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Topic:  ESC Storyline - BlackJack
Tanus Solvona
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Tanus Solvona
 
[VE-ARMY] Gunnery Sergeant
[VE-ICS] Pirivateer Captain
 
Post Number:  595
Total Posts:  744
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  RE: ESC Storyline - BlackJack
August 21, 2009 2:12:46 AM    View the profile of Tanus Solvona 
“Linix, you stay with Rai. Barro, take point with me. Scott, you keep an eye out for any bigger baddies coming our way. Anyone else, watch your backs and keep up. Now, Serpents, let’s end this. Move!”

Jax looked down as Linix crouched next to Rai and started to take out various scanners and cyringes. Just keep her stable, Linix. And I swear, if I come back here and she has a new face – and a new nose – I will make sure they can’t identify your body. The five remaining Thrawnists already had a significant lead on the remaining eleven troopers, but that was not about to deter Jax; he was hellbent on putting the last five out of their misery. He took one final look at his fuel and did some quick calculations in his head. 65% fuel left. Should be plenty to do our job and get home in one piece. He blasted off towards the rising moon, five small dots with blue outlines in the distance.

“Pick up the pace, Serpents. I want those bastards gone before more help arrives.”

Jax holstered his Stormtrooper Two and elongated his body for a more streamlined flight. The others followed and soon they were green and white blurs, streaking through the sky with cold determination in their hearts. They were approximately 50 meters behind the Thrawnists, but that could make or break the Serpents now; they had to get to them in time. Jax chanced a glance back to see Barro spinning the drum clip of his grenade launcher in anticipation. They’re all anxious. Just as well. With what we’ve been going through, I’d want to get out of here too. The ground stretched out before them as the stars twinkled up above them. The moon hung up above like a large silver eye, watching at the deadly dance unfolding before it. Jax took one more look back and saw Fort Sexton fading further and further off into the the distance, a looming black shadow in the silvery glow of the moon and stars; it was all a rather stunning sight. Too bad they can’t take it all in. They were about 200 meters out now, and the time was drawing night. Jax opened up the squad channel, his voice heavy and cold.

“Boys, let’s light them up a bit. Throw in a few rail charges.”

“Uh, Jax…”

“What is it, Scott?”

“We have a problem.”

“Define ‘problem.’”

“We’ve got some big baddies coming in at us, hard and fast.”

“Where?”

“Pick a direction.”

As he said that, a rocket flashed past his visor. Jax looked down and saw a full squad of shocktroopers out in the open with launchers to bear. No cover and engaging airborne targets? They’re either stupid or waiting. And with Thrawn, I’m going with the latter. Jax stopped and boosted upwards a few meters and drew his Stormtrooper Two, firing down on the exposed enemy. They dove for cover behind some trees and scattered about the landscape, switching to blaster rifles. Serpent squad scattered about themselves, switching between grenades and blaster fire to keep them on the move. Two heavy grenades streaked out from Barro’s launcher, spraying debris and shrapnel into the air. Several screams from below confirmed hits, and Jax chanced a smile. Is this all you’ve got Thrawn?

“Damn it. More jumptroopers on our left! Scatter out Serpents! Don’t give them a target!”

Jax turned around as blaster streaked at him. He dodged and danced out of the way, spraying blaster fire of his own. Of course that isn’t all you’ve got. My mistake. He slammed a fresh clip into his rifle and kept firing, taking out another two troopers and watched as they plummeted down to the ground 100 meters below. Rockets and rail charges streaked through the air and between the Serpents ranks. We’re outnumbered here. We need to fall back. Jax turned to look back at the looming shadow that was Fort Sexton. As he made to give the orders to retreat, a large red orb blew up behind and above him. The force of the blast blew him away about 5 meters. He looked down at the ground to see a large, heavy bronzium colored cannon. Oh no.

“They have a proton cannon! Damn it, someone take it out!”

“How!? We’re being cut down here!”

“We’ve lost more?”

“No, but I wouldn’t count that out quite yet!”

“Of course not. Barro, Lethe, put a few rounds down there! If anybody has any grenades, give them one hell of a show!”

A solid wave of grenades flew through the air, bouncing along the ground a few times before consuming the tree line and cannon in light and fire. Jax pumped his arm in victory at the sight of destruction – and then was humbled at the sight of a second proton cannon. Jax danced around once more, a target for whoever wanted to chance taking a shot. They have them set to proximity explosion. This could be problematic. More explosion went off behind them as the enemy jumptroopers fired rockets and flechette rounds at the darting Serpents. Two red energy rounds flew into the air and exploded above the squad, sending up a wave of red light that gave the whole scene and eerily beautiful contrast to the surrounding landscape. All right, we need to get out of here before anyone else gets killed.

“Serpent squad, we’re leaving. When you get an opening, take it and head back to Fort Sexton. But make them hurt first.”

Jax tore a grenade off his belt and threw it at the second proton cannon. It fell just short of the artillery piece, but managed to take out two of its crewmen, and that was at least something. Another two rounds went off, this time coming too close to the squad for comfort. C’mon boys, let’s get out of here. Three rail charges streaked by Jax and exploded somewhere in the distance. Jax returned fire and made to turn around and pick another target when he felt white hot pain shoot through his entire body. He looked down to see multiple smoldering holes in his chest plate. Bloody flechette. jax threw up a wall of fire and started to back off, edging closer and closer away from the sphere of battle. More proton shells streaked by and numerous rockets flew around, missing their targets and hitting the ground below.

Jax took one last glance at the battle, narrowly moving out of the path of a rocket as Serpent squad beat a hasty retreat. The moon almost seemed to be taunting them now as they turned back towards Fort Sexton, its walls providing protection and safety once they got past its walls. 40% fuel. Not bad, all things considered. Better have Linix check out the shrapnel wounds though. After a few minutes they were safely on the outer walls looking out at the silver moon and the floating shapes hanging out against them now. Well played Thrawn. That was well done indeed. Jax turned around to look at the squad. Oh no. Jax counted off one more time to make sure he hadn’t miscounted.

“Who’re we missing?”

“Drae, Hegan and the new kid, Vinn.”

“Damn it. Did you see what happened to them?”

“No,” Scott said, looking down and sounding ashamed when he said it. “I couldn’t see everything in the din, and let’s face it, we were all just trying to stay alive out there.”

Jax only nodded; to be fair, he knew that he had been doing the same thing, and as bad as he felt to say it, knew that he was watching his own skin throughout the battle.

“All right, so we have three brothers down, Thrawn at our door step. Looks like we only have one option then.”

The silence was deafening; Jax could feel all eyes on him as he started out at the large moon, his armor now bathed in silver light.

“Get fixed up, re-equipped, and head back out there. I’m not leaving my soldiers out there for Thrawn to find. Serpents, let’s get our brothers home.”
SL/GSGT/SF Tanus Solvona/2SQD/2PLT/1CMP/1REG/1BAT/Tadath/VEA
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CA/PRVC Tanus Solvona/YZ-775 (m) Iron Victory/The Osk Company/ICS/VE

Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken - House Martell words, A Song of Ice and Fire
Angel
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Angel
 
[VE-ARMY] 1st Lieutenant
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  RE: ESC Storyline - BlackJack
August 24, 2009 9:43:53 AM    View the profile of Angel 
OOC:
Serpent Squad - NPC

Phase III Objective 2: Never Back An Animal Into a Corner...
Location: Tadath - Fort Sexton
Equipment:
  • Jumptrooper Armor
  • Stormtrooper II Carbines
  • DC15s Holdout Blasters
  • Misc. Array of Grenades (5 each)
  • One (1) Personal Choice Weapon
Orders:Serpent Squad is told that three of their fallen comrades are still alive, but unable to extract themselves. Serpent must locate them and bring them home.
Opposition: Assorted Thrawn Infantry (numbers unknown)
Add'l Equip.: None
NPC Support: None
Max Posts: 15
Additional Information: None at this time.
Tactical Officer - Army High Council | Company Commander - Phoenix Company
TO-CC/1LT Angel/HCA-4/Phoenix/Dragon/Osiris/Stormtrooper Corps/Tadath/Vast Empire
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----------------------------------------
Darth Phoenix - Dark Lord of the Sith
DLoS/SI Phoenix/DC-04/Lopen/Dark Jedi Order/Vast Empire
[VP:1]

Garryll Gates
ComNet Member
 
Garryll Gates
 
[VE-ARMY] Sergeant First Class
 
Post Number:  889
Total Posts:  2159
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  RE: ESC Storyline - BlackJack
August 24, 2009 10:24:42 AM    View the profile of Garryll Gates 
“Sergeant Melbourne,” the comlink crackled. “Sergeant, respond. This is Army High Command.”

“We hear you sir, loud and clear,” replied the Serpent squad leader. “What is it?”

“Good to hear you,” the AHC voice said. “Casualties?”

“One KIA, one WIA, three MIA,” Jax replied.

“Alright,” the comlink spoke again. “Leave no man behind. Command out.”

Ganer slotted a new clip of sniper rifle ammunition into his rifle and cracked the bolt back. Around him, the rest of the Serpents were also quickly and efficiently re-equipping, grabbing new clips and replacing used grenades, and all were swapping out their jetpacks for full fuel tanks.

“Alright,” Sergeant Melbourne began, standing tall and ready. “Here’s the situation. Three of our brothers have gone MIA – Drae, Hegan and Lesse. Command has a standing order to leave no man behind, and that’s a good thing, because we would have gone after ‘em anyway. We’re going to find them and bring them home. No excuses. And if we make them bleed, all the better. Can I get a hoo-ah?”

“Hoo-ah, sir!” cried the squad. They leapt to their feet, ready to fly into the wilderness and find and rescue their comrades.

“Alright, let’s go,” Jax said, and they took off, two at a time. Rai shuffled up, her helmet in hands and Stormtrooper-II hanging by its sling.

“C’mon sir, let me come. They’re my friends too,” she said.

“Stand down, Corporal,” Ganer replied icily. “You have a severe concussion. Any further injury can and will kill you. Find the infirmary.”

She looked angry and dejected. Ganer’s face hardened. “That’s an order. I understand the emotion, but it is going to have to take a back seat. I’m not risking another trooper. Find the infirmary.”

She sighed and turned. The rest of Serpent squad was in the air, and they headed for the forest.

“Fly low,” ordered Jax. “We don’t want to be seen until the last moment.”

The Serpents obliged, dropping to only a couple feet over the tree tops, in a loose delta formation. They had their weapons readied and on full charge. The last of the sun dripped beneath the horizon, and the red-bathed trees began to turn the dark green of night. Night had well and truly arrived.

“Sir,” Ganer said into the comlink. “We are going to stick out like sore thumbs against the night sky.”

“I know. That’s why we’re flying low,” Jax replied calmly, then switched to the squad channel. “Serpents, get that Night Vision on, and keep your eyes peeled for contacts or the others.”

A chorus of affirmatives came across the comlink as the Serpents flipped their visors to the second setting and began swiveling their heads to cover the most ground.

“What are we facing here?” asked Wist, grasping his rifle tighter. “More Jumptroopers?”

“Unknown,” Ganer said shortly. “But we’re not here to fight.”

“Roger that,” Termin replied. “Are we going to get on the ground? Track ‘em?”

“We’ll have to eventually. We’ll go to ground once we get back to our initial position. Speed is of the essence right now,” Jax replied. “How far out are we from last contact?”

“Two hundred meters, closing fast,” Ganer said, checking their coordinates. “ETA thirty seconds. 20 seconds.”

“Lock and load, Serpents,” Melbourne announced. “Those Thrawnies are going to pay for this.”
ASL/SFCGarryll Gates/2SQD/2PLT/1COM/1RGT/1BAT/Tadath/VEA/VE

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If these people want to fight me, I'll blow 'em straight to Hell!
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Corvin
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Corvin
 
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  RE: ESC Storyline - BlackJack
August 24, 2009 2:13:50 PM    View the profile of Corvin 
The first sign of the Thrawnist's continued presence in the area was the flurry of blaster fire that shot upwards from the forest. Helmeted faces and armour were illuminated by flashes as the army troopers continued to fire their blasters upwards at the Serpent troopers.

"Detonators, now!" Melbourne yelled, blaster bolts pinging off his belt's blast dampeners. The Serpent troopers obeyed, throwing grenades into the middle of the formation. A dozen explosions blossomed below them, turning the pines into torches and sending the green-armoured Thrawnists flying in all directions. The survivors split up, firing as they moved.

"Finish them off." Ganer coldly ordered. The scattered Army troopers fell in twos and threes as the Serpent's blaster fire penetrated their chestplates. Scattered and disoriented, they fired wildly or tried to flee. They were cut down by single shots from above as they ran.

The squads descended on the running troopers, firing bursts as they went. Lenix jetted through the air, holding a vibroweapon in each hand and swinging as he flew. A Thrawnist trooper screamed in agony as one of the humming blades sliced through his helmet strap and neck, sending his body sprawling into the forest soil with a loud thump. Cackling like a madman, which he almost certainly could be considered to be, Lenix tore through the retreating Thrawnists like a nexu through a herd of nerfs.

Throughout the forest, similar scenes were taking place, the Serpents taking out their pent-up rage and frustration on the Army troopers. There were a pair of dull thumps, and a trooper stumbled and fell with a pair of rail charges piercing his torso. The charges blew a second later, tearing the trooper to pieces and riddling a pair of his comrades with shrapnel. Grimly, Barro turned the weapon on his side, pushing another clip into place before looking for another target.

