The Xen Chi Invasion: Mechis III - Counterstrike

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Mand'alor
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The Xen Chi Invasion: Mechis III - Counterstrike

Post by Cadden »

OOC: Sorry, Xen'Chi guys, but it was bound to happen sooner or later, and I can't just sit around waiting for things to fall into place. The way everything else is going, this'll probably be done as originally anticipated, anyway. ;)

In case no one has realized this, yet, I do not intend for this to be a victory for the Mandalorians. Kudos if it is, don't get me wrong. But, even 1,000 Mandalorian shock troopers (think Clone Troopers with advanced training, basically) won't stand much against a full Xen'Chi presence, I would think. But, then again, I could be wrong. :)

IC:

Mechis III. Not too long ago, it was the site of one of the many massacres of the Xen'Chi invasion. Now all that remained was the onslaught that the Xen'Chi wrought upon this place, their unstoppable war machine advancing forward as such a destructive pace that those that had dared to stand in its way, were wiped from the face of this galaxy.

The rocky, volcanic planet was covered with automated manufacturing facilities, no doubt converted to fuel the Xen'Chi war effort. It used to be under the control of the Empire, now nothing more than a graveyard of Imperial ships and bodies alike.

And the first strike point of the New Mandalorian Crusade.

One thousand Mandalorian shock troopers hardly would have posed a threat to the Xen'Chi, had they known what they were up against. The Ge'verd - "almost warriors" - knew that many of them, maybe even all of them, would fight their last battle here, and fight it to the bloody end. But, these one thousand were sent here to prove their worth, to take on the Xen'Chi full-force, while the other eight thousand were called to board up and await the coordinates of a place called the City of the Jedi, where they would prove themselves in battle there.

These one thousand got the shorter end of the stick.

The waypoint was reached, and each ship dropped out of lightspeed at their destination, several thousand clicks away from the planet that loomed before them. One dozen Meteor-class Q-Carriers, two Mandalorian Dungeon Ships, three Stathas-class Freighters, four Pursuer-class Enforcement Ships, and three Constable-class Enforcement Cruisers total.

The attack force was nothing to flinch at, to be certain, but the Mandalorians' primary strength was in ground battle. While the Protectors held their Mandalore Defense Force back in the Mandalore System, they had created a smaller fleet to carry out such attacks and exercises as this.

As soon as the situation was assessed, the fleet progressed at full speed, an unorthodox move for a traditional fleet pattern. However, this was not a traditional fleet.

OOC:

Hopefully, the Xen'Chi are still here, and I'm not making an ass out of myself by attacking an empty planet. :P And if there is no fleet present and just ground forces (unlikely, but how would I know?), that's fine, 'cause every ship has that double feature that it serves a use both in space and atmosphere/land conditions. :) Kinda hoping for a ground battle, anyway.
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Post by Halomek »

OOC: I suppose I’ll lightly take control of the Xen’Chi side of things, but bear with me as I’m still a little fuzzy on them. Someone else is more than welcome to take control of them.

IC: Precept Zanri could hardly believe her eyes as she watched the intruders exit hyperspace. “Are they actually trying to attack us with such a pathetic force? I will not suffer such an insult! Xen’Chi guns will not be used for such menial work.” She smiled. “That is why we have thralls.”

The Xen’Chi ships guarding Mechis III consisted of three Hetch'hek cruisers, which were roughly equivalent to a slightly lesser version of an Imperial Star Destroyer. In addition, five Vis'kral frigates and two Ruh'kmar fighter carriers helped to support the Xen’Chi forces. The thrall fleet that surrounded the Xen’Chi vessels was far more numerous, consisting of several corvette and gunship analogs as well as a number of medium cruisers.

At Zanri’s order, the thrall forces launched their fighters as the gunships and the corvettes moved in to destroy the new arrivals…

OOC: You’re up, Cadden. I’ll wait a bit before I bring in my own surprise. ;)
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Post by Cadden »

OOC: Ha! My Mandos are sooooo gonna die here. :P

IC:

The move was not unusual, perhaps even somewhat expected. But the Mandalorians were not one to flee from battle, no matter the strength of the enemy. They respected strength of their enemies, and the way they respected it was by challenging it.

While Mandalorians held no formal ranks, in battle it was often essential to assign such atrocities in order to maintain a stable function on the field. The leader of this task force, a Zabrak named Nedth Dinsan, had been able to craft for himself an almost-full set of Mandalorian armor, prior to this counterstrike. Sporting a black base with yellow trims except for the torso which had red trims, his armor was unique amongst the rest. This was primarily due to the fact that he was one of five amongst the others whom had finished his armor, and one amongst the four dozen who even had any Mandalorian armor. The pieces of his particular set included a helmet with a sensor, his torso armor, and his leggings and boots. His arms completely exposed to potential damage, were the only pieces of skin exposed.

His primary weapon was a SR Combat Pistol, and his secondary weapon a longsword, suggesting that he preferred close combat. The Zabrak observed the advance by the Xen'Chi. True, they were not expecting such a large fleet to guard this world, but they were expecting resistance, and lots of it. Well, they had their chance as the fighters from the Xen'Chi forces were launched.

"Akaanir'ti eejaht," he spoke over the comm. frequency. Those words, translated to mean "Fight with honor", was the signal to begin the attack. The smaller craft - the Pursuers, Stathases, and Constables - were already ahead of the larger landing craft, but the test would not end in space. Well, at least, not in triumph. The true test of their worth would be proven on ground. They had to breach the blockade, and reach the surface. Even if they were to all die there, they would die as warriors. Warriors with honor.

The only thing they needed to concern themselves with, now, is getting by the gunships and corvettes, which would provide a sizable nuicance to their advancement planetside. Though Nedth did not believe in luck, he knew that they would be hard-pressed to get to the surface. This brought about an awkward grin for the Zabrak Ge'verd. Getting there was half the fun.

OOC: Your turn. Thanks for taking on the Xen'Chi, even if you know little... you still know more than I do. ;)
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Post by Halomek »

OOC: Barely. :P

IC: The attack of the thrall fleet was almost reckless in its zeal to destroy the intruders. Failure to fulfill the orders of their Xen’Chi masters would result in strict punishment or an even worse fate. The corvettes and gunships opened fire as soon as they were in range, attempting to scatter the enemy formation in the ages old tactic of divide and conquer.

Precept Zanri watched the small scuffle unfold before her as she tried to fathom what the enemy commander could possibly be thinking. Such a small force had no hope of defeating her forces, let alone taking the planet. A single Hetch'hek cruiser would have had no problem in mopping up the pitiful strike force arrayed against her, let alone the forces she actually did command. Even if the enemy recon had been flawed, they showed no sign of retreat despite the superior forces arrayed against them.

A suicide mission then? For what purpose?

