This looks like the best place for their test. Centralized, large area, easy to secure perimeter. Roy shifted the heavy brown duffle bag he had slung over his shoulder as he moved through the crowded market square. It was filled with temporary stalls, all of which were removed at the end of the day. Most of the goods on sale seemed to be illicit in nature, though most were merely comfort items, such as holo-games or foods, nothing the local imperial garrison cared about. In fact, the local garrison officer was likely taking a cut of the profits.
"Akira, Alpha confirmed, set the sensors. Any word from Bravo and Charlie?" he quickly removed a small disk from a satchel slung alongside the duffel bag. A press of the of the single button on the disk activated the device, just before he dropped it in the small decorative fountain. "Hub's in place."
"confirmed. Just have two more for the perimeter. Bravo and Charlie are being set now." A feminine voice crackled directly into his ear, a small earpiece there that was emitting the voice.
"Acknowledge all. Finish up and move to point Razor." As soon as he finished speaking, he adjusted his bags and moved toward the southern edge of the square. That side of the square was shadowy even at night, with the town being on the moon's northern hemisphere. Even the gas giant the moon orbited remained in the southern sky. With that permanent shade, it would make it much easier to remain hidden. When he reached those buildings, he purposefully stepped into the alleyway between buildings, slipping around the first bend he could find and opening the first dumpster to drop his duffel bag inside it. The local trash disposal didn't pick up the trash today, so it was a perfectly safe way to stash the bag, having already checked the alleyway for cameras. Once he was done, he slipped out of the alley, letting his hand rest on the clone wars era DC-17 pistol sitting in it's loose thigh holster.
From there, he made his way across the town, leaving his hand on the weapon. His destination was the small towns cantina, which had been pre-established as the main rendezvous point, given how common of a gathering place it was for the local population. It didn't take him long to pass through the town, the local imperial army troops not even giving him a passing glance. Once in the town's cantina, he immediately moved to the back corner booth, where two humans were already waiting.
"Tyler, Harris." He curtly nodded to them as he slipped into the booth, one of the males sliding him a glass of water.
"Hey Roy. How'd it go?" the burly bearded man spoke very softly, tapping the table three times, almost impatiently. The simple code let Roy know that it wasn't safe to talk openly. The man was nearly twice Roy's size, his heavily muscled frame filling enough of the booth to be two people. Though bearded, he kept his black hair and beard neat and short.
The second man in the booth was comparatively normal, but was still extremely fit, with short cut black hair, and equally black eyes. Where the burlier man was clearly middle aged at best, this man was younger, almost to the point of being a teenager. Despite that, he was as deadpanned and serious as his compatriot.
"As expected. Akira should be joining us shortly. Any word from the ship?" Roy spoke as he raised the glass to his mouth, letting his eyes scan the cantina as he took a ginger sip.
"Cargo is on the ground, but they haven't unboxed it yet. The company should let us know when they do. We think it will be after nightfall." The burlier man, or Harris, was the one speaking, his voice not being enough to draw Roy's attention away from the cantina.
"Make's sense to me, I'd move in after nightfall too." The group fell silent after Roy had spoken, all of them surveying the cantina. It had generally the same patrons from the night before, all already drinking beverages while a band on the cantina's small stage played a song.
One of the doors opening drew Roy's attention, seeing a red skinned Twi'lek marching in. Unlike a lot of her race, most of her clothing was baggy and mis fitting, only tight at her belt line, where a blaster sat on each hip. She quickly spotted the trio and almost ran toward them.
"What is it Akira?" Roy slipped out of the booth as he spoke, seeing the wide eyed expression she had.
"We need to gear up. The imperials are surrounding the town."
Roy merely nodded once, the trio disappearing from the cantina to split up once more. The systems only sun was slowly disappearing behind the gas giant by now, though there was still an hour or so of clear lighting until the gas giant dipped below the horizon. The streets were almost empty already, making navigating back to the dumpster painfully easy. When he arrived, he had to dig through a load of trash to reach the duffel bag again, yanking it free as soon as he could.
