| abstract | - Captain Stone peers down at his watch noting that there where still an hour before sunset. Looking backup towards the Prisoners caged in the 100'x100' make shift detention center, the Captain addresses them from his podium. "When your prison number is called, you will follow Lieutenant Draelis to your assigned transport." The 400 or so prisoners held up in the make shift camp are being fenced in by razor wire and 15' tall fences. The unhappy lot, peer to Captain Stone awaiting further instruction. The make shift camp was ratty in every aspect and living conditions had been poor. A few probably even looked forward to their new housing. Lt. Draelis is clad in the Republic's new, heavy-duty combat gear. Glossy black bodyarmor covers him from neck to toe, held in place with brown cinch-straps. Only his eyes are visible beneath the wide, transparant lens. His voice actuator clicks on. He flicks over to another channel. In prescribed groups, Marines begin the process of escorting the prisoners out of the wire and to the waiting shuttlecraft, weapons draw and set for 'stun' on the marching groups. As they get about fifteen meters from the gate, another group departs. Vengan watches the process from the ground, holding groups back as they get too close to the one in front of them. Zhao had been busy at work putting together intel and all that fun stuff from the past recon missions and finally gave the output of key locations that the prisoners might be being held. Lieutenant Adaze Zasul had been sitting around for days waiting for this information to finally be placed in his hands. Now, the only thing left to do is figure out which, if any, of these key locations would house the prisoners. What better way to do that then send out the pride of Maffi, the Trader's Triumph resources ship. The drop bay proved most effective in this current scenario. The ship zooms out from the small hyperspace jump to the planet of Mon Calamari. It was being piloted by Enforcer Jack Hubert. A small comm system was linked to the cargo hold and the team inside was waiting. The crew is dressed in swoop gear and standing next to their respective swoops when something crackles over the comm, "Sir, we're over Calamari, beginning descent into atmosphere. I'll alert you a few moments before the drop." A tall Twi'lek sporting a full head helmet with a tinted blast shield nods to the other two in a way meaning, 'Get on your swoops and prepare for the drop.' Why didn't I insist on my Centurion?" Delede mutters, before rechecking the blast shield on his crash helmet. The small human makes his way somewhat slowly to the swoop that's been assigned to him, and mounts,even more sloely, as if the machine might just take a bite out of him. He does look forward to the Twi'lek, before giving the universal thumbs up, though, that doesn't last long, as he appears to need to grip the controls rather tightly. Now, it's just up to the gods, and their love of fools and drunks...thankfully, he applies to both categories. Unseen to those planetside, a certain Twila Virda sits nervously, armored and helmeted while awaiting the time. Trying to feign bravery she doesn't necessarily feel at the moment, the butterfly-ridden woman nods to signal her being ready, her head and gaze locked firmly forward. This is not something she ever thought she'd see herself doing and he has her mind and confidence reeling, the endless questions about the whys behind she's doing this echoing in her head as she waits. Captain Stone continues to stand on his raised podium safe from the prisoners down below. The prisoners below begin to form in to lines of five as their prisoner identification number is called over a large megaphone by one of the Sergeants in the yard. The Mon Calamari Prison Guards push and shove the more stubern prisoners to ensure compliance. From the Air, the Prison yard has several rows of tents errected on the north side of the camp with a large open area to the south for recreation. While the recreation area is empty, it does provide room for the prisoners to move around. On each corner of the prison camp are four towers with armed guards and spot lights. The man in the cockpit spots what would appear to be the prison area. He smiles and clicks on the communications system, "Sir, we got a good view of something that looks to be a prison camp from up here. I'm dropping you about 100kilometers to the south of the camp and you guys can head up to there. Prepare..." The twi'lek tunes into the maffi comm channel on the comlink that all zhao members are given upon recruitment. "Alright guys..here's the plan. Once we're dropped, we'll head north to check out the camp closer. As you probably know, we're looking for any potential weaknesses in the camp that can easily be penetrated." The drop bay comm cackles on, "Dropping in...3...2...1..." The bottom of the bay lurches and slides down. Adaze throws the power of the swoop on and shoots off toward the calamari surface which is not too far below. Gren is in the process of clicking his commlink, to acknowledge that he has heard, and understands the instructions, when his world drops out from under him. The starfighter pilot turned erstwhile swoop jockey belts out what can only be described as a "manly" scream, that is thankfully lost in the ripping winds that buffet him and his machine, as they plummet toward the rapidly approaching planet's surface. Keely Prior stands at the rear corner of the prisoner convoy, her rifle held at the ready as she watches the prisoners enter the compound. While the other marines stationed near her seem alert and at attention, she seems just a little bit dazed, perhaps tired or ill. She casts a sidelong glance toward Vengan as he gestures toward Stone, then returns her gaze to the prisoners, her brow gathering in a tight knot. Throttle at full open, Twila finds herself gritting her teeth as she takes off, trying to keep up with those who left the ship before her. "Darn.." she whispers under her breath, her body tensing as the speed gets the best of her, tying her guts into knots that just doesn't seem to want to leave, making