hordes of Galactic Imperial droid armies took their places and came upon the enemy with a fury no less tenacious than that of the legions they replaced, and indeed it was a fury everlasting.

Within 80 standard hours all legions had been extracted along with most of the large heavy equipment that was vital to each individual legion. Extra supplies such as food and small arms weapons storage depots were given over to other Imperial commanders and to allied soldiers in the field.

Of the 1,200,000 storm troopers that had entered the conflict more than three months prior, only some 978,000 would be returning back to Thrashia. 222,000 stormtroopers had lost their lives. The 501st and the 10th Legions suffered the highest causualties, befitting since they were on the front the entire time. Replacements had already been ordered back on Julain Prime where the legions would be given rest.



Field Marshal Verrick stepped through the automatic doors and onto the bridge of Admiral Daala's command ship a tired man. He had just organized the fastest military withdraw in Thrashian army history. The field marshal ignored Captain Derek and marched strait up to Daala who sat in her command chair. He snapped off a small salute.

"The army is fully packed and loaded away, we only await the fleet," he said without prelude. Daala looked up from what she was doing and nodded. "Thank you field marshal. You did well."

"Not well enough in my opinion. These orders we recieved from his Excellency are strange," commented Verrick. He eyed her carefully to see if she would reveal anything, but Daala let no emotion or thought reach her face.

"Strange, but then orders are there to be followed. You are dismissed. I shall see you in the officers mess no doubt. Good day Field Marshal Verrick." Daala went back to reading a technical redoubt and ignored the tall ground soldier.

Verrick nodded to himself and simply walked away. Once again he failed to recognize Derek's existence and marched off the bridge in a flurry of his great coat. Captain Derek slightly made the bird at the just closing door and then walked over to Daala.

The admiral looked up and stretched slightly. She hadn't slept in the lat 23 hours. "Captain, is my fleet ready?"

"All ships report being in full readiness. The Hand of Ares has already jumped into hyperspace to the designated rally point."

"Has Grand Admiral Thrawn or Paeleus gotten in touch with us? I am keen to know what we're going to be doing," Daala stated with a slight growl in her voice. Derek smiled inwardly.

"Our orders are to arrive at the rally point for combat readiness, off-load the stormtrooper legions to the 8th Transport Fleet, and prepare for either Grand Admiral Thrawn or Grand Admiral Paeleus' arrival. Either of the grand admirals should be coming to take full command of the Olympus," Derek reported off like a good officer. He knew it hurt for Daala to have to surrender her ship to another officer, but so long as it served some purpose she often times didn't mind.

Daala sighed, a rare thing for her to do so openly. "Very well. Once we do a double check on our flight readiness, take us into hyperspace. Inform the Inquisitor of our leaving."

"Yes Admiral," said Captain Derek. He saluted and turned smartly on his heel. He walked off to follow his duties and Daala went back to studying the readout on her computer screen, each had his or her own thoughts concerning future events.

Within 2 standard hours of that time the Thrashian Expeditionary Fleet jumped into hyperspace and out of the Jurai system.

Witrh the retreat of the Thrashians from Mordor, the Marines swiftly sought out the Coredian holdouts, calling in another transport to retrieve them. As soon as they had the civilians they'd get off the planet, and then flee the system before the imperial fleet could react.

Not one, but three transports responded, and began launching their shuttles to precede them towards the rendevous point. As soon as the marines found the Coredians they would begin loading them onto all three transports. Any single transport being destroyed would no longer result in the deaths of all the Coredians.

---

The Solari ships, rocketing through the void at speeds greater than any ISD could produce, had made it near enough to the edge of the interdiction circle that hopefully the Sith wouldn't notice exactly what happened next was still within their supposed realm of FTL exclusion. A dozen ships would be seen to exist, and a moment later, disappear. Just a few kilometers inside the circle they had hopefully kept the Sith unaware that neither gravitic nor dimensionally based FTL systems affected their transitions to superluminal velocities...

34 Light-Years away from Jurai, neighboring Loki System, Thrashian Fleet Rally Point

The Thrashian Imperial Task Force worked around the clock in cooperation with the 8th Transport Fleet, a large group of omega-class hulk cruisers, to of-board the clone trooper legions from the Olympus and other Star Destroyers of the task force. Admiral Daala orchestrated it with clarity and cold efficiency. The great Torpedo Sphere sat motionless to one side of the fleet like an observer.

