OOC:

RAIDERS.

Swearing mostly to himself but through the open commlink he shared with Jaenna he considered running forward himself to push the squad a way through. Though, judging by the amount of blaster bolts whirling by overhead that thought was quickly squashed in the overwhelming feeling of self preservation. Besides, he had a trooper close by that loved gratuitous use of high explosives.

Switching frequencies he said, "Mox, please tell me your grenade launcher still works?"

He watched as the young man turned to face him from behind cover, he could not see his face but knew he was smiling ear to ear. After a moment his voice come over his earpiece, "You meant to tell me you won't kill me if the ceiling collapses again?"

"I don't want you to have a single fraking grenade left by the time we hit the hangar, blast us a way through!" Joamer nearly shouted as he raised up with his particle magnum and fired three quick bursts. Switching to a frequency both squads used he said, "I suggest getting down, it's about to get very loud and very explody."

"Oh frak me, not again." Rain said a second later.

He saw every breathing member of all three squads find what cover they could as Mox loaded what appeared to be a highly none standard grenade into his launcher. From his body language Joamer could tell it was one he had never used before, and really did not know what would happen when he fired it.

"Mox, I have a doubt." He said softly, his voice barely registering over the commlink.

"I do too." The young man said as he raised up and fired in one smooth movement.

"All hands down!" Joamer shouted as he pressed himself to the floor as best he could. He knew something was bound to happen, and part of him was already bracing to feel the ceiling collapse down around them.

The seconds ticked by slowly as they waited for the fuse to burn down. He had hoped Mox would set a delay on the custom grenade, he just had no idea of how long of one he would use. Raising up after what seemed like a full minute, but could have only been a few seconds he first felt the blast wave then the explosion hit. He did not feel his body being rag-dolled into the wall behind him, or even see the explosion since his visor immediately shut off power to the image enhancers.

After a long moment he found himself starring up through a single eye hole, the other having been damaged. Reaching up with one hand he pulled off his helmet as tried to take a deep breath only to be rewarded with a great deal of pain from his chest and back.

"Clear ahead for a few feet." Mox reported back after a second.

Starring up at the ceiling he suddenly realized he could not feel his legs.

OOC:

WC-498. Yea, I felt like abusing Joamer a bit. He's not crippled, just shock to the spine has his legs wonky right now.

OOC:

Eclipse

Baraduk trusted his instincts. As a Barabel, you had to have good instincts to survive. Baraduk had not only survived his homeworld, but he'd become one of their most prominent hunters. So, long story short, Baraduk had extremely good instincts. He watched the ASL.. she seemed to be conversing with someone inside a private channel. He could tell from her mannerisms. Another thing about being a Barabel is that you have to be observant. Baraduk was definitely observant.

What his instincts and observations were telling him was that this ambush had been poorly planned, outweighed only by the poorer still execution of the ambush. Baraduk had known from the start that these combatants were not trained mercenaries. But they were combatants nonetheless. Anyone who fired on Zal 'Vicious' Baraduk usually ended with an unpleasant fate. These 'civilians' as one of the other stormtroopers called them, were no different. As the one known as 'Gates' stated what passed for a plan, Zal remained silent. He was not one for cheering in battle. He would do his job and he would excel at his job. Cheering was a strategic weakness.

But it was not his duty to tell anyone else what was wrong. He was a recruit on attachment to Eclipse. Not a Squad Leader or Platoon Commander. No, Baraduk would do his job. He was not one for socialisation. The squads formed up and headed out towards a large door, fanning out so as to present multiple targets.  Their blasters were all raised -  Baraduk had been given the T-21 and the energy back pack. After all, to him a T-21 was nothing more than a rifle. It was a fitting weapon for someone of his size.

Baraduk was also used to carrying heavy loads - once he dragged a dead Durgolosk 10 clicks to his cave - so the backpack was no strain, either. Now his instincts kicked in. There would be another ambush soon enough, he knew it. He thought about breaking his silence - he wasn't much of a talker - and hissed quietly. He came to a decision, as they approached what looked like a large control center - screens and technology everywhere. When he spotted it, Baraduk almost smiled and 30 meters out from the center, he spoke.

