Nathema
CIS Space
The UNSC and Republic naval forces had managed to sweep aside a minuscule orbital defense force of Droid Ships with relative ease. The problem was, however, not the navy. Meetra pored over every inch of the holomap they had of their AO, pointing out various defensive emplacements and their possible blind spots to the COs of the armed forces. Clones and UNSC Marine officers, Sergeant Johnson and Noble Six included, loomed over the holographic display, eyes glued to targets.
"Enemy Air Defenses seem to be operational near the Capital of Nathema. We've got orbital superiority, but that doesn't mean they don't have air..." Meetra spoke, circled an area near the Capital itself and said, "Prowler-deployed Stealth Satellites said they spotted Vulture strike craft in this general AO, alongside a squadron of Hyenas. Tell our fighter pilots to expect heavy enemy resistance. I want CAS flying every waking hour we have until we've secured a beachhead."
"Any LZ you have in mind, ma'am?" Johnson asked. Meetra nodded and circled a central clearing within the sprawling forest. He nodded approvingly, then noted a couple of enemy defensive positions set up on rock outcroppings and in nearby villages. He hummed and said, "I and the Spartans could take a strike team the moment we land, displace the Droids from one of those hilltops, use it as overwatch. Maybe even spook the local Militia."
"Could work..." The Jedi replied, "I'll need SEAD from UNSC Air if possible, too."
"I'm sure Admiral Lasky'll be happy to provide ya with the airpower," Johnson grinned one of his usually pearly-white grins. She smiled back at that, then looked to Ordo, who was briefing their men via radio communication. They were within the Infinity's hangar while this briefing was ongoing. A dozen LAAT Gunships, maybe a battalion's worth of Clone infantry, one of Marines with Pelicans and armor and she and her command team were the first wave to hit the dirt.
She told everyone, "Our job's simple! We kick the door down and let the rest of the invasion force strike the place! Should give the Confeds a pretty good scare!" and she smirked, "Hit'em hard and fast! We'll see you all dirtside!" before motioning to her troops to load up. She and Ordo walked together toward the leading gunship, with the Jedi only turning to give a quick wave to Six and Richard, both of whom nodded to her as they boarded the leading Pelican. She murmured, "This should be interesting..." Her voice slightly shaky.
"You alright, General?" Ordo asked, surprisingly caring.
Meetra gave an awkward smile, rubbing the back of her neck, "The last time I commanded any major military action was four thousand years ago, Commander. I don't wanna mess this up..." Though, in truth, she had cooperated with and commanded UNSC troops. Nothing as wide-spread as an entire campaign to seize a planet. Last time she'd done that was probably Dxun.
Ugh, Dxun. She shuddered, remembering the damp, the mud, the beasts and jungle. She stowed the memory away for later as she boarded the gunship. Ordo himself replied to her, "I'm certain it's gonna be fine, ma'am..." as he grabbed onto one of the handles above. The rest of the platoon that was gonna be landing with this gunship boarded, loading up on rifles, thermal detonators and the like.
The Jedi replied, "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Commander..." then radioed, "Infinity Actual, first wave, callsign EAGLE, ready. Second and third, stand-by on board Venators and the Acclamator," before grabbing onto the handle above, the large cloth sleeve of her hooded robe dropping to her shoulder to reveal the armor plate she wore. It was a pure silver, unlike that of a Clone's. Beneath the robe resided the rest, what looked to be specialty-made Mandalorian armor. As the doors of the Gunships shut and the atmosphere aboard pressurized, Meetra opened and closed her mouth, then swallowed and clicked her tongue. She checked the timer on her UNSC-standard TAC-Pad and ordered over com, "All strike units... Launch!"
The Gunship's repulsor-lift engines powered on with a reverberating hum. Before long, she felt the artificial gravity of the ship kick in, too, the aircraft streaming out of the hangar in rows. Radio communications among the aircraft and between them and supporting elements of the UNSC Fleet deployed to the area echoed in Meetra's ears. Behind her, a clone tapped his foot, gripping his DC-15 rifle and holding it close.
She looked at him and showed him to stay calm. Soon, however, the shaking and turbulence of a low-atmospheric insertion began to shake the craft, meaning the troopers and their General had to steady themselves. They could hear the distant drone of the Acclamator moving into the high atmosphere to provide any sort of support it could. When the shaking of the Gunships stopped, the side hatches opened, wind suddenly blowing through the hold.
Ahead, they saw UNSC and Republic-made fighters intercepting the enemy Vultures sent in to shoot them out of the sky. Down below was jungle and the clearing. Farther ahead, the thunder of enemy anti-air artillery rumbled, heavy turbolasers exploding around the allied vessels. She saw them in the distance:Quadrupedal, red-eyed droid artillery aiming at them, firing, bolts of red snapping by them.
She radioed to the pilot, "Hawker! Bring us in as low as you can, then orbit around us! You'll be providing us support the moment we hit the ground! Switching to general channel, this is General Surik, STRIKE ACTUAL! Deployment in thirty seconds! Hang tight!" before she watched a Vulture sweep past them, only to be cut in half by the focused beam cannon on the right side of the LAAT. She gave a thumbs up to the gunner in the ball turret. The man gave a thumbs up in return, then aimed again.
One gunship detonated from a lucky shot to the right. A UNSC Pelican followed suit, its engine struck by bolts from straggler Vultures. Meetra swore to herself, drew her lightsaber and felt the aircraft change pitch to come level with the ground. When it touched down, she called out, "MOVE! MOVE! MOVE! GET TO COVER ASAP!" before she jumped out first, deflecting the first volley of blaster bolts fired by an advancing Droid Garrison.