“Another fine piece,” Lenix cackled, literally disarming a Thrawnist with a deft vibroblade stab before slicing at the man with calculated thrusts. The forest floor around the dying Thrawnist was quickly stained red. Finally tiring of his sadistic games, Lenix ended the trooper’s life by impaling him with a slash of his vibrosword.

Melbourne frowned as he glanced over his shoulder at the insane medic. The man was competent, no doubt about that, and he was as good a shot as the Sergeant had ever seen, but sometimes he made him wonder if Rai and Tyrone didn’t have a point with their requests for his removal from the squad.

No time to worry about that now: the Thrawnists were beginning to realize that they outnumbered his pursuers. A group had taken cover behind a clump of pines and were starting to return fire. Melbourne fired a burst at the three, cutting it apart and killing the man who’d been hiding behind it.

Realizing that they were vulnerable, the surviving two Army troopers ran from their cover and charged recklessly, firing as they came. Melbourne doubled over as a blaster bolt slammed into his chestplate, causing him to jerk uncontrollably. A pair of blaster bolts flew past the squad leader’s ear, cutting down first one then both of the Thrawnists. They flopped over with their chests reduced to charred husks.

Still gasping for breath, Melbourne looked up to see Ganer striding towards him, his Stormtrooper Two clutched in both hands. The Serpent Squad Leader nodded in thanks.

“Thanks for the assist. What's the situation?” Jax said, one hand on his side.

The quiet ASL shrugged.

“We’re mopping up the last of them now. Eighty meters to last contact with Drae and the others.”

His piece said, Ganer turned his attention back to the retreating Thrawnists, downing one of them with a precise shot to the neck. His comrades half-turned, then fled as a second energy beam hit another trooper.

Melbourne was about to request status reports over the com when the first proton cannon round tore through the forest.
TRP/PVT Corvin/2SQD/2PLT/1COM/1RGT/1BAT/Tadath/VEA/VE
*HeavyWeapons *
Read the bloody manual!
"Never believe a rumour of my demise. I have as many lives as a cat. Also as many teeth, as many claws, and the same cheery, cooperative disposition." Peter Wiggin, Xenocide
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Church:"None of our plans ever work."
Caboose:"That's why we carry guns."
Garryll Gates
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Garryll Gates
 
[VE-ARMY] Sergeant First Class
 
Post Number:  894
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  RE: ESC Storyline - BlackJack
August 25, 2009 3:19:37 PM    View the profile of Garryll Gates 
The heavy round took a tree apart on its way past. A second was tight on its heels, flashing through the forest and lighting the undergrowth up with a blood-red light.

“Hit the deck!” yelled someone, and everyone fell or dove face-first into the dirt and loam of the forest floor. Ganer fell down beside a dead Thrawnist in a pool of his own blood. There were a dozen slices in the decapitated man’s chest and neck, and the Serpent ASL pushed the body away in distaste.

“Dammit Lenix,” Ganer muttered. “I may be cold, but you’re one psychotic demon.”

The proton cannon blasted heavily, decapitating trees and slicing through the leaves. The rounds made huge, slamming noises as they cut through the air, and kicked up tall pillars of dirt and muck when they hit the ground.

“We’re pinned down!” yelled Wist.

“I can see that!” Kline responded in his signature drawl. “Why don’t you shut up and do somethin’ about it?”

Boldly, the reckless man rose to his feet and jetted into the air, firing an M3 in both hands. The powerful rounds blasted at the source of the proton cannon shots, but all it did was draw its attention to the annoyance.

Jax and Termin made the best of the distraction, popping up and bowling grenades at the partially-visible heavy gun. The gunners saw the spinning silver explosives for a second before they landed and then exploded. The gun was incinerated, along with the gunners, turning them all into a short pile of ash and smoke.

Kline came back to earth, his jets kicking up a halo of dirt around his landing.

“How was my distraction?” Kline asked, spinning his revolvers around his fingers and then slipping them casually into his holsters. “Sir.”

“Ridiculously reckless and gutsy,” Jax replied.

The man hesitated for a second, and then decided to take the remark as a compliment. “I try, sir.”

“Termin, did you find the trail yet?” Ganer asked to the side. “You said you can track them.”

“Yes sir, I’ve got their heading,” the scout replied quietly. “And it’s that way. What worries me is that they didn’t just use their jetpacks to fly out of there.”

“They obviously didn’t want any more attention,” Ganer replied. “Heck, the ruckus we just raised here, we might have drawn them out of hiding.”

“We can only hope, sir,” the scout replied, and began to follow the tracks out of the clearing.

“Serpents, move it out!” called Ganer, and they formed into two parallel lines, walking carefully after the scout, rifles raised and warily inspecting their surroundings.

The comlink fell silent as they mutely followed the scout track their three missing comrades. Eventually, he stopped.

“What’ the holdup?” asked Linix, rasping through his rebreather and carefully stroking the butt of his vibroblades.

“Does it look like I want to stop?” Termin replied nastily, turning. “The trail is confused here, and look. Here’s a spent power cell. There’s carbon scoring on the trees that way. And now that I think about it-”

He stalked a few feet over and pulled a bush to the side. A dead Thrawnist Stormtrooper was slumped, dead, a blaster hole in his chest.

“Looks like the Serpents gave this one more than he could chew,” Jax said proudly.

“And now they’re fleeing from likely pursuit,” Ganer replied pragmatically. “They got into hot contact, and now we need to catch up to them faster.”

Jax grunted at his assistant’s pessimism and then nodded to Termin. The scout carefully looked around the clearing, and eventually found a heavily disturbed patch of woods deeper into the forest, off the beaten animal paths.

“They went this way,” Termin said, and led the way into the overgrown area. The squad warily followed, ready for anything and everything that Thrawnist ground forces could throw at them.
ASL/SFCGarryll Gates/2SQD/2PLT/1COM/1RGT/1BAT/Tadath/VEA/VE

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Tanus Solvona
ComNet Member
 
Tanus Solvona
 
[VE-ARMY] Gunnery Sergeant
[VE-ICS] Pirivateer Captain
 
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  RE: ESC Storyline - BlackJack
August 25, 2009 7:05:44 PM    View the profile of Tanus Solvona 
Jax held his rifle in one hand, a thermal detonator in the other. Termin was ahead of him, heavy vibroblade and pistol at the ready. Jax had to give the man credit; he was leading them through enemy infested territory with relative ease and keeping them out of harm’s way. No easy task, considering what Thrawn had out there waiting for us. Best we can do is just keep at the ready. Scott was off to the right of Jax and back a few paces, looking up into the trees to make sure there was no airborne threat, his sniper rifle fully loaded and ready at a moment’s notice. Barro was behind Scott, gently caressing the Rail Detonator that Rai had to relinquish while she got patched up in the infirmary. At the back of the group, Linix stood alone, muttering to himself and fingering his scalpel, letting the blade tip spin on his body glove, chuckling every so often. Jax had to actually fight off the urge to shudder as Termin lead them along. The trail wound left and right, and more than a few times carbon scores could be seen on the ground and trees. Drae and the others have been here. And aside from the general sense of dread, I get the feeling they aren’t dead yet.

Termin held his hand up and went down to a crouch, peering through some bushes and waving Scott and Jax forward. They edged closer until they were next to Termin, who was peering out through the bushes and looking left and right.

“What’s up?”

“I just saw a patrol. There weren’t many of them, but if they see us, they’ll know we have more people in the area, and I don’t want to put the others at risk.”

“Good call. Scott, when they walk by again, take ‘em out. I want good, clean kills. Oh, and keep it as quiet as possible.”

“You got it boss.”

Scott got up next to a low branch and extended the bipod on his rifle. The solid black barrel did not extend out past the bushes, which was good for the squad. Jax and Termin took a position next to Scott; no one else moved as they waited for the patrol to come by again. It took a few minutes, but soon three troops came around a tree, headed off down the path. Scott put three quick rounds out, killing them all in quick succession. Scott gave a thumbs-up to Termin and Jax. Termin looked around the tree and then through a set of bushes.

“All right. The path forks again here. One goes through that grove, and the other leads into the forest a little deeper. Chances are if we take the grove path we’ll end up fighting a few more Thrawnists than we need to.”

“I agree,” Jax said, his thoughts swirling. “Looks like we’re taking the secondary path then. Lead away, Termin.”

“It’s what I do, sir.”

The squad walked onwards once more, their weapons raised ever higher now that they had seen more enemies around the paths. Jax didn’t like that. That just means they have a bigger operation here. And that could mean the others got taken captive – or worse. Damn it guys, just be alive. As they kept on going, the brush got thicker and more wildly grown. Termin pulled out his heavy duty vibroblade and started to slice through the undergrowth in the dark shadows of the looming trees. As they progressed, Termin just chuckled; Jax had to know why.

“What’s so funny, Termin?”

“Oh? Well, sir, it looks like the others took this path too. I can see some blade marks on the trees and still more carbon scores. That means that Thrawn’s forces have been out here, and more than likely still are. This has the makings of a trap all over it, however crude.”

“So what are our chances?”

“Relatively good, if we manage to stay under their radar and away from any large patrols. Take out anything with four people or less, just to keep them guessing as to what is hitting them.”

“Good call. That way they don’t know the size of the force.”

“More or less. However, that proton cannon crew may or may not have managed to relay info on us back to their HQ.”

“Perfect. SO we’re screwed either way?”

“Something like that.”

Jax grunted an indifferent response as Termin continued to lead them on through the forest, their armor showing vibrantly off the trees and in the shadows that surrounded them. More than a few times, Jax looked up at what he swore were the sound of jetpacks, but quickly stopped as they moved into denser foliage with better cover. Unless they burn down the forest now, they won’t be able to find us. Or unless they happen to be using hunting animals. As he said that, a low growl came from the shadows.

“Anybody else hear that?”

“Yeah, I did.”

“I did too.”

“Anyone know what it is?”

“If my memory serves, and I believe it does,” Termin said, “that would be a cistox.”

“Oh, great. We screwed?”

“Unless we boost out in the next five seconds, you can bet your pension we will be.”

“Got no choice then. Serpents, hit it!”

The troopers all activated their jets at the same time as several lizard-like creatures leapt out of the trees, and growled at the loss of their quarry. They hit the branches and turned off the jets, where Jax holstered his rifle and started to climb.

“C’mon, we need to put some distance between us and the beasts. When you break the canopy, hit the jets and back track. We’ll need to go through the grove.”

About a minute later, Jax poked his head out through the top of the canopy and had a look around. No one was in sight, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t anybody waiting. He raised his body a little more and looked out at the moon. It was mocking him in a sort of way; Jax even thought he heard laughter somewhere. Man, I really need to get out more. The others popped through the canopy one by one until they were all accounted for.

“So what now?”

“Just what I said earlier. Get back to the grove and head through that way. I like cover, but I also like not being ambushed by the local wildlife.”

“Then maybe you’d prefer the enemy with blasters.”

Jax turned his head and saw them: There were about 6 of them, 2 of which were carrying rail detonators. Bugger all. Jax made a move to duck back down but it was too late; Blaster bolts were already flying at them, and two rail charges flew past their heads. Jax swore as he activated his jets.

“No choice now. Serpents, return fire!”
SL/GSGT/SF Tanus Solvona/2SQD/2PLT/1CMP/1REG/1BAT/Tadath/VEA
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Garryll Gates
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Garryll Gates
 
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  RE: ESC Storyline - BlackJack
August 25, 2009 7:43:58 PM    View the profile of Garryll Gates 
The powerful rail cannons tore holes in the canopy, breaking into the cool night air and exploding, sending fire into the upper reaches of the forest, and lighting up the night like a fire cracker.

Unfortunately for the Thrawnists, the Serpents had all dodged below the tree level, and were spared the brunt of the blast. Fire rained down as the explosives burnt out. Soon, the forest floor and the upper branches were speared by a twisting maze of laser bolts that were tearing from both combatants and striking the ground and environment.

A Thrawnist cried out in pain, and fell, his helmet split in two from the powerful armor-piercing round that Scott had fired from his position. Laser bolts fell thick as rain from the Serpents, drenching the Thrawnists’ positions with fire and blood.

Kline rolled to avoid a laser blast and fell off of his tree branch, falling to the forest floor. He landed heavily on feet, having scrambled in the air frantically so as not to break his back. Adjusting his position and wincing as his legs sent complaining shots of pain to his brain, he gripped his pistols tighter and clattered off a group of shots, the powerful rounds barking in the dark night, another one-time strobe light in the already confused firefight.

Another brace of laser fire tore from behind the Serpents’ positions. Someone cried out in pain and the Serpents frantically split their fire, several firing on either party.

“We need to get out of here!” cried Termin, firing his Stormtrooper II at the flanking Thrawnists. “We’re well and truly flanked!”

“Charge the first group,” Scott said calmly.

“What?!” Cley asked. “That’s suicide!”

“So is strapping a giant explosive backpack onto you and lighting it, but we do that for a living,” laughed Kline. “I’m all up for it. I’ll get my badassery boy scout badge.”

“It can work,” Jax said. “Full fire on the front ones. Then charge. Scott, cover us.”