These ship designs were unfamiliar to her. They matched nothing in the admittedly limited information the Xen’Chi had on ships of this galaxy. As she watched them fearlessly attack the thralls, it quickly became clear what their strategy was although their objective was still a mystery. As their box-like and saucer-shaped ships moved forward to engage the thralls, the two largest ships, flanked by others that reminded her of the armored kra’l bug of her homeworld seemed to be making directly towards the planet.

Zanri barely paid attention to the explosions on both sides of the battle; thralls were there to die after all; as she puzzled over the motives of her enemy. Whoever these newcomers were, they were fierce warriors and it was apparent that there was something on the planet that interested them. Zanri was almost tempted to give into her curiosity and allow them to land just to find out what they thought was so important… but then she would have to explain her actions to the Overseer and that was not an idea she relished.

No, better to annihilate them all now rather than suffer the wrath of the Overseer for some perceived inaction on her part.

“Tell our forces on the surface to expect to repel ground troops,” Zanri decided. “Inform the thrall fleet to go after the largest ships and their kra’l bug escorts first. They are to be given top priority. Ruh'kmars will release their fighters to mop up whatever is left over.”

Zanri crossed her arms in satisfaction. This fight would be over in minutes and would require only minimal effort on the part of the Xen’Chi ships to do it. The Overseer would be pleased.

“Precept, we’re reading new hyperspace contacts inbound.”

Zanri scowled as she looked at the warrior who had delivered the news. “How many more ships have these pests sent?”

The disbelief in the warrior’s eyes said it all for Zanri. “We’re getting thousands of contacts.”

“Impossible!” Zanri hissed as she violently moved the warrior aside to look at the numbers for herself. “We would have known about a fleet of that size before it reached us! It must be a trick!”

Even as Zanri finished her sentence, the identity of the mysterious contacts revealed themselves. An untold number of pods, each large enough to hold a single humanoid figure, slid out of hyperspace and streaked towards the planet. A few burst open upon reverting to realspace, disgorging a figure that looked startling like a bulked up stormtrooper. Rather than attack, these troopers remained where they were as the pods of their brethren shot past them.

“Missiles?!” Zanri mused out loud, trying to understand what this new wrinkle in the battle was before her scanners revealed the few that had exited their pods. “No… it’s an invasion!”

What was going on here? Was the first attack just a diversion? If so, the strategy was doomed to failure. She still had more than enough firepower to deal with these mysterious shocktroopers. “The thrall fleet is to continue to attack the first group! Recall our fighters and have them destroy the pods before they reach the planet! Vis'kral frigates are to assist!”

***

Admiral Jer Roviditian sat back in his command chair as his ship, the Imperator Mark II Kismet, started to receive the data being transmitted from the dark trooper observers. He didn’t try to hide the grin that lit his aged features as he watched the frigate analogs of the Xen’Chi break formation with the rest of the fleet to move forward to destroy the hyperspace pods. The alien invaders were going to be in for a big surprise once they started taking out the containers.

His expression turned more serious as something caught his eye. “Enhance grid 258.”

The tactical map before Roviditian zoomed in on the desired grid to reveal the Xen’Chi’s thrall servants in active combat with another group.

“Any idea who our friends are?” Roviditian’s XO, Ralor Jav, asked with curiosity. “I don’t recognize the design, aside from the YT-1300’s.”

“I do,” Roviditian answered him, his voice distant. “But I don’t believe it. I haven’t seen ships like those since before the Clone Wars. They’re Mandalorian designs.”

“I thought the Mandalorians were extinct.”

“So do most people, but I can tell you first hand that the stories about them are not tall tales. They’re a tough people. I wouldn’t be surprised if some survived after Galidraan.” The elder man laughed dryly. “You know, their home planet is rumored to be in this area of space.” Roviditian cleared his throat. “In any case, Mandos or not, they still deserve our thanks for helping to draw apart the Mechis III fleet. We’ll assist them if we can, if only because they’ve made things much easier for us.”

“Will Kasr approve?”

“As long as it doesn’t compromise our mission, he’ll trust my judgment.” Roviditian raised his voice as he spoke down to the bridge crew. “Do we have the coordinates yet?”

“The last numbers are coming in now, sir,” a tech replied.

“Kasr has planned quite a trick for us,” Jav said under his breath. “I don’t mind telling you that I’m not exactly thrilled with this idea.”

“I’m confident we can handle it,” Roviditian replied, his voice betraying nothing less than confidence. “Taskforce cruisers will jump to Mechis III on my mark…”
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Post by Cadden »

Nedth narrowed his eyes at the unending resistance the Xen'Chi provided. He would have preferred if they had a little more to work with, here... but, then again, it wouldn't have been much of a proving ground. He was confident that, had Mandalore truly wished to take over this world, he would have analyzed the situation, then sent whatever necessary to deal with the Xen'Chi in this system.

It didn't bother him if he died today. It would have been for the glory of his people. It was the highest honor to die in battle.

"We're picking up more objects, inbound," he heard another report. Nedth looked over at the reported coordinates, just as a bunch of small pods dropped out of lightspeed, not much more than a fancied-up escape pod. Once again, he narrowed his eyes.

"Is this a trick?" he mused.

"I don't think so. They do not match the Xen'Chi fleet's profile. They seem to be of standard galactic design. But... bigger."

Nedth nodded. "Ignore them, for now. Unless they get in our way. Our objective is to breach the defenses and land on the planet. At whatever cost."

And so the assault force continued onward, doing what it could to repel the remainder Xen'Chi aggressors. They had already lost a couple of their smaller ships, but the bulk of their shock troopers were onboard the Meteor-class Q-Carriers. The Dungeon Ships were nothing more than assault ships, to protect the carriers as they made it planet-side. Granted, it seemed a bit of a waste, considering that each Dungeon Ship could carry up to 10,000 individuals, or different mechanized combat vehicles, but he did not question Mandalore's order of battle.

An explosion lit up next to them, as he witnessed one of the Q-Carriers going up in flames. Without any means of escaping the craft, he knew that all hands were lost. After all, they were landing ships, not starfighter carriers. He re-focused his attention dead ahead. The smaller craft were doing a good job in keeping a bulk of the Xen'Chi attackers busy, and the plan to use the Dungeon Ships to keep the bulk of the enemy firepower away from their true strength - the Q-Carriers - seemed to be working well enough. He just hoped that they could get through, to prove themselves in battle, and be qualified to be called full Verd. He breathed in deep at the thought. To be considered a true warrior, that was a great honor, indeed. Even if they were not to become supercommandos, at the very least they would join their bretheren in the highest eschelon of honor, below only becoming Mandalore, and death.
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Post by Halomek »

Dressed in his customary black uniform, cut in the style of an Imperial Grand Admiral but lacking any sort of insignia or accoutrements at all, Reng Kasr calmly looked over the battle data that continued to pour in to his flagship, the Enforcer. His ice-blue eyes took in the details as his keen mind continually updated and revised his strategy to deal with the unpredictability of battle. So far the battle was moving forward as he had predicted, even better than he could have expected as a matter of fact, thanks to the surprising appearance of a group of Mandalorians. The Xen’Chi fleet was divided and weakened.

