This might be another "seems-like-a-chapter-story-but-gets-forgotten" thing or something better; hopefully, the latter. I was bored, made a RP backstory for one of my Trooper (Vanguard) characters on SWTOR. Enjoy.
"Sergeant Ionyaqui, Republic Army, new assignment to: Special Forces Squad code name 'Havoc'." Qui read her new assignment over and over again. She simply couldn't believe it. Top unit in the ENTIRE Republic military... By the Force, how the stang did she do THAT?
Qui glanced at her sparse shared quarters, and her not-so-neatly packed bags. She sighed, slinging her standard-issue rifle over her shoulder and grabbing her ruck, before heading outside. Her old squad was waiting, and good ole Top Sarge Ophima was waiting with open arms.
Qui gave a watery grin, embracing the older Twi'lek woman for what may be the last time. "Stay safe out there, kid," she said, smiling before Qui moved on. Shellboy, the resident demo expert, ruffled her short raven colored hair. She swatted his hand away, both she and the fellow human smiling sadly. "Take care, Qui," he said, slapping her back as she walked on. The shuttle pilot gestured impatiently, tapping his wrist quickly.
Qui sighed, waved, and patted RAD-729, their assault droid squaddie on the back, before heading to the awaiting shuttle. The droid cast a look at her, saluting. She returned it, and headed up the ramp to the already loaded shuttle. She took one last glance at mostly peaceful Corellia before the ramp closed behind her, and the shuttle took off.
[Line Break]
"Incoming fire! Crew, brace, brace, brace!" Qui gasped as the pilot roughly slammed the shuttle into a loop-de-loop, and through the viewport she saw red and green lasers fly by, followed by several uglies and Republic fighters engaged in a heated dogfight.
A crew member controlling a turret jerked abruptly to the side, a sickly crunching noise reverberating throughout the passenger bay. His partner looked over, and swallowed harshly.
"Man down!" he reported, controlling his turret to target more boogies in the harsh vacuum of space. Qui glanced around, but only saw:
a lieutenant shitting himself;
an engineer holding her seat harness for dear life;
several recruits losing their... whatever meal it was;
and two veteran troopers near the ramp struggling to detach their harnesses, glancing from her to the gun console.
Qui sat nearest to the turret console; she could quickly get over and resume firing it. As she debated her choice, the jolt of direct impact hits shook the shuttle, causing several alarms to blare. The pilot voiced frantically, "Shields down! I repeat, our shields are gone! Losing control! Someone get the hell on the gun!"
Qui's mind made up, the harness flew off her as she dashed forward, undoing the harness on the deceased gunner and shoving the body off the seat before sitting herself in it. She quickly adjusted the turret, and began firing. Separatist fighters that flew near their former blind side were quickly blown to bits, the mismatching fighter parts unable to form adequate defensive capabilities.
"Entering upper atmosphere of Ord Mantell!" the pilot reported. Through the visual camera on the turret, Qui saw the exterior of the ship begin superheating, as the shields failed to absorb the force of atmospheric entry.
As the ship began shaking rapidly, another explosion sounded near the tail of the shuttle. One of the troopers yelled up, "Engines out or just very badly damaged!" Qui heard the pilot swear as the shuttle plummeted to the planet below.
"Gonna try and glide us!" the pilot announced, angling the shuttle to a glide-like position. "Hey, Havoc sarge, get Garnik on the line! We're gonna need SAR!"
Qui switched her comms over to the Garnik channel, and reported, "Garnik ATC, this is Republic Navy transport shuttle aurek fife niner two, crash landing on Ord Mantell. Vector is one four two, estimated crash point..." Qui hastily opened a map and guessed their closest landing site. ".. Some place called Mannet Point! Requesting SAR on standby, over," Qui quickly yelled into the comm device. The pilot reported, "Stabilizers are gone! Gods fucking dammit!"
"Garnik ATC acknowledges, A592. SAR is kitting up and Oscar Mike in 45, over," replied a emotionless female. Qui keyed the mic again, mumbling quick thanks, before the pilot yelled, "BRACE FOR IMPACT!"
Qui held onto her rifle and tightened the seat harness to the breaking point before a sudden jolt sent her and the crew in various directions. Through the viewport, she saw yellow and brown clad figures rushing to the ship. A few Talon fighters swooped by and strafed them, then took off and came back like annoying bugs.
Qui noticed a cliff face where the front of the ship wo- wait... As the ship collided with the rock, Qui smacked her head on the turret controls, and promptly blacked out.
[Approximately 1h23 later]
A sudden shaking and resounding boom shook Qui awake. The dim red interior of the shuttle came slowly into focus, along with the taste of blood and a warm feeling on her face. She spit blood onto the floor, wiping her mouth.
Qui quickly undid her harness, and stumbled towards the cockpit. Opening the door, she damn near screamed. A jagged piece of rock had torn through the pilot's chest, and his neck was torn open and vertebrae broken. The head was upside down over the seat, gravity distorting the man's face into a sickening smile. Qui shut the door.
The troopers near the door were coming to, and it appeared they lacked any serious injuries. One glanced at her and shot her a thumbs up, smiling weakly. She nodded back, and checked on the rest of the crew.
The lieutenant sat in a pile of feces, limp. She could tell by the unnatural angle of his back he was dead.
The engineer had a concussion and also several broken ribs, so Qui and one of the troopers found a stretcher and laid her on it.
The recruits were a mixed bunch. Two had died, another one was majorly wounded and would die within a few minutes. The rest sustained only minor injuries and were fit for combat. Qui grimaced; this was not looking up.