“Aye, sir,” the sniper said, and the squad swiveled and opened up on full-auto at the hapless Thrawnist ground troops. The heavy sniper rifle banged twice, taking a man out, and then the Jumptrooper squad descended like a swarm of locusts on a field of wheat.

Linix cackled with delight as his vibroblade tasted blood again, dicing the Thrawnist patrol sergeant to bloody ribbons. Scott looked on, his sniper rifle poised momentarily, the area too crowded for it to be used. He saw the medic covered in blood and hacking the man apart.

Ganer’s mouth tightened into a thin line. He cared for all the men in his command. He was cold, because it made him efficient, and efficiency would get him home to his wife and kids. He intended to keep as many of the Serpents as alive as possible. He would fight for all of them, risk his neck to save any of them.

Except maybe Lenix. The Kel Dor was psychotic, a bloodthirsty alien with an unquenchable thirst. Wist and Rai were vocal in their complaints against him, but Ganer stayed carefully neutral and fair. He was a good medic.

But this most recent campaign was just another sign of the medic’s madness. He wouldn’t be destroyed if the man didn’t make it home. He could deal with it.

“Scott!” Jax yelled. “C’mon or you’ll be left behind!”

“Yes sir,” the sniper replied, and leapt lightly down from his perch, landing momentarily on the next lower branch, and then the one below that, before landing on the ground.

He tossed a grenade over his shoulder, and sprinted at the waiting Serpents, all bloody from their most recent scrap. Wist was limping from a blaster wound in his leg, but it didn’t stop him from running with them. The man was so soaked with adrenaline and hatred that he wouldn’t be stopped by something as simple as a single laser blast. Scott’s grenade exploded loudly behind them, filling the air with more screams and the sound of a falling tree.

They emerged back onto the main trail, occasional laser blasts flickering past their heads, but growing fainter as the confused and disoriented Thrawnists tried to find where their adversaries had gone.

“Alright,” Jax said, taking a breather. “Lenix, patch Wist up.”

The Private glared at the medic, but let him close with a bacta patch. Termin dusted his armor off and peered down at the path. “Alright. Maybe I can find the track again.”

“Damn well better find it,” Jax replied. “We still have three brothers MIA.”
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  RE: ESC Storyline - BlackJack
August 25, 2009 8:30:34 PM    View the profile of Corvin 
The air along the trail was dry and cold. A breeze whispered past the pine trees, tugging at the Serpent troopers armour plates as they sprinted down the trail, white blurs against the grey and black backdrop of the nighttime pine forest.

Evidence of a long and vicious firefight was everywhere, with many of the tree trunks reduced to charred hulks or even toppled by stray blaster bolts. If nothing else, the Serpents were on the right track.

There was a whistle accompanied by the hiss of displaced air as a rail charge arced through the air, passing less than an inch away from Cline's helmet. The Lance Corporal spun around, dropping to one knee and returning fire as he did so.

"It's a squad of the Blue-heads." Kline drawled, firing single shots from one then another of his DC-15 pistols. More outlines rose above the treetops, the yellow-orange flames belching from their backpacks giving them away. "Make that two."

"Barro, give them a few party favors." Melbourne declared. The strange reference had been in use since the squad's formation, originating in a joke all involved had since forgotten about.

"Very good, sir." the Serpent trooper replied, pointing the boxy launcher at an angle and stiffening in anticipation of recoil. There was a momentary flash of light from the detonator's barrel, and both the weapon and the trooper wielding it were pushed back as a round shot upwards with a roar.

A moment later, Barro was rewarded by a yell and a bang as a jumptrooper took a hit and started to fall before exploding a few meters short of the ground.

The Thawnist's comrades retaliated by firing their own rail detonators, but the shots went wide, leveling trees and carving massive craters into the forest floor but missing the Serpents.

Barro fired again, this time missing by almost a meter as the Thrawnist moved at the last moment. Shrapnel rained down on the forest, bouncing off or embedding itself in the Serpents' armour. Those of the Thrawnists who'd already landed were engaged in a firefight with their counterparts, aided by cover fire from another squad hovering overhead.

Barro estimated that there were three squads worth of attackers and briefly wondered if the Serpents were capable of three to one odds before a glancing blaster hit reminded him of his duty.

Ducking behind a nearby tree, more for concealment than for the rudimentary cover it provided, the Heavy Weapon Specialist turned his rail detonator on its side and examined the cartridge attached to its side. Two shots were left in it out of the full loadout of ten.

Added to the spares he had clipped to his belt, that made thirty-two shots left before the rail detonator was so much deadweight.

Barro Cley could only hope that it would prove to be enough.

====

The Stormtrooper stumbled backwards into the tree trunk as he was pumelled by blue-white energy bolts, dropping his rifle as he twitched uncontrollably. Barry Kline half-expected that to be the end of it, but the man somehow found the energy to raise one armoured fist. Barry saw a glint of metal and instantly opened fire again. This time, the man slumped down against the now-riddled tree trunk, the vibroblade he'd been about to toss slipping from his limp fingers.

Barry caught a blur of white on his helmet camera and whirled around. The Thrawnist jumptrooper who'd been trying to sneak up on him froze, his short vibrosword still raised above his head in both hands.

"Howdy." Barry said ,quite calmly, then sidestepped as the Thrawnist lunged and stabbed downwards. The Lance Corporal brought the butt of one pistol down on the back of the man's neck, aiming for the weak spot between the bottom of the helmet and the jetpack attachment. The man shivered on impact, staggering slightly.

Coolly and precisely, Kline pushed both blaster pistols into the same spot, then pulled the trigger. Energy beams burned through the bodyglove, searing the Thrawnist's neck before emerging through the other side. The jumptrooper tottered slightly, then dropped with his head at an impossible angle.

Twirling his pistols with a flourish, Barry holstered one of them. There was a flash as a thermal detonator went off nearby, and a clump of trees vanished instantly. His visor darkenning to compensate, Barry saw Jax and Ganer standing back to back, fighting against several Thrawnists apiece.

There was a squeal of static as the Squad Leader opened a com channel.

"Take to the air, Serpents! Too many of the karkers for us to handle."

There were a flurry of acknowledgments, some clearly confused.
Reluctantly, Barry replied in the affirmative, then activated his own jetpack. They weren't running, he told himself. His only consolation was that they weren't leaving anyone behind this time.
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Tanus Solvona
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  RE: ESC Storyline - BlackJack
August 26, 2009 1:41:34 AM    View the profile of Tanus Solvona 
Jax grimaced as the squad jettisoned off the ground, firing at the ground from the intercepting Thrawn forces. Damn it, damn it, damn it! I knew it was too good to be true. If it wasn’t the bloody cistox, it was a Jumptrooper ambush. He knew. Damn it all, he knew! Jax primed a grenade and dropped it in the forest below. Three seconds later it went off with a resounding explosion, and fire ate at the trees and underbrush below. Screams came up from the ground as fire and shrapnel consumed them. The Serpents hovered in place for a moment, surveying the landscape and looking for a new path.

“How does it look, Termin? We have anywhere else we can go?”

Termin was surveying the landscape carefully, taking in every possible detail before answering back to the rather flustered Squad Leader.

“All right, it looks like there’s another path we can take, but for all we know there another ten proton cannons set up and waiting – and Thrawn with a rocket launcher just for spice. As much as I hate to say, that is really our only option. Even if the fuel is good, we’ll be cut apart up here and chances are we won’t see the others from up here when the foliage gets thick.”

“All right. Serpents, fly wide and keep an eye out. When we hit the ground, I want any bogies off us in relative quickness. From there, Termin will take us down the path and we’ll handle it from there. Now let’s get to it.”

Serpent squad turned around, dodging blaster fire from the remaining Jumptroopers attacking them. Jax put up two blaster bolts to his left, driving off the Jumptrooper straight into Wist’s line of fire; Jax watched as the Jumptrooper fell, his armor riddled with smoking holes. Only four more. Jax spun out the way as a rail charge exploded off to this left. Ganer fired some rounds from his Stormtrooper Two, hitting the man twice in the leg. He flew off into the night, but was quickly picked off by one of the other Serpents.

“All right, we’re getting close, Serpents. Get ready to drop, fire and run. Scott, when we hit ground, I need those buggers gone.”

“You got it, boss.”

“Good. Now, if everyone’s ready, let’s get it done.”

Jax turned around and started to drop in altitude, firing as he descended. Linix was firing as well, cackling as he did so. He fell back to the trees with a backwards roll and continued to fire as Scott landed, ran into the trees, set up his rifle and fired off three quick shots. Jax turned around and gave him the thumbs up as the last three bodies fell from the sky and hit the ground with a crunch.

“I knew I made a good call when I requested you.”

“What can I say? I’m awesome.”

“And so modest too.”

“Meh, it’s a skill.”

“Heh. All right. Now, Termin, what’ve you got for us?”

“Well, it looks like if we can get into the forest deep enough – and stay to a relatively clear path and avoid the hungry locals – we should be okay for the nonce. But I promise nothing for the long term, especially with those bastards flying overhead.”

“Aye. The best we can hope for is to say relatively quiet and hope no one notices us until we can extract the others. And The Maker knows when that will be, not we seem to be on the opposite side of where they were.”

“I dunno about that boss.”

“What do you mean Termin?”

“Well, this entire forest is interconnected on, essentially, one giant path that meets somewhere in the middle, prolly about half a klick up. That said, Drae and the others could be anywhere from here to Sianat City.”

“Kriffing wonderful. So best chance we’ve got is to hunt them down in the forest and pray we don’t get shot?”

“More or less.”

“All right then. Termin, you take lead, I’ll follow behind. Scott, you give us some could cover if you see anything up top. Barro, I need you ready for an explosive solution at any time. Everyone else, make sure you have some grenades for this. Because there’s a good chance we won’t be leaving alive.”

“Don’t say that, Sarge,” Barro said with a laugh. “We’ll get all depressed if you start acting like that.”

Jax could only laugh. The absurdity of this situation was finally starting eat at his psyche. Maker Above, I’ll end up like Linix by the end of this. Jax turned to Termin, who started on his deep into the looming forest, it’s shadows consuming the men of Serpent squad as they looked on for their brothers.
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Corvin
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  RE: ESC Storyline - BlackJack
August 26, 2009 2:14:08 PM    View the profile of Corvin 
The night sky was tinged with with streaks of dark red and wreathed by thick clouds. If Tyrone Wist turned up his aural amplifiers, he could faintly hear the booming of artillery over the background noise of the forest and the rustle of needles under the squad's feet. Tadath's defenders were being tested to their limits.

The Private was jogging along near the front of the formation, Stormtrooper Two cradled in his arms. Termin was strolling along in the lead, guiding the squad along the path. The Serpents advanced in silence, weapons held casually but with the safeties off. Better to err on the side of caution.

Tyrone found himself actually hoping they would run into another band of Thrawnists. The kriffers had killed Redd in front of him, blown his head into pieces less than an inch away from his faceplate.

Franklin had been a good drinking buddy and better friend, and just like that he'd been gone. He'd lost comrades before, of course, but he'd never been quite as friendly with them as he'd been with Redd.

There would be a reckoning, the Private thought, checking his Stormtrooper Two as he walked. Yes, there would. His breathing quickened slightly as his fists clenched tightly around the carbine.

Jax glanced over his shoulder for a moment, concerned. The silence seemed to weigh down heavily on the spirits of all the Serpents, reminding them of their mission and what might be waiting for them.

Drae, Hegan, and Vinn had been, were Tyrone mentally corrected, decent troopers and good comrades and there was no question of the Serpents returning without them.

Still, the question of what state they might be in hovered in the mind of Tyrone and every other trooper in the squad. Odds worse than three to one were problematic at best, and when one factored in the  training and armament of the Thrawnists, not to mention the various injuries the three had suffered...

Tyrone was abruptly jerked from his thoughts by the rustle of someone striding through the undergrowth.

"Contact." Ganer said emotionlessly, raising his weapon as he spoke.

"What the he-" someone started to yell, only to be cut off by several bursts of Stormtrooper Fire. The Army trooper fell over with his chestplate in pieces and smoking, his pistol shot going wide and hitting an overhead branch. Lenix came to a sudden stop with a sigh of disappointment, vibroblade already in hand and humming as it activated.

The racket was enough to alert anyone within a hundred meters, as the green-armoured troopers charging into the clearing from the trees clearly proved.

Smiling grimly under his helmet, Tyrone raised his Stormtrooper Two to shoulder height and held down the trigger, spraying automatic blaster fire towards the squads pouring from the trees. Normally, that would have been a waste of ammunition, but with so many attackers, he could hardly miss.

Two Army troopers were caught by multiple beams and fell backwards, onto the row advancing behind them. Barry and Ganer threw a pair of miniature thermal detonators into the Thrawnist ranks, consuming the lead group.

"How'd they get so many of these buggers?" Kline asked rhetorically, firing another rail detonator round upon finishing the question. The explosion riddled three troopers with metal and caused a pine tree to collapse on another group.

"We're leaving!" Jax roared, slamming his carbine's butt into the face of a trooper wielding a vibrobayonet-attached rifle. The man staggered back, and Jax emptied his weapon's clip into his face.

That was when more blaster-fire erupted to the north, further along the path.

Tyrone braced for the energy beam impacts for a moment, then blinked when none came. That meant there was a second firefight going on, which meant...

"Serpents, to the sky!" Jax shouted, and Tyrone obeyed.