the queasy feeling from her nerves all the worse. Swallowing back bile and annoyance, she pushes onwards, allowing those who are more skillful with piloting the swoops go ahead of her, hoping to be out of the direct line of any fire that might be let off as a result. As the sun begins its desent against the horizine Captain Stone motions to the guards. Suddenly large flood lights set along the fences begin to light up the camp. The four watch tower spot lights also come to life beaming down bright light onto the prisoners below. The large flood lights begin to sweep through the prison yard looking for any possible destrubances. Captain Stone gives a reassuring nod in Vengan's direction. Everything had been going well for the time being. "Keep your guts, soldiers. We're almost to the ground." While Adaze had some experience in the swoop dropping, his crew may not have. He himself still had to fight back his lunch. He lets out and "Oomph.." as the swoop bottoms out on the Calamari surface, causing him to loose some control. But within no time he is speeding full throttle in the direction of North, hoping to hit the prison camp unseen. Whether the drop was seen or not depended upon whether any of the prison guards were actually paying attention. Although, it would take a dunce to not notice the rather low flying Chameleon that passes directly over the camp. A decade of flying starfighters has prepared Gren for the worst of the aerobatics, but there's no doubt that he's feeling a bit queasy. His own bottoming out on the planet's surface comes across much less smoothly than Adaze's, and Delede curses a blue streak, as he attempts to maintain control, before finally following his leader in a nice, fast straight line. Sparing a look over his shoulder, checking on the last of their trio, the pilot of this particular swoop jams the throttle forward, just making sure that it's not possible to coax a bit more speed out of this deathtrap. There comes a time when all creatures are forced to consider their own mortality..but this is not such a time for Twila as she's a bit too busy trying to pilot something she's definitely not used to piloting while trying not to fall victim to motion sickness. Hopefully it'll be all over soon and she can do all sorts of contemplating life and what her lunch looks like the second time around but her mind, being as firmly settled on the task at hand, keeping the woman distracted. Captain Stone continues to stand on the podium overseeing the move of a portion of the prisoners. His arms crossed at his chest and peering down below, the crusty old Captain talks idle chitchat with the Warrden of the Camp. A moment later he grabs his comlink, "Combat Officer Prior, how are operations going down on your end?" A small fight breaks out in the prison yard, but is quickly subdued by two Calamari Guard. The two prisoners go down quickly by blows with stunbottons. The out numbered guards were not messing around. As the chameleon passes over the prison camp it clicks several pictures so that the teams would know the exact schematics of the camp. Meanwhile, the team of swooopers come closer to the camp. The leader speaks over comm, "Everyone alright from that landing? Nobody needs to slow down the operation so they can empty their helmets, right?" He glares ahead into the darkening evening. From above, the Triumph scales out over the large Calamari ocean, getting a respective distance away before flipping around. The Enforcer in the cockpit announces over the comlink, "I've got the camp schematics, give me a second and I can plot where you guys are at and determine how far you are from the prison." "I'm good, lead. Like any other day at the office.." This is stated over the commlink, Delede doing his best to sound convincing. The pilot barely managed to make a cut to the right, before slamming into an out of place dune. "If the office was hell..." Gren growls this, while his commlink is still clicked on, though, relief at surviving his near-miss is clear. The human swoop rider realigns himself on the leader's flight-path, keeping his eyes peeled for any more of those surprise bits of terrain. "Har, har." Virda quirps in annoyment over the crack about helmet emptying, trying to hide the fact that she just about had to. The woman's stomach, settling some now that they are in less turbulant surroundings, becomes the least of her worries thanks to the fact that she is having to navigate around obsticals. "Last time I let y'all talk me into hair-brain stunts like this!" she grunts out, her knuckles white as she gets a bettle grip on the controls, The evacuation, though slow, is making some progress. Nearly a hundred and fifty prisoners are on-board the ships. Vengan checks his chrono inside his helmet, nodding at several Marines nearby. The Lt. stands out among his soldiers, being the only one clad in the experimental armor. He activates his vocal emitter. "Ok, second squad, get on the gate. We're going to start sending them out ten at a time, and I want four Marines flanking from the rear. If you even -think- someone is going to try something, just stun the group and we'll keep going. Shoot first, ask questions later. Check?" The Marines nod and move out, taking larger groups of prisoner from the security gate and moving them to the shuttles. One of the vehicles, fully loaded, takes off into the air, S-foils lowering as it goes airborne. The chameleon passes high over the transport as it takes off, relaying a message to the swoopers below. "We got movement of transports, that means the transportation of prisoners." Adaze glares angrily as he sees the transport take off into the sky. He flickers on his comm, "There's no way they can fit them all in that one transport, and we better hope that the prisoners we need are not in one of the firsts to go! Hubert, get your arse back to Remm and get us some reinforcements. We're going in for the break!" The chameleon jets upwards into space, preparing the mini-jump along the way. "Soldiers, we gotta get in there and distract the guards from launching anymore transports!!" The prison gates are now in