[Lower Decks, V-series, Vigilant-class Star Destroyer All Seeing Eye, Taskforce Vigilant Wanderer, Imperial Fifth Fleet, in hyperspace, Unknown Regions]

Yarda, a solemite born of Gai'solem and Sergeant in the Stormcrow's Personal Huscarls grunted as he ran through the corridors of the Star Destroyer, security doors open ahead of him and his squad. They'd done a rush-evac from the wreck site as the fleet was forced away from the system…only to be now rushed towards battle as the Star Destroyer itself was invaded. Several of the ships in fact, but their Lord had summoned them back for this one, the ship now clearly in hyperspace, and icons were on his HUD showing many enemies ahead. Cutting through blast-doors while their war-beasts attacked and slew any crew or naval security troopers they came across.

Up ahead of him, and his warriors, was a secure blast-door, a button press showing what was occurring on the other side as they'd synced in with the ship's internal security systems. The melt and 'rot' showing on the door showed they'd reached the enemy at last, Yarda coming to a stop, holding up a fist, then gesturing at Yurn and Daron, not the boss Daron but young Daron from Gai'solem like himself. Then motioning at explosives, and then at the door. Neither needed any further instruction, as Yarda had the squad form up a distance back from the door, deploying shields at the front and unpacking the small spider-droids to walk the walls and roof around them. The two privates too mere seconds to correctly place the explosives as their squad's slicer access door controls, and timing the blast as Daron and Yurn were allowed pass through the shieldwall.

"Motir!" he called in Mand'oa as the guard trained, as the HUD indicated the enemy were breaching…and then the explosives detonated, blasting the now unsecured door back into the enemy on the other "Nau'ur!"

…and then heavy rifles sticking through the shieldwall began to bark into the smoke and sparks where the door was blown in. The flamer ignited as well, sending a geyser of liquid flame down the corridor as well, up towards the roof as the enemy seemed to employ war-beasts of varying sides. Just a short burst then the squad rose and moved as one, shields forward, rifles blasting away at rapid fire as speed was now important – ahead of them lay a large storage area the enemy needed to be driven back from. Shapes in the smoke moved and were hammered under a wave of blaster fire, squads marching forward as projectiles, only a few, scattered, shots, impacted off them. But the enemy advance party, of beasts and strange black armoured humanoids, were cut down before they could react.

Several were crushed underneath the blast door, though Yarda had to have his rear soldiers shot the weird snake-staff-things the enemies seemed to use as weapons. They spit acid and had maybe poison teeth, or they could be…anything really. Destroying them utterly was the best approach rather than risking getting injured, or warriors lost, from overlooking them. Spider droids were sent forward, hunting for any of the enemy opposites as Yarda lead his squad out onto the gantries of the storage aera. Projectiles hit shields as his squad emerged unto them, Yarda motioning his squad to divide out while ensuring while sheltering behind the shield held by Yurn.

"Lower section!" the comms updated from one his men, icons on the HUD "Six enemies! Attempting breach into lower doors"

"Copy" he grunted back "Fireteams Beta and Delta hold upper levels! Alpha and Gamma with me! Descend and Purge on my mark!"

Toggling a countdown Yarda allowed the two squads assigned to secure the upper levels fan out on either side of the gantry, flames blasting across the gantries towards the primary door across from them. Others fired down into the storage zone, or watched the level above where enemies might be as spider droids crawled the walls, shriekers thrown at the enemies as well. Yarda though picked targets with his helmet, squads doing the same, then igniting the jetpacks that had been useless till now as the countdown ended. Jumping off railings, blasters firing as they went under the gantries to eliminate enemies there before they could get under said gantries and fire upwards into unprotected troopers. Bodies of naval security lay scattered here and there, though two such were alive still, one firing from behind crates while the other lay bleeding beside them.

Blasts staggered a foe. Yet…

With unnatural speed, and endurance too, it seemed to shrug off the impacts to its armour, white skulled face snarling and moving that snake-staff-thing and spraying acid at him. Yarda moved in the air, killing the jets and dropping down, swinging the rifle behind him with on hand while the other drew his melee weapon. That dodged the acid…thing…spewed at him, Yarda impacting the ground and then rolling, coming up to stand as the curved blade came out its mag-sheath. His arm ached, the one that'd been mag-locking his rifle back into place, as Yarda landed not quite right. But he ignored it, triggering the arm buckler shield at a spoken command, swinging the cortosis-weave, beskar trimmed, kukri at the foe.