OOC:
Still a long way away from the source of the blasterfire, that might not even be the three troopers...
TRP/PVT Corvin/2SQD/2PLT/1COM/1RGT/1BAT/Tadath/VEA/VE
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Read the bloody manual!
"Never believe a rumour of my demise. I have as many lives as a cat. Also as many teeth, as many claws, and the same cheery, cooperative disposition." Peter Wiggin, Xenocide
Washington:"I knew this plan would never work!"
Church:"None of our plans ever work."
Caboose:"That's why we carry guns."
Garryll Gates
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  RE: ESC Storyline - BlackJack
August 26, 2009 3:11:45 PM    View the profile of Garryll Gates 
The Serpents jumped into the sky yet again, their training taking over as they jetted up. Distantly, a platoon of Thrawnist army troops was ringing a small cave mouth, and laser fire was flickering dimly between them.

“Serpents!” Ganer muttered, sighting down his sniper rifle’s optics. “I can see one of them occasionally dashing in the cave mouth and firing.”

“Let’s get ‘em then,” Kline drawled confidently.

“In case you haven’t realized,” snarled Wist. “There’s thirty-something army troops down there, with god knows how much backup en route. We can’t go in without a plan.”

“They’re our brothers! And we need to get them out now!” Termin said in return. Voices were beginning to be raised in argument. Everyone was firing off what they thought about the situation, and they only stopped when Jax raised his voice.

“Everyone shut up!” he yelled. “We’re getting them out! Shut up!”

“So what’s the plan? Can we hurry this up?” asked Lenix, bobbing in midair and rubbing his blades. “I want to create another masterpiece.”

“Screw you and your disgusting art!” screamed Wist. “We have brothers down there, you piece of psychotic alien crap!”

Cley, the Twi’lek, bristled, but Ganer shot him a look. No one much liked the crazy, blood-thirsty medic, and they wouldn’t interfere.

“Oh yeah?!” the Kel Dor replied testily. “I keep people alive! And I’d very much not like to have to put one of you back together when we rush in there!”

“Oh that’s rich, coming from you!” spat Wist, balling his fists. “You cut people up and torture them – you have no honor, no patriotism. You just want to kill!”

Jax cleared his throat quietly. The two instantly shut up, and swiveled in midair to face their squad leader. “Ahem.” He said again.

“I realize tempers are high, and we’ve lost comrades,” Jax said calmly. “But that’s no reason to be at one another’s throats. I will now tell you all the plan, and we will follow it to the letter. Are there any questions?”

The squad hovered silently. Jax smiled lightly and began to outline the plan.

“Alright,” he began, pointing as he did so. “Ganer will lead a team over that away, and draw their attention. His squad will have the heavy weapons and will create as much chaos as possible. Everyone else will wait with me until they are well and truly tripping over their own shoes, and then we will strike. A fast-moving spike into the heart of the enemy, ripping their flank wide open. That’s the winner – we’ll rip into them, and hopefully drive them to rout. Even if we can just make them pull back a little, it should be enough to grab Drae, Hegan and Vinn. Can I get a hoo-ah?”

“Hoo-ah, sir!” shouted Serpent, one man, previous arguments forgotten.

“Let’s give ‘em hell.”
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Tanus Solvona
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  RE: ESC Storyline - BlackJack
August 26, 2009 11:42:14 PM    View the profile of Tanus Solvona 
The squad descended slowly and as quietly as possible as the Thrawnist platoon was busy trying to decimate the three Serpents on the ground. Hold on guys, the cavalry has arrived. They fell in past the treeline and when they were about three off the ground, turned off their jets. Each fell and landed in a small clatter of plastoid and cracking leaves and twigs. Jax looked out past the bushes and smiled; they still hadn’t been noticed yet. He turned back to the squad and then to the trail behind them. There was not much light from the moon seeping through the canopy, but what light that made it offered pretty fair illumination. That could also be our undoing though. Best to make this careful. He nodded at Scott, who was already loading a fresh clip into his sniper rifle.

“All right. Scott, Barro, Wist, and Termin will take the heavy ordnance and hit them hard. When we have them distracted, I’ll take the others and hit their flank with everything we’ve got. Between the two groups, we should be able to shift them from the mortal coil – or at least force them to fall back. Termin, how long till y’all can set up shop?”

“Even at a steady pace, no more than five minutes to get there and get ready.”

“All right, good. Everyone else, make sure you have your ammo and grenades ready. I want this to be lightning quick and twice as deadly. Now, without further delay, let’s get started. Termin, you lead them over to the ambush spot. I’ll stay here and wait for you guys to open up. When you do, we’ll fly in and hit them hard.”

Termin and Scott nodded, and without a further word turned off and plodded off into the darkness. Jax turned back to the sound of blaster fire and stormtroopers running up sometimes two or three at a time to the mouth of the cave, only to be rebuked by the three Serpents that dwelled within. Jax only chuckled. Good job boys. You’re all doing my proud right now. Jax stood with his back up against a tree, a grenade in his hand and ready to throw. Linix was caressing his vibroblades as one would a lover; the others were standing well away from him, checking their ammo and weapons before the big charge. It’s almost time now. About another two minutes passed by, with nothing but the sound of blaster fire and shouts coming from near and around the cave. As another group of troopers charged, a white streak flew out of the tree line and exploded in the center of the group. The stormtroopers were thrown into the air and dirt rained down on the ground. The other stormtroopers looked around for the source of the blast, and then two more were picked off by two well placed sniper rounds. Two thermal detonators flew out from the line and detonated near the fringes of the group, taking out another five enemies. Now it’s our turn.

Jax spun off of the tree and activated his jetpack, aiming with his Stormtrooper Two and firing one handed, throwing the grenade with the other hand. The Stormtroopers had already begun to scatter by the time the grenade went off, but another two troopers were consumed by the blast. Linix swooped down like a bird of prey and slashed a man across the chest, coming back up in a graceful rise before unloading with a salvo from his Stormtrooper Two. Jax targeted another trooper running for the trees and hit him in the back with three well placed rounds. He moved off to the side as some of the ground forces made a last stand with the weapons they had. There were only five of them, and soon there were five dead bodies, smoking from blaster fire. Jax opened up the squad channel.

“All right. Does anybody know how many we got?”

“About twenty or so. The others ran off into the trees.”

“That could be bad. That means they could be going for reinforcements.”

“Or maybe they could be going for something bigger.”

“Like what, Termin?”

“Like a pair of E-WEBs. Watch out, boss!”

A salvo of heavy blaster bolts ripped through the air as E-WEB cannons tore up the night sky. Jax and the others danced around the bolts, missing them by millimeters as they flew off into the sky behind them. Two more rail charges lanced out from the forest, slamming into the trees and igniting them in a firestorm and explosive power. Two more troopers were blown through the air and thrown to the ground in front of the cannon emplacements. At the retaliatory act, the cannons swiveled and started to fire on the tree line where the others had set up shop.

“All right, boys, you’ve done your job. Now get the hell out of there before we start losing more men.”

“Roger that.”

As the other Serpents, blasted off into the air, Jax opened up the channel to Drae and the others, who still had not come out of the mouth of the cave. They mist need a medic. He spun around as two more heavy blaster bolts flashed through the air, one of them shaving the right pauldron on his armor.

“Hey Drae, how’re you doing?”

“Boss? That you?”

“The one and only.”

“Thank the Maker. Glad to hear you again.”

“Likewise. How’re you holding up?”

“Not so great. Hegan’s wounded with a blaster bolt to the shoulder and I think I have a sprained ankle. Amazingly enough, the rookie’s all right.”

“Go figure.”

“It’s a mad world, I tell you. Simply mad.”

“I’ll send Linix down to patch you up.”

“He’s still alive? You haven’t shot him yet?”

“No. He’s actually a great medic.”

“Fair enough. I’ll await him with baited breath.”

Jax looked over at Linix, who was busy swerving and dancing through the hail of gunfire with terrifyingly beautiful grace. He pumped off another three shots at the cannon emplacement as another rail charge hit the ground between the two cannons. Another one of the troopers was taken out in the flash of light and fire, but the gunners didn’t stop firing. At least they’re determined. Jax opened up a private connection to Linix, and was answered by muttering in his native tongue. He is one terrifying man.

“Linix, I got a job for you.”

“Delivery man?”

“Close actually. The others in the cave need some medical assistance. Think you can help ‘em out?”

“Do I get a birthday bonus?”

“If you survive that long, sure.”

“Oh good. The kids’ll love the gifts then.”

“Just shut up and help them.”

Linix rocketed down to the cave, and much to the chagrin of the gunners, continued to be untouched by the E-WEB cannons. Jax danced around as well, tossing his fourth grenade into the breach. Shrapnel tore into one of the gunners and he fell over, holding his arm as it started to bleed. Barro fired another rail charge at the second gun, and the charge met it’s mark, sending the second gun up in a storm of fire. The other gunner, trying to get back up, was quickly silenced by the remaining Serpents. When Jax so no other movement in the tree line, he began to descend to the ground, the rest of his men following suit. When they hit the ground, they sprinted to the mouth of the cave where Linix and the others were. The cave was damp and dark, and even with the now copious amounts of light, it was difficult to see. Jax switched on his headlamps and looked around: Drae had a brace around his ankle with a bacta patch attached to the outside of it. Hegan was because wincing as Linix started working on the shoulder wound. Lesse sat across from them, Stormtrooper Two across his lap and eyeing Linix warily. Kid’s smart. Jax waled up and sat down next to Drae.

“So,” Jax started, looking outside to the trees. “What the hell happened.”

“Well, the proton cannon ripped through us and we got cut off. I crashed in the trees about a klick and a half out, and then somewhere along the way met up with Hesse and Hegan. We made our way out here and intercepted a few patrols. Unfortunately, the bastards found our hiding spot out here and started trying to come. We said to hell with that and countered.”

“It’s a wonder you’re still alive.”

“So little confidence in your men? I’m hurt boss.”

“Heh. Well, I’m glad to see you made it, Drae. Can you stand?”

“Aye, I think I can. I know Hesse and Hegan can at any rate.”

“And what about your packs?”

“They still work, as far as I know. Guess we’ll just have to test it out then.”

“Fair enough. How’re you holding up, Hegan?”

“Linix, are you spraying acid in the wound or do you just hate me?”

“I’m spraying bacta and synthflesh. Why? Do you WANT me to use acid?”

“No, you dumb bastard! No kindly patch me up and stop trying to turn me into one of your ‘masterpieces.’”

“Oh, I should make one before we depart…”

“You will do no such thing,” Jax said as he stood up and peered his head outside. “As soon as we patch them up, we’re leaving.”

The next five minutes were permeated by swearing and chuckling as Jax watched the forest carefully; he wasn’t about to discount Thrawn just because they got to their brothers before he did. And now we need to be extra careful. Finally, Hesse stood up, moving his shoulder around to get the feeling back. After they all arched their backs, they gave the thumbs up. Jax didn’t say anything and walked out into the moonlight, Scott at this right and Termin at his left.

“All right, Serpents, let’s get the hell out of this mess.”

As the engines started, a low whistle cut through the air. Jax looked around as he hovered three feet off the ground. The others looked around, rifles at the ready. What in the hell -? His question was answered when a bright blue orb appeared above them. Damn it, no!

“Mortar!”

The squad made to break up, but it was too late. The mortal exploded in the center of the group, sending out a bright blue wave of energy. Jax and the others were knocked out of the air and skidded across the ground, covered in debris. Jax slowly got to his feet, shaking his head and dusting himself off. He looked around at the others, and no one seemed to be terrible injured. Scott gave him the thumbs up, and everyone else seemed ready to go.

“All right. Exit, take two. Let’s go Serpents.”

As Jax activated the jetpack, there was a low rumble, a grown from the generator, and then nothing. Jax looked back at the crater, and then to each of his men. Oh no. Oh Maker above no. Was that…? Did Thrawn just…? Jax tried one more time, and got the same result. The others started to make a rumble. Scott opened up the channel.

“Can anybody else get their packs working?”

“No.”

“Not me.”

“Damn it. What happened?”

“EMP,” Jax said hollowly.

“What?”

“That was an EMP mortar. Thrawn knew we were coming. He bloody knew. Drop the packs, Serpents. It looks like we’re hoofing it.”

“But the packs may work again later…”

“I’m not risking that. I’d rather not be carrying dead weight and get caught with our pants down out there. We had best make sure the rifles and stuff still work.”

Jax pulled out his rifle and pistol and pulled back the trigger once a apiece; thankfully they were still in working order. Others did the same, and all of their weapons seemed to be working. Well, at least the important stuff works. Jax unclipped the jetpack and let it drop to the ground with a clunk; the others followed suit. Man, I even feel lighter now. Jax turned to the forest and nodded.