view, and the three swoops race in their direction at full speed. "Son of a bit..." Delede curses, before clicking his commlink on for a moment, and stating..."Lead, acknowledged, but I wish we'd brought my Centurion..." The starfighter pilot keeps his left hand tight on the controls of his swoop, while snaking his right hand to check and make sure he didn't lost his heavy blaster in the drop. This only takes a moment, before his right hand is firmly back on it's section of the control yoke. "I gave up on being killed by the Rebels, when I was kicked out of the Imp Navy, thanks for this chance..."He mutters this into his commlink, too, never being afraid of spreading some irritation. And ever closer to the prison does he speed. "You gotta be kidding me!?" Twila groans out, her comlink easily picking up her peeved question, the query directed towards no one and everyone all at the same time. It is at that moment where she realizes just what is at stake and she finds herself doubting for a moment, but someting suddenly echoes in her head, something someone said to her, something that puts a bit of steel in her spine and urges her onward. This may not be exactly what she had planned upon leaving Endor but still, she has an obligation and it's one she's not taking lightly. "Where are we going in?" she yells out, trying to speak over the pounding of her heart in her ears, the sound almost deafening thanks to how hard it beats within her chest. Vengan listens to the hiss and whine of his respirator for a moment, accustoming himself to the various odd noises the new suit makes. His HUD suddenly flickers to life, 'painting' several fast-moving targets that are approaching the prison. The Marine narrows his eyes slightly, regarding the objects which are still too far out to get a proper look at. He tongues his headset over to the mixed-unit frequency. He unbuckles his A280, readying the conspicuously stun-not-capable weapon and signalling his Marines to do the same. A hand waves quickly at the gates, leaving the airlock closed and ten prisoners staged in the null-area between interior and exterior. A hundred and more prisoners mill about inside the chute, looking about for the cause as to the cessation of their transfer. Inside the facility itself, the remainder of the prisoners wait for their number to be called, unaware of what goes on outside the walls. Vengan listens to the hiss and whine of his respirator for a moment, accustoming himself to the various odd noises the new suit makes. His HUD suddenly flickers to life, 'painting' several fast-moving targets that are approaching the prison. The Marine narrows his eyes slightly, regarding the objects which are still too far out to get a proper look at. He tongues his headset over to the mixed-unit frequency. He unbuckles his A280, readying the conspicuously stun-not-capable weapon and signalling his Marines to do the same. A hand waves quickly at the gates, leaving the airlock closed and ten prisoners staged in the null-area between interior and exterior. A hundred and more prisoners mill about inside the chute, looking about for the cause as to the cessation of their transfer. Inside the facility itself, the remainder of the prisoners wait for their number to be called, unaware of what goes on outside the walls. Adaze cackles into the communications system, "No, I am not kidding you. My friends, you have sworn your life to this organization, and its about high time that you finally prove yourselves worthy members. If your life is taken, it will be greatly honored, and if we end up prisoners, then leave it up to our organization to bust us out." Meanwhile, the Enforcer abourd the triumph radios out to a high ranking Maffi member, as well as the CSAV Remittance encouraging them both to round up reinforcements. The swoop bikes race even more toward the camp, almost in position to jump the high gates into the recreational courtyard. Never one to hold to hold his tongue, Delede asks rhetorically "What, and hope they do a better job than we did?" into the commlink on the headset that he's wearing under his crash helmet. Not that it matters, because the time for action is very close at hand, and that means Gren's got to concentrate on getting up, and over the gates, rather than slamming into them. Snorting, Twila finds herself biting her tongue, for once, the fact that Adaze's comment about loyalty making it hard for her to do so. She's too busy trying to make sure she doesn't become a pretty little red spot on a wall or become a sudden target for some NR newb with an itchy finger and songs of glory ringing in his..or her..ears. The Chameleon Trader's Triumph makes it outside of a gravwell and immediatly hits into the mini-jump, flying at high speeds into the outer reaches of the Mon Calamari system. The three swoops come within a short distance of the prison gates. Shouting over comm, the Lieutenant gives the order, "PULL UP NOW! Prepare to dodge fire!" Adaze shoves upwards on the controls, his swoop flying over the gates and out into the recreation part of the camp. Dirt flys up as his swoop bottoms out and spins out of control. "Lets hope we get reinforcements befrore they murder us!" "That's a refreshing thought!" Delede shouts back into his commlink as this less experienced swooprider tries to make the same jump as Adaze, with somewhat less success. His own machine clips the top of the gate, and is tossed into a slewing spin, on it's way toward the hard dirt of the recreation yard. Gren does his best to ditch the swoop, and ends up lying behind the battered machine, unharmed, but pissed. Delede yays. Last post I have to think of tonight." "Force-damned, motherless son of a mangy bantha. I'll be frackin' sure he gets an earful after this is all done.." '..if we make out of here alive.' Twila finishes the thought within the recesses of her mind as she pulls up hard, trying to manuver the swoop into enough of a jump so she can clear the wall with little in the way of damage to herself. She hits the top of the wall, unfortunately, sending herself flying over the controls and into a heap on the ground on the other