Admiral Daala was just finished speaking with Commandant Spears when Captain Derek arrived at her shoulder. He saluted smartly.

"Admiral Daala, comm-scan reports that a fleet of ships is coming out of hyperspace at sector 46. We're not yet sure as to its origin, however it is most likely our support," Captain Derek said. The bridge was a buzz of activity as several of the comms operators sat at their consols and worked out directions for the still operating hulk cruisers. If it was enemies then they would find the Olympus ill prepared.

"Order the Kraken and the Dauntless to form a picket along with five of the Dreadnoughts. If they're enemies then we'll have to fight them as we can," said Daala. She didn't think it was enemies, but then it was better safe than sorry.


Out of hyperspace shot more than fifty Katana-class Dreadnoughts and 30 Lancer-class Frigates, followed by a group of twelve Victory-class Star Destroyers, and then twenty Venator-class Mk II Star Destroyers, and six Imperial-class Mk III Star Destroyers. They were all displaying out markings of the Thrashian Imperial Fleet.


A comm ensign looked up from his consol at Captain Derek. "Sir, we're recieving a transmission from the Star Destroyer Wain Right. Grand Admiral Thrawn wishes to speak with Admiral Daala." Captain Derek nodded and walked up to Daala. She seemed ill at ease with speaking with Thrawn even before the support fleet would arrive, and now came the time.

"Patch him through," said Daala, before Derek could report. Daala sometimes ignored the regular channel that most orders and responses went in the Imperial Navy.

"Yes ma'am," said the ensign. Within moments Daala's private hologram line was operating and a 1/6th sized image of Grand Admiral Thrawn appeared in front of her. He was just as she remembered from her briefing several months before: tall, imperious, and cool.


"Admiral Daala, it is good to see that you've returned from your expidition relatively unscathed" said Thrawn. He of course had recieved Daala's first initial report on the task force's progress and final operations in the Jurai system. Daala thanked her stars that they hadn't really entered into ship combat.

"Yes Grand Admiral, though the clone legions need to be resupplied and more replacements made."

"Indeed...anyway it is irrelevent at the moment. I will be transfering over to the Olympus momentarily. Prepare for my arrival," ordered Thrawn. He smiled slightly as Admiral Daala nodded and saluted. Thrawn broke the connection.

"Something wrong Admiral?" asked Captain Derek. He stood nearby over her shoulder.

"No Captain, there is nothing wrong. Merely that I am slightly tired," said Daala she rose from her command chair and looked at Captain Derek in the face.

"Prepare for the Grand Admiral's arrival."

"Yes Admiral," said Captain Derek. He saluted her and walked off the bridge, headed for the main hanger. Admiral Daala left it up to the deck officer on duty to prepare further things and went to her private chamber to collect her neccesisties.


Main Hanger, Olympus

Sqauadrons of Tie Fighters flew past the Olympus is tight formations, showing off their piloting skills in grand style for the approaching Lamba-class shuttle that held the Grand Admiral Thrawn. Within the hanger itself, waited a grand reception, Captain Derek having outdone himself.

The Olympus had a corp of its garrison stormtroopers waiting at attention in neat rows and companies. Naval officers in their field grey and stormtrooper corp officer in their night-black stoord at attention. Admiral Daala and Captain Derek stood at the center of a wide lane that went through the center of the welcoming formation of troops. Grand Master Helios, his arm in a red silk sling stood at one side as well.

The shuttle glided gracefully through the 'doorframe' of the hanger and set down before them. Daala had to hand it to the pilot for being good. It's exhaust poured out and obscured their vision of the ramp that came down. Several black armored troopers, the famed Blackhole Storm Commandos, marched off and took up position on either side.

First Daala saw the knee-high black boots, they smacked the metal surface of the shuttle with a ringing authority. Then came the stark white uniform of an imperial grand admiral, not a crease upon it. Then came the man's head, blue skin shining slightly as he stepped from the shadow of the craft. His red eyes like dark coals in the dark.

The entire hanger came to attention, all in a single neat note of snapping heels. Admiral Daala and Captain Derek came to stiff attention. Grand Master Helios merely bowed. He was outside the normal chain of command and was in theory equal to any fleet officer.

Grand Admiral Thrawn walked down the lane and strait to Admiral Daala. He ignored their salutes.

"Admiral Daala, you are to transfer to the Star Destroyer Hydra at once and take command there" said Grand Admiral Thrawn without precednce. "We're in a hurry as it is right now. I have recieved urgent messages from our allies in the Kohona System. I will breif you in-transit via astro-message."