"There izz an ambush ahead." The Barabel said without a doubt in his mind or instincts. The Squad members gave him a quizzical look and halted their progress. Squad members immediately sought less exposed positions, even though they had no orders and had not sprung the ambush yet.

"How do you know?" The muscular squad leader, Skarr, asked him. Not disbelievingly, but curiously. The Barabel was silent for a moment before exhaling.

"This one'zz instinctzz say so.. sir." Zal said from between gritted teeth. One of the squad members - he wasn't sure who - gave a short laugh at the 'foolishness' of this barbarian. "That and tactically, thizz command center ahead is the bet place for an ambush. It hazz two men hidden behind the far consolezz. More will be concealed around the edgezz and above."

"And how do you know that?" A trooper - Crest - said, doubting this recruit's ability.

"Because thatzz what thiz one would do.." Baraduk replied, fixing Crest with a steady gaze. "And because this one can see their thermal signature.. even from thizz distance.. meaning they are nervouzz.."

OOC:

Wordcount: 564. A bit over the limit. Please bear with all the z's.. it's a Barabel thing, and Vicious has quite a strong accent

OOC:

RAIDERS

Despite the warnings, despite the shouts, the explosion had caught her off guard. Jae stumbled, falling to her side as she not only held Ruthard, but also took the time to grab Bright's arm as well. Bits of ceiling fell around them, debris flying by them and into the group of Blanchard that had been attacking the back. Luckily, that alone took out the few remaining mercs that had still been standing. What wasn't lucky was the amount of shock the explosion itself had given the three squads that had used it to try and get further down the hallway.

As Jae got to her knees, Bright still half under her for protection and Ruthard still hanging off of her side, she surveyed the damage with a scowl. She hated heavy explosives, especially when they were used in small areas. Joamer's decision had been idiotic, rash. Why in all of the man's years of military experience did he think it'd be a good idea to use an explosive in such a small space. If anything he had done more damage to the few Jackal troopers that still remained. The woamn turned her scowl on Joamer, hoping to lock eyes with him so that the man knew how irritated she was, but what she saw instead was empty space where the Squad Leader had been standing.

"Joa! Report!" The shout came forth with a force full of worry and yet it was still laced in that anger.

Silence...

Instantly her anger faded and she looked about, her eye falling on the few Jackals that were left, Karash checking their wounds, Jack and Therex tending to Fikk, Mox and Coadster firing at a couple of stray Blanchard employees in the front of the group. She had expected to see the Squad Leader busy fighting, or doing something that would stop him from reporting, but the continued silence squashed that thought. Finally, her half-gaze fell upon a body leaning against a wall and she growled to herself. The woman shifted slightly, bringing Ruthard into a better hold as she crouched and made her way towards the incapacitated SL. "Joa. Joa! What's good? What's bad? Report to me. Come on."

The silence lasted for a few more seconds as she watched his eyes swim about. The man was still dazed.

"Come on Joamer, suck it up and report. Give me words." She could feel the effects of the spice fading even faster now, the confusion of the firefight and explosion had damaged that last mental wall a good amount. She reached forward and slapped him across the face, her voice twisting into a dropped snarl, her good eye narrowing. "Get the frak up, gorramit!"

The man shook his head, clearing the shock from the slap, only a small amount of daze still left in his eyes. "My legs. Can't feel them."

"Dammit. Bright, cover me!" Jae shifted and moved Ruthard into a different position that allowed her to help Joamer up as well.

OOC:

500.

Jae is now helping Ruthard and Joamer on their feet. Hopefully Bright is covering Jae as she does so, haha. Use the next post to move out.

OOC:

RAIDERS.

He knew his legs would start working eventually, experience with injuries such as these told him that. However, in his mind the little nagging voice kept his worry levels high as he wondered if this would finally be the injury that made him take a desk job for good. He may complain about some of the missions they got sent on, and some of the situations they found themselves in. Deep down, though, he lived for the thrill and the adrenalin of the adventure.