“All right Serpents, let’s go home.”
SL/GSGT/SF Tanus Solvona/2SQD/2PLT/1CMP/1REG/1BAT/Tadath/VEA
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CA/PRVC Tanus Solvona/YZ-775 (m) Iron Victory/The Osk Company/ICS/VE

Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken - House Martell words, A Song of Ice and Fire
Angel
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Angel
 
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  RE: ESC Storyline - BlackJack
August 27, 2009 12:25:29 AM    View the profile of Angel 
OOC:
Serpent Squad - NPC

Phase III Objective 3: Carry on My Wayward Son.
Location: Tadath - Fort Sexton
Equipment:
  • Jumptrooper Armor
  • Stormtrooper II Carbines
  • DC15s Holdout Blasters
  • Misc. Array of Grenades (5 each)
  • One (1) Personal Choice Weapon
Orders:Trapped behind enemy lines, Serpent must find a way back to Fort Sexton by any means possible.
Opposition: Assorted Thrawn Infantry (numbers unknown)
Add'l Equip.: None
NPC Support: None
Max Posts: 15
Additional Information: None at this time.
Tactical Officer - Army High Council | Company Commander - Phoenix Company
TO-CC/1LT Angel/HCA-4/Phoenix/Dragon/Osiris/Stormtrooper Corps/Tadath/Vast Empire
Imperial Network Star Wars Image
----------------------------------------
Darth Phoenix - Dark Lord of the Sith
DLoS/SI Phoenix/DC-04/Lopen/Dark Jedi Order/Vast Empire
[VP:1]

Garryll Gates
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Garryll Gates
 
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  RE: ESC Storyline - BlackJack
August 27, 2009 3:12:01 PM    View the profile of Garryll Gates 
The squad looked to Termin. The scout sighed and dug his scouting gear out; a compass, GPS – it had also been fried by the EMP – a small map, some extra knives, and miscellaneous gear. He tossed the dysfunctional GPS into the pile. Scott added a thermal detonator with its proximity charge activated in too, figuring that the jet fuel and explosives could create quite the mess for the inevitably-coming Thrawnist troops.

Termin sighed and rapidly checked his map. He traced his finger across the flexible plastic, muttering under his breath and checking his compass. Finally, he stood fully up, triumphantly pointing at the map.

“Got it,” he said, tapping the plastic-covered paper. “We’re here, this clearing. Satellite photos have this area just four kilometers from the far edges of Fort Sexton’s outer walls. Three and a half will get us out of the forest, even. That way!”

The scout pointed, and the Serpents started moving, their jetpacks left behind. The squad moved quickly, freed from the rather encumbering, heavy jetpacks, and was making good time.

“Keep your eyes open,” Jax said in warning. “These are Thrawn’s ground commanders. He may not personally be here, but he’s schooled them in the ways of battle. They’ll be a wily and determined foe.”

“Mmm-hmm,” Kline said carelessly. “Could you quit the mumbo-jumbo, sir?”

“I’ll say what I like when I please,” Jax replied, a smile in his voice. “That’s what the rank pins are for.”

The squad’s spirits had been raised dramatically from finding their three lost comrades. The three MIA men, for their credit, were just as happy to see the cavalry arrive, and were joking along as well. Smiles and familiar stories were being passed around like lucky signs, and even Ganer could feel the optimism. They were only a short march away from the safety of Fort Sexton, and nothing the Thrawnists had thrown at them so far had done anything. Heck, if he said so himself, it seemed like the Serpents were cursed with luck.

Then, unawares, they marched straight into a strung-out search-and-destroy squad of Stormtroopers. The first ran into Termin’s vibroblade, but managed to scream as he went down, blood gushing from his wound. The rest of the Thrawnists whirled around in confusion, but quickly spotted the Serpents, despite the darkness of night.

“Scatter!” Jax yelled, and the squad dodged all over, jumping into cover behind fallen trees and their upright cousins, hitting the deck in shallow depressions and all opening fire.

The forest was filled once more with the harsh sound of neon lasers fired in anger. Laser fire ripped into the overgrown forest, lighting momentary fires that were snuffed out by stray wisps of wind or a careless boot stomp.

The Serpents’ rail cannons buckled and roared as they fired a heavy round apiece. The first ripped a Stormtrooper to shreds, turning his armor into a giant frag grenade and scattering bloody strings of pulped flesh all over the area. The other round smashed into a tree, chopping it down and dropping it onto a Stormtrooper who had just then rose from cover. He was smashed flat into the ground, his helmet buckling and crushing his skull.

The laser fire pinged off of rocks in the soil, flashed past Drae’s face so close he felt only the burnt air in its passing. Grunting in pain, he yanked his bum ankle behind the tree he was taking cover behind.

“I did not get all the way here to die from some random sonova bitch!” he growled, firing his carbine on full-auto at the position of one of the Stormtroopers. The man stupidly rose and took a trio of rounds in his chest, each burning him a new hole.

The last few Stormtroopers kept up a steady hail of fire as they consolidated their numbers and began to withdraw. After a few seconds’ more constant barrage, they broke and ran. Scott tried to get a bead on the running men, but the foliage was thick enough to block his view.

Not so for one of the rail cannons, which lofted another shot at the retreating backs of the Stormtroopers. It caught the last man in the shoulder blades and blasted his head and upper torso right off. His legs walked another couple feet from momentum and then collapsed, charred by the explosion.

“Let’s go!” Jax said. “Keep moving! We need to get out ASAP!”
ASL/SFCGarryll Gates/2SQD/2PLT/1COM/1RGT/1BAT/Tadath/VEA/VE

Imperial Network Star Wars Image

Muse rocks.
If these people want to fight me, I'll blow 'em straight to Hell!
Gear up, Last Chancers - Time to Die!
Corvin
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  RE: ESC Storyline - BlackJack
August 27, 2009 6:15:04 PM    View the profile of Corvin 
Barro briefly wished that the jetpacks hadn't malfunctioned. If nothing else, the single-shot PLX launchers mounted in their tops would have made short work of the Army troopers who'd evidently been dispatched to reinforce the now-fleeing stormtroopers.

The rail detonator roared, jerking against his shoulderplate as Barro fired repeatedly, sending rounds arcing into Thrawnist formations. A squad's worth of troopers fell in fewer than three seconds, but their comrades simply charged over their bodies or ignored them outright.

The Serpents were pummeled by E-11 fire, their armour sparking when the energy bolts burned into it. Barro fired several charges in rapid succession, consuming another group who'd been firing heavy blaster rifles at the squad. The weapon clacked as he squeezed the trigger again: the canister was empty.

Ejecting the depleted clip, Barro started to reach for another one, only to be sent flying backwards by a blaster bolt in the middle of his chestplate. He landed heavily against another trooper, momentarily stunned as the energy diffused through the material. Glancing up as he regained control of his body, Barro saw Lenix looking disdainfully down at him.

"Do you need medical attention?" the Kel Dor rasped, running his fingers against the edge of his deactivated sword.

"No." Barro replied, trying to move away from the psychopathic medic.

"Then you'd better move so I can get back to making art."

Finally managing to get back to his feet, Barro glared at the medic for a moment before spinning around as the sound of blasterfire registered in his ear drums. Jax and Ganer were firing their Stomtrooper Twos at point blank range into the last few Thrawnists. There were hisses as the high-powered blaster bolts penetrated the Army troopers' light body armour, and they fell smoking.

"Right." Jax declared, dropping an emptied power cell onto the forest floor. "We'd better move out."

Characteristically, Ganer emphasized the squad leader's order with a hand gesture. The squad instantly obeyed, with the exception of Lenix. The Kel Dor knelt by one of the fallen Thrawnist troopers, cutting at the man's face and wrists for some reason probably only he would ever understand. Getting back to his feet, the medic rubbed his hands together until both were equally bloody.

Watching the scene, Barro resisted the urge to shudder. The medic was worse than a rock-vulture: at least the carrion birds didn't know what they were doing. Lenix did, and did it gleefully and with great pride.

Barro had seen the Thrawnists and Republics do some pretty disgusting stuff, but Lenix somehow managed to outstrip them all in that field. While his dislike wasn't quite as much as Rai's, who had been known to suggest "accidents" involving the man, he wanted as little to do with him as possible.

"Lead on, Termin." Jax ordered. "Everyone else, formation Aurek."

The Serpents moved until they had formed a rough "v" formation with Termin near the middle and two troopers on either side. The formation allowed them to protect Termin and concentrate the most firepower on any of his would-be attackers.

The scout was the squad's only ticket out of here, and if he took a few too many bolts, they'd be wandering in the wilderness until the Corellian hells froze over.

As he was carrying one of the squad's heavy weapons, Barro was one of the forward troopers. He frowned as he checked his belt pouches: counting the clip he'd placed in the weapon once the firefight had ended, he had three canisters left. That would be enough for one, maybe two more major engagements.

The other Serpents had similar problems: a few dozen power cells and a few frag grenades scavenged from the Army troopers plus what was left of their initial loadout made up their collective ammunition. It would be enough. It would have to be.

There were a series of loud hisses, and grey-white figures dropped from the sky.

"Contact!" Termin yelled, quite unnecessarily, and squeezed off a burst from his Stormtrooper Two. One of the attackers spun rapidly, slamming into the ground like an artillery round, and leaving a smoke-wreathed crater on impact. The other two dozen jumptroopers came down, firing as they dropped.

"Stang." Barro muttered, then sighted and fired.
TRP/PVT Corvin/2SQD/2PLT/1COM/1RGT/1BAT/Tadath/VEA/VE
*HeavyWeapons *
Read the bloody manual!
"Never believe a rumour of my demise. I have as many lives as a cat. Also as many teeth, as many claws, and the same cheery, cooperative disposition." Peter Wiggin, Xenocide
Washington:"I knew this plan would never work!"
Church:"None of our plans ever work."
Caboose:"That's why we carry guns."
Tanus Solvona
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Tanus Solvona
 
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  RE: ESC Storyline - BlackJack
August 28, 2009 5:02:50 PM    View the profile of Tanus Solvona 
Bloody hell. If they can get more air support in, we’re done for. We need to get out of here now. Jax pulled out his DC-15s and started to fire on two separate targets, one targeting Barro and the other with a rocket launcher of his own. The Stormtrooper Two rounds found their mark, hitting the flying soldier in the chest and face. He plummeted to ground, a mass of death wrapped in plastoid. The DC-15s bolts went wide, but sent the trooper in search of another target to hassle. Barro gave a thumbs up and fired two more rounds, both of them exploding betwixt two jumptroopers, absorbing them in fire and shrapnel. The other one missed, but the proximity charge knocked one trooper off of his intended path and right into Termin’s firing range. Jax ducked as a salvo of blaster bolts hit the tree behind him. He ducked back down behind a large rock and took careful shots at any jumptrooper foolish enough to fly near him.

“Boss, we need to get out of here and soon. We can’t take the chance we’re going to get flanked, and at least of we get into the forest, we’ll have a chance to lose the jumptroopers.”

“I agree. Barro, put a few charges up there. Scott, give us some sniper cover. Everyone else, fall back. Get into deep cover.”

Sniper rounds flew out from the forest, taking out another two jumptroopers, while Barro threw up a wall of rail charges. The explosions forced the enemy back behind a wall of fire, firing blindly through the red, destructive haze. Jax backpedaled, making sure all of the others had gotten back safely. Barro ran by him, slamming a fresh clip of charges into the rail detonator. They ran another 50 meters into the forest, where the canopy cover was good enough that they couldn’t be spotted. Jax walked to the head of the pack, with Temrin at his left and Scott at his right.

“So what else can we expect, boss?”

“At this point, I’d say anything. The E-WEBs from earlier will more than likely be another ambush theme, especially in this dense a forest, because the jumptroopers can’t pinpoint us. I’d even say a few proton cannons for spice and an extra level of douchebaggery on Thrawn’s part. At any rate, all we can do it be ready for anything.”

“Like a cistox?”

Jax and the others raised their weapons at once, looking around for the green beasts. But Termin only chuckled. Jax lowered his rifle with a grimace. I’m going to hurt him. The others lowered their weapons in disgust, swearing in various languages and in great varieties; Jax had never heard soldiers outswear sailors like that before.

“Wow, jumpy aren’t we?”

“Termin, I’ll sick Linix on you.”

“That’s cold boss. That’s real cold.”

“So was the bit about the cistox.”

“I’m only saying we may run into them again. And besides, we won’t run into them this far out of dense, dense forest. Here there is still room to move, with the added bonus of being untraceable by air.”

“True enough. All right Serpents. Let’s get to it. Termin, lead away.”

The squad plodded on, every so often ducking down as they heard the sound of jets overhead. They really don’t want us getting back to base, Jax thought as he saw the trail of a pair of jumptroopers overhead. The licking we gave them must’ve really set Thrawn off. Only problem is now they have the advantage in open combat, which is something I’m not enjoying. Off in the distance, Jax swore he heard what was the rumble of treads. He held his hand and the squad stopped entirely.

“What’s up boss?” Termin asked.

“You hear that?”

“Hear what?”

“Off in the distance. There was a rumble. It sounded like treads.”

“Treads? You think Thrawn is using wheel-drive vehicles?”

“In this forest it’d make a lot of sense. They can simply bowl over anything in their way, and unlike repulsor tanks, aren’t stopped by most large obstacles like boulders. If he’s using tanks, we need to be extra careful out here now.”

“Aren’t we always?”

“It’s never enough, Termin. You know that, I know that, the squad knows it and so does Thrawn. He wants to make his end game, and he wants to do it without a hitch, in this case us. I say we throw a wrench in his system.”

“What do you mean?”

“I say we track down the tank; it doesn’t sound far off. He jack it, kill it’s crew and use it to get back to Fort Sexton as a ruse.”

“That may just work.”

“It’s worth a shot. How far off do you think it is?”

“Not far. It sounds like maybe 200 meters or so off, give or take 30.”