side. "Damn.." She looks around suddenly, still flat on her stomach, trying to find the others while regaining the wind that was knocked out of her by the impact. The crack and whoop of stunner fire fills the prison facility, laying low more than a few prisoners. The Marines are well-trained in their firing drills, prone and laying abreast of one another as they open fire on the two personnel on foot, stun rays rippling through the air. The guards on the wall, recovering from their suprise, open fire as well, trying to stun the two intruders though their own aim is far shakier and less well-ordered. Having recieved the transmission from Enforcer Jack Hubert over his headset comlink while drinking Coruscanti wine with Senator Lemos on an outdoor patio of an upscale cafe several blocks away in the heart of Reef Home City square, Eson did not waste much time after the business negotiations to make his way to Zhao Secles at the starport. Changing into a more suitable attire, including low cowled dark cloak, combat armor and weapons, Eson responds to the call for backup as quickly as possible, though it took him some time to navigate the Calamari city with his swoop from the starport, the coordinates of the prison break operation are known to the crimelord and he is intent on arriving to aid his operatives in whatever manner they require. Street dust stirringin the wake of his swoop, Tyy'sun grips the throttle heavily, the repulsor and ion engine with a seat reaching nowhere nears its limits of speed in the confines of the cityscape, but moving at a great rate non-the-less.. His face covered in a thick armored mask, lekku tied back and protected by synthetic mesh armored weave and covered from head to toe, Eson takes an inventory of the situation as he comes apon the scene. Two swoopers down, one still up. He barks orders into the comlink, "Soldiers, take cover behind your fallen swoops and fast! We go incoming..." Before he can finish his sentance, the dark violet Twi'lek is smashed with stun fire from the guards. It disracts him at quite a degree that his swoop spins out of control and he goes flying off. The bike itself zooms off in a straight line, the throttle still pushed at full speed flying in the direction of the chute that is currently holding the prisoners. Gren is still cursing a mighty swath, as he brings himself up onto one knee, and glances around the compound, trying to find his comrades, and foes. The starfighter pilot is lucky enough to spy the guards, as they open fire on him, and he beats Adaze's orders, by throwing himself forward, and taking cover behind his overturned swoop. Delede draws his blaster, and takes a hasty shot at one of the guards that are insisting on shooting at him. Panting, Twila staggers to her feet, checking herself out, the worse of her injuries being a few deep gashes that scab over after a moment or two, although she's probably going to be bruised and aching come morning. She catches the sight of the fourth swoop as it appears and she mutters to herself, the tone of her voice stunned from awe. "Who is that masked man?" Shrugging it off, she shakes off the last of her shock and pulls her blaster while doing the only thing she can think of doing - running right into the action. As another speeder streaks towards the prison, Vengan sets his jaw inside of his thick skeletal helmet. None of this waiting around stuff, this time. he roars, pointing at the swoop. He lifts his own unmodified A280 and cracks off a few rounds at Tyy'sun, the two other squads outside the wire removing their adapters as quickly as they can, a somewhat cumbersome task. Inside the wire, the general alert sounds and true to their orders, guards start stunning all the remaining 200 prisoners, stun beams making *whoomph* noises as they arc through the air. They open fire on the chute, too, but look in horror as the speeder comes on their position at dangerous speeds. A few brave souls open fire with their stunners, then dive aside as they expect it to hit the reinforced wires around the chute containing the unconscious prisoners. As soon as word reached this particular squad that an attack was occuring, its leader calls it up to action and they open fire on the swoops. and their occupants. With some ease, the blaster bolt aimed at him is dodged, the squadmen it was aimed throwing himself flat on the floor and he watches as the blaster bolt that was aimed at his torso uselessly flies over his head. Now having the added motivation to to fight back -try and kill do they?!-, he takes quick aim at whoever it was that fired at him and lets a quick salvo from his weapon. The prison camp on the Mon Calamari coast has just underwent something really strange. What started out as a normal night getting ready to ship out their prisoners, soon turned into a very complicated situation. Approaching the camp at high speeds were three unmarked, and very fast swoop bikes. The three riders had only one intent, stopping those transports. The high fence of the camp was breached by the three bikes, two riders of which failed to clear and flew off their bikes. The other rider managed to stay on his swoop, but not for long. Once the blaster fire started up, the dark violet twi'lek went flying from his bike and sent it marining toward the prisoner chute. Moments later another swooper showed up, most likely answering a distress call from the three previous swoopers. Adaze brushes himself off as he stands up with his blaster drawn. He offers wide eyes when blaster bolts go flying after his swoop. He winces slightly as a large explosion emerges from next to the chute. The durasteel brightens up by the heat, as does the skin of two guards that soon turn to nothing but a flaming skeleton. Being slightly distracted, he finds himself stepping out of the way of a blaster shot that nearly takes his head off. "Wow!" Meanwhile, the Traders Triumph has quickly rounded up some Zhao reinforcements and has began its mini-jump plot back to planetside. The four swoopers must survive just a bit longer before reinforcements arrive. The goal was definantly reached, they delayed the