Kal stifled a yawn as he entered the briefing room, though it was a grand title for just one of the hangar of base where the armored vehicles had been pushed to the sides and some comm equipment plopped in front of a group of rickety metal chairs. Maybe if whatever firefreik of a meeting went quick enough he'd have time to play a hand or two before it was time to put on the armor and continue to teach the locals the meaning of order… Or perhaps some rack time, the last few days after the ambush had been a quick succession of raids in town to find those who had attacked or at least some usable intel on their identity and goals, though Kal didn't really cared, he just went where ordered and beat down the targets he was pointed at.

As the platoon got seated, the tech pushed a few buttons and the holo of captain Martek, detached from divisional headquarters to help coordinating the response to the attack, appeared with smaller holos showing a few more officers, but Kal kept an inattentive ear to the proceeding, despite a few pointed looks from his squad leader, sergeant Tak.

"Following the attack in Scrag Hole last fortnight, operations had been underway to find the surviving culprits and any wider organisation they might belong active on-the-ground intelligence gathering…

At this, Kal smirked at the memory of the part he and his squad had played in the intelligence 'gathering', in a handful of smash and grab ops, with a pleasing emphasis on smash. Still Shartan had managed to get stabbed by an old biddy, benching the idiot while the bacta did its job and leaving Kal's fireteam down one trooper. Kal turned back his attention to the captain, who had continued talking.

combined with orbital surveillance and comm analysis, first results are in, but on a need to know basis; still they have revealed more targets, in the drylands outside of the settlements:

At this the officer's holo is replaced by a map of the area, with various icons and annotations floating around.

The Solar Winds farm, Red Rock crossing, and finally the Pont G'ik mineworks, though this one is on the list because orbital probes have spotted scatter field fabrics trying to hide something, so even if it's not linked to the attack, there's some shaddy business there to deal with.

The goal of the operation is still to gather intelligence, though do not take undue risks in trying to capture recalcitrants. I'd prefer living troopers and no prisoners than the other way around. If the targets don't submit at the first sommation, open fire.

"Nice rules of engagement. Just open fire and don't worry about prisoners or collateral." muttered Kal to Deku, who answered with a chuckle.

The spooks think we have to move on the targets quickly, so we don't have time to wait for reinforcements and will instead form ad-hoc platoon-sized strike groups, pulling from the forces available around the sector and not currently engaged. In addition we'll be able to call on shuttles from the Broken Constellation patrol cruiser in low orbit, allowing us to have strategic mobility between the targets and a ground attack squadron from the Oyonok startport, though so far it doesn't seem there's any opposition that'd require this level of fire.

The composition of the strike groups is as follows…

With this the map shown by the holo was replaced by the composition of the groups and the chain of command. Kal learned that his squad was assigned to the second group, under the command of one army lieutenant, called Lanika, to be accompanied by a heavy weapon fireteam from their company and two squads of army troopers, pulled from a company stationed around the mines above Scrag Hole. And with the information they were headed to the crossing, Kal definitely checked out of the meeting, instead turning again towards Kedu, who was asking him

"Got any idea who's that Lanika?'

"Dunno. Just 'nother army puke, for sure. Again gonna lord above us lowly troopers." Kal answered, with the scorn common among stormtroopers towards the other branch of the First Order armed forces. Scorn well-reciprocated, it must be said.

" 'must believe she's hot shit if she think she gonna order us around."

"Yeah. Another banta brained idea by a remf with more galon than brain. 'Combined' arms, my arse."

" 'gotta half a mind to combine his arse with a blaster."

Kal's half breathed guffaw is cut short by Tak's interjection: "Stow it, both of you. You'll follow orders, or it's your ass on the line. Understood, troopers?" While the sergeant likely had the same opinion about the army of the First Order, he was much more of a sticker to procedure and discipline, silencing the two troopers.


AN: Not sure if the First order had those multiple branches of armed forces, but the Empire had (we see the army in Solo) and I wanted that for that sweet sweet inter service rivalry (and to give Kal another reason to be an ass). In my mind the army versus the stormtroopers is like Waffen SS vs Wehrmacht vs in WW 2, with the stormtroopers either being elite corps or third rate, rear security duty, counter insurrection and peacekeeping units (if anything Kal would fit just right in the Dirlewanger Brigade). And the army being a bit of that and everything in between, though, since the stormtroopers also act as marines aboard the ships of the First Order, they are more prestigious than the army, who's definitely seen more as gropos.