“Taskforce cruisers report a successful jump and are beginning to blanket the area with interference.”

Kasr nodded. Both of the taskforce cruisers had been specially modified for the express purpose of blocking any means of enemy reconnaissance. With the two vessels working in tandem, enemy communications and sensors would soon be all but useless. Only Oremin’s forces would have the access for seeing past the interference. Nothing was to escape from Mechis III, not even information. By the time the Xen’Chi commander realized he needed reinforcements, he would already be firmly caught in the trap.

Outside of Mechis III, he wanted the Xen’Chi to have as little information as possible about this battle…

“There will be a slight change of plans,” Kasr decided. “Tsunami group will jump to these coordinates.” It would put them below the Mandalorian ships. While it would provide cover for the struggling Mandalorians, Kasr was more concerned with the position it would give Tsunami group for dealing with the Xen’Chi’s thrall fleet. He would deal with the Mandalorians later if they proved to be a problem.

His orders were quickly relayed as phase two of his strategy was implemented.

***

As the Xen’Chi frigates and fighters started to engage the assault pods, it quickly became apparent that they had fallen for a trap. Only a few of the pods had been occupied by dark troopers. Those few served a dual purpose as observers and to mislead the enemy into believing that all the pods contained invasion troops.

As the Xen’Chi would find out instead as they started to destroy them was that the pods contained a mixture of seismic or ionic charges. Several Xen’Chi fighters were either ripped apart by the power of the seismic charge or incapacitated from the energy expelled from the ionic one. The frigates fared better, having the benefit of being able to observe the fate of the fighters. However with so many of the pods inbound, they didn’t always have the luxury of destroying a pod at a safe distance.

The pod attack also had another purpose behind it, becoming a distraction to keep the Xen’Chi occupied while the two taskforce cruisers leapt into the system and started to blanket the area with interference.

Precept Zanri was furious at the deception and it didn’t help her mood any to learn of the interference field. “Destroy them!” she commanded. “All of our remaining forces are to destroy those cruisers! Rely on visual sight for navigation and fall back to emergency procedures to communicate!”

As regular communications became impossible, Zanri’s ship started to alternate its exterior lighting in a controlled pattern to inform the rest of the Xen’Chi ships of the new orders. The rest of the fleet that was not already occupied moved forward in tandem with Zanri’s ship at all possible speed to attack the cruisers.

***

After a tense few seconds of moving through hyperspace, traversing a handful of lightyears from Kasr’s staging point, the Kismet and her escorts dropped back into realspace right below the Xen’Chi frigates. To the casual observer, such an exit would have seemed like an incredible stroke of luck, but in reality it was a carefully planned execution; taking exact spatial coordinates provided by the dark trooper observers and combining it with the skills of the crew to make what would otherwise be an impossibly close jump to a gravity shadow a reality.

The Kismet’s guns opened fire immediately on the surprised enemy, destroying one particularly badly damaged frigate before the rest even had a chance to retaliate. Coming in behind the star destroyer were four arc-class assault ships, which started to unleash swarms of TIE Droids and launch more assault pods towards the planet – this time actually filled with dark troopers. These special ships, designed and built by Oremin, were working factories capable of making more droids in the heat of battle to continually bolster Oremin’s attack force.

***

Utilizing the same trick as the Kismet, the ISDII Tsunami dropped out of hyperspace directly below the Mandalorians and the thrall fleet. The Tsunami’s gunners, trained in precision firing, began to take out the corvette and gunship analogs while sparing the Mandalorians caught in the middle. Trailing the Tsunami were four more of the arc-class ships, which spit out additional TIE Droids and dark troopers into the fray.

***

Kya Solra, securely inside one of the massive type three dark troopers as it hurtled down towards the planet in an assault pod, couldn’t suppress a dark chuckle. It was exhilarating to know that only a sheet of metal separated her from being burned up in the atmosphere and that at any moment, a stray blast could reduce her to atoms. This was what made life worth living!

To know that she was finally going to have the chance to go up against the Xen’Chi on the ground only made the day better for her. Kasr’s plan for the ground assault was fiendish and she couldn’t wait to implement it.

Today would mark the turning point in the Xen’Chi war, she was sure of it.
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Post by Cadden »

"They're... covering our advance...." Nedth observed, in amazement. "But, why?" He mulled over the thought for a moment, but shrugged it off when no reasonable solution could arise. "We will take this to our advantage," he continued. "All craft, full ahead. Shoot whatever shoots at us, but spare no diversion."

Of course, to the smaller craft, that would be near impossible, and would never have been asked for them to ignore any pursuers. They continued their dogfighting, while progressing toward the planetary surface. Nedth was surprised, really. Being this far outnumbered and outgunned, they sustained fairly minimal casualties, all things considered. A mere quarter of their forces had gone down, by now, when he had expected half. Even with the intervention of this Imperial fleet.

The pursuit planet-side continued. He counted down the klicks before they would breach atmosphere, and be home free for their target. Any living Xen'Chi on the surface, and whatever they had to throw against them.
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Post by Halomek »

OOC: The taskforce cruisers are blocking all enemy communication, that applies to the Mandalorians too. Nedth’s commands aren’t going to make it past the bridge. Oremin isn’t attacking the Mandos, but that doesn’t mean they’re helping them either. :P

IC: Captain Alaan Ank of the Enforcer had long ago learned not to second-guess Kasr’s judgment, but that didn’t stop him from trying to figure out the former Grand Admiral’s choices from time to time. Like all men that Palpatine had given such an elite designation to, Kasr seemed to work on a different level from normal people to such a degree that his decisions didn’t seem to make sense when seen through different eyes.

Finally Ank had to acknowledge defeat and admit that he couldn’t follow where Kasr was leading them. “Sir,” he asked. “Why spare the Mandalorians? If that is what they are, wouldn’t it be prudent to destroy them as well to keep all information about this battle as secure as possible?”

“Many reasons,” Kasr told his subordinate calmly. “Not the least of which is that we don’t know for sure if those are indeed Mandalorians yet. All we know at present is that they’re using Mandalorian designs. The Mandalorian people have many customs and I believe we are witness to one of them, but only time will confirm it.”

“Information, Captain Ank, is the key to everything. If the Mandalorians have indeed been resurrected, then I wish to know of it. Keeping them under observation will tell me all I need to know.” Kasr smiled tightly. “Besides, I’m not in the habit of alienating a potential ally out of hand. If they prove to unreasonable, destroying them will be a simple matter.”