"Mox, never use that damned thing ever again. I want all prototypes and design specifications destroyed." Joamer said slowly through the commlink. "Even on an open field that would of been highly dangerous, you could of at least warned us you were carrying a small tactical nuke like device with you."

Being supported fully by Jaenna was something he was not used to in the slightest. His legs worked, but most of the time they decided to do there own thing and just go every which way. As they three squads moved slowly towards the hangar and a much needed rest, he began wondering when the next attack would come.

Several long minutes passed before he noticed feeling returning in his toes. as he did he tapped Jaenna on the shoulder and leaned against the wall slowly working his spine and legs around to get feeling to return quicker. Stomping his feet after another round of working the muscles he looked up at Jaenna and smiled after a moment.

Opening his mouth to say something the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end for an instant before he shouted, "All hands cover!"

Dodging to the left as he saw Jaenna throw herself to the right, he felt the heat from the blaster bolt fly too close to his head. Looking around the small door frame he found himself in he cursed as he saw Mox and Brightstar pinned down behind very limited cover. Luckily no shots were coming in from behind them just yet as he saw Jester and what was left of Jackal squad trying to move up to return fire.

"This is really beginning to get old." Joamer muttered mostly to himself.

Leaning over slightly he fired his particle magnum spinning one of the security guards around from a hit in his left shoulder. Firing twice more for good measure that were designed to miss he ducked back around as the return fire kept him pinned down.

"I don't think they like you anymore." Therex said as he fired a quick burst before ducking back down again.

"Must be his charming nature." Jaenna said as she scowled over at him.

Smiling at her suddenly he leaned out and began firing again. He watched as the security guards and whatever mercenaries were in the group slowly spread out to keep the squads covered. He knew Brightstar and Mox needed help fast, otherwise one of the guards would simply pick them off.

OOC:

WC-504.

OOC:

RAIDERS // Jester

Annoyance ran rampant through Jae's mind as she looked ahead towards the point of the group and saw yet another round of Blanchard mercenaries trying to stop them. A growl rose to her lips and slid out as she set Ruthard down again. After making sure he was still breathing as well as he could, she fished into her pocket for her datapad and smirked to herself. "I have an idea." The smile grew as the idea began to swim about her brain, forming itself into a much more evolved plan. Her good eye shinned with a certain evil sparkle as she seemed to have found what she wanted to find while clicking about her datapad. "Yup, this will work as long as we're fast enough."

"Well? Share this plan with us, huh?" Joamer's voice was laced with his own type of annoyance as once again he fired his particle magnum from around the threshold of the room the small group had ducked into. Worry was there as well, his stomach clenching as he had to watch Bright get fired at along side Mox.

"Give me a chance to connect to the frequency. Geezus. Genius needs time yanno." Another moment passed and she smiled even wider. She looked around the threshold of the door again and towards the back of the group, her eye narrowing slightly, as if she were waiting for something. Once she saw the last trooper pass over a thick metallic line across the hallway she clicked something on her datapad and watched as a blast door closed behind the behind the group. "Hah! It worked! Coadster, Dusk, Whiskey, Lightray, Alan! Join Brightstar and Mox on point! We only need a few in the back now that I got this going!" She shouted her commands as the rest of the group gathered up, then watched as they complied. The woman couldn't help the warm feeling that crept into her chest as, once again, the very idea of commanding  squad again brought a heavy smirk to her lips.

Without wasting any more time she helped Ruthard up again, ignoring the clinging stench of infection and held him close as her other hand was tight around her DC-15. "Alright, when I say, you move! Clear the path as well as you can and don't stop moving! Every thirty yards there's another blast door, so I will be closing each one after we clear it." She spoke into the direct comlink that connected her to all three squads that were gathered. Hopefully, this would work, hopefully the point team be able to clear the way as she worked on keeping the back protected by closing the blast doors and keeping them on lock down. "Jack, Therex, keep supproting Fikk, coz we're gonna be moving fast. Karash, keep an eye on those Jackals. Ready?" She gave a quick look around as she raised her fist into the air, the smirk spreading. "LETS MOVE!" She opened her palm and gestured forward.