Once he had the bag out, he quickly unzipped it, dropping the leather jacket he had been wearing and trading it for a camouflaged long sleeved top to match his baggy cargo pants. Immediately after that, came a pair of plastisteel plates that he dropped over his shoulders and buckled into place, already covered in matching camouflaged cloth, several pouches with power packs already tucked inside them. One of the last things in the duffel, aside from random rags used to stuff it and hide the objects that had been within, was a long slim blaster rifle, larger than the small E-11 carbines employed by most of the imperial forces. The rifle in question, the A280-CFE, was actually a modular weapon system meant to re-configured on the fly for any combat situation. Roy had set up this weapon though as a mid-length assault weapon, with a moderately powered scope atop it mixed with a reflex sight.
He quickly slipped a power pack into the weapon before charging the weapon and activating the optic, glancing through it to make sure the simple crosshair reticle was set for the dying light. Once the weapon was ready, he grabbed the last two pieces of equipment from the bag, an armored vambrace and a helmet. He quickly slipped the open faced helmet on, a clear visor built into the rim of the helmet protecting his eyes. As soon as he had clipped the chin strap in place, he slipped the vambrace onto his left forearm, tracing a cable up his arm to connect it to the helmet, a pair of straps securing the wire along his arm. As soon as it was connected, a simple holographic interface fired up, a small circular readout showing a simple compass with blue dots marking other units in the system. One glance around showed several blue diamonds, lining up with where those friendlies were.
"All Renegades, this is Renegade Actual, check in." Harris's voice crackled over the comm line, Roy quickly clambering up the dumpster so he could use it to get on the roof of the single story building.
"Actual, this is one-one, geared and good to go, what's the word?" he sat down on the rooftop as he keyed his mike, several other of the blue diamonds rising to similar heights.
"Imperial forces have started rounding up the locals. Do not engage. It looks like they are herding them toward alpha. All forces, lay low, stay out of conflict, and link up with One-One, he'll take the assault. One-Three, return to point Razor and prepare to receive civies. Actual out."
Roy let out a small sigh as he got prone on the roof top, unable to stop his muscles from quivering slightly. He took a slow deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart again. Several echoing blaster shots rang out, to random and sporadic to be a firefight. If he had any guess, the imperials were shooting civilians to co-operate.
Damn it, I hate this shit! He closed his eyes for several moments, just before he felt a light tap on his shoulder. It prompted him to open his eyes, glancing beside him to see Akira next to him, now wearing similar fatigues, with a special helmet that didn't interfere with her lekku while still giving her the thin polymer visor needed to project her Head's Up Display.
"You should probably camo up while I can cover you." She whispered softly, her own more standard A280C blaster rifle held loosely in her hands.
"Alright. I'll make it quick." Roy pulled a small case out of one of his pockets quickly applying the oily paste to all of his exposed skin, using it's various colors to recreate the same camouflage as his uniform. "Now you tails. That skin of yours sticks out like a flare."
"Oh shut it yo-"
"One-One, One-three, be advised, most of the town has been gathered into Alpha, we had to engage one imperial team, kept it quiet. Got several teams roaming the town, looks like a secondary sweep." Another voice drifted over the comm line, Roy letting out a small sigh.
"Acknowledged One-three, squad one, prepare to push into the plaza, south to north, target any of the troops with the test weapons first, I want the base of fire elevated in the south west of the square. Team leaders, double click when ready." Roy crawled back to the edge of the roof, just before slipping off the edge and letting himself crumple to the stone. Akira followed almost immediately, the pair moving through the winding alley way back to the exit, where they both hunkered down behind trash piles and crates. After a few moments, several beeps echoed into Roy's ear, announcing the other fighters as ready.