***

The Kismet and the Tsunami, along with their arc ship escorts, were making short work of the light capital-class ships of the Xen’Chi and their thrall fleet. The complete breakdown of enemy communication and sensors was having an adverse effect on the fighting efficiency of the aliens. It was an advantage the skilled crews of the Star Destroyers hardly needed, but welcome nonetheless.

With nothing to counter the dedicated efforts of the taskforce cruisers, the Xen’Chi were forced to resort to more archaic forms of communication. To their credit, they still fought as a coordinated effort, in as much that could be expected from relying on visual sight.

As the last of the Vis'kral frigates fell before the Kismet’s powerful guns, the Star Destroyer was given a brief breather as it waited for the Hetch'hek cruisers to move within range. While the Kismet would have been more than a match for any one of the cruisers, three of them at once was not something to take lightly.

“Target the leftmost Hetch’hek,” Roviditian calmly ordered despite the odds now stacked against his ship. “Arc ships are to fall back to the taskforce cruiser position. Reinforce our shields and wait for my order to fire. Let them think they finally have us cornered.”

A little closer… phase three was almost ready to be implemented.

***

The jarring impact with the surface of Mechis III was softened for Kya by the acceleration compensators built into the type three dark trooper. As she exited the pod, she could see detachments of type two and type one dark troopers already mixing it up with the Xen’Chi troops. Gripping the controls to her own dark trooper, Kya opened fire with her beefed up assault cannon. The plasma discharge, significantly more powerful than the normal assault cannons carried by the type twos, blew apart a fortified Xen’Chi position as if it was nothing, opening the way for more of the dark troopers to advance.

Kya consulted her map to see how far away she was from her target. Half a mile; not bad. The Xen’Chi would be everywhere, which would provide for plenty of fun along the way. Engaging her dark trooper’s repulsorpack, Kya charged into battle. Ten type twos followed along close to her, as escorts and to give her cover on the way to her goal.
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Post by Cadden »

OOC: My bad. I thought you were referring to communications outbound from the system, but closerange being okay. I'll have a post up later with the appropriate correction included.
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Post by Cadden »

OOC: Sorry 'bout the delay. Here we go.

IC:

Due to the jammed frequencies, Nedth could only hope that the others knew to follow their lead. He continued to watch intently as they began to breach through the Xen'Chi defensive screen. Almost there.

Within moments, the first Meteor-class Q-Carrier broke through. It was damaged, but still flight-worth. The ship immediately progressed planet-side, as the crew onboard began to find a suitable landing location. Shortly afterwards, another Q-Carrier broke through the defense screen, and followed suit. One after another, the remaining carriers continued their advance. So far, they had lost four of the carriers, and it looked like one of the Dungeon Ships was going to give in. Most of their smaller craft, however, were able to breach through, due to their maneuverability and armaments.

And so, the ground battle was about to begin.

OOC: Kinda choppy, but hey, whatever. :P
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Post by Halomek »

The mighty Kismet shook as it suffered the blows of not one, but all three Hetch’hek cruisers. The Star Destroyer had long ago been modified for sustained combat and was able to deal with the combined blows of the Xen’Chi vessels much better than a standard Star Destroyer. It was helped, in part, by the taskforce cruisers making it nearly impossible for the Xen’Chi to coordinate their efforts with any efficiency by the disruption of communications and sensors. The aliens had to eyeball their shots without the help of targeting computers and could only guess where their comrades would be firing.

“Even blind and deaf, they possess a remarkable aptitude for battle,” Roviditian found himself thinking as warnings about failing shields started to come in. It was clear the Xen’Chi wanted the Kismet out of the way before the Tsunami and her escorts could make it within range. “I would almost be worried if this wasn’t in Kasr’s plan.”

The Kismet was giving as good as it was receiving, better even, as it concentrated all of its considerable firepower on the leftmost Hetch’hek cruiser only. The alien vessel was already failing from the sustained turbolaser barrage, but even in its death throes it continued to fire at the Star Destroyer despite its eminent doom.

The bright plasma blasts of the Xen’Chi started pass through the weakened portions of the Star Destroyer’s shields, scoring carbon marks against the Kismet’s reinforced armor plating. There was a reason the Kismet had been picked for this phase of Kasr’s plan: mainly its ability to soak up and dish out damage.

Roviditian laughed as he felt a stirring in his gut: excitement. “I haven’t felt this alive since the Battle of Corellia! By the Empire, I hope this isn’t the last engagement Oremin has with the Xen’Chi!”

He grinned slyly as he looked over at Jav. “Well, we’ve done our part. They’re firmly in position. Kasr should be arriving right about…”

Even as Roviditian spoke, a monstrous ship emerged from the nether of hyperspace. Roughly twice the size of his Star Destroyer and coated in a special polymer that made it invisible to sensors, the Enforcer very much lived up to its name, looking like a wedge-shaped juggernaut.

“…now!”

***

Kasr stood at the bridge viewport, hands folded behind his back, as he got his first look at the Xen’Chi ships with his own eyes. A pity that there had been no Xai’Chen command ships at Mechis III, but a Hetch’hek cruiser would serve his purposes just as well.

With a different strategy, it would have been possible to win the battle without the need to bring in the Enforcer, however the systems of his new command ship needed their first trial by fire.

When he spoke, his cultured voice was as calm and smooth as always: “Fire the primary weapon.”

***

At the sight of the newest ship to enter the battle, Precept Zanri knew the battle was lost. She had been manipulated throughout the entire engagement, led by the nose like a rabid hound. It was a tough admission to make, but now that she knew she had been outwitted, she could think of only one recourse: the only recourse open to a true Xen’Chi - make the victory as costly as possible for the enemy.

“Engines to full! Target the largest ship! We’re going to ram them and take them with us!”

Even before her helmsman could input the commands, the bridge was suddenly filled with an eerie high-pitched noise. Zanri resisted the urge to cover her ears; something that some of her crew were to weak to do. “What is this!?” she roared as she looked out of the viewport at the large ship. It didn’t appear to be doing anything, but somehow she knew it was responsible. “I want an explanation now!”

“All of our systems… they’re failing!” a warrior reported even as monitors and consoles started to blow out from being overloaded. “Without sensors, it’s impossible to tell, but I believe that new ship is emitting some kind of signal to scramble our systems. It’s… it’s the only thing that makes sense! Shields, weapons, engines, life support - everything is shutting down! We’re dead in space!”

As the lighting flickered and failed, Zanri gripped her staff tightly. Denied even an honorable death by this mysterious commander… Was it Thrawn? It couldn’t be. Intelligence still placed him hiding away on Coruscant. Then who?!