transports. Comdore remains still a long moment. Amongst the prisoners, he was brought in a few days ago for some reason he has yet to know. The former Imperial lays still, feigning being stunned, before finally shifting his head ever so slightly to look around, to see what was going on. He remained calm, composed, and only his eyes moved to see who was watching him, if anyone Delede is situated behind his swoop, kneeling, and peering out from behind the blast shield on his crash helmet, wincing as blaster bolts hit near him, though no one seems to be shooting directly at him, for the moment. "All of you would be bloody sorry if I had my fighter!!" Gren screams this, as he ducks out from behind his cover, and fires a blaster bolt towards one of the regulars that were guarding the prisoners. He is just not going to let it go, that he's really not pleased to be fighting on foot. "Do you know what a proton torpedo does to troopers?!" He ducks behind cover. A pity he doesn't have a torpedo. Onboard the Trader's Triumph, a controlled hell has broken loose, as men and women of all shapes, sizes, and species rush to prepare themselves for the task ahead. Some go about their preparations with meticulous, almost military precision, but to any observer with even a passing knowledge of how the militaries of the galaxy operate, it would almost certainly been seen for what it really is; and vicious group of hired guns and brigands, with a handful of truly loyal members of the Maffi spliced in to ensure the money being spent on these mercs is not being wasted. Amongst them is Tibor Stasio, whose eyes are both wide and filled to the brim with electricity. This will be his first action since his service contract with the Empire had expired, and he is taking every step to make sure that he survives it long enough to be paid. As he double-checks to ensure that his supplies are accounted for, in case things go even worse than they already doubtlessly have for additional muscle to be brought in, he peers an eye from time to time at the people around him. 'Maybe if they keep acting like this on the ground, a few extra people won't be collecting their earnings for this,' he silently reasons, looking down once more to conceal his grin. Caught by surprise, the regular is thrown back into the ground as soon as the blaster bolt hits him, panic spreading among the prisoners as they fear they will be hit, but a shouted command from whoever is in charge quickly calm them down. Well, not calm them so much as put the fear of the Maker in them. As soon as the Fourth Squad exits the building into the courtyard where the firefight is taking place, the troopers scatter about to find cover, and when an appraisal of the situation is made, they head to provide covering fire for the third squad as it tries to take down the assailant that has its occupants. While the Third begins to lay down covering fire to force back the swoop-behind-hiding man(the coward he is to not stand and face them like a real man!), those soldiers of the Fourth squad begin to move, under cover of course, towards a position where they can easily hit him. The first to reach that position, wherever it might be, fires a well-aimed shot at the man. Radioing in on where the reinforcements were at, Adaze is caught off guard by a rather hard hit. His body is sent flailing across the dirt, scraping him up quite a bit. He seems to be down for the count. The Traders Triumph wastes no time. There are two, not so combat oriented soldiers, as well as a no so combat oriented Lieutenant trying to hold their way against many prison guards. The mini-jump completes just a few clicks outside of the atmosphere and quickly begins to head in the direction of the firefight. Comdore grits his teeth as the firefight reins out. One of the few fully awake prisoners he was near the front, sadly, and could half see the action. Watching with narrowed eyes he winces, remaining calm despite the others and listens only halfway to the man barking out orders, instead watching through the gate, trying to ID the person who'd just fallen nearby. Gren had his eyes on Adaze, when the shot that took him down hit, and considering the situational awareness that combat pilots tend to develop, managed to trace the blast from it's shooter. While Delede has no great love of Adaze, he is a member of the "family", and as such, he does his best to take vengeance. He moves until he has a better shot, and says a little prayer to his god, Alcoholius, and fires a blast, even as a shot aimed at him, snaps into the dirt. See, they're taught in Basic Training to take cover, whenever possible. It's smart. Helpful, even. This is a lesson that Vengan has driven home -hard- when he catches a particularly well-aimed blaster bolt in his chest. The Marine, glittering like a shard of obsidian atop the outcrop, crumbles forward, planting a hand to catch himself on the rocks before falling flat. He sets his teeth, screaming silently inside his helmet as he overcomes the blaster bolt through sheer willpower. The Marine quickly rocks upright, eyes flaring a furious shade of emerald inside of his helmet. He lifts his blaster to his shoulder and fires at Delede in enraged response, though the injury hinders his ability to fire. Vengan encourages, wincing inside his helmet. Second squad remains tight around the remaining three shuttles, low on the ground in a wide perimeter. His own squad crouches near the base of the rocks as their leader goes prone, significantly reducing his target profile. he shouts at the RTO. He looks into the courtyard again, trying to get a fix on the remaining invaders. E-11 blaster, check. Enough supplies to survive for just about a day in the wild of Corellia, should such a thing really be more than just a myth, check. Burning desire to earn wages far in excess of even the inanely high Imperial paychecks he'd once recieved? "Oh yeah, I've got that," Tibor says aloud, not bothering to conceal a bit of a smirk at the mental preparations. It doesn't last long, however, as he feels the movements of the Trader's Triumph's approach, wordlessly signalling for the goons