OOC:

500.

The plan is to keep moving as fast as we can as Jae closes and locks down the blast doors as we clear them. PAY ATTENTION TO OUR POSITIONS PLEASE AND THANK YOU <3

OOC:

Blackjack

A sigh softly emanated from Crest as he moved down the hallway, making sure to use the shadows to augment his camouflage armor. That was the problems with residential areas, too many lights that could curse an infiltrator to damnation. Yet, it worked both ways. The second Crest would be ordered to capture an enemy infiltrator, he knew there was nothing better to trap him in a residential hallway, with too many lights and limited possibilities of escape. It was the perfect trap and ‘fish in a barrel’ situation.

He glanced over at the ARC, who was advancing parallel to him. He almost envied the commander’s perfection. He could do anything Blackjack could do and do it just as good. Well, almost everything; he still couldn’t cause the brilliant explosions Blackjack had become so famed for.

Crest glanced at the straps holding the A280 to his back once. They were secure. He then glanced down at the flashbangs, and gave them a look of utter disdain. Why should one just blind and deafen someone when you could just blow them into the next life with a frag or thermal detonator?

But orders were orders, and Kilroy would be getting impatient. Crest redoubled his pace, favoring a slight amount of speed over a very slight amount of stealth.

Orr quietly signaled to get Crest’s attention. Crest slowly slid back into a slight shadow and gave full attention to the commander’s hands, the preferred method of communication. Radio signals could be triangulated. Hand motions could only be seen. Between alerting the entire enemy group and just alerting a local group, everyone would take hand signals.

What the commander literally said was half-circle, vertical, flank. What Crest interpreted (correctly) was some form of an archway is ahead; flank it. Crest silently nodded and proceeded to follow the commander’s instructions. He switched to a full stealth mode and slipped into the position. Once the ARC had moved into position, Crest gave a nod and the ARC radioed back to Gates. The two squads, making Crest cringe with their thunderous approach, quickly rushed the same ground that had taken Crest minutes to cross earlier.

“Contacts! We’ve got contacts!” Valthir yelled, firing a small burst. Both squads slid into cover for protection from the blaster fire.

“Mark!” Gates ordered, “Fire in the hole!”

Crest unhesitatingly threw one flashbang into the center of the area and one farther back, the two logical spots to have mercenaries.

He was rewarded with two bangs and a pause in the blaster fire.

The scout pair, in the most advantageous spot for the job, quickly pinned the four mercenaries in the center down. Then the entire plan went to scraps.

Fifteen fresh, aware mercenaries stormed in from the exit of this room. Two repeating blasters opened fire, forcing the stormtroopers to duck or lose their heads. Then a rifle rang out above the entire chaos.

“SNIPER!”

OOC:

WC: 485
Yeah, this is going to devastating, like I predicted. But we're almost on even terms, if we can disable the repeating blasters and the find and kill the sniper sharpshooter. For the difference, check 6.2 and P4.

OOC:

JESTER/RAIDERS

"At this rate we'll make it to the hangar in three hours." he thought. HammerHead was in the middle of the little caravan they called an attack force. Trudging along the best they could fighting off small waves of enemies left and right. He headed to the front of the group to help defend the group when he noticed that he had a major problem.

"Bright, permission to take off my helmet."

"Why?"

"Well look," he said as he pointed to the crack that ran straight through his helmet and spread out near the top.

"Well, it can't help you now. Pitch it if you want, but I don't think you should go back up front. You might die without head protection."

"Alright, whatever you say."