Multiple explosions outside rocked the shuttle, and one of the troopers, who had dark grey and blue armor, reported, "Seps en route, and I think I see the SAR force on the opposite side of the river! Is that... Hey, Sarge, it's your new outfit!" Qui looked and sure enough, the easily recognizable orange and white armor of Havoc Squad was leading the charge to the downed shuttle.
Qui sighed in relief, before rockets started... well... rocking the shuttle. The remaining passengers tried to steady themselves as the concussion waves threw the shuttle around. Dings on the roof indicated potentially falling rock.
"Get ready to move, people," Qui ordered, grabbing her helmet and sliding it over her head. The HUD came to life, registering her specialized shield level, friendlies nearby, and helpful things like structural weaknesses. She slammed a power pack into her rifle, the plasma-firing weapon charging up.
The recruits grabbed the injured engineer, as the vets and the co-pilot and other turret gunner stood ready to move out with Qui. She looked back, and a corporal behind her nodded. She hit the ramp deployment control, and as the ramp dropped, she charged into a waiting crowd of separatist troops.
Evidently surprised, they fired blindly into the air, missing her completely. As Qui made contact, she activated an explosive 8m pulse wave, knocking back or killing nearby hostiles.
She followed up with an electric pulse cannon, electrocuting several more enemies. As they started to regain their senses, a voice shouted, "FOR THE REPUBLIC!" The corporal behind her let loose with a giant assault cannon, the high-powered energy blasts tearing into the separatists.
His partner pulled out a SMRL (Shoulder-Mounted Rocket Launcher) and put a round right into the thick of the swarm. Qui took charge, firing in quick bursts, the S-311 Fusion Saboteur rifle scoring many kills. She heard small carbines firing, and figured the shuttle crew mates were joining the fray.
Qui broke through the hostile platoon that had surrounded them, and took cover behind a outcropping of rocks. The recruits hurried out, their critical WIA strapped tight to prevent any movement. They hunkered down in a rocky outcropping as well, which was in front of a decent sized crater, allowing them 5 people to get decent cover.
As rounds flew overhead, the SAR team pushed forward harder, seeing the survivors get into positions. Qui spotted a soldier prone across the river, highly accurate shots cutting down HVTs. Qui had to hand it to him, that sniper was GOOD.
"Sarge," the corporal breathed out, cooling off his cannon behind one of the torn off wings, "orders?" Qui scanned the battlefield, before seeing their opening: straight shooting underneath the bridge.
"Keep under the bridge," she stated, popping up to slot two more charging hostiles. "On my mark!" she yelled, mentally counting down. "MARK!"
The survivors dashed toward the bridge and cover, the shooters suppressing the hostiles best they can. Several Republic walkers were pouring HE and anti-infantry rounds over to the separatist forces. Qui pulled the rear, firing back as she backpedaled through the water.
One guy tagged her twice, the hammer-like blows hurting even under her TD-17A Centurion armor. Another riddled her left arm; she slung her rifle and drew her sidearm, still firing.
The final number was a rocket barrage. Several struck the bridge supports, collapsing the center of the bridge. Others hit the water nowhere near the escaping soldiers. Two nailed just a few feet away from Qui. The blasts threw her backwards, and slammed her into a pillar.
Her head shook around inside her helmet, and banana-scented pink liquid poured from her nose and ears. As she tried to pull herself together, two thin arms hooked themselves under her very skinny ones. She turned to see a Miralukan woman pulling her towards an opened walker ramp, and the rest of the survivors already clambering up.
The corporal turned and saw what was happening, and let loose once again with his cannon. The stark white and bright blue of his armor, signifying his unit as the 81st Infantry, glowed in the sunlight and flash of blasters.
"C'mon, Sarge!" he hollered, breaking bearing for one second. That was all it took. A sniper placed a round right under his helmet and above his chest plate, the area only protected by a bodysuit. The head fell off the body as the body itself fell forwards.
Qui stared in shock, even as she was dragged past the body. The dark red blood stained the sand and trickled into the water, explosions and giant amounts of plasma and artillery flying from both sides.
"Shoot back," the woman dragging her said, her own emerald green eyes filled with a little pain, "it keeps your mind off of it for now." Qui weakly lifted her sidearm and lazily fired off a few rounds before the durasteel bulkhead of a walker sealed itself shut.
Her helmet was peeled off, allowing her black hair, formerly done in a bun, to fall all over her face and head. Dull thuds echoed, and clanking indicated the walker started moving. A soft surface was placed under Qui's head, and she lazily opened an eye to see to the same Miralukan woman placing her head on her thighs.
A seemingly anorexic man with multiple scars and cybernetic implants came into her field of vision. "How is she, Wraith?" he asked, opening a medical kit.
The Miralukan, Wraith, replied, "Broken ribs. Internal brain damage. Multiple shrapnel wounds and piercings in the chest and limbs. She needs immediate full kolto treatment now." Qui, on cue, coughed up a bit of blood. The medic pulled on operating gloves, and opened her mouth.
"Hmm," he muttered, pulling her tongue forward and probing to remove mucus, "quite a beautiful specimen." Qui felt a chill go down her spine at his tone. She noticed that Wraith's thighs tightened as her muscles clenched in annoyance.
"Needles, focus," a new voice entered. If she wasn't having makeshift surgery right now, her eyes would have widened. Commander Harron Tavus, in the flesh. She suddenly realized the others must have been her new squad mates.
Tavus looked down on her, and rifled through the medkit. "Keep calm, Sergeant," he said, injecting something into her arm. "This'll place you in a medical coma until you recover."
Qui barely had time to finally feel the pain before she blacked out.