aboard to hurry up in any preparations still remaining. Securely inside the bowels of the inbound starship, Tibor is fortunately spared from the sight of so large and likely hostile a planet just beyond his reach for the time being. Order received, approved and processed. The Third and Fourth continue to open fire on that one that dodged the initial shot frm that squadmen from the fourth, and the man ducks for cover for a moment before sticking his head out again, and aiming yet again at the man taking cover behind the swoop. A steadying breath, and the trooper squeezes his weapon's trigger, sending a coloured bolt of energy flying towards the man. The Trader's Triumph zooms through the planet's atmosphere, heading in the direction of the firefight. Two swoops are dropped on a remote island upon the way, their purpose unknown for now. It then rushes with great speeds ever closer to the prison location, which isn't too far off. The commander of the Triumph shouts orders. "Prepare! Prepare! We're almost there!" He had it coming, really. Gren had no business in a firefight of this magnitude...oh he can shoot people in barfights, but a real battlefield? No thanks. Delede was in the process of shouting happily at first seeing his shot nail the Marine that shot Adaze, and even managed a very spiffy combat roll, to his right, to avoid the counterfire from the hit man. But, right wasn't the right direction, as it rolled him right into the line of fire of those /other/ bastards. Twila is staggard due to her new wound but she keeps on her feet, the injury not severe enough to bring her to her knees or otherwise lay her out. She looks around, trying to parse out who is what, her eyes scanning the prison yard frantically. Comdore flinches as more blasts zip by the gate, and he climbs carefully to one knee, ready to dodge any splashback that could occur from there, his suit dusty from being thrown to the ground from the explosions and stun blasts. Vengan rolls his shoulder, testing the limits of his mild burn injury. Vengan's voice rattles with alarm, and he shoulders his rifle, firing off a round as Twila gets to her feet. Vengan demands. He looks over at the chute with the dead guards and prisoners in it. As soon as that one is taken care of, see what gloating will get you boys and girls?, the soldiers of Third and Fourth squad disperse, the first heading to secure the prisoners before the gaggle gets to running while the guards are busy. Meanwhile, the other squad heads after the assailant that's getting to her feet, however unsteadily, seems they have no concept of fair play. And as soon as they are close enough that they can fire, they do so, one of them opening on the woman first while the rest do something...probably twiddle their thumbs and wait to take credit for that guy's hit, if it ever does hit. There was not much choice, if he was going to help the situation, than to commit himself fully to the task at hand. Having been aware of previous mission strategy, though looking back on it seeing some potentially fatal flaws, Eson grips the handles of his swoop tightly and guns the throttle, leaning forward and into the winds as he is preopelled with all speed toward the coastal Prison. Jumping the wall looks difficult, and it is probably more difficult than it looks - but the crimelord grits pointed teeth as he goes, meaning to insert himself into the fray as quickly as possible.. from the sound of chatter over the headset comlink, things were going rough for Maffi inside.. that wont do - not with some of his best at stake. With much of the security forces distracted by the battle it is only several poorly aimed shots which threaten to take Eson off his horse before he can attempt the jump, but luck or the FOrce is with him this day, and he manages to juke the incoming fire, just before hitting the rocky bluff.. saddling the swoop, he pops the ion throttle to full, aiding in the leap and lifts with his legs, as though that would really help matters! The swoop crests the wall by inches and then open air into the rec yard presents itself - and eson does the only thing that enters his mind to do - he lets go of the machine alltogether and allows it to sail at high speed through the yard, toward the far wall, and tucks his masked and armored head as he falls into a painful roll on the ground beyond the outer prison wall! The Trader's Triumph arrives, and arrives low. The burst of the ion engines would surely blast back, or cause some mild distraction to the security around the prison walls. The ship opens fully, both drop bay and regular ramp. Shouts of Zhao soldiers can be heard, "Get em! Blast em off! Bring out the ion charges!" Soldiers aim at Security providing cover for the demolitions team. Comdore grimaces now as the smell of the burnt, dead guards fills the room. HE coughs a few times, and wriggles forwards, glancing over the forms... no luck. Both dead. He wriggles back again fast, to check any others that look like they aren't just stunned. "Bloody fools.." he utters at the prisoners laying there "When you hear explosins you run for cover... no wonder they were stupid enough to be caught." Fourth squad immediately starts double-timing it out of the perimeter, to join first and second squad as they are engaged by the troops disembarking from the jumpship. A furious firefight erupts as the Marines start laying down fire against the troopers, trying to keep them from even getting near the walls. Inside the courtyard, half of third squad moves quickly back and forth, flash-stunned the downed invaders just to be sure and cuffing them. 3rd's squad leader keeps the other five soldiers firing at Tyy'sun, unleashing a concentrated barrage of 36-T fire on the Crimelord as he staggers under the blaster bolt, but does not go down. It was a good thing he included the combat armor today.. Eson hits theg round hard - very hard, but the impact is offset nicely by the synthweave of his gear, cloak flowing about him as he goes. Nearly tangled up in the cloak as he rolls, Eson snarls, allowing his senses to snap to attention, knowing danger is all around him and sensing