“All right. Serpents, let’s jack that tank.”
SL/GSGT/SF Tanus Solvona/2SQD/2PLT/1CMP/1REG/1BAT/Tadath/VEA
Imperial Network Star Wars Image

CA/PRVC Tanus Solvona/YZ-775 (m) Iron Victory/The Osk Company/ICS/VE

"The warrior does not question, does not ponder, does not pontificate. The warrior simply does."

Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken - House Martell words, A Song of Ice and Fire
Garryll Gates
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Garryll Gates
 
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  RE: ESC Storyline - BlackJack
August 28, 2009 5:53:20 PM    View the profile of Garryll Gates 
The squad of jetpack-less Jumptroopers picked their way to the rumbling sound of the tank. Linix rubbed his hands together at the thought of another imminent work of art the tank crew would make. Ganer shot another look at the medic and nearly shuddered.

Termin gestured in the direction of the tank, a series of military hand signals that all recognized. Scott peered at the scout’s quickly moving fingers, deciphered the meanings.

Tank, thirty meters; infantry support, estimated one squad. Twelve men; regular army, Termin’s hands said. Enemy confident, unwary. Let’s give them a few more holes to breath out of.

Linix chortled at the Scout’s joke, and carefully removed his blades from their sheaths. The Serpents advanced stealthily, the rumbling of the tank’s heavy wheels drowning out the slight sound the Vast Empire soldiers were making.

“Alright,” Jax said, standing a dozen feet behind the rear soldier. “Let’s light ‘em up.”

A dozen guns fired, spitting deadly energy or heavy armor piercing rounds into the backs of the army troops, cutting them to pieces. They screamed in agony as they fell, dead or dying. The front men of the formation peeled off, and turned to face the VE troopers, only to be cut down by the superior firepower.

The tank ground to a halt, and its turret began to traverse. A rear door slammed open and half a dozen more Army troops rushed out. The heavy gun fired, a supersonic slug tearing through a tree.

“Retro,” Kline said casually, dodging a trio of laser bursts and running at the tank, climbing up its side in a couple long strides. “Sexy.”

The rest of Serpent also rushed the tank, taking the remaining Thrawnists by surprise and slaughtering all of them. Linix was left dicing a man into pieces as he screamed in agony. Scott looked away in disgust.

Kline was on the top of the tank, its hatch below his feet. He flipped it open and poked his revolvers in, blasting a half-dozen times into every visible crew member. They were hemmed in and died without as much as a scream.

“Help me out here!” he shouted, and Vinn clambered up onto the tank’s hull next to the cocky Serpent non-com. Together, they began the grisly mission of pulling corpses out of the tank’s interior. One by one, they threw them over the side, into the bush by a fireteam of dead army troopers.

“Phew!” Kline said. “Damn, that stench is foul.”

The rookie leaned over the side of the tank and ripped his helmet off before throwing up. He wiped his mouth, and looked with distaste at the bloody interior of the tank before saying, “I’m riding in the back.”

Kline shrugged and dropped in, concentrating on ignoring the smell. Linix and Jax dropped in after him, and, though they were one short of the standard crew, they hogged up the entire space in armor.

“Scott, get them in the back,” Jax said, looking with distaste at the bloodied interior. “Let’s figure out how to get this beast on the move.”

Linix was apparently unaffected by the smell and general inhumanity of the charred blood, and began to play around with some of the buttons and switches. Kline looked indifferently at the medic. He knew the Kel Dor was a lot nuts, but hey! Weren’t they all?

“Let’s get it on the move,” Linix said. “I’ve figured out how to get this thing moving.”

“Did it include torturing it with something sharp and pointy?” asked Drae nastily. “Or was it your charming personality that got it to work?”

“Pretty sure it was the “on” button,” Linix replied, unphased by or ignoring the sarcasm.

“Can it,” Scott growled. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

Linix pushed the throttle forward, and the tank began to lumber forward. Kline checked their sensors, and began optimize them more to his tastes. Jax checked the main gun and found heavy tank slugs in a holder adjacent to the loading mechanism. He carefully picked up one of the heavy slugs and slammed it into the loader. It crashed forwards, ready to fire.

“Oh yeah,” Kline said as a new icon popped up on his screen. “Locked and loaded. Those SOBs won’t know what hit ‘em.”
ASL/SFCGarryll Gates/2SQD/2PLT/1COM/1RGT/1BAT/Tadath/VEA/VE

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Muse rocks.
If these people want to fight me, I'll blow 'em straight to Hell!
Gear up, Last Chancers - Time to Die!
[This message has been edited by Garryll Gates (edited August 28, 2009 10:07:23 PM)]
Corvin
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  RE: ESC Storyline - BlackJack
August 28, 2009 10:27:35 PM    View the profile of Corvin 
"Going to be a lot more comfortable on the way out, Hero." Barry wryly commented. "Shame 'bout the smell though."

"I told you not to call me that," Jax growled, although with no real irritation. "You're the only one who can remember your nicknames for us."

"Which makes it a good idea for me to use them." Barry jokingly retorted.

"No, it doesn't." Hegan commented from the troop compartment.

"Does to."

"Doesn't."

"Both of you, shut it." Jax said smilingly, helmet to one side as he adjusted the gun's sight.

The commandeered tank, a Rhino-class if the cockpit displays were to be believed, was substantially different from the standard TX series models.

Consisting of a boxy compartment with two massive trends on either side, it more closely resembled the ancient war machines of primitive civilizations than the sleek repulsortanks normally associated with the Empire. At least the cockpit was more or less the same as the standard layout, Jax thought.

"Can't wait to try this baby out," Lenix gleefully proclaimed. "These treads'll make art of entire squads at a time."

"Just try not to blow our cover if you don't have to, Krell."

"If you insist, Sergeant," the psychopathic medic replied, his mask hissing as he exhaled.

"I do." Jax replied, all humour gone from his voice. It seemed he'd been coming into conflict with the Kel Dor a lot more recently. Once again, he briefly thought about the arguments for removing the medic from the squad.

The Serpent tank crashed through the forest, pushing through or knocking over trees as it headed for an uncertain destination. Formations of other, identical tanks rumbled through the forest on grinding treads, headed for Fort Sexton and its defenses. The fort's defensive cannons would doubtless cut many down, but their superior numbers would take their toll.

Jax listened to the cacophany as the convoy passed, wondering if there was something he could do. There was nothing, he concluded, except to return to the Fort as soon as possible.

"Uh oh." Barry suddenly muttered.

"What is it?"

The Lance Corporal pointed to a rapidly flashing panel in the middle of the cockpit controls. Communications, if Jax remembered correctly.

"Someone wants to talk to us, and they're not taking no for an answer." Barry grimly stated.

Jax hesitated for a moment, considering his options. If they didn't respond, the Thrawnists would know for sure that something was wrong, and probably act accordingly. If they did, well that had its own asteroid of mynocks...

"Patch 'em though." Jax ordered. "We keep them waiting too long, they might get suspicious."

"If you say so, Hero." Barry replied, pressing a rectangular button. The sound of static filled the cockpit, followed shortly afterward by a nasal, arrogant voice.

"Hawkbat Three, this is Control. Report in. Hawkbat Three, report in now."

Clearing his throat, Jax leaned up to the voice-grille.

"This is Hawkbat Three."

"About time, Lieutenant. Status report."

"Several trooper casualties, light vehicle damage. All Vast Imperials downed."

There was a brief pause, and Jax wondered if he'd somehow made a mistake. The voice returned, this time much less formal.

"Good work, Hawkbat Three. Return to the meeting area, then join the next convoy. We're wiping out these scum at their source. Control out."

The comlink went dead. Jax waited a long moment, then leaned back with a sigh of relief. Lenix brought the vehicle to a stop, looking at the Serpent SL.

"So what now, Sergeant?"

Jax sat back up and gave him a look of mock surprise.

"Didn't you hear Control's orders? We're going to the rally point and joining a convoy. After all,"

There was definitely a smile under that faceplate now.

"We wouldn't want to miss our chance to wipe out the scum at Fort Sexton now, would we?"

Lenix stared for a moment, then cackled as the SL's words sunk in.

"No, sir, we wouldn't."

Restarting the tank's engine by flipping a protruding lever, Lenix drove the tank in the direction indicated as the rally point on the holopanel.

The Thrawnists were in for a surprise. Probably one involving automatic blaster fire.

OOC:
Yes, slightly short..
TRP/PVT Corvin/2SQD/2PLT/1COM/1RGT/1BAT/Tadath/VEA/VE
*HeavyWeapons *
Read the bloody manual!
"Never believe a rumour of my demise. I have as many lives as a cat. Also as many teeth, as many claws, and the same cheery, cooperative disposition." Peter Wiggin, Xenocide
Washington:"I knew this plan would never work!"
Church:"None of our plans ever work."
Caboose:"That's why we carry guns."
Tanus Solvona
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Tanus Solvona
 
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  RE: ESC Storyline - BlackJack
August 29, 2009 1:10:35 AM    View the profile of Tanus Solvona 
Jax opened the top hatch and gave a look around the forest: The trees were falling beneath the treads of the tank, cracking and splintering under its mass. Every so often the moon shown through the canopy, and Jax watched as a squad of Jumptroopers flew overhead towards the rally point. Looks like they want to cut us off at the source. Hopefully they won’t realize we jacked the tank. I’m not looking forward to dying in this metal tomb. Jax looked down at Linix and Termin, who were busy navigating and piloting through the forest to the waypoint.

“How much longer do we have, boys?”

“About another ten minutes or so. The forest here is much thicker than I anticipated, and since we’re not on any path to speak of, we’re kind of just winging it to get there. The big problem is how we’re going to keep up this masquerade.”

“Don’t worry about that. Worse comes to worse, we pop out, say hello and start blowing up their stuff.”

“Think that’ll work though?”

“I don’t think it’ll matter. We may not make it out alive, but if we’re going to die, I’m taking as many of these bastards as I can with me.”

“Righto. Do you want to man the cannon then?”

“No, I’ll take the repeater up top when we need to give them some hell. Just get ready on that cannon. Everyone else, keep your ammo and weapons hot. This could get ugly quick.”

Barro looked over his rail detonator with apprehension  while staring at the rail charge clips piled next to him; there were two more left, plus the clip already in the rifle, making for a total of 30 more rounds. We’re going to have to make them count. I know they can hurt light vehicles, but tanks are a different story. Jax looked over at the main cannon, a large bored tube that could spew forth heavy plasma rounds at a range of a mile and a half. The repeating blaster cannon was equally effective against infantry and light vehicles, which counted for something, and the ramp at the back could be lowered for infantry deployment and bail out. Let’s just hope we get that far. Jax climbed back down and lowered the hatch, closing the lock and taking a seat next to Lesse. The rookie had done especially well this mission, and had made sure all of his comrades were alive. A good kid all around. Shame he had to be broken in this way though. He was looking down at his rifle, not saying anything. He seemed to be spacing out, thinking on what to do next. Jax leaned back, resting his head on the wall behind him.

“How’re you holding up kid?”

Lesse seemed surprised the Squad Leader was talking to him; Jax only smiled. Kid’s anxious. Just as well. I think we all are.

“I’m, uh, doing all right, sir. I’m just holding out for the imminent firefight.”

Jax chuckled. At least he knew that there would be some fighting in the near future. Hopefully he makes it. He’s got a good head on his shoulder.

“No need to be so formal kid. ‘Boss’ is fine. How’re you holding on ammo?”

“I’m doing all right. I think I have a few more clips, plus any others if the rest of the guys need it. I’m just hoping I have enough grenades for the job.”

“You’ll be fine kid. You’ve survived this much, and you kept your comrades alive through one of the most harrowing experiences I’ve ever lead Serpent squad through. For a rookie, you did great.”

That seemed to raise Lesse’s spirits quite a bit. He cracked his neck a bit and turned to look at Jax. Jax smiled as the kid started to relax a little bit and looked over his DC-15s, making sure everything was in working order. Jax looked around at the others, who were all busy looking over and maintaining their weapon: Scott was wiping down his sniper rifle’s barrel, Termin and Linix were sharpening their knives, while the others were disassembling and cleaning their rifles. Jax looked down at his own vibroknucklers and grimaced. He grabbed a wipe off of a rack on the wall and wiped the gore off of the blades before looking over the blade edges. They seemed to be in well working order, and the blade looked clean enough to slice rice paper. Jax turned the knuckles hum and heard the low hum of the blades grinding against his knuckle plates. Jax only smirked as he saw his faceplate reflect off of the now pristine silver blades. Jax looked up and around at the various circuit boards in the tank before Termin spoke.

“We’re coming on the tree line. Everyone get ready for some fireworks.”

Jax said a small prayer and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before standing up to face the men.

“Gentlemen, we did well tonight. We made Thrawn sweat, and that’s more than most people can say. What we’re going to do now id get home. We’ll have to wing it, but this is possible. I want each of you at the top of your game for this. No holding back now. Serpents, get ready to strike.”

Termin looked at the main terminal and blinked; there was a message coming in for them. Termin looked at Jax, who nodded. Termin opened the channel.

“Tank no. LK765-A reporting for duty sir.”

“Excellent. We are getting ready for a final advance. Prepare to mobilize.”

“Roger that. Rhino tank out.”

Termin looked back at Jax, and soon all of the others were as well, Jax looked at each of them in turn. He flipped his rifle into his hands and went for the ladder. He undid the lock and looked back one last time.