When the artificial gravity began give way, she gave up asking herself questions that had no answer. She would still make this a costly victory for whoever had bested her and trust that her failure at Mechis III would be avenged. “Prepare to be boarded,” she said simply. “Fight to the last.”

***

With the lead Hetch’hek ship abruptly taken down by the scrambler beam of the Enforcer and the leftmost one reduced to a dead ruin by the Kismet, the last Hetch’hek suddenly found itself all alone, with only two Ruh'kmar fighter carriers to support it - and all of the Xen’Chi fighters already engaged in a losing battle with the TIE Droids.

The Enforcer cut off its scrambler beam to restore power to the weapons that had be taken offline to power it - nearly half of the command ship’s complement - as it trained hundreds of those weapons on the last cruiser. The Kismet joined in even as the Tsunami closed within range.

Faced with destruction from three fronts, the last cruiser fought valiantly but was easily overwhelmed by the sheer volume of firepower coming at it and eventually succumbed to its fate. The cruiser started to fall apart before being consumed by a massive explosion. The Ruh’kmars joined their comrades in death soon after.

Only then did Kasr give the order to unleash the boarding party for the disabled Hetch’hek. Specially modified type two and type three darktroopers exited the Enforcer’s docking bays and made for the Xen’Chi vessel through the vacuum of space. Only the bridge crew were to be taken alive. Everyone else on the ship was to be destroyed.

***

Kya was still learning the true capabilities of the type three darktrooper she operated, but the war droid had already impressed her with its sheer power. The Xen’Chi’s standard plasma blasters were no match for the droid’s tough phirk alloy armor, to say nothing of their prized srraka blades which only seemed capable of scoring superficial marks on it. It came as no surprise to her, considering that phirk was one of the few substances known to be tough enough to resist even a lightsaber.

Some of the other dark troopers had encountered heavier Xen’Chi weapons which were proving to be something of an obstacle, but now that Kya knew what to look for, a blast from her assault cannon was enough to put an end to any Xen’Chi in her path that were carrying them.

The dark troopers seemed to be handling themselves well. They were coordinating attacks, devising new strategies and tactics on the fly, and all-in-all proving to be fierce fighters. They were just as deadly and effective as Kasr had promised.

After taking out the defensive emplacements, Kya set the type three down in front of one of the main factories on Mechis III. Rather than blast the door apart with her cannon, she opted for a different tactic, instead using the type three’s incredible power to force the doors apart. It had a nice psychological edge to it that Kya rather enjoyed. The thing was a monster in battle.

The tough metal of the doors buckled under the strain of trying to keep Kya out, but the Xen’Chi inside were ready for her as multiple plasma blasts thudded against the type three’s armor. Kya switched from her assault cannon to the seeker missile launchers protected under the type three’s shoulder plates. The room exploded in a hellish fireball that roasted the Xen’Chi alive. With the immediate area clear, Kya signaled for her type two escorts to take the point as they made their way to their goal.
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Post by Cadden »

Three... two... one...

Touchdown.

One by one, the surviving Mandalorian ships broke through the atmosphere, and immediately made their way to their landing sites. As the eight remaining Q-Carriers poured out their sixty shock troopers each, the the freighters and enforcement ships also unloaded their passengers on to the surface of the mechanized world.

All in all, six hundred shock troopers. To the Xen'Chi, it would have been laughable. Had they known how well trained these shock troopers were.

Nedth led the small army, splitting them into groups of one hundred. A tactical disadvantage to some, but to Mandalorians, it only meant a more fierce fight. They proceeded along their way, soon encountering heavy resistance from Xen'Chi warriors, as the two forces clashed with heavy fire. Fortunately for both forces, the terrain of Mechis III allowed for good coverage to dodge incoming laser or plasma blasts.

The Mandalorians seemed pinned and hopelessly outmatched. But this was one of the tests. To see who would make it out alive. The objective was simple - kill all Xen'Chi in their path, and return home. Nedth dodged around the corner and let rip a flurry of blasterfire at the Xen'Chi ahead, swinging back around as the returnfire came his way. All they needed was a solid plan.
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Post by Mir »

They say that when one is confronted with a deadly affront to one's environment, there are only two responses: fight or flight. They also say that you should not throw yourself into that situation on purpose. They go on to say that it is hard not to react with instinct when put in that situation.

On Mechis III, a shocktrooper named Aeorn Mors broke the rules that "they" had put forth. Had "they" been with him, which according to their rules, "they" wouldn't, but had "they" been with him, "they" would have fallen along with the the shocktrooper on Mors' left. The one on his right gave a battle cry which Mors echoed. He hoisted his BlasTech A280 up and sent bolt after bolt at the oncoming Xen'Chi.

"For the Mandalore! For our honor!" He heard, and it made him move faster and harder, heart beating with pride. If he was slain here, this moment, on this unknown planet away from his family, he knew that he would have lived a good life. He charged forward, his gun never still, barrel constantly threatening to melt under the heat. But he didn't care.

The gun was an extension of him, and he brought the black construction up into a Xen'Chi's head. He didn't bother to look at the thing, he just squeezed the trigger while the barrel was deep in its flesh. Three red bolts escaped the back of the creature's head and flew up into the sky. Mors was in Nedth's group, an honor which he hoped to be able to share with his children and possibly his grandchildren, if it was his fate to live that long.

He came upon the shocktrooper in question as the group came holed up around a corner. Blaster and plasmafire was being exchanged between groups. Aeorn looked to Nedth. "How many are there?" He queried.
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Post by Cadden »

Nedth didn't look back at the shock trooper who spoke, nor did he attempt to find out, recall, or otherwise realize who it was. He kept his eyes forward, and his blaster carbine ready. "Several," he simply responded. "Enough to pin us down in this location." He then recalled a Mandalorian chant that was sung at war long ago, by ancient Mandalorians, passed on generation to generation.

"Kote, darasuum kote," he said, muttering at first. "Te racin ka’ra juaan kote." Glory, eternal glory. The stars pale beside our might. Finally, Nedth looked back at his company of shock troopers, many of whom were poised in ready positions, awaiting the word to charge. And realized his biggest mistake since landing. He wasn't acting like a Mandalorian, just a mere soldier, awaiting some high command to go out there and risk, maybe even sacrifice, his life for a cause he'd never know of.

No... not Nedth. That was not the Mandalorian way. They started with one hundred, now down to ninety, because others were doing exactly what he was doing now. He narrowed his eyes and, as loud as he could, shouted, "Kote, darasuum kote!" Nedth looked at the others, whom returned their gaze back at him, right in the eyes. Or, rather, the horizontal portion of his visor, as it would be. "Te racin ka’ra juaan kote!" Without thinking twice, without warning, Nedth peeled back around the corner, and let rip a series of carbine blaster fire.