Roy took a single deep breath to try and settle himself again, lining up his optic on one of the stormtrooper's carrying a gas pack's head. He gently squeezed the trigger on his weapon, until the weapon suddenly discharged, momentarily blinding him as the bolt whipped into the stormtroopers helmet. There was enough time for the soldier to collapse, all eyes seeming riveted to the corpse as it fell. The one officer in the area started to shout, but it was lost on Roy as he was already aiming for another one of the gas troopers, just as a flurry of mis matched energy bolts ripped away from the darker southern buildings. Only a handful of the stormtroopers got the chance to fire back, their shots striking the buildings or whipping off into the darkness. One lucky shot struck the garbage pile Roy was hunkered behind, the garbage having enough mass to burn out the energy blast before it reached Roy, merely splattering him with burnt debris. Shortly after, the last of the stormtroopers had collapsed to the stone, the plaza eerily silent.
Roy gulped as he surveyed the square, the smell of fused plastic and burned flesh beginning permeate the area, overwhelming the tang of burned metal wafting off his barrel. He quickly stood from his position, firmly and calmly marching forward as he swept his rifle back and forth over the area. All of his fellow team members moved with him, weapons raised and poised to fight, just like his own. As he approached, he realized that the imperial officer in the group was still alive, cowering on the stone as though his life depended on it.
If we can capture him, that would go a long way for this operation.
"Stay in the dirt Imp!" Akira's voice bellowed out of her, just steps away from Roy as the pair kept their weapons trained on the officer.
"Akira, secure him, Toth, Quill, Barry, keep an eye out for any more imps, everyone else, round up the townsfolk and get them ready to move!" He kept his weapon trained on the officer as he spoke, knowing the team around him would be listening anyway. Akira quickly approached the officer, tugging his weapon from his holster and tossing it aside. Once unarmed, she forced the officer onto his back, a pair of binders already in hand to secure him with.
"Plex, Plex, Plex!" the shout from Roy's left drew his attention, seeing the white streak of smoke racing toward the plaza from a stormtrooper holding a launcher. Several other stormtroopers were with him, but Roy payed nearly no attention as the missile round cracked over them, flashing out of existence dozens of meters in the air. Blaster shots rang out immediately as the flash dissipated, revealing an ominous green cloud slowly descending toward the square.
"Son of a... RUN! EVERYONE, GET CLEAR!" Roy scrambled back the way he came, grabbing one of the civilians who was still in shock and shoving her toward the edge of the square. He barely payed attention to what was going on, unable to blot out the screams of those behind him as he sprinted clear of the area, one glance back down the streets to see the green cloud nowhere in sight, or the square for that matter. Several civilians were with him, all huffing as raggedly as he was. None of his team were in the street around him though, his heart beginning the accelerate in his chest.
"Any assault element on this net, respond, over!?" he keyed his comms device, his voice causing several of the civilians to shudder away from him in momentary fear.
"Roy, it's Barry! I didn't… I didn't see anyone else get out of the plaza! I got some civies with me but looks like the wind blew most of it north!" Barry's voice echoed in his ear, letting out a small sigh.
"Alright, move out for point razor." As soon as he was done with the communication line, his attention went to the thirty or so civilians around him.
"Everyone, if you want to keep living, follow me!" he waved to the crowd, turning and moving out the moment he was done.
"Renegade one one, this is actual, what the hell happened out there!?" Harris's voice was preceded by the bright and clear beeps that all of their communication traffic had.
"Imperials fired off a plex loaded with the agent, we had to bug out. Moving to point Razor with the survivors."
"Acknowledged."
Throughout the entire short radio conversation, he had continued to lead them through the empty streets, quickly finding the cantina they were using as a sort of staging post, immediately calling out to the blue outlined soldiers already set up in the streets around it. "Mon!"
"Ship!" one of the soldiers around the cantina shouted that back, Roy quickly signaling the civilians toward the building, the simple challenge and password just a habitual confirmation of being allies.
Once all of the people had entered the structure, Roy followed them in.
"Yo-your friend! Sh-She… you left her there to die!" a quiet and feminine voice drew Roy's attention, one of the civilians speaking to him, her pale skin seeming almost white in the dim lighting of the cantina. Her face looked to have a green hue to it, to bright to match her dark green eyes and black hair.
After what she just witnessed, I wouldn't be surprised if she feels sick to the stomach.