it focus on his entrance. All at once it happens, time slowing for the crimelord as he fights to regain his balance and raise to his feet. The swoop he entered on explodes as it impacts the far wall, sending a loud booom throughout the yard and a series of firey sparks and heat. As Eson rears his head, ignoring the blast from the swoop, having expected it he narrows his gaze at the incoming torrent of blaster fire snapping through the air at him - it is all he can do to twist and dodge the first incoming bolts! The darkside folds around the crimson Twi'lek, his covered lekku tied together, whipping through the air with his head as he dodges - there is no way for him to avoid getting hit. A moment of rage seeks into Tyy'sun's bones just as the first of several blasts impact his chest. Combat armor obsorbs some of the blow, but the darkside dines on the rest, diverting the searing heat of the laserfire as Eson rolls backwards and into the dust. But that is not the end of it, and the crimelord can sense more incoming fire from another squad - his mind realing with a mixture of fear and hatred, Eson continues his roll backwards, cloak whipping out obediantly as he goes, the fresh laserfire erupting on the ground all around him - a lucky dodge to be sure. Spent in the first moments of the Battle, the Twi'lek fumbles for his blasters, knowing the situation is not going his family's way - but the arrival of Trader's Triumph encourages him, even as he move to face off with the enemy. Duel DY-255's are plucked from their thigh holsters and raised side by side into the air - toward the armored man who appears to be calling the shots - bolt after bolt erupts toward Vengan, backed by Eson's outrage. The demolitions team move in on the fence, with a few ion blast charges with each of them. The three guys get to work as the remaing 10 soldiers form a permiter around them. The group plants the charges and all 13 of them break away, hitting dirt. One of the demolition guys shouts, "3...2...1..." And as quickly as the charges were planted, they explode. Large chunks of the wall fall all around and the soldiers begin standing again, ready to plunge right into the prison walls. The three swoopers are easy to spot as the clothing they are wearing stands out, so the group breaks off to grab each one, dodging a good barage of blaster fire along the way. Vengan ducks, then ducks again, as he starts taking fire from a crack pistol shot. A stray blaster bolt clips the side of his helmet, sending the Marine sliding down the rocks a bit, dazedly. He shakes his head, trying to clear the cobwebs, keeping his head down for a moment. he shouts into the commlink. The anti-tank riflemen both take aim, one on the bluff, the other on the ground near the shuttles, and opens fire with the self-guided munitions. The stationary target of the jumpship is almost impossible to miss, as big as it is. Vengan sets himself, then pops up over the rocks for a quick potshot at Tyy'sun's position, though he barely takes time to aim before sliding down the rocks again. Third squad staggers, instinctively wincing away from the blast that sends debris flying into the rec yard. As soon as troopers start pouring in, however, they open concentrated fire on the hole, trying to bottleneck the invaders and keep them from getting into the main area. The remainder of third grabs bound and stunned EPWs and hauls them to their position, forming a loose semi-circle with their companions and contributing their own fire on the invading forces, though a couple attempt to keep Tyy'sun ducking, if nothing else. Meanwhile, first and second squads start sprinting down the wall towards the jumpship, blasting at straggling troopers as they attempt to interdict themselves between the freshly blasted hole and the ship itself, one squad covering the ship, the other, covering the new entrance. Tyy'sun snarls as blasterfire erupts around him still, and his shot at the commanding figure does not yield a quick kill - but this is combat and anything can happenin a moment. Ducking to the side as several hot blaster bolts slice the air towards him, Eson decides to consentrate on the largest threat at hand - that of a visible antitank rifleman exposed on the bluff - he sights down the pistol and pulls the trigger, hoping the shot will ring true.. then, gathering up momentum, the crimelord turns both blasters onto Vengan's squad, seeking to either supress them or take them out of the action with two more shots. You paged Vengan with 'Mind if I try and make things a bit more interesting for Comadore by blowing a hole in the prisoners chute?' The newly arrived Zhao reinforcements continue pushing their way into the prison. The initial swoop party is not the main target, its the prisoners left in the chute. One of the gunners gets fired down while they charge across the yard. The demolitions team prepares to finish off thier goal. Screaming, "FIRE IN THE HOLE!" an ion charge is chucked at the chute. The small explosion is enough to blow a hole in the durasteel, causing minor injuries to those close to the explosion, but nothing fatal. A slight distraction for the prison guards as prisoners are released out onto the battle ground. Hearing the scream, Comdore looks up, eyes widening as he sees the charge coming in. He curls away, lifting his arms to shield his head, body kneeling over the dying guard to shield his head as well as the explosion sends shrapnel all over "Frag... " grabbing up the still-warm gun from the guards' body, he then barks out through the smoke "BACK! GET BACK FROM THE ENTRANCE!" to the others, standing and trying to orient himself there, turning to lunge for the nearest wall, a hand pressing against it, then his back was, gun in one hand... he'd had some training in a weapon in the imperial military and squinted at the blown entrance, trying to catch sight of who was who out there... From the west, from Reef Home city...arives a messiah in the air, escorted by a Marine battleboat on repulsor wings. The battlewagon swoops and dives, turbolasers pounding downwards at the landed jumpship to cover the APC as it's pilot