Grand Admiral Thrawn turned to an officer standing nearby. "Dismiss these soldiers and prepare my flagship." The officer scrambled like mad to follow the order. The stormtroopers began breaking up into orderly companies and leaving the hanger.

Daala still stood where she was. Thrawn turned to her and looked into her eyes. "My shuttle will take you to your ship Admiral," he said quietly. Daala nodded, saluted, and walked past the Chiss admiral without a second glance back. Thrawn turned to Helios.

"You, Knight, are free to do as you will. The Emperor Treize has not given any instructions as to what you are to do, only that you may do as you please so long as you do not interfere with my plans." Thrawn looked at the Imperial Knight with slight disdain. Helios nodded and left the hanger. Thrawn without further ado went out and headed to the bridge.




It took seven standard hours to order the fleet in readiness. The 8th Transport Fleet had left long before, heading back to the Thrashian Fleet Command in the Julian System. Grand Admiral Thrawn gathered together his armada and made ready to depart for a rally point outside the Kohona system.

In all he had at his command some 65 Lancer-class Frigates, 70 Katana-class Dreadnoughts, 30 Victory-class Star Destroyers, 38 Venator-class Mk II Star Destroyers, 12 Imperial-class Mk II & III Star Destroyers, and lastly his flagship the Olympus Arch Angel-class Super Star Destroyer. They shot into hyperspace and left all thoughts of Jurai behind.

Systems readiness?/query

Unit designation WRATHCHILD operational. All WRATHCHILD units operational./response

Activate all units primary designation WRATHCHILD./directive

All units, primary designation WRATHCHILD activating. Time to activation and deployment projected 4 hours./compliance Primary unit WRATHCHILD in contact, unable to deploy, require secondary command unit./statementrequest

Activate secondary command unit WICKERMAN./directive

Command transferred to secondary command unit WICKERMAN./compliance All units activating, revised estimate 5 hours./modification

Acceptable./statement. End query./close channel

The 10 battlecruisers and 24 destroyers of project WRATHCHILD began to come online. Laid down in response to shortages, and the war with the ESUS, they would be run off the command AI personality long designated WRATHCHILD. It had been WRATHCHILD that was originally tasked with system defense of Solarin Prime, before the navy became a respectable force. Now it remained, growing and learning. From being able to control the defenses of a single system it had been upgraded to control entire fleets. WRATHCHILD dreadnoughts, battleships and superdreadnoughts were all under construction, and all the light and heavy cruisers were nearing completion, but the destroyers and rushed battlecruisers were the only operational WRATHCHILD fleet elements. With 10 more of the battlecruisers slated to be built, and scores of destroyers, this was a paltry offering to the Coredian war effort. On the other hand, when backed by the might of the Solari navy's manned units, it would be enough to shatter the siege on Jurai.

Nearly 300 vessels, the majority of the Solari System Navy, rallied in the black void above their homeworld, awaiting the addition of new units to their structure. The Battlecruiser WICKERMAN had been designated as overall fleet command, and he was one of the first WRATHCHILD units, built almost immediately after the destroyer that bore the name of the entire program, he could command an entire fleet with ease. Nothing could stop them. Not anymore. Everything waited to depart for Konoha, waited for the apperance of WRATHCHILD...

"Priority message from Coruscant Excellency."

"Oh?" Malorum raised an eyebrow as he picked up a data pad. "Commence transfer." Commscan dutifully responded allowing the transmission to download. In it was a list of directives from the new instated warmaster. "Hmmmm." His voice demonstrated considerable concern. But orders were orders. "Commscan. Order all organics to begin leaving Jurai as soon as possible. And order our droid forces to forgo the surrounding of the cities. Advance and kill everything."

"Everything?"

"Yes." Malorum said with regret. "The new Warmaster is insistant." Turning towards the storm incrusted planet of Jurai Malorum followed his second orders. "Charge the satellites particle cannons. Fire on civilian targets at will.... And alert the Boozians, they may commence their slaughter."

"Yes Excellency, will there be anything else?"

"Jump the fleet into Hyperspace as soon as possible. We have a rebellion to end."
The cities that lost their shields were obliterated, giving Master Tilton a migrane as millions died under the satellite particle cannons. But the Temple shields held, yet they rumbled. Using the particle cannons' trajectories, the Temples' few planetary cannons opened fire up at the satellites, hoping to bring them down.