“You heard the man: Get ready to mobilze.”

The back ramp lowered as Jax threw open the top hatch and grabbed the heavy repeater, targeting a light RTT/a waiting to move out. The heavy rounds pounded through the vehicle’s armor, filling it with holes and sending it up with flames. The enemy didn’t see it coming and started to scatter out around the new hell the Serpents had laid out for them. The tank shook as the heavy main cannon fired, hitting a tank in the rear as it start to swivel its cannon around. Jax turned the repeater on the infantry running for their lives. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the rest of the Serpents running about, targeting any infantry they could. Jax yelled a war cry as he targeted another RTT.

“Serpents, bleed them dry!”
SL/GSGT/SF Tanus Solvona/2SQD/2PLT/1CMP/1REG/1BAT/Tadath/VEA
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CA/PRVC Tanus Solvona/YZ-775 (m) Iron Victory/The Osk Company/ICS/VE

"The warrior does not question, does not ponder, does not pontificate. The warrior simply does."

Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken - House Martell words, A Song of Ice and Fire
Garryll Gates
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Garryll Gates
 
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  RE: ESC Storyline - BlackJack
August 29, 2009 8:08:14 AM    View the profile of Garryll Gates 
The Serpents spread out from the tank, firing their rifles rapidly into the confused masses of Thrawnist army and shock troopers. Ganer swiveled his sniper rifle calmly and blasted the few lights that were illuminating the area.

The entire clearing was soon dark as the night around it, only lit up by the chattering of laser fire and the burning husks of dead tanks. Jax fired the mounted weapon constantly, raking it across running troopers and killing them without a second thought.

Inside the tank, Kline calculated firing angles and Lenix slammed more shells into the breach. The main gun fired, the super-sonic slug tearing another light transport apart like it was wet paper.

“The area’s hot!” Scott yelled into the comlink. “We need to move up! Take another transport! This one is too obvious!”

“You think?!” yelled Jax, killing another RTT with a long burst from the mounted cannon. “Go! Secure transport; we’ll cover you.”

“Alright!” Ganer yelled, slinging his sniper rifle and drawing his Stormtrooper II carbine. “Vinn, Wist, on me!”

“Aye sir!” shouted the rookie, firing a burst from the hip at a cowering engineer. The man feel, smoke leaking from the holes in his chest and face.

Ganer looked around the smoke-covered battlefield. The Serpents enjoyed the massive element of surprise and ready acclimation to the night; their eyes had already adjusted, whilst the Thrawnists had to fight more or less blind. Nevertheless, the surprise was wearing off and the enemy was mobilizing, firing their rifles and occasional tank shells at the suspected VE position.

Finally, the ASL spotted what he was looking for. He dropped a beacon on an immobile RTT/a that was firing its mounted gun blindly. “Don’t hit that one!” he yelled to Kline. “Come on, boys!”

They stayed low, sprinting towards their selected vehicle. It was oblivious to their presence, and continued to rake fire in the general direction of the VE tank. Scott halted suddenly and whipped his sniper rifle off of his back. Aiming quickly, he fired, taking the gunner/commander of the RTT/a apart with a precise headshot. Vinn and Wist rushed the unarmed tank, and copied Kline, running up the side and filling the crew space with laser fire. They quickly threw the bodies out, dumping them unceremoniously into the dirt. Ganer climbed into the commander’s gunner seat, and Vinn started up the vehicle. They began to make their way back to the rest of Serpent.

By now, the Thrawnists were getting used to the night, and were lofting shells much closer to the commandeered tank. It stood absolutely still and fired rapidly as if it were a defense turret. A pair of Thrawnist light tanks charged, guns chattering as they spat rapid-fire lasers at the VE position.

The Rhino’s main gun rotated and slagged the front armor of the lead Thrawnist tank. It comrade dodged around the dead tank, and leveled its cannon at the Rhino.

A trio of heavy rail cannon slugs hit it in the main tread, and the metal treads collapsed. The gun, already firing, missed wildly as it was thrown off balance. Reloaded, the VE tank finished it with a heavy shot into the main portion.

Drae pumped his fist in victory before dropping some more rail charges into the lap of another RTT/a, blowing its guts apart and destroying its cargo compartment.

“Mount up, Serpents!” Ganer yelled, the RTT/a idling behind one of the tank corpses. “Let’s go, on the double!”

The Serpents peeled off from their supporting positions of the tank, firing their rifles and throwing or firing explosives into the enemy ranks. The three soldiers in the tank fired another time, kicking up dirt and dead foliage before bailing, sprinting towards the troop transport.

They quickly loaded into the back of the transport, and Vinn pushed the throttle forwards. The transport zoomed out of the clearing, leaving a dead tanks and Thrawnists in its wake.

Behind them, the Thrawnist guns finally found the tank, blowing it to pieces.
ASL/SFCGarryll Gates/2SQD/2PLT/1COM/1RGT/1BAT/Tadath/VEA/VE

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Corvin
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Corvin
 
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  RE: ESC Storyline - BlackJack
August 29, 2009 7:58:55 PM    View the profile of Corvin 
The RTT shook as it scraped the treetops and blaster rounds carved into its hull plating, causing its repulsorlifts to flicker and fade for one, heart-stopping moment. The Serpent troopers in the troop compartment muttered obscenities as their helmets banged against the seat heads.

"I don't think they're very happy with us, Sarge." Vinn commented.

"Too bad for them, Lesse. Take us higher."

"Aye, sir." the Private replied, pulling back on the control throttles. Jax was pushed backwards against the gunner's seat by the acceleration as the angular transport was pushed upwards and forwards.

The transport hummed as it flew above the forest, buffeted from side to side by a sudden breeze. Suddenly, there were thumps on the bottom of the troop bay, accompanied by flashes of light from below the trees as Army troopers fired on the transport flying overhead. The laser hits left tiny craters in the belly plating, but none penetrated.

Suddenly, the RTT was rocked from side to side as laser blasts slammed into the back of the shuttle, leaving craters in the mass-driver launchers and sending it spiraling out of control and back towards the ground. The other transport that had risen from the forest and opened fire on them followed, its nose blaster cannons spewing streams of green energy at the commandeered transport.

“Get this piece of Jawa bait back under control,” Jax grunted, his face seeming to ripple as the RTT spun downward towards the ever-looming treetops, which looked like pikes preparing to impale them.

“Doing…my…best here, Sarge,” Vinn replied, armoured hands pulling the throttle as though trying to he was trying to stop the fall through physical effort alone. “This isn’t quite as easy as it looks…”

The repulsorcraft’s spin slowed as Vinn gradually regained control over the misfiring engine. Scraping the tops of the pines, the RTT gradually hovered back up. A burst of cannon fire that reduced one cannon to scrap showed that the Thrawnist transport was still on the Serpent squad’s trail.

“Lose him.” Jax forced through gritted teeth.

“Trying, boss.”

Another burst of blasterfire scraped past the fuselage, coming close enough to leave a long, black streak in its side.

“Try harder.” Jax said, hands blurs as they moved over the targeting controls. “Blasted thing doesn’t have any rear cannons…”

There was a thump as the pursuing RTT again demonstrated that its forward cannons were fully function. A holopanel turned red, and the cockpit speakers started shrieking as the impacts triggered an alarm.

“What is that?” Jax asked rhetorically, calling up a set of schematics even as he struggled to get a lock on their pursuer.

“Nothing good.” Lesse grimly replied. “Engine took a hit. Still working, for now.”

Jax was no longer listening, instead focusing on getting the sole remaining missile launcher to properly target the other transport. The autotarget was steadfastedly refusing to target what it considered to be an ally, forcing Jax to manually change the settings. He made a mental note to bring a datapad with slicing programs on their next mission, assuming they lived long enough for another mission.

“Running out of tricks here,” Lesse reported, jinking the bulky shuttle from left to right. Black smoke from one scarred engine unfurled in its wake like a war banner as the Private desperately tried to dodge bursts of laser cannon fire. Both Lesse and Jax knew there was no way they could keep this chase going forever. Soon, the Thrawnist pilot would get tired of the chase and vaporize them with concentrated fire or a heat-seeking missile.

Finally, the missile aiming system acquitted to Jax’s typed orders, announcing a successful target lock on the Thrawnist RTT with a loud chime.

“Got you.” Jax muttered, then squeezed the firing stud. A single rocket shot from the remaining mass-driver missile launcher, leaving a white trail in its wake as it arced around, shooting past the Serpent’s vehicle as it spun around, headed for the Thrawnist RTT’s engines. It shot through the air, reduced by its speed to a grey blur with flames pouring from its tail. At the last moment, it seemed to arc upwards slightly, then vanished in a fireball with the RTT.

Jax whooped, command dignity be damned.

“Got the bugger!”

Pieces of durasteel frame and armour plates rained down on the forest below, sparking dozens of small fires as they landed.

Battered, scorched, and with black smoke pouring from its engine, the damaged RTT glided down as Lesse struggled to keep its emergency repulsorlifts and engines functional.

It’ll take a miracle to get this crate to Sexton in one piece, Jax thought glumly.
TRP/PVT Corvin/2SQD/2PLT/1COM/1RGT/1BAT/Tadath/VEA/VE
*HeavyWeapons *
Read the bloody manual!
"Never believe a rumour of my demise. I have as many lives as a cat. Also as many teeth, as many claws, and the same cheery, cooperative disposition." Peter Wiggin, Xenocide
Washington:"I knew this plan would never work!"
Church:"None of our plans ever work."
Caboose:"That's why we carry guns."
[This message has been edited by Corvin (edited August 29, 2009 8:08:33 PM)]
Tanus Solvona
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Tanus Solvona
 
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  RE: ESC Storyline - BlackJack
August 29, 2009 10:14:00 PM    View the profile of Tanus Solvona 
Jax sneered as he saw more tanks coming up over the horizon. If they get to us, we’re done for. Jax swung the missile launcher around once more, looking for a new target. The launcher was being finicky once again as he aimed to pick out a new target. I swear, if I have to put in that damn command every time I need to fire, I’ll just rip the thing out and let Barro have some fun. The RTT rumbled again as panels began to spark. Jax ran up to the front past the others and looked over Lesse’s shoulder.

“What’s wrong now?”

“We’ve taken a lot of damage, sir. It looks like this thing won’t hold out much longer.”

“Well, take us as far as you can. How far out from Fort Sexton are we?”

“About a kilometer, a little more maybe.”

“All right. I know this thing is damaged and is going at a snail’s pace, but go for as long as you can keep us afloat. If we have to ditch it, we’ll run back.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Drae asked from the back.

“I don’t think we’ll have much of a choice. The element of surprise is gone for us, and right now there is a full tank battalion coming for us. I saw our best bet is put as much distance between us and them as we can and then bolt. It’s not perfect, but it’s all we’ve got at this point.”

The squad nodded grimly; Jax did not like the plan any more than they did, but just as he had said, there wasn’t much of a choice now. We’ve done all we can at this point. Hopefully Fort Sexton can get something up and running while we’re out here. Jax turned around to Lesse, who was busy fighting for control of the now flailing RTT. Jax leaned down and looked over the panels.

“Lesse, open up communications with Fort Sexton.”

“Sir?”

“Get a channel open for us. I need to relay information on what’s coming.”

“But won’t they know?”

“Maybe, maybe not. I think they’d prefer a firsthand account of what to expect knocking at the front door.”

Lesses nodded and pressed several buttons and flicked a few switches on the main board. Jax picked up the microphone and waited for a tick and a response. Finally, he got it, though it was scratchy at best.

“Fort Sexton command.”

“This is First Sergeant Jax Melbourne of Serpent Squad. We’ve lost our jetpacks and are currently heading back to base in a stolen RTT/a. We’ve taken some heavy hits and are being pursued by a full Thrawnist tank battalion, and they are not happy about our taking their ship.”

There was a pause on the other end; Jax wasn’t sure if the responder was staring at his transmitter with an incredulous look or thinking it was a trick. The static was deafening as Jax waited for a response. Finally it came.

“Greetings First Sergeant. We need confirmation on your location. Send in the code now.”

“You got it. Code is on its way.”

Jax input several commands into the terminal and several seconds later got a response from the operator; they were clear to go. Jax put the transceiver down and turned around back to his seat. As he made his way, the ship shook once more. He grabbed an overhead rail to steady himself, but the blasts seemed to be getting more and more frequent – and seemed to be coming from overhead.

“Jumptroopers right above us! They have heavy ordnance and they are NOT happy to see us!” Lesse shouted.

“Can you shake ‘em, kid?” Jax asked, his mind now racing with what to do.

“Not bloody likely. The ship is too damaged to try anything risky, and even if I wanted to the only systems that seem to be working are the emergency repulsors.”

“Can’t you channel the power from the shipboard systems into the repulsors?”

“I’ve tried, but the system’s locked me out. It won’t let put anything to the emergency systems, so unless you know any magic tricks, sir, I’d say we’re well and screwed.”

Another explosion knocked the craft from side to side as an explosion hit the ground next to the dying vehicle. Jax could see flashes of white and then clouds of black as the Jumptroopers fired rockets and rail charges at them, trying to put the stolen vessel up in a ball of flame. The roof shook as they took a hard hit. The ceiling buckled once, and then twice. Jax hit the ground as the lights started to spark and a window blew out behind him. This is not going well. A third rocket hot the RTT’s roof, this time causing the ceiling to rupture. A giant hole appeared over the squad, and it appeared as only a matter of time before the Serpents were done for.

