OOC:

Continuation of an unfinished Eclipse story.
Shades of Death Posts

The speeders came across the field quickly, pouring fire into the north gate. The squad leader of Eclipse had sent Anival back into the sewers. He wondered who had given the order for the Saints to attack the sewer line again. It seemed incredibly stupid to him. This attack also seemed less than intelligent as well. The clearing was devoid of Imperial troopers and the north gate had not fallen with stronger attacks than this one. Something had to be amiss, Skarr knew this. So far, he had not lost a man on the wall. No snipers had presented themselves as of yet and the infantry were not in the best position to fire on a wall so high.

Anival’s voice crackled over the comm to inform Skarr that the Saints in the sewer were eliminated. The squad leader was happy for this and ordered Anival to stay where he was to help defend the sewer from further attack. What really bothered Skarr at the moment, was the lack of Death Watch soldiers. The Lieutenant could not help but notice that the man was not speaking at all. In fact, he had fired very few shots. Skarr knew that he was searching for the telltale armor. Skarr was doing some searching of his own, but he realized that Nolac would never lead such an attack.

Nero stood by his side, issuing his own commands and directing his sniper teams. They did not have the time to set their own plan in motion, but this attack was too small for such a plan. The mortar strikes had already stopped which surprised Skarr greatly. With the shields down, Skarr expected the Saints to use it to their full advantage.

The speeders had crept ever closer to the north gate now and then they stopped. Fire poured into them from the wall, but they stood ever so still. Suddenly, the hatches opened and out came rocket launcher toting Mandalorians. Skarr did not have enough time to order them to fire on the Death Watch. The rockets came streaming out of the launchers fast, heading straight for the watch tower above the north gate. The Lieutenant’s eyes widened and he pushed the captain to the stairs. He did not intend to be in the tower when the rockets hit.

Skarr yelled into his comm as he went, ordering everyone out of the tower. All at once, it seemed the whole world exploded in a whirl of fire and sound and then everything went black for Norith Skarr.

***

The Dead Man watched as the speeders returned to camp. The attack had been successful, he had witnessed that much. But he was furious. As Jarthuun approached him, the Dead Man whirled. “Who ordered the attack on the sewer?!”

“That is not my work. I would ask one of Renlid’s lieutenants, they were the men who went into the lines.” Jarthuun replied curtly. The Dead Man spun on Renlid, but chose not to speak. It did not matter to the man what Renlid did with his own men. Or what Renlid’s men chose to do with their own lives. He walked back to the war table the Saints had assembled.

“I have what I need now. Their shields are not up still, I see. We can afford to give them time, then. We attack at night fall, which is still hours away.” The Dead Man announced.

Renlid piped up from the side, “Who will lead the attack?”

A smile crept across the Ghost’s face, “I will. This is the attack we’ve been waiting for.”

***

When Skarr awoke, he was still in his armor. It hurt to move, but he forced himself to anyway. There was rubble around him, but he was not inside the tower. Nor was he in the trauma center, which surprised him. He surmised that he could not have been unconscious for more than a few minutes. The tower was still in flames and pieces. Nero was off to the side, awake and speaking to a few subordinates.

“What happened?” Skarr asked.

Nero looked over at him and smiled, “We got out in time. Two casualties and more wounded, but we got away better than I expected. Tower’s done for though.” The tired leader of Eclipse glanced up at the remains of the tower. Things could have been worse. Both Nero and Skarr could have died, leaving the entire base without ample leadership. With a start he remembered that a battle was still being fought, but as he tried to stand, he noticed the quiet that had fallen over the base.

“The battle?” Skarr managed to grunt out as he stood.

“Over for now. The Death Watch retreated.” Nero replied.

“It will start again soon. We must be prepared,” he said to the Captain. Skarr clicked his comm on and called a meeting of the Eclipse troops.

***

When Eclipse was finally assembled on the training grounds of the base, Skarr had a plan in mind. He had talked over it with Nero first and the Captain had agreed to the plan. It was a risky move, but one that had to be taken. SCOPE soldiers were some of the best, making them far more dangerous than a regular stormtrooper. Even Spec Ops troopers had trouble taking on a SCOPE squad at times. Sadly, this did not mean that Eclipse squad was invincible. However, the troopers needed to be where they were needed most.

Skarr chose Balac first. Some of the troopers had found him laying unconscious in the yard. A few members of the Death Watch had gotten over the walls in the attack, but had soon retreated. “Balac. You are hereby awarded temporary command of Sniper Teams Delta and Zeta. Set them up around the perimeter of the walls. Any exposed soldiers coming out of the forest are to be terminated immediately.”
The next trooper in line was the Zabrak, Razor. “Razor, you have command of the heavy turrets on the wall. Use them how you see fit. Watch for tanks.”

After Razor stood Meteora, “Kaye, your orders are just about the same as they have been. You and the engineers are to get that shield up and running. Once the battle begins, you will command them on what needs fixed during the battle.”

Skarr looked to Anival next. The trooper was clearly surprised that Skarr was practically giving command to the squad. “Anival, you have command of the Fort’s vehicles. Co-ordinate them well.”

The last two troopers in line was Therex and Terre. “Therex, we need an able medic running the Trauma Center. Any men that need patched up need to be. Those who can’t be patched up need to be taken to the infirmary. We can’t be tripping over the wounded. Terre, as you’re still very green, I will leave it up to you where you go. Whether it be with one of the squad mates or otherwise. If you find an area you feel especially attached to, let me know. I’ll see that you’re put in command.

“Now get moving. We’re running out of daylight. I want everyone under your command in position. Captain Nero will command from the Center, I will command from the wall. Listen closely for any orders we give you. You are dismissed.” With his final statement, the squad began dissolving. Skarr could see the surprise in their stances and on their faces. If there was one thing they had expected, it had not been this. The squad leader only hoped he had not made a mistake. Very few of the troopers had ever experienced command before.

But if Nolac were really commanding the forces at Archet, the several different commands and styles of command would throw him off. The Dead Man would be expecting Skarr to lead everything. The Second Lieutenant only hoped it was enough.

OOC:

I've edited out everyone not in the squad with the exception of Anival, who has expressed interest in continuing this story. You have your current orders for now. So get to know the people under your command. Start the battle when you will.