Soon after a merc with a rocket launcher rounded the corner. "INCOMING" he shouted. The merc launched the rocket but it exploded five feet before the people at point. Purple smoke flew through the ranks and engulfed the entire group. "Weaponized toxins," shouted Joamer, "our helmets should protect us. Dear god look" he screamed. Right behind the  gunner came three wookies. They each had long dark brown fur and were given armor by the mercs. The one in the center was the clear alpha male. He was the tallest ( about eight and a half feet ), he had the longest fur, and he had a large curved vibro blade.

HammerHead staggered, he had felt these effects before, but not nearly as strong. He collapsed. Bright knelt by him. " Are you okay Hammer" He couldn't talk. "I need help, Hammer's down." "Get out of the smoke Joamer" ordered. As Joamer had said this the Head wookie drew his vibro sword and gave a dephining battle cry. He charged forward, coming closer and closer as the three squads slowly retreated.

As HammerHead slowly regained use of his muscles, he quickly stood up shocking the others at how fast he recovered he turned towards the wookie and slowly moved forward. Noticing this Bright screamed, "Hammer get out of the way." The wookie was closing in but as it approached HammerHead pulled out his father's knife and through it. It wedged itself between the wookies eyes, downing the beast.

Hammer kept advancing slowly but surely until he was grabbed by Therex and Bright. They pulled him away as Raiders squad fired upon the remaining mercs.

"You're a fool trooper, a great soldier but a fool."

"Thanks Bright."

OOC:

Word count: 413
Now we have a poison gas problem and we're retreating.

OOC:

Eclipse/

Baraduk led the charge, of sorts, as he powered forward, moving like a bullet as he hurdled the first console and slashing the throat of the man hiding behind it with his now-extended razor-sharp claws. He hissed in bloodlust, defiantly against the plethora of blaster fire. The repeater started up and he ducked behind the next piece of cover, teeth bared.

They were outgunned, but not outmatched. Zal waited for a break in the fire before he rose quickly, pinpointing a target and showering said target with a burst from his T-21. The target was downed and a shot zipped by Zal's helmet. He growled, returning to cover. The sharpshooter had them pinned, along with the repeaters they couldn't move. Or so the mercenaries thought.

"Thizz one still hazz flashbangz, sir.." he indicated over his comm to the Captain. He popped up again, firing a burst at where he thought the sharpshooter was hiding - ahead, above and to the right, before ducking back down.

"Do it." Came the simple response from the captain, and Zal primed the grenades.

"Flashbang out!" Zal voiced over the Imperial frequency - he did not have time to tune into both squad frequencies - before hurling the flash with a delay of 2 seconds. Zal counted to one then ducked. The flash was blinding and the bang deafening - or it would have been, had Zal been looking and wearing no helmet.

When he popped out of cover again, he could see a sharpshooter stumbling around above and to the right - slightly further right than he had expected, but he took aim and fired. The burst from his T-21 threw the sharpshooter backward with a smoking hole in his chest.

Zal hissed defiantly as a repeater started up again, and he fired. The shot hit the repeater instead of the one wielding it, but the effect was similar. The barrel melted and the repeating blaster malfunctioned, causing the mercenary to leave it and find cover. They still had another repeater, but Zal had now helped out his squad considerably.

The second repeater started up again, pinning them down - but not as badly as before. He could already see elements of Eclipse and Blackjack sneaking around the flanks, out of sight of the repeater. Zal formed the Barabel equivelant of a wicked grin and fired blindly over cover, silencing several blasters - whether the mercenaries were dead or pinned down, Baraduk knew not.

Zal patted his hunting blades - he took them into combat as he would often use them quite effectively. Several more mercenaries streamed into the room, freshly equipped and wearing no helmets. Zal used his claws to slash through what appeared to be the main power console. Three things happened.

The lights went dark, a shout emanated from the mercenaries, and Zal grinned. His vision was already adjusted, and he slid the  two deadly blades out of their sheathes with a muted rasping sound.

The mercenaries were now prey.

OOC:

500 words. Hunting time

OOC:

Eclipse

Mercenary Jan Voc was having a bad day. He'd been ordered this way and that, forward and back. Sometimes he regretted joining up with these mercs. He was nobody to them, a piece of cannon fodder to be moved like a pawn in a chess game. Now they'd sprung this stupid ambush, Voc was almost cowering in fear. The efficiency of the stormtroopers was frightening - that and they had a giant lizard with them who looked like something from the underworld as he slashed and blasted his way through mercs.