It was then that Barro rolled off of his seat, raised his rail detonator and fire three well placed shots into the air. They exploded in a cascade of fire and light, absorbing two passing Jumptroopers getting ready to make another pass. The squad cheered as Barro only chuckled.

“Spare me, gentlemen, I could do this in my sleep.”

Jax smiled as the Twi’lek continued sending up round after round of rail charges up into the mass of Jumptroopers. He walked back to Lesse as Barro was slamming a fresh clip into the detonator. Another explosion cause Jax to lose his balance and he hit the wall. He got back up and swore as he looked out the front viewport: Fort Sexton loomed before the men of Serpent squad. We’re finally going home. I just hope we can lose the company before we get there.
SL/GSGT/SF Tanus Solvona/2SQD/2PLT/1CMP/1REG/1BAT/Tadath/VEA
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CA/PRVC Tanus Solvona/YZ-775 (m) Iron Victory/The Osk Company/ICS/VE

"The warrior does not question, does not ponder, does not pontificate. The warrior simply does."

Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken - House Martell words, A Song of Ice and Fire
Garryll Gates
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Garryll Gates
 
[VE-ARMY] Sergeant First Class
 
Post Number:  905
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  RE: ESC Storyline - BlackJack
August 30, 2009 7:06:43 AM    View the profile of Garryll Gates 
The RTT/a rattled again, its armor mostly gone, its weapons inert and confused, and its crew itching to dump their ride. Kline absentmindedly twiddled with his combat knife.

“All I want to know,” he said. “Are we there yet?”

“We’re not there yet, as evidenced by the thuds and explosions all around us,” Wist replied, nervously glancing at the large hole in their armor, just waiting for a rail slug to fly in and kill all of them.

“Oh,” Kline said, disappointed. “I thought those were our adoring fans and fireworks.”

“The city and entire planet is in a state of war,” Scott replied. “How on earth would civilians even get out of their homes?”

Kline was about to respond when a particularly nasty explosion shook the vehicle.

“Blast it!” cried Vinn from the pilot’s seat. “We just took a major hit to the last of repulsorlift generators. We’re going down!”

The engines began to whine, and then it turned to a shrill scream as they began to overload. Branches smashed against the side of the vehicle as it violently descended.  After an age, it smashed into the ground.

The Serpents moved slowly at first, quickly checking for major injuries. The heated hull ticked softly as it cooled from the mud they had landed in. Each Serpent found an exit and clambered out, be it the rear doors, side doors, gunner’s position or even the large hole in the RTT/a’s roof.

They formed up outside of the vehicle and started off into the forest. Not twenty feet from the crash site, they heard the heavy buzz of a squadron of jetpacks, and turned, readying weapons. The hassling Jumptroopers descended into the new clearing, and were met by a concentrated barrage of Stormtrooper II fire and rail cannons.

Scott used his sniper rifle, sighting and firing quickly; aim, fire – headshot. Again; aim, fire, miss. Re-aim. Repeat. The gunfire was constant and the Thrawnists, cut off from their advantage of maneuverability and caught by surprise, were cut to pieces. Several managed to pull back, but most of their numbers were left dead in the mud.

“Move it,” Jax said, snapping them out of a momentary pause. “We need to get back to Sexton ASAP. Termin, how far?”

“800 meters, boss,” the scout said. “We can make that in five minutes.”

“If we were fresh and uninjured,” Jax said. “Maybe. Move it!”

The Serpents took off at a run, but they were dead tired. They’d fought their way in, and now they would have to run their way out. It undoubtedly would include some fighting along the way. They smashed their way through the light underbrush, heavy combat boots trampling the small ferns and grasses of the forest floor. They couldn’t afford to even cover their tracks; surprise and stealth had been largely abandoned for speed.

It was almost their demise. They couldn’t hear over the sound of one another’s breathing as well as their own, and it caused them to run right into a clearing with an Army squad lounging around in it.

For a split second, the lightly-armored Thrawnists and bone-tired Vast Empire troops looked at one another dumbly. Then everyone went for their gun and dove for cover.

Scott rolled behind a centuries-old tree, and began firing his Stormtrooper II. Soon enough, laser bolts were flying so thick it almost seemed like a haze.

“Grenades on three, anyone who’s got one!” Jax bawled into the comlink. “We don’t have time for this crap!”

On three, half the squad tossed grenades, a mixed assortment of thermal detonators, frags and concussion. They exploded and took apart the clearing. Those unlucky enough to not find cover died explosively; the rest were staggered, and were easily finished off by a burst of rail cannon fire.

“We’re running low on grenades and ammo, sir,” Scott said to his Squad Leader. “We’ve probably only got enough ammo for one major firefight, and then we’re down to pistols and knives.”

“Good thing we’re only a couple hundred meters away, then,” Jax said, and waved the Serpents together one last time. “Alright boys! Here it is, the final stretch!”
ASL/SFCGarryll Gates/2SQD/2PLT/1COM/1RGT/1BAT/Tadath/VEA/VE

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Gear up, Last Chancers - Time to Die!
Tanus Solvona
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Tanus Solvona
 
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  RE: ESC Storyline - BlackJack
August 30, 2009 1:28:04 PM    View the profile of Tanus Solvona 
Final stretch my eye. More like a final death sentence. Jax leapt over a fallen branch tree, hearing the sound of crashing footfalls as the rest of the Serpents kept a pace at a full sprint. Jax grimaced as sweat began to trickle down into his eyes, stinging them as they rounded corners, charged through the underbrush and leapt over trees and rocks. All around them they heard the buzzing of jetpacks and the sound of tank treads; the Thrawnists were close, and they were out for blood. Hopefully finding us will take some of the infantry away from the fight. But that won’t do a damn bit of good if those tanks aren’t neutralized. Termin ran at Jax’s left, Scott at his right. While Termin was busy shouting directions over the strained breathing of the men, Scott was keeping an eye out overhead for any more unwanted company. That’s just as well too. I don’t plan on dying less than a kilometer away from home. After running another 100 meters, the squad stopped in a small covered grove to breathe easy for a bit. They settled down against trees, rocks and any other object they could rest upon, if only for a few seconds. Jax didn’t sit down though; the adrenaline pumping through his veins was enough to get a Bull Rancor up and angry. Somewhere from the squad, Barro started up a conversation.

“So someone said something about a five minute run, right?”

“Yeah,” said Termin, arms stretched out over his head, expanding his ribcage. “What of it?”

“Well, did you take the armor into account? And the fact that we’ve been running around outside playing with the new neighbours for nigh on 6 hours now?”

“Aye, I did.”

“And yet you still figured that out to be five minutes?”

“Aye.”

“Then you must be using some new math.”

The squad started to laugh a bit as slowly they each got up from their rest spots. Jax turned around as Termin came up to him, map in hand. He was looking it over, muttering and nodding as he did so.

“What’s the skinny?”

“Well, at this rate, it may take us a bit more time to get back to base than we thought, especially if we keep stopping for breathers.”

“We won’t. This will be the only one. We need to get back to base soon and get up there with the men. Or get to a bed and pass out while Hell descends down around us. I haven’t quite decided which yet.”

“All right. Well, either way, at the pace we’re going it’ll take probably another ten minutes or so, including a few engagements along the way. I just want to stay out of their way until we’re behind the walls and have some artillery of our own.”

“Aye. Serpents, get ready to move out. Keep everything ready. Scott, make sure no bogies are coming in overhead.”

“You got it boss.”

“All right, let’s go.”

The tiring squad took off once more, rushing into the deep dark of the looming forest before them. They crashed through the underbrush as if it weren’t even there, like water breaking on rocks. Termin didn’t bother to remove his heavy duty vibroblade from its sheath to cut through; at this point, all that mattered was returning safely to base. Off to Jax’s right, he heard crashing through the trees. Could be another squad of Thranists. Best keep a watch on that. As he opened up the squad channel, a bright red blast of energy ripped through the trees, knocking Serpent squad flat on its back. As Jax got up, he saw a large bore barrel staring out of the forest, taking aim for another shot. Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me.

“A proton cannon!? They brought a proton cannon out to do us in?”

“Looks that way, Barro.”

“I must say that I’m mildly flattered. Apparently we’re a threat. Who knew?”

Scott took aim with his sniper rifle from behind a tree, landing a headshot on one of the gunners manning the cannon. He swung the rifle around, lining up another shot.

“I did,” Scott said through gritted teeth as his second shot missed by millimeters.

“Barro, put up some rail charges. Make them sweat a bit. Everyone else, ‘nades and blasters. Let’s get it done and go.”

Barro fired off another three rail charges, blanketing the ground in debris in fire. One of the rounds hit the proton cannon, blowing it wide open and spraying fire and death on all who were near it. Jax’s eyes widened as he realized what was about to happen.

“Everybody, get back. The proton cannon’s going up!”

Jax and others ran as fast as they could away from the dying artillery piece. When they got about twenty meters away, the cannon went up in an earth shaking explosion, sending a massive fireball into the sky. Smoke and fire rose from the site as debris rained down around them. Jax looked up and could hear the buzzing of jetpacks.

“The kids are back, and now they know where we are. We have to lose them. Now.”

“Well, the path branches off a bit about 50 meters out. That may buy us some time.”

“That’s all well and good Termin, but where will that take us.”

“If I’m reading the map right, it should bring us out right near the base.”

“Perfect. Serpents, let’s get it done. I want out of the hellhole.”

The squad looked up to the sounds of Jumptroopers hovering overhead, surveying the damage to the proton cannon. Jax could only smirk. Looks like we outwitted you this time Thrawn. Just as Termin had said earlier, the path split. Termin took point, with Jax and Scott flanking him while the others covered their rear. Off to his left, Jax heard the sound of a loud cannon being fired. Has the battle already started? I hope they got some defenses up in time. The sprinted through the dark green light the forest gave up, not stopping for breathe as they sped along, only hoping to make it back to base in one piece.

“How much further, Termin?”

“Not much further, boss. Maybe only another 400 meters or so.”

“Oh, is that all?”

“Hey, it isn’t my fault we lost our ride.”

“I know, Termin. Just get us out of here in one piece.”

The squad was silent again for another few minutes as they ran down the trail, not bothering to stop to listen to the cracks and snaps of the forest around them. At one point Jax thought he saw a pair of blood red eyes staring at him from the trees. He paid it no mind though; if he had survived Thrawn’s wrath, then he could survive an encounter with a cistox. The trail wound this way and that, curving up and around large boulders and trees that had seen more than most men alive. The sounds of crunching and humming off to the distance only told Jax that they were getting close, and that the enemy was getting closer. As they rounded a corner, Termin pointed out at a shallow wall of light at the end of a long, narrow corridor of trees.

“And here we are. Make sure to tip your waitresses.”

“Termin, I love you.”

“Maybe later, boss.”

“All right Serpents. Let’s go home.”

The squad sprinted out towards the wall of light, looking forward to seeing moon again without being shot at. By this time the sun had already started to rise, and pale golden and blue light could be made out through the trees. I really should come out here more. It’s so much nicer when it isn’t exploding. As Jax got closer and closer to the light, he could almost feel the warmth of the sun on his face. He was the first one through the threshold and when he looked around – he saw two full squads of Thrawnist stormtroopers waiting for him. The others came out in quick fashion, and the sounds of glee died immediately Along with us. Jax looked around at each of the troopers holding rifles at them as another full Jumptrooper squad came in overhead. Jax opened that channel to the squad.

“Gentlemen, it has been an honor to serve with you. Even you Linix, you crazy bastard.”

“Likewise sir.”

And then Jax closed his eyes, waiting for the cold embrace of death to take him in its arms, and just as he was sure it would come, another voice broke through on the channel – a distinctly female one, full of vigor and fire.

“You really are a pessimist, boss.”

Rai swooped down from above, flanked by two squads of Jumptroopers, each toting rail detonators. It was the most beautiful sight Jax had seen in an age. Rai fired first, blowing three stormtroopers away as they turned to see who had entered the fray. Jax raised his rifle while they were disratced, firing at that jumptroopers hovering there. One of them fell down, riddled with holes and on top of another of his ground-based companions. The rest of the Serpents joined in, and soon the contingent of Thrawnists that was set for an ambush was soon routed in a hailstorm of blaster fire and rail charges. Rai soon landed and walked up to Jax, who was so happy he could kiss her.

“Rai! When did you get out?”

“When the doctors turned their backs. I knew you guys would need my help.”

“You were absolutely right, too. How’d you know we were coming?”

“I was nabbed by the jumptroopers coming to get you. They said that being in your squad, I’d know how you’d make it out. Guess they were right.”

“That they were. But how goes the battle? We heard explosions coming from near the base.”

“Oh, you mean the tank route? Yeah, it turns out TX-130Ss are better at strafing than Thrawn’s tanks are at targeting. The ‘battle’, should one call it that, was over in about 15 minutes. It was quite a sight.”

“So, the battle’s over?”

“Looks that way.”

“Good. Now I can sleep.”

“Not yet, boss. You need to be debriefed.”

“Ugh. Fine. Lead the way home, Rai. It’s about time we bloody well got there.”
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"The warrior does not question, does not ponder, does not pontificate. The warrior simply does."

Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken - House Martell words, A Song of Ice and Fire
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