Meanwhile, the droid armies advanced. By the millions. Unstoppable, invincible, unkillable. Or so the Empire believes. Defenders retreated into still-living cities, into strongholds, into mountains and caves. From there, fire rained down upon the droids in sheets. Nukes and antimatter bombs were flung at the armies like candy. Piercing SPHA-Ts sweeped across the horizons, turning the field into streams of molten slag. Infantry blasters took apart the enemy piece by piece, and there were still a lot of blasters. For sooth, the Temple would stand as long as Coreworlds' soldiers fought the enemy for every inch of land...

"All units, re-comence conventional operations. I repeat, re-commence conventional operations.

As the last of Boozia's armies, CAG, warped in, US having ordered a total commitment, those boots already on the ground began to re-organise while third and fifth armies continued to squeeze the remaining Solarian forces. When this operation was complete, fifth would head back to Kanta, to add its assets to the humongous artillery and air preperation that was preceding a general ground offensive.

And as CAGs point elements began to land, positions and routes were plotted, taken ninth army to re-enforce troops attacking Kanta and seventh and eight to consolidate the battered forces preparing to return to go once more unto the breach at Haduko. The fresh troops would attack one breakthrough, with third pinning enemy reserves by lurking at the other, threatening another envelopment. First and second, meanwhile, were consolidated into and over-strength unit and ordered to link up with other Imperial forces attacking the temple. Merchantmen and cargo shuttles were being warped in to replace lost Smaugs in the evacuation that was soon to occur.

The guns were roaring once again. Now a true war was being fought.

Arcturus...

Yes, Baron?

We have detected seismic disruption from our outlying networks, different than simple bombardments and troop movements. Constant, moving, went to the mantle. I suspect you understand what that means.

A world killer bomb. They had the GALL?!

Indeed. We shall take care of the worldkiller. You, however, have a new mission: Purge this planet of all hostile forces.

I thought you would never ask. I am assuming extreme prejudice?

Indeed. Try to avoid civilian casualties. Despite our differences in outlook we are still allies with the Coredians and we must preserve their civilian populace as much as possible.

Right-o.

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

It still annoyed the Godulans somewhat, being asked to sit back and watch as the world of Jurai fell under increasing levels of assault. That the planet was placed under siege by itself was sufficient to make them simmer with liberal amounts of malice and hatred directed at the invaders. The imperial dogs. The self-righteous, self-deluding, lying imperial lapdogs. Sheep of the emperor.

No more.

Still, the nature of the attacks left them in prime position to counter-strike. Despite the fact that many Coredian civilians had moved towards the Godulan held territories for the warmth and safety of the massive crystalline spires, none of the invading forces had seen fit to target the massive installations. Now, they shimmered into renewed activity, energy crackling across the surface of each spire, providing the refugees with a dazzling display of light and color, along with bathing the entire world in brilliant green light that almost seemed amplified by the shroud of darkness blanketing the world. With a deafening low warble, a great shield flickered into existence over each Godulan Spire across the globe.

Planetary strength in each case, but now optimized towards covering only each spire and the surrounding area, each spire would be able to withstand enemy orbital fire for a very long period of time even in the absence of secondary charging.

After this, multitudes of secondary spires began to burst from the ground with a great rumble and spray of diplaced dirt and rock and clay. Staring into the sky like great sentinels of crystal, they stood beyond the limits of the Spire shielding, despite having shields of their own to compensate for the lower level of protection. Being defended was not their purpose. Being a target was not their purpose. Causing pain was most DEFINITELY their purpose.

Planetary data funneled through the Spires and the subterranean networks that allowed them their seeming mobility. While battles raged above ground, Arcturus had whiled away the days by preparing for the ultimate eventuality of entering combat by extending each spire beyond their recognized above-ground limits through massive networks of channels and filaments and coils through which power and drones could be directed and enabling an amusing level of mobility despite the lack of Kython battleships in the area. For much of their work, the Slaughterstars would not be necessary.

In any case, the spires swiftly became aware of the location and strength of each enemy ground force and began 'shifting' network assets towards each concentration. Kython drones chittered and hissed as they burrowed their way with phenomenal speed towards the enemy forces. Thousands of drones. Millions. Many millions of the vicious little demons ground their way through the firmament with unmatched dedication and focus, making more of themselves from the excavated earth and bolstering further the forces that would rise to challenge the imperial forces.

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

We need targets. These emplacements are useless if we have nothing to shoot at.