When the power cut, Voc ducked behind a large pillar, shaking.

"Voc, is that you?" someone whispered in the darkness. Voc was about to respond when he heard a gurgling sound. He thought he saw a massive figure in the darkness, feeling a sharp pain in his throat, that lasted just a moment. He frowned. It wasn't until he felt the warm blood streaming down his chest and arms that he understood and felt the pain wrack his body into spasms. The last thing he saw was a vision from hell - a two meter tall lizard with blood covering him and two vicious looking blades in his hands.

Meanwhile, Vicious was splattered with blood, as were his hunting blades. He sliced through two cowering troopers without them even noticing, and continued slicing up the mercs. Two, three, four, five, then six. He kept track of his kills as he worked like a dark nightmare.

Then the elevators opened and all hell broke loose.

OOC:

255 words. Something from a different view before switching back to Vicious.

OOC:

Eclipse/ Blackjack

Through the sound of the blaster fire Zaria allowed very little to distract her. As any time that they initiated battle, she fell into the role expected of her. A soldier relying on instinct ground into her from day one of the academy. She moved quickly, trying to be as efficient as she could even while the tension in her shoulders kept her from performing at her best. It was times like these that she thanked the uniform for hiding all the little things that made the image of their users imperfect. All the fears and phobias…well most of them anyway.

Up to know the opposition had been mediocre at best, nothing that the well trained troopers couldn’t handle. Yet there was something very different about the ones they fought now. Perhaps it was the bonus of egotism from having the enemy seemingly cornered or perhaps they had something up their sleeve that hadn’t been revealed yet. Skarr’s voice cut into her inner thoughts bringing her to the reality she had slipped out of momentarily,  she thanked motor memory as she realized she had kept shooting in the right direction.

“Bernadette, Kaye. Blackjack's taking some of its squad and forming a rear-guard…” Skarr continued but Zaria didn’t have to be told twice. Her dark obsidian eyes moved over the opposition making sure to shoot as quickly as she could whilst still moving backwards. There was the sound of a yell over the frequency and for the first time since the beginning of the mission it seemed someone was hurt. They may have underestimated these mercenaries…

The three moved back slow and steady. Kaye was a pretty good shot for this being her first time out, Zaria noticed. Then again, who was she to judge that when she wasn’t so experienced herself. Zaria found herself nearly tumbling into Skarr as the three reached the rear-guard. Over the private link she muttered a sorry. She needed to get her head back in the game. She wasn’t acting as was expected of her and this was not the time for that at all.

Zaria trained her eyes ahead, on one of the mercenaries, and shot. The shot clipped the guy on the shoulder…she was off.  She gritted her teeth and cleared her mind, as the academy had had her do many a time, and with that she slipped out of herself and into the shoes of Lance Corporal Bernadette. There was no Zaria. The three, along with another three Blackjack members, had made a hasty formation near the rear. The mercenaries where depleting much slower than before and somehow seemed to be multiplying…maybe it was just fatigue getting the squads down. They had been at this for a while now, after all. Maybe it was the adrenaline but she didn’t quite notice when the blaster  fire made contact with her thigh. Something was off…

OOC:

Word Count 481. Six members of Eclipse and Blackjack have formed a rear guard. The mercenaries are getting a little more cocky as well as having a better plan (open ended for all of you to write on) and the squads are slowing down a bit (at least those of us who have been here for a while) to make things a little more realistic. 

OOC:

RAIDERS

They got out of the gaseous hallway and came across the blast doors, as unresponsive as Joamer said they’d be. Coadster rolled his shoulders, minding the melty plastic that used to be a shoulder-plate. “So, back to the belly of the beast,” he said as he thumbed his remaining concussion grenade.  Joamer said it may be a sprint, but eyeing the injured made Coad think it’d be one hell of a crawl if it came to that. Which he fervently hoped it didn’t.