"I know that. Worrying about it won't save anyone right now." He tried to push past her and toward his commanding officer, her words almost forcing his mind on that thought, knowing he left Akira in the square. The still fresh memories of the screams were starting to echo in his mind, his imagination giving him image after image of gruesome things the gas could have been doing to his team mates.
Focus Roy! He shook his head, moving deeper into the cantina with the intent to find his commander.
Madelyn took shaking breath after shaking breath as she sat in the cantina she worked at, clutching her knees to her chest. She couldn't stop the tears streaming down her face, her eyes flicking across the floor just feet before her. Feet shuffled back and forth in her vision, not one pair of legs drawing her attention long enough to even be remembered. Instead, she only saw her brother's corpse, smelled burned flesh, and heard the screams of the people in the town square. The last few minutes seemed to be replaying themselves over and over in her mind, nonstop. It was to the point that she was actually starting to think it was all just a bad dream, and that any moment now, her brother was going wake her up from this nightmare. The throbbing pain her cheek though kept her grounded in the reality that everything she had seen was, in fact, not a dream. Which only made her sob to herself all the more.
"Alright everyone, I know you are scared, and confused, and most of you just lost someone. But this night isn't over. The Empire will be back, and soon. Your town is the fifth town to be attacked like this in the past three months, and they have slaughtered all of the survivors of the other attacks. It will be the same here. If you want to live, get ready to move. We will be leading you seventeen clicks to the south east, where our ship will pick all of you up. We leave in five." The man speaking managed to break her from her thoughts, not recognizing him. By his commanding tone and the way he prowled back and forth in front of the group like a caged animal showed this man to be in charge of this group of rebel fighters. Every aspect of the heavily built and bearded human warrior simply radiated authority.
Most of the people around her shuffled nervously back and forth, those with remaining family huddling closer together. She gulped and buried her face in her knees once more, just trying to shove the images from her mind.
"Here, drink some water." A cold tap on her elbow accompanied the more familiar voice, glancing up from her knees to find the soldier who had shoved her from the plaza crouched before her, a glass from the bar with water in it in his hand. Though it was hard to tell through the face paint he had on, he looked concerned for her. At point blank, he honestly reeked like roasted garbage, several small blackened bits stuck to his uniform.
She wrinkled her nose at his stench, but accepted the small glass, gingerly sipping at the liquid. Several other soldiers were among the rest of the people, making sure all of them got some sort of fluids in them.
"Try to finish that before you leave. It's a long walk, and we won't be taking it slowly. Dehydration can kill you quick." He spoke very calmly as he gestured at the glass before standing back up to move on.
"Wh-What's going to happen to us?" she barely managed to say that, her voice stopping him in his tracks.
He let out a small sigh before crouching before her once more.
"We'll make sure you guys are taken care of. Get you some place you can carve a new life out for yourself." As he spoke, he gently shifted her head to the side, exposing her aching jaw line. "You should have brought this up earlier, you're bleeding pretty good here."
She jerked her head out of his grasp, twisting her injured cheek away from him. "It's fine."
"No, it's not. Here." He gently forced her head back the other way, pain leaping from her cheek for a moment as he touched it with a wet piece of gauze. She wasn't even sure where he pulled the cloth from as he quickly cleaned the blood, both dried and fresh, from her cheek. Once he was done, he pulled a small packet from one of his pouches, ripping it open to remove a small wipe that looked to be dripping in sticky fluid.
She tensed up as he gently wiped the cloth on her cheek, a burning sensation echoing from her wound for several seconds until it rapidly cooled, able to feel the sticky gel remaining in place.
"Let the bacta gel soak in. it will keep it from getting infected and help you heal quicker. Can't say you won't have a scar though." He spoke very calmly once more, tossing the wipe and it's wrapper on the ground.
"Alright people! On your feet! Were moving! Barry, Kal, get me a count, all of you, file between the two of them!" the burly soldier was shouting again, gesturing toward a human and a rodian by one of the doors.
"Well, you heard him." The man before her spoke once more as he stood, offering her a hand up. She gingerly accepted it before following the rest of the crowd, the soldier disappearing with his comrades.