This strange shroud of darkness prevents many of our sensors from operating properly, but it would appear that clairsentience penetrates without difficulty, we will only recognize location and disposition, however.

That is all we need. Shunt power from the other sensors, see if we can expand the radius of our psionic detection capabilities to the required scales.

Executing order... sensors are up, General.

To Achaedus, individual ships did not register on the low-focus clairsentience common to Gendarmes and Kythons. All that they could read with such a means was the locations of the minds trundling about the system beyond the planet, and their general disposition to the Godulans and Coredians. Friendly vessels showed up as concentrations of pleasantly glowing sparkles of light, while enemy ships showed up as groupings of violently shuddering and pulsing points in the sky. The size of the ship could be gleaned from the number and distribution of each point for a rought guestimate of the vessel. The various Super Star Destroyers showed up nice and clear, and the Death Star showed up abundantly clear, being selected for a most auspicious of purposes.

Excellent. That should do nicely. Be sure to keep standard sensor distributions for the secondary spires. If they drop the Nightcloak to shoot back at us I wish to ensure that it is brought down permanently.

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

As the initial preparations and movements began, another section of the network set itself in motion.

Despite the consistency and direction of the seismic readings brought forth by the Hypermatter bomb, the only reason they had managed to detect it over the nigh constant thrum of things blowing up across the planet was because the drill itself passed within relatively close proximity of several Kython tendrils expanding through the area. As soon as they detected the curious incursion they followed it downwards for a while, working to discern its nature and whether it was a friendly or hostile maneuver.

The Godulans knew of this practice. It dangled as a threat over what once were many allies who had once been subverted by the Imperials. They had to admit it was quite effective at keeping the populace quelled, but no sign had been given to the Coredians that such a mechanism was being put in place. It also struck as the ultimate sign of insecurity. Instead of attempting to bring the populace to their side through good works and charity, they simply cowed them with the imminent threat of death.

The Godulans would not allow such. Even with their current outlook they saw such moves as wasteful and cowardly.

And so the tendrils continued on, following the Drill down, through the Asthenosphere and into the semisolid rock of the planet's upper mantle itself, initiating their own shielding as the need arose. It was, after all, quite hot down there.

The tendrils, freed of the somewhat limiting solid structure of the planet's crust, burst into action. Keeping a significant radius from the drill itself, they began to wrap the bomb in a lattice of crystalline matter, surrounding it in a very specific manner. Blowing it up would not work. Singularity bombing it would not work. A secondary means would be required, and they had the perfect means in mind.

Initiating calculations...

Belay that. FTLi fields exist. We require the other means.

Recognized. Initiating Psychoportive. Target remains the same?

Indeed.

This is gonna hurt.

Them, more than us. But yes, prepare for ouchies. This is an even more difficult move than doing it in a vacuum at both points.

Intended only for emergencies, the strange mechanism known as the Psychoportive drive could only be used once every few days in typical combat circumstances. Its adaptability was unsurpassed, and it could not be stopped by any known means of interdiction, but it could only move a short distance and the act of initiating transit was sufficient to disable the psions on the transiting vessel for several days.

This, however, constituted an emergency. Barring the ability to probability jump the damn thing out, the Godulans would have to 'take one for the team' in order to ensure that the battle was still worth winning.

*Pop*

Such a simple sound to create, as the Mantle instantly refilled the small vacuum left by the now-vanished Kython cell. The silent screams of the Kythons and the Godulans throughout the Legion made up for it in THEIR mind, though. It was a tremendous strain on them, and for but a moment activity faltered before picking back up with renewed intensity.

That hurt. That made them mad. Mad at the fools that made them conduct such a painful action.

Of course, as the cell rematerialized only a short distance from the enormous bulk of the immense battlestation and on a vector taking it on a collision course, such was made plain as a peremptory message of:

HEY, ASSHOLES! YOU DROPPED THIS! LOSE IT AGAIN AND WE'LL HAVE TO CHARGE YOU!

surged forth from the 'cell', along with gouts of cackling and laughter the entirety of the time the Kython cell hurtled towards the massive battle station.

OOC: Edited back when I realized that Sithy... you never DID post the Death Star leaving the system. You posted giving the order for the fleet to get ready to go kerpoof, but never actually DOING it. So I'm putting back the reference to flinging the Bomb towards the Death Star. Again, I don't expect it to wipe it out, but... well... you know. Its like the Death Star is getting Galaxy Gunned. That's gotta be an ouchie, yaknowz.