The strange-snake-staff-thing rose to meet and block, the thing twisting to snap at him even as the skin proved tough enough to stop the sharpened blade. Yarda moved to block with his other arm, using his shield buckler as he reeled back from the hissing-thing, then slamming his arm forward as thing made likely to spit or hiss acid or something at him. Then it was a dangerous, vicious, dance as Yarda for the first time in years, outside of fight the elite droids of the Confederates, fighting a foe that was as good, or better, than he himself; barely matching as the foe twisted unnaturally, just like its weapon. Even with combat stims Yarda found himself struggling…but, as trained, called for aid, retreating one step, then another…

Watched as a blaster impacted the armour of the enemy as they moved…

'Now' he stepped forward himself, buckler energy shield up to block, swinging at the enemy's legs with his kukri. Missing the first leg, but catching the second, damaging it badly enough for the, till now, seemingly unfeeling enemy as they collapsed to the side as the block broke the leg. Or damaged it sufficient. Either way the enemy went down. Yarda lashed out, hitting hard, to ensure they went, and stayed, falling, before slamming his blade up into their head…

RUMBBBLEEEEEEE

Storage crates raised into the air…

'Oh, our Lord is unhappy' was his immediate thoughts as Lord Stormcrow rare displayed such in the open like this. Watched as those crates slammed into enemies, or crushed them between them, Yarda's Lord emerging from the doorway above as if wearing a cloak of darkest shadows. As enemies died, and sure he was secure, Yarda raised his weapon in salute and roared out in greeting alongside his fellow huscarls. Three ligthtsabers, the familiar dark purple, the rare shining blue, and almost seen crimson floated around their Lord as he strode into the room, one hand moving. A metal bar flew out, slamming into an enemy, followed by another as it wrapped around said foeman, then crushed them…no cut them in half as lightsabers danced in the air as Yarda and squad reformed behind their Lord.

Their Lord's Apprentice came with them, trailing behind, her voice a song that soared the heart, as the marched inexorable forward to purge the Star Destroyer of foes. Blasters cut down foes, as metal shrieked and bent ahead of them to trap or divert foes or ripped off and flung forward like arrows to piece through these strange white-skull-faced aliens. Simple, crisp, clear orders were given in Mand'oa, Yarda feeling the advance as they moved room by room, deck by deck, through the vessel, slaughtering every and any boarder. Now it was no longer a fight, even if he found it hard to anticipate the enemy unlike in other times such as this with their Lord leading them in battle. The strange biological horrors of their foe were burned away, or ripped out of bulkheads to the sound of shrieking metal as it condensed into balls as in a sealed ready-meal can crushed before their eyes.

"Sergeant Yarda"

"My Lord?" he asked as they passed through the forward sections, hopefully having dealt with all remaining boarders.

He watched as the lightsabers snapped off in front of him, they had butchered enough here this day for now he guessed "I'll need your squad and the others to move aboard the Viridian. Their boarders have yet to be dislodged"

"We are in hyper milord. When?"

The armoured lord nodded "Aye, but we shall drop out soon, briefly. I'll need your squad and others to ensure they are restored. We've lost several ships already. Then we'll burn hard for home"

Yarda saluted "Yes, my Lord. Prisoners?"

"No, no mercy, no quarter" came the answer "They will not be taken alive, so do not endanger your lives. My Apprentice will be with you. Keep her alive"

"Yes, my Lord, as you command"

Yarda held tapped his alert, then raised his hand for the squads to reform around him. Then called for a weapons check, starting with his own, as they formed up around Lady Tionne. It was troubling how…dangerous their foes had shown themselves to be. It only took a glance at his own damaged equipment and armour to show that fact, when they'd swept aside many before with far less resistance when their Lord stopped holding back his powers. That these Far Outsiders had managed to board the fleet…

He put such thoughts aside for now, the squads falling in around Lady Tionne as Lord Stormcrow prepared to deal with intruders aboard another vessel. Yarda knew this was not got, even if they had cleared the flagship, as if they were required to deploy to other vessels, with their Lord and his Apprentice in support, it was not a good sign for effective suppression of enemy boarders. He could only hope he survived to give the shitty combat after action report he could see coming, and that their Lord would demand after all this fiasco as he expected it would be seen as. But that he remained silent on for now, squads marching towards the docked combat transports, preparing to retake whatever had been lost…