The metal doors open wide for the troopers. The blaster bolts as well. Coad didn’t get much of a view before he was seeing red, and he backed up into the hallway again, getting down low so Lightray can use the cover too. It was hectic in the hangar, a solid line of mercs against barricades set up around the customs office, bolts flying to and from their vicinity.

“Hey Joamer, we’ve still got heavy fighting going on over here. It looks bad.”

One guard threw a grenade over his barricade and into the hangar, a bright green light shining for a moment before the groaning of a falling ship reverberated through the room. And then, Cody realized the mercs’ position.

“They weren’t expected to get flanked! Their backs are to us, and there’s no cover for them in this direction.”

“Pinch them then.”

It was all Cody hoped and dreaded for. Joa motioned to a hovercart abandoned in the hallway, and the troopers took his meaning. Dusk, Mox, and Therex pushed the machine into the middle of the doorway and flipped it on its side, the heavy plating on the bottom turned to the station forces. Now with cover and the element of surprise, the able-bodied troops lined up, readied, aimed, and fired on the line.

The mercenaries, equipped with well-made armor, took the hit, but the security forces remaining were effectively toasted before they knew what hit them. The grenade that left Coad’s hand, though… that was a different story. It landed just below a merc still marveling at the bolt to his arm, and took three more lives than his. The bewildered forces jumped up in surprise before being put back down with suppressing fire from the hangar, and it was still a full few rounds before they knew what was going on. After that, though, there was motion. And a lot of it toward the smaller group in the hallway.

Coad grimaced and continued firing. As the force got closer, the pressure in his chest grew ever tighter, and the cold thrill of adrenaline shot down his back. In some part of his mind he thought of the riot in Bastion, and wondered if the NR troops felt anything like this.

“Ummm Joamer? I think we effectively kicked the hornet’s nest. Orders…?”

OOC:

Word Count: 469.

Lotsa peeps coming our way, but they're also being hit on both sides. Not a lot of room for comfort, but when is there ever in a space station?

OOC:

RAIDERS

“It may have escaped your notice but they cannot make it!” Karash shouted over the continuing battle, referring to the Jackals. “They can barely walk let alone sprint over the finish line, at the moment I seriously doubt if we can make it!”As the medic spoke another one of the Jackals moaned in agony.

‘Last time you were in this situation you tried and failed to put the Gungan down. Perhaps you should become a euthanasia specialist; it seems to be the answer to all our problems.’ Karash growled at himself but this was hardly the time for self mutilation.

“We are not leaving anyone behind we’ll drag them back if we have to.” Joamer spoke defiantly, more to himself than anyone else.

“You’ll be dragging corpses, they will not make under this kind of pressure.” Once again the surly medic interjected his unwanted opinion. The RAIDERS, Jesters and the more able Jackals all appeared to be scowling at Karash but he remained defiant “I am not saying that we abandon them but if we die trying to save them I just want it to be clear that I get eternal ‘I told you so’ rights.”

‘I told you so; I knew they would not listen to you. They never do, it does not help that those Jesters seem determined to get us all killed; she never could be trusted. Why they put any of them in charge of a squad I don’t know. They would have been better off leaving Pillson in charge; he seems like a reasonable fellow.’

Looking at his comrades Karash decided they looked more like a group of mortuary inmates than an elite group of troops. 

OOC:

Word Count: 281

OOC:

RAIDERS // Jester

It had been a blur. The last few moments were sprinting, dodging and hoping to god that the blast doors closed and locked. Though they had come to their final stand, a blast door that wouldn't close and a room full of station employees and Blanchard. It had been a miracle that they had made it that far. The better sign that there was some great celestial creator, though, was the fact that had managed to survive that and now stood only thirty yards away from the hangar that was their goal.