A message lanced out across the void, tightbeamed at the nation of Whyatica. It began:

"Dearest comrades, we have a proposal you might be interested in. Would you like 10% of the profits from a small little business venture? If so, load up the lads, cause we've found a nice scrap to partake in..."

========================

"Alright boys!" A uniformed officer began passing out packets of paper and gesturing at a holographic screen behind him. Before him stood some of the proud officers of the Flankguard Militia. "Here's what we've got! The Nightcloak is in position at full strength, or so we believe. The surface is going to be very violent, probably electrical storms and some icy patches. Gold group will enter the atmosphere and take it to them in the gas. They will warm the place up a lot, but the conflicting temperature zones is gonna make this a trip through hell."

"We have no idea what's down there, Kython, Coredian, or Imperial. Stay cool and make sure you're ready for anything. First and Second Battalions will deploy in standard-vee at this location." A small area was highlighted on a rudimentary planetary map. "Point-Two radials from their location, Third heavy will be touching down. Watch their arcs boys; they're going to establish a drop point for Fighting Fourth any way necessary. Four divisions of Cheyenne Minutemen are touching down here." Another highlighted area. "And finally, we have four divisions from Haven Self Defense five radials away, heading ten point six radials from planetary geographic north. Those are our only neighbors; the other division of Flankguard Militia will be landing when we clear a beach-head. Any questions?" Dozens of heads shook. "Good. Get to your ships, and I'll see you in the dust!"

========================

-Scan-Comm NES Durendal to Fleet-Comm, I'm picking up an odd sort of inhibitor field up ahead. Some sort of gravity-based. Atypical pattern, suggest exit beyond its range.

-Aye Scan-Comm, reverting outside of effective range. Why are we doing this? We're completely immune to gravitational effects in jump, unless we try to run into a star.

-Meh, you know Sanct-Comm would go crazy if we leapt in without knowing exactly what it was.

-True. Exiting jump in five, strap in nice and tight ladies!

-Sir! Detecting Death Star class battle station, recommend mission abort!

-"And the Forgemaster spoke unto Vercin, saying that 'though you march with your men unto your apparent doom, I shall see that what you do is right, and in the end times, when all shall be laid bare, you shall partake in your reward.' Vercin asked, 'But Master, cannot you sheath us in impenetrable metals, like the ancient ones?' The Forgemaster replied, saying 'Know that thy spirit has been sheathed in armor far more impenetrable than the mere metal of your ancestors. The body is but temporary while your soul eternal. Therefore go forth, do not fear for the frail vessel, and thy enemies shall wilt before your blades.'"

========================

The enormous No Endorse fleet tore out of jumpspace just outside the inhibitor field, their main drives releasing waves of energy. A voice rang out over the command channel, cutting off many side-conversations in the fleet.

"Alright boys, judging from the size of the inhibitor, we have about an hour until they notice we're here, and another hour and a half until we're in sane engagement rangee. Begin bombarding the Death Star for the next two minutes with the biggest stuff we have, and accelerate at full power. It’ll hit them as they realize that we’re here.”

The numerous vessels unloaded a torrential volley of energy weapons at the Death Star, disregarding shields and engines for the moment as they slowly accelerated under the cover of the FTLi. The modified Eclipse class Super Star Destroyer NES Midnight fired its superlaser, a massive blast that was sufficient to rend a planet uninhabitable. The ships then took up a loose formation, diverting power to their engines to quickly cross the distance, the Midnight recharging quickly. It would not be long; soon there would be a reckoning.


Hail Palpatine, Lord of the Empire. We served beneath you for many a year, in many a battle. However, there have been many changes in the intervening timeframe. The martyrs of Avalon, the damnable actions over Thrashia Prime, the joint Eshirian and Inferno actions over Aurora, and the destruction of the Cruise liner CCS Syren have given us a different opinion of the sanctity planets and innocents. As such, we cannot allow you to perpetrate such actions as the use of a Nightcloak.

The shots we have fired at your battle station are to assure you that we mean business. You are given one hour to disengage the Nightcloak currently defiling this gem of the Forgemaster. If you do not comply, we will be forced to disengage it by force.

We do not care if you take this fight to the Coredians through other means. However, there is no evil that can top the mechanical rape of a world.

May the Forgemaster smile upon you in your time of dying, noble Imperial troops. He may yet forgive your misguided actions.