He was unaware of what those two simple phrases did to his company, because before he knew it, there was a storm of blasterfire piercing through the air, sizzling their way and pressing back the Xen'Chi position. Nedth was too filled with the warrior spirit, the war chant once used so long ago, and yet revived during the Clone Wars, that he did not even notice the bloodbath that was unfolding around him. He picked a target, fired, another, fired once again. Xen'Chi and Mandalorians alike were falling from each other's fire, but even if Nedth was the last one standing, he would continue to fight them off until they died, or he did.

The Mandalorians pressed forward on their position, charging and firing alike, and soon the Xen'Chi found themselves on the more receiving end, as the warrior spirit in the shock troopers took over their behavior, their reactions, and turned them into fearless, fierce combatants, and a worthy foe against the previously seeming unstoppable alien invaders. Soon, Nedth realized the tide of the battle was beginning to shift, and he just hoped that the other groups would follow the example he just set for his own.
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Post by Halomek »

With the Kismet left behind to supervise their progress, the dark trooper strike teams forcibly boarded the disabled Hetch’hek cruiser. In addition to their normal armament, each dark trooper was armed with a highly dangerous nerve gas known as Fex-M3 which was capable of killing a normal humanoid in roughly ten seconds. Hundreds of the combat droids entered the cruiser from all sides, spreading the gas in every corridor and room they could find.

The Xen’Chi, prepared for a physical assault, were not ready to counter an enemy using gas. With all of the ship’s systems down, they had no way of warning others on the ship of this tactic before it was too late or somehow pumping the gas out to space. Scores of the aliens died before even getting the chance to fire their plasma blasters. The dark troopers waded through the carnage with impunity, unaffected by the deadly nerve agent as they advanced ever deeper into the ship.

To further make the battle even more lopsided, the heat-loving Xen’Chi had to contend with a cooling ship thanks to the failure of life support. They also had to adapt to their zero-g training now that the artificial gravity was gone. To their credit, they did so with the grace of a professional solider, but it was still two factors that the dark troopers did not have to worry about.

The Enforcer and the Tsunami, meanwhile, moved closer to the planet, over the Mandalorian staging points. Four of the arc ships followed them, while the other four set about capturing disabled enemy fighters or tearing apart the battle debris with their tractor beams to be used as raw material for their factories.

***

Kasr watched the Mandalorians fight against the Xen’Chi - and he was sure that was what they were now - with interest. The highly advanced sensors on the Enforcer were sensitive enough to pick up each individual warrior on the ground. The imagers were so precise that he could see their faces as they yelled their battle cries or keeled over in death.

This was yet another test of the Enforcer’s systems. The ship was an embodiment of his will and his ideology. As powerful as it was in battle, its specialization was in information - both in obtaining it and in preventing others from receiving it.

He took particular notice of a Zabrak who seemed to be in charge of the detachment. After some consideration he decided that the alien was not the new Mandalore, but he was someone to keep an eye on nevertheless. This was only one of their tests to prove their worth as warriors and not a full-fledged attack. Only a stroke of luck, in the form of his attack force, had kept the Mandalorians from being wiped out by the Xen’Chi.

With but a few words he could still have the entire force destroyed with a bombardment from above. With their sensors still down, they would have no warning of what to expect. It would be the most prudent course of action, but there was also an enormous opportunity here that Kasr did not want to waste and so he decided to let them live for a while longer.

The Mandalorians would be contacted, he decided, and fortunately he had the perfect agent for the job already on the planet…

***

The fight through the factory was a brutal affair, but the Xen’Chi - normally highly proficient in close-quarters battle - were at a disadvantage against the unfeeling dark troopers. Their blades were useless against the armored battle droids and their bodies were crushed by the superior strength of their attackers. Unable to bring in the heavy ordinance needed to take out the droids, the factory was cleaned out with cold-hearted efficiency.

Finally they reached the main control center: Kya’s goal. She once again used the power of the type three to pry open the doors rather than risk a blast destroying the sensitive equipment inside. It was a simple matter to dispatch the two Xen’Chi waiting for her before the room was secured.

Once she had her escorts guarding all the main points, Kya exited the type three from the back and rushed over to the main console. The type three was not nearly dexterous enough to use for typing into a console. With Kya outside, the type three reverted to its A.I. programming but otherwise remained where it was.

The Xen’Chi seemed to have no use for droids, so Kya could only guess that the capture of Mechis III by them was more of a tactical victory than anything else - keeping the resources of the planet out of the hands of the Empire. When they had taken it, they had deactivated all of the droids, but had done nothing else except secure the planet.

That was about to change.

After some searching through the main database she finally found what she was looking for: the activation signal for every droid on Mechis III. After contacting the orbiting taskforce cruisers to allow the signal through their interference field, Kya initialized it and began to send the newly awakened droids fresh orders: destroy the Xen’Chi. It would be a ragtag army to be sure, especially considering that most of the droids were not even designed for combat, but every bit would help. Besides, the orders were so broad that some of the more innovative droids, like the R2 units, could probably find alternate methods of taking the aliens out. The surprise factor alone would be invaluable.

“Agent 487, reporting in,” she commed up to the Oremin fleet. “Mission completed.”

“Excellent work,” a cultured voice replied. Kya felt a thrill go through her body when she realized it belonged to Kasr. It was not often that he spoke with his agents personally. “I have a new mission for you.”

“Anything you got, I can handle,” she said confidently.

There was a slight pause before Kasr answered. “A group of Mandalorians have landed on the planet. I want you to make contact with them and see if they are interested in speaking with me. Information on their location is being sent to your type three as we speak. There is no time to send you a full mission briefing, so keep in mind that they are a proud and honor-bound warrior race on a mission to prove themselves as warriors.”

Kya nodded as she got into the right frame of mind. Races like that could be tricky to deal with. “Understood. One question: if they prove to be hostile towards us…?”

“Leave the area and we’ll handle the rest. Enforcer, out.”

Kya grinned as she climbed back into the type three. She had always wanted to meet a Mandalorian…
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Post by Mir »

Mors followed Nedth around the corner, his blaster firing. The Mandalorians were sending a storm of red fire towards their enemies, and the Xen'chi were starting to back down. But they were just starting, and they still fought with a ferocity that shocked Aeorn. His rifle became akin to a bat, and he slammed it into one of the aliens. The Xen'chi fell to the ground and Mors pumped three bolts into him.

He looked up to see that his group had splintered. One large group, easily seventy of the ninety remaining Mandalorians still followed Nedth, while twenty or so were combating a wave of Xen'Chi that were attempting to flank the Mandalorians. This would not do. The twenty or so were being overwhelmed. Aeorn moved forward to their aid.