Many of Jackal squad were dying and injured. Their SL was breaking down. Fikk was barely making it, the only thing keeping him breathing were the constant stimulants that Therex was providing him with. As Jae looked around, she could only watch the chaos, she could only take in what she saw as she was crouched behind cover, still holding onto Lance Corporal Ruthard Krotos. Without her helmet she felt more than vulnerable, she felt naked, she felt like if she were to raise her head to even attempt a shot at the mercs that she'd be done then and there. This shit had gone on long enough the woman was beginning to get woozy, her spice finally on its last legs, her mind beginning to claw at the inside of her skull yet again. She knew that if it lasted any longer she'd have a stress induce anxiety attack. That was the last thing anyone needed. What they did need was for this to end, and she knew just how to do that.

The last blast door hadn't worked, but that didn't mean the doors that closed off the hangar were also out of commission, and those nasty bastards were standing right underneath of it. "Push them towards the hangar until I say so!"

"What? Are you insane?" The voice belonged to the already aggravated medic.

With a growl, her eye gaining a deep, unsaturated shade of green, Jae responded with a snap. "My insanity is going to save your asses no GET MOVING!" The spice was definitely beginning to wear off, but she refused to let that be the cataclysm of this mission. She refused to let it bring her down. Instead, she held tight to Ruthard, began to click about on her data and watched as RAIDERS and Jester pushed the mercs back with a last, forceful effort. "Keep going! Not much more!" Her fingers flew across her datapad for another moment before they stopped, hovering above a button in anticipation. "Alright stop!" Within the next moment her finger pressed down on hat would be the mercenaries' end. The hangar door came down from the ceiling with a crash, crushing the group beneath it. Blood stained the bottom of the door, the wall were caked as well, guts and severed body parts were strew across the ground. Another click on her data pad and the door rose again. A smirked drifted across the woman's lips.

OOC:

500.

Mercies go squishie. The path to the hangar is cleared.

OOC:

Blackjack/Eclipse

The two sides traded blows for what seemed like an eternity; gunfire, grenades and profanity flew them, stuck in a grinding stalemate. This style of fighting was something that Stormtroopers could do better than almost anyone, but it didn’t play into their best strengths; rapid, blitzing tactics that wrecked formations and got behind and into enemy strongpoints post-haste.

Gates ejected his second-to-last power cell and patted his belt, searching for the last one. It took a few moments; it was in the least accessible spot on his belt, behind his sidearm on his right side. The simple unfamiliarity of the motion reminded him how rarely they fought for this long.

“Taul? You in position yet?” Gates asked into his comlink.

“Ten seconds sir,” replied the other soldier.

“Blackjack; Eclipse: move forwards on my mark!” Gates sang into the platoon channel.

Screams of pain and surprise echoed from behind their rear position as the promised reinforcements arrived, the army squad of D Company slicing right through the undefended flanks of the Blanchard forces.

“Mark!” Gates ordered, and the rear-guard troopers turned and added their fire to the front. Instantly, their suppressive ability doubled and they forced the NEEDLE forces back. Each step forwards the Stormtroopers took, they forced their enemies a step backwards - and for nearly every retreating step, they left a man behind, blaster injuries plastering him to the ground.

In what seemed like no time at all, the NEEDLE squads were in full withdraw mode, and the Stormtroopers cruised their way forwards, moving quickly but carefully; they didn’t want to stumble into another trap.

They emerged into a new, small square. Large, lavish apartments and stores covered the walls. Orr pointed at one building in particular. “That one is rented under the name of NEEDLE front companies.”

“Breach and clear,” Gates ordered, and the two squads of Stormtroopers wasted no time; they stacked every conceivable entrance, and on his order, smashed in doors, windows and thin walls. Their breach was messy, chaotic and everywhere.

A few men in plainclothes appeared to oppose them, but before they could raise their small blasters, the Stormtroopers gunned them all down.

“Clear?” Gates asked, walking through the ruins of the front door.

“Clear!” called troopers from all over the building. “Located the objective!”

“Secure it,” Gates replied, then activated his comlink. “Command - we’ve got the objective under control. Request backup and exfiltration.”

OOC:

WC: 407

Mission complete