The Minbari, in these recent years, had become prosperous businessmen. Massive forge worlds sprung up from empty worlds along the core of the Federation, and the alliance with the Galactic Inferno brought more industry and corporations to the front of Minbari society. The old ways were becoming more distant - the Worker caste, defined so broadly, was now the majority of the civilisation. Warriors dwindled in number, as well as the Religious. The Grey Council remained unchanged, the sole bastion of the old Minbari order.

Raia'ta System, some hours before the No Endorse fleet arrived in Jurai
Raia'ta contained one of the largest fleet bases in the Federation, for good reason; It sat on the 'border' and was subjected to occasional pirate raids and other lawless rabble. Raia'ta's forge world, the ninth planet from the sun, also had in it's orbit one of two drive yards in the Federation capable of docking the massive sixteen kilometre dreadnought, the Adronado. Naturally, seeing as this vessel in it's own right would serve as a massive target, it had three hundred ninety-nine ships defending it. Minbari like rounded fleet numbers. Cargo vessels, civilian liners, little tiny shuttles, and other such stuff that has nothing to do with the story flitted around the system, adding a cool backdrop to the system.

Victorious, orbit of Raia'ta IX
"Shai Alyt, we are recieving a tightbeam message from the Galactic Inferno." the comm officer said, as his console buzzed madly with the new message indicator.

"Play it over the speakers."

As the message from No Endorse played over the speakers, Shai Alyt Rabban ra-Shaibar'nik pondered. He had absolute command over his massive fleet, and he himself belonged to one of the massive corporations now, and bringing a Jurai contract to them would surely raise his own glory. He had a huge amount of personal responsibility and glory already, seeing as he commanded the entire 4th Fleet, but hey, you know, more is always better. All it would take is, you know, destroying countless superweapons, an ungodly horde of ships, and securing a planet with subpar Minbari ground troops. Piece of cake, no?

The Federation would support it's allies. Rabban stood up, and said in nobody's general direction, "Activate Command Bridge." The bridge went really shimmer-y for a second, the walls seemingly disappearing. The void of space appeared, and one-by-one, ships appeared in mini-sized forms, the 4th Fleet along with the civilian traffic. He said to the computer once more, "Focus on the 4th Fleet."

Amazingly enough, the civilian traffic was deleted from the viewer, just showing the military fleet. He said, "Comm, send a broadcast to the fleet."

The communications officer said, "Channel open, sir."

"This is the Victorious to the fourth fleet. We will be deploying in support of the Galactic Inferno in a system known as Jurai, at the coordinates we will be broadcasting. Jurai has been a battleground for ages, the Sith Empire and the Coredian Republic fighting it out for control. The Galactic Inferno has been promised lucrative contracts, and we will be given a cut upon our support. For glory, Minbari, we ride once more!" He finished his little monologue, cut off the transmission, and punched in the coordinates for Jurai, where the Minbari-No Endorse linkup would occur.

The fleet, as one, powered up it's jump engines, and seemed to disappear totally from space, as if it had never existed. See, that was because where it used to use bulky, inefficient jump-point generators, now most Minbari ships used Phase Jump generators, where it just phased smoothly into jumpspace instead of creating it's own jump point. It looked cooler, plus it was stealthier, so the Minbari were happy. It wasn't an especially long trip to Jurai, as improvements in the way vessels traveled in jumpspace made trips much faster than they used to be.

Some hours later
Shai Alyt Rabban hoped the No Endorsians did not mind surprises, because he planned on bringing his fleet out of jumpspace right on top of them. The fleet hung in the void, waiting for orders as the Galactic Inferno fleet slowly advanced onto the Imperial forces.

With one quick estimation of his forces, he yelled into the communications, "All ships, dephase!"

As one, the 400-odd ships of the fourth fleet dephased right over the Galactic Inferno fleet, quickly broadcasting the fact that they were from the Federation and there to help them. The command bridge on the Victorious quickly updated it's holograms, showing the many hundreds of No Endorse ships, Imperial, Thrashian, and god only knows how many other fleets were in this area. It also updated showing the rather large spherical looking thing, the Death Star.

"Hm. See that giant ball, tactical? Blow it up." Rabban said, motioning towards the Death Star. "Fire the superlaser."

"Aye, sir. Target locked, safeties disengaging. Firing in five...four...three...two....one.." the tactical officer said, smirking as he pressed the figurative little red 'fire' button.