Suddenly a black shape slammed against him. He was thrown to the ground, dazed. When his vision oriented, he saw a Xen'chi coming towards him. His rifle was nowhere to be seen and there was a body of a Xen'chi on top of him, and he couldn't get to his sidearm.

The creature bore a stave of some kind, and Mors knew that his foe was proficient in it. He saw his death coming towards him, but felt that this could not be his end. The helmed warrior starting to glance all around him, looking for some kind of weapon that he could use. He found it on the body of the Xen'Chi.

Though it was a weapon that he was unfamiliar with, his Mandalorian training overrode that. He took the two srraka blades, though he did not know there name, one into each hand. He pulled himself up, rolling the dead Xen'Chi towards his oncoming cousin. Just as he rose, his enemy jumped at him.

Mors rolled to the side and came up on one knee as the Xen'Chi charged. Aeorn Mors, Ge'verd, moved forward as well, and the two combatants clashed. Aeorn slashed as best he could, trying to work his way inside his opponent's defense while maintaining his own. His enemy was in what appeared to be bloodlust. It didn't care that Aeorn had slashed it twice, it continued to hammer away at its enemy.

Finally, Mors managed to get one of the blades in the alien's stomach. He saw, almost as if it were a glimpse of the future. He saw a white bolt of light coming towards his back. Reflexively, he ducked. The white plasma like bolt slammed the Xen'chi he was fighting. He dropped the blade and pulled out his sidearm, grateful to be back to something of which he had mastery of. He spun, and landed on his stomach. He squeezed the pistol three times, sending red bolts at his foe. A Xen'chi dropped dead.

Mors stood, and pulled the Srraka blade out of his now dead enemy and retrieved the other. He slid them into his belt. Looking around, he saw an E-14 blaster carbine that one of his fellow warriors had dropped. "Forgive me, brother, but I need your weapon." He said, taking the gun and checking the powerpack. Then he went forward as quickly as possible to regroup with the twenty, now eight who had defeated the flanking attempt and were going to rejoin Nedth's group.

OOC: Xen'chi info from the wiki site.
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Post by Halomek »

The dark troopers moved through the Xen’Chi ship like a plague: implacable, unstoppable, destroying every Xen’Chi their sensors could find until finally they halted outside of what Enforcer scans determined to be the bridge. A fully automated type three waited outside of the blast doors that would lead to the bridge as several more type twos formed up around it.

The combat droids waited for a few minutes to let the Fex-M3 that was in the air dissipate enough so that it wouldn’t kill or cause brain damage to the Xen’Chi inside. While they waited, the type twos switched their weapons from the Fex-M3 to stun blasters and glop grenades. Every Xen’Chi inside was to be taken alive for Kasr to interrogate later.

Utilizing the same tactic Kya had employed on the planet, the type three forced open the blast doors on the Xen’Chi ship to minimize damage. Almost immediately it was assaulted by Precept Zanri as she used her staff to slam the serrated end down into the droid’s hand - be necessity one of the weaker parts of its armor. The type three reacted immediately, using its free hand to forcefully swat the smaller Xen’Chi aside.

Without gravity, Zanri flew through the air uncontrollably before hitting a bulkhead hard. It would have been enough to knock a Human unconscious, but the stockier Xen’Chi didn’t waste time before launching herself off of the bulkhead right back at the droid, hoping to die in battle.

She would never make it.

A dozen stun bolts struck her in midair as the type twos flooded into the bridge and began to pacify the crew inside despite heavy resistance. The type three ignored the commotion as it pulled Zanri’s staff from its hand and tossed the weapon aside. It flexed the hand experimentally, finding it damaged but still workable, before it activated its jet pack to grab Zanri’s immobile form.

The battle was quickly decided in favor of the dark troopers. Seeing their commander taken alive instead of killed in battle, many of the bridge crew decided to kill themselves to avoid the same fate. A handful were not as lucky and succumbed to the dark trooper rush.

After the last stun bolt had been fired, the type three sent a message to the Enforcer: mission complete.

***

As usual, Kasr’s information was as accurate as ever. Kya managed to locate the Mandalorians without any trouble. “Not that Mandalorians would be difficult to find without directions,” Kya reflected.

In addition to her now war-scarred type three, Kya had managed to gather three dozen type twos to back her up. They all took to the air, giving Kya an excellent view of the battle between the Xen’Chi and the Mandalorians. At her command, the droids unleashed a combined rocket barrage on the Xen’Chi’s flank before raining down more death from above with plasma shots.

The droids had explicit instruction from Kya not to attack anything but the Xen’Chi unless attacked first. They were also not to “steal” a kill from a Xen’Chi being targeted by a Mandalorian.

She wasn’t sure how touchy the Mandalorians would be about their honor, but she decided to play it on the safe side until she spoke with them face to face...
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Post by Cadden »

OOC: Okay, let's see what I can do to this....

IC:

Nedth was a bit perterbed to see the Imperial interfering with their fight. There was a fine line between aiding someone, and then fighting someone else's fight. This crossed that line.

At least they held the decency to not steal one of his, or his bretheren's, kills. But that was about all that kept them from being labeled hostile.

The Mandalorians pressed onward, and with the help, however unwanted it was, from the Imperials, the battle became more of a bloodbath.

Then the cleanup followed. Nedth charged the different task forces to root out any survivors, and kill them. He stood atop some fallen debris from a nearby building, observing the shock troopers' actions as they pursued the hunt. The Zabrak shock trooper would have to include all of this, every little detail, in his report to the Mandalore, that was certain.

A lone shock trooper approached Nedth. "Companies A, B, and C all report their areas are confirmed clear. We are still waiting on D, E, and F as they continue to root out any Xen'Chi survivors."

Nedth nodded. "Casualties?"

The shock trooper did a quick calculation. "Taken into consideration the Imperial interference, I would have to guess about half our forces, maybe a couple dozen more, maybe less."

Another nod. "Very well," he said. He looked up in the direction of the orbital assault. The intruders were no longer present in the air, which meant they either went their own way, or were walking in on them. He decided he would give them a few more minutes. Anyone offering aid like that in the heat of the battle is bound to have reason to. "Prepare the troops for departure. Once Companies D, E, and F have finished, they will join them."

The shock trooper nodded and made his way. Nedth would keep a handful of his own men with him, however, in case things got ugly with these Imperials.

OOC: Kinda sloppy, but whatever. You're up, Hal.
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Post by Halomek »

From the reports coming in over her comlink, Kya heard that the last traces of the Xen’Chi were being exterminated from the planet. The battle was effectively won; Mechis III had been retaken from the alien invaders. In her opinion the Dark Troopers had met all expectations and exceeded them.

The Mandalorian section of the battle was certainly over with. She let their warriors scour the battlefield without any interference, only issuing orders to keep an eye out for an ambush in case the Mandalorians decided she seemed like a good target. With her type two escort in tow, Kya made her way to the Mandalorian-held portion of the battleground.