drops in the front of the prison facility. Almost before it's off the ground, the dropdoors open, and First Platoon is disgorged onto the ground. Vengan shouts, gesturing to the breach in the northern wall. He chances a glance over the top of the bluff again, spying on the scene as first platoon starts sprinting pell-mell to the breached entrance, trying to get to second and first squad as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, second and first squad make it to the blasted entrance. First squad starts firing into the smoke, trying to hit any of the personnel between them and third squad. Vengan shouts over the comm. Meanwhile, second squad starts peeking cautiously into the open jumpship's doors, a few bold Marines moving towards the downed ramp in an attempt to get on board and search for other opposition. At the sound of a blast in the chute, Vengan hisses under his breath. The Marine lieutenant prays to whomever is listening that someone down there has the sense to listen. Third squad keeps her fire evenly divided between the chokepoint and Tyy'sun, keeping up a sharp Marine firing discipline despite the fire in their direction. One Marine goes down to a stray blaster bolt, but the rest keep picking off the Zhao soldiers as they get caught in their own crossfire. One Marine grabs a fragmentation grenade and throws it at the oncoming soldiers. One Marine turns his back and looks through the smoke for movement, shooting to stun anyone coming his direction, though he fails to see Comdore slinking away the opposite path. Three Marines continue to fire on Tyy'sun, their That didnt work so well.. Eson frowns as all his shots are avoided by the marines in question. Ducking to the side again, the Twi'lek's mind sends warning bells throughout his body that fire is incoming, and he takes proper action to avoid getting blasted. Feet set in the dust, and cloak wrapped around him, the crimelord is far from hard pressed as the action continues to take place all around him. The antitank rifleman is addressed anew as Eson raises both blasters and takes a split second to concentrate on his shots, knowing that Trader's Triumph's shields will not hold out forever against the blasts from high caliber rounds - and knowing that Triumph is required to mission success. But as the Marine battleboat arrives in the sky, Eson knows he alone cannot protect the vessel, and makes a split second desision to focus on Vengan and his marines in the yard instead. The bolts fly forth, disintigrating air ocean particles floating int he air and replacing them with the smell of ozone as they careen towards two of Vengan's marines! "We need Telgas Assault shuttles here now!" Eson snarls into his comlink as he fires. This was not looking good. Reinforcements arriving for the other side, that's when it would be normal to get the hell out, but the 12 remaining soldiers keep pushing forward toward the chute. Two others are gunned down by the barage of fire beatind down on them. A paticularly smart soldier aims at one of the fallen swoops, right in the center of a large group of oncoming marines. The swoop explodes, doing some damage to many of the soldiers. The team finally reaches the hole that was made by the blast and ducks in to take cover with the prisoners. The leader shouts loudly, "LISTEN UP! EVERYONE THAT'S IN HERE NEEDS TO STAY CALM! WE ARE HERE TO GET AS MANY OF YOU OUT AS WE CAN!" Meanwhile, the Trader's Triumph pilot jolts up the still hott engines and screams out over comm, "Triumph is taking cover! Call when you need evac." The ship flys off in the direction of open sea, leaving the firefight before it gets seriously damaged. Of course, not all the convits were happy with this. Some of them wanted OUT after all, even if OUT meant 'lost in hiding in the middle of fricking nowhere'. But they were gonna try. One or two bolt past Comdore out into the open, despite him shouting at them, into the middle of the court yard. While most, cowed already, were moving back as fast as possible, one or two jump at the Marines, trying to tackle them to the ground. Comdore himself slinkes up to the broken door, hiding just behind it in the shadow, still with his gun. He peers around the corner to scan the area, and then lifts the weapon - firing at the dark jedi out there, despite his poor aim and lack of practice. Third squad rallies at first squad pushes through the hole, joining their brothers inside the courtyard. They are shortly follow by fourth squad, putting full three-quarters of Second Platoon inside of the courtyard while First Platoon provides security around the blast-site entrance and on the ship itself. The blaster fire triples in intensity as the Marines begin moving as a unit, one full squad firing at the precariously exposed Tyy'sun, two squads firing and moving closer to the breached entrance, firing and attempting to gun down every one of the Zhao soldiers that's visible. The chute is closed on either side, effectively trapping the Zhao soldiers inside of the chute with the prisoners and shooting anyone they see fleeing through the breach. Vengan adivses. Meanwhile, second squad, second platoon pushes deeper into the jumpship, putting their MOUT skills to use and clearing the ship out, two vehicle experts working to disable the communications and the power relays. Of course, not all the convicts were happy with this. Some of them wanted OUT after all, even if OUT meant 'lost in hiding in the middle of fricking nowhere'. But they were gonna try. One or two bolt past Comdore out into the open, despite him shouting at them, into the middle of the court yard. While most, cowed already, were moving back as fast as possible, one or two jump at the Marines, trying to tackle them to the ground. Comdore himself slinks up to the broken door, hiding just behind it in the shadow, still with his gun. He peers around the corner to scan the area, and then lifts the weapon - firing at the Zhaoans right in front of him from the shadows, at point blank or near to that to try and drop them, eyes narrowed in concentration.
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