Outside the ship, a large gun-port opened up, displaying the phallus of the Minbari military. Glowy exhaust ports fired ejecta as the gun powered up, the construct giving off heat and radiation. Suddenly the gun recoiled back, it's energy being expended in a single, massive blast, capable of cracking planets in a single burst, fired off at the Imperial Death Star. The crew on the bridge cheered, as it would hopefully blow up when it hit, and explosions were good. The crew calmed down quickly, their concentration going back to their consoles.

Rabban said, "Let's get the fleet moving. Align ourselves with the Inferno fleet, and we'll cruise up to them. The damned FTLi is up, and I don't want to try breaking it quite yet. It'll take us some time to get there, and the Imperials probably won't pay attention to us til' their ships start exploding."

"Aye, sir. Fleet is dressing ranks, accelerating at same speed as Endorse fleet. We will be in range in approximately..150 minutes."

"Good, good. Send a communication to the Endorse flagship, get their commander on so we can have a little chat. I'm going to my private room."

"Hailing Endorse flagship now, sir." the comm officer said as Rabban got up and headed into his private office..

Unknown system, Outside of Core Worlds Space

"Sir, we've arrived outside of Core Worlds space," said the tac officer. "Orders?"

"Tell the fleet to remain on standby," replied the Admiral. "We're waiting."

"Aye, sir," returned the tac officer, relaying orders to the rest of the fleet.

"Comms, tell the flight deck to have my Elmeth ready," he ordered.

"Aye, sir!"

Fluid time later

The Elmeth, piloted by Feronen, was deployed, and it soon jumped to the Jurai system.

Copen Armed Forces

Battlegroup Nosferatu

Macross-class x50 (lead by Flagship Perseus)
-400 Excalibur II Heavy Fighters each (20,000 total)
-150 Longbow II Bombers each (7500 total)
-Elmeth (on Perseus)

Musai-class x500 (ten per Macross)
-Den'an Gei x5 each (2500 total)

Chivvay-class x250 (five per Macross)
-Den'an Gei x6 each (1500 total)
-Berga Dalas x2 each (500 total)

Nahel Argama-class x100 (two per Macross)
-Berga Giros x4 each (400 total)
-Berga Dalas x4 each (400 total)
-Vigna Ghina x4 each (400 total)

Battle Group Nova

Macross-class x50 (lead by Flagship Ananke)
-400 Excalibur II Heavy Fighters each (20,000 total)
-150 Longbow II Bombers each (7500 total)
-Dendrobium Orchis (on Ananke)

Musai-class x500 (ten per Macross)
-Den'an Gei x5 each (2500 total)

Chivvay-class x250 (five per Macross)
-Den'an Gei x6 each (1500 total)
-Berga Dalas x2 each (500 total)

Nahel Argama-class x100 (two per Macross)
-Berga Giros x4 each (400 total)
-Berga Dalas x4 each (400 total)
-Vigna Ghina x4 each (400 total)

Battlegroup Apollo

Macross-class x50 (lead by Flagship White Devil)
-400 Excalibur II Heavy Fighters each (20,000 total)
-150 Longbow II Bombers each (7500 total)
-Neue Ziel (on White Devil)

Musai-class x500 (ten per Macross)
-Den'an Gei x5 each (2500 total)

Chivvay-class x250 (five per Macross)
-Den'an Gei x6 each (1500 total)
-Berga Dalas x2 each (500 total)

Nahel Argama-class x100 (two per Macross)
-Berga Giros x4 each (400 total)
-Berga Dalas x4 each (400 total)
-Vigna Ghina x4 each (400 total)

Battlegroup Kaempher

Macross-class x50 (lead by Flagship Jaeger)
-400 Excalibur II Heavy Fighters each (20,000 total)
-150 Longbow II Bombers each (7500 total)
-Rafflessia (on Jaeger)

Musai-class x500 (ten per Macross)
-Den'an Gei x5 each (2500 total)

Chivvay-class x250 (five per Macross)
-Den'an Gei x6 each (1500 total)
-Berga Dalas x2 each (500 total)

Nahel Argama-class x100 (two per Macross)
-Berga Giros x4 each (400 total)
-Berga Dalas x4 each (400 total)
-Vigna Ghina x4 each (400 total)

Planetary Invasion Forces

Ten Divisions
5000 troops each
500 Type 61 MBTs each
250 Destroid Tomahawks each
250 Destroid Spartans each
250 Destroid Defenders each
100 Destroid Monsters each

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