She stopped once the perimeter guards leveled their weapons at her group. The Dark Troopers were quick to respond in kind, but refrained form firing per Kya’s standing orders.

It was a risky move with so many potentially trigger-happy warriors pointing guns at her, but Kya decided on a show of faith and exited from her type three. She was dressed in the drab gray uniform of an Imperial soldier. Her hair was dyed a raven black and cut short at the shoulder. Her only visible weapon was the standard issue blaster typically carried by Imperial officers holstered at her side.

Although she held her hands up in the universal gesture of non-threatening greeting, Kya moved with the confident grace of seasoned warrior - figuring that the Mandalorians would at least respect that. “My name is Kya Solra,” she said to them in a clear, strong voice. “I request an audience with your leader.”
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Post by Cadden »

Nedth sized the woman up and down before finally speaking. Unlike her, he did not show his face. A Mandalorian was not required to. It was common enough to know that Mandalorians took great pride in their armor, just as Jedi with their lightsabers. However, they did not rely on it. Nedth did not motion for his soldiers to lower their weapons. If a fight broke out, they would die with honor.

"My name is Kya Solra," she spoke, her voice clear, showing signs of strength. A warrior's voice. This did not convince him, however. "I request an audience with your leader."

"Our leader is not present," Nedth said after a short moment, as he attempted to analyze her intentions. If they were hostile, he figured, they would have fired by now. "He is off fighting another battle. However, I have been put in command of this battle. What you have to say to him will go through me."
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Post by Halomek »

Kya lowered her hands, but kept one near her blaster. Just because she was being diplomatic didn’t mean she was going to put her life in the hands of the Mandalorians, not with them still pointing blasters at her.

“We’re both warriors, so I’ll be blunt with you,” Kya told the Zabrak. “Your raid on Mechis III came at the worst possible time. Under ordinary circumstances, you would have been targeted the same as the Xen’Chi and wiped out, however my leader has refrained from issuing those orders because he wants to meet with you so you can carry a message to your new Mandalore.”

“You have the option to refuse, but…” Kya pointed skyward. “…it means none of you will ever leave Mechis III alive. I know Mandalorians don’t fear death, so don’t consider this some poor attempt at a threat - it’s a statement of fact. There are at least two Star Destroyer class ships up there with guns trained on your staging area. Just because we haven’t attacked you, it doesn’t mean we’re not prepared to.”

“Personally, I’ve always wondered how I’d fare against a real Mandalorian.”
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Post by Cadden »

Nedth studied her for a moment. True, they weren't afraid of death, but unnecessary death was not on their to-do list. They finished their objective, albiet with the nuicance of help with these Imperials. But, it was finished, nonetheless. Maybe another battle, they would become full Verd.

"We promise nothing," he told Kya after a moment of silence. "I will relay your message to the Mandalore. He will be the one that will determine the response to your message. We are simply here to do our job, and leave. The Mandalore has no interest in this world, or what happens to it."

Another pause. "What does your leader want with us?" he finally asked.
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Post by Halomek »

OOC: Hmm, I think I’ll go with the quicker version…

IC: Kya was about to answer before her type three stepped forward. Several of the Mandalorian guns shifted to cover the giant battle droid. Perhaps the only thing that kept a new battle from breaking out was the fact that the droid’s assault cannon was pointed towards the ground.

To Kya’s surprise, Kasr’s cultured voice suddenly emanated from the droid’s vocoder. Years of being an undercover agent for Oremin meant her expression stayed neutral, but she couldn’t help thinking grudgingly: “As I live and breathe, that man always finds new ways to catch me off guard.”

“The name is Kasr and my message is simple,” the droid said to Nedth. “Tell Mandalore that I’m interested in the Empire and the Mandalorians working together. I believe that we could be stronger as allies than as enemies, which is why my forces deliberately avoided attacking you. The Xen’Chi need to be pushed back at any cost; fighting amongst ourselves will do nothing but make their invasion easier.”

“The Empire is not the same maligned entity it was pre-Corellia. I don’t expect Mandalore to take me at my word, so allow me to pass on a token of my sincerity. Kya, if you would take the datapad from inside the droid…”

Kya opened up the type three to find a datapad had been ejected from the type three’s console. “How did that get in there?” she wondered as she grabbed it. “Has Kasr been planning for this the whole time? I wouldn’t put it past him.”

She placed the datapad in the droid’s waiting hand, before Kasr had the massive machine walk towards Nedth and give it to him. “You’ll find a record of the entire battle on there; general details only; but it should nicely supplement everything my ships blocked you from seeing. There’s also a frequency included in there that Mandalore can contact me with.”
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Post by Cadden »

Nedth looked at the datapad, then back at Kya, and the voice of Kasr. Finally, he nodded. "Mandalore will contact you as soon as he can," he told the other. This was true, after all, and not Nedth overstepping his boundaries. When it came to galactic relations, Cadden Blackthorne did not want to be one to step down. He already boldly stated that the Mandalorians will become allies to the Jedi, when they are ready. Or, rather, it was a bold statement to those whom clung to the past. Perhaps it was even one of the things that caused dissent amongst the clans, and brought about the assault on the Mandalorian homeworlds.

Either way, an opportunity to become allies to the strongest galactic entity would likely be in the Mandalorians' best interests, Nedth figured. But, of course, he was not one to speak for the Mandalore, or his plans for the Mandalorians.

Another approached Nedth, who then turned his attention to the man. "All areas are confirmed clear," the other said. "We are ready to move out."

Nedth nodded. "I will be along shortly," he said, and turned back to look at Kya and the voice of Kasr. "You will hear from our Mandalore," he promised. "He will appreciate the information you have given us, as a supplement for the information we were able to gather. I do not suspect it will take long before he contacts you." Nedth nodded to the others, and signaled the remaining Mandalorians, who had since lowered their weapons but kept ready, to follow him away.
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Post by Halomek »

OOC: Well, I’ll do my wrap up post. Up to you if you want to do one for the Mandalorians or not, Cadden.

IC: Once the Mandalorians had left the system, Oremin recalled the bulk of their forces, leaving type one dark troopers to guard the liberated facilities. The space above the planet was stripped clear of debris by the Arc ships to replenish their factories. A message was sent to the Empire to reinforce the planet before the Oremin ships jumped back into hyperspace.

Most of them would return to Oremin’s facilities to repair their battle damage. The captured Hetch'hek cruiser followed as well so it could be thoroughly studied by Oremin’s scientists.

However, the Enforcer, along with the captured Xen’Chi prisoners, and two of the Arc ships, had a different destination: Coruscant. The time had come to speak with Thrawn about the war.
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