Two battalions of B1s, one of B2s, a few speeders. The UNSC was dropping them two Scorpions and a Sun Devil to deal with them, plus an AT-TE deployed by the Republic warships in orbit. She pushed forward with her men, toward the Treeline. Behind her, Commander Ordo and the rest of the platoons moved in staggered columns, firing their blasters at the enemy units as Meetra deflected the enemy's own shots back at them.
The Speeder bikes up above swooped in, firing their twin cannons at the advancing clones and Marines. The first pass cut down three clones and two Marines as they disgorged from their Pelicans, while the Gunships lifted off and began firing their own weaponry at the enemy. The top-mounted missile launchers of the LAATs spat out guided projectiles at the enemy's forces, while the front-mounted ball-turret blaster cannons swept the area ahead with green bolts. The ball turret cannons also opened up, beams cutting into the trees and into the formation of droids.
The hundred or so troops from the first wave had deployed. The General waved off the first few Gunships before the enemy's Triple-A readjusted, then charged toward a squad of Droids, her blade ignited. With flourish, she cut through the first three droids, grabbed a fourth with the Force and crushed him into a ball, then threw him at the fifth and sixth of his buddies.
She watched the B2s in the unit turn to face her, firing their hand-mounted twin blasters at her, which she began to deflect while charging at them. Another droid, a B2, tried zeroing in on her, but blue bolts of energy cut it down, penetrating its armor and shooting out its central eye. Ordo pushed up to cover and fired his blaster, stating, "One hell of a baptism by fire, ma'am!"
She grinned, "Keep pushing! We have the momentum!" Then she looked to their left, to watch the UNSC Marines, Six and Richard pushing forward, rifles barking as they scrapped droid after droid. Overhead, a couple of the Speeders that were trying to make another pass on them exploded in flames as the Sun Devil's own flak rounds lit the sky ablaze.
The two Scorpion tanks pushed forward into the line next, Meetra ordering, "Any soldier or Marine still out in the open, use the tanks as cover!" before turning about. She activated her comlink and ordered, "Gunships, hold position or RTB and stand by for orders! We'll take out the Triple-A closest to us, open you guys a path to rain hell onto the rest of their defenses!"
Her left hand then shot out, a burst of electricity coursing into a trio of droids. The overcharge burst the machines' internals due to excess electricity, then caused them to detonate. She smirked, looked at her hand and murmured, "Am I glad I kept that power around..." referring to the 'Ionize' Force Power, or 'mechu macture' in old language. A decently useful Force appliance meant to either stun or completely destroy droids. She'd used the lattermost variation of the power.
A B1 charged her from the right. She could've easily taken it out, but going by the fact Ordo's blaster barked first and she heard a crumpling tin can to her right, she only turned to her newfound XO and smiled, giving him a nod. He nodded back, then lifted his blaster and showed his men to follow them. As they pushed forward, the tanks began rolling on the main road through the jungle.
The AT-TE at the rear fired its anti-infantry blasters over the heads of the Scorpions, while infantry advanced behind them, firing their blasters and rifles. Six, Johnson, Ordo and Meetra met in the middle of the formation, Ordo commenting, "Fighters overhead reported they spotted incoming! More Droid battalions moving from those outposts to the right and left of this main road!"
"We'll secure the MSR. Sergeant, if you're taking the right, I and Richard will take the left," Six replied as he drew his DMR.
Johnson replied, "All yours, Spartan!"
Six looked over to Meetra and quipped, "Race you to the capital, General?"
She smirked, "Oh, you don't wanna race me, sonny..." before she rallied up her Troopers.
Johnson snorted, then looked to the confused Ordo and told him, "Don't worry, Commander. You'll get it over time," before patting him on the shoulder and rallying his Marines and a few Clone Troopers up to advance toward the hilltop. Meetra and ordo had decided to join them, while the Armor kept rolling forward to provide support, cannons thundering, MGs chattering.
Blue tracers flew in response to the scarlet beams coming from the forest. Overhead, the thunderclap of Longsword engines filled the air. Two Longswords opened their bomb bays and spat out four missiles each, their trackers causing them to engage separate targets. In the distance, enemy anti-air artillery exploded in flares of red and gold to the cheers of Marines and Clones alike.
Above, Y-Wings flew in next, firing their own missiles and bombs toward the enemy outpost on top of the hill as the troops pushed up. The Misfits brought up the rear of Johnson, Meetra and Ordo's unit, firing their weapons through the forest canopy as blasters singed leaves and grass around them. Taking cover behind thick-rooted trees, Meetra, her Clones and Marines looked over toward the enemy position.
Dug into trenches, local Militia clad in dark uniforms and armor fired blaster autocannons and light anti-air at the Furball above, trying to score a strike on UNSC and Republic air assets. Ordo knelt and pulled out a pair of macrobinoculars, peering through them and stating, "Counting two platoons of personnel, plus another battalion of droids inside!" then he peered left, "Second battalion has already engaged the armor column!" only to watch an HE shell strike the battalion's center and murmur, "Aaaand it's gone..."
Johnson laughed at that, then said, "Welcome to the Corps, Commander!" before he pushed forward and stopped in front of the gathered squads of Clones and Marines. He called out to them, "Troopers, Marines! We got a bunch of tin cans between us and the Home Run! BATTER UP AND LET'S SHOW'EM WHAT THE LADIES LIKE!" while racking the pump of his shotgun.
"RAH!" The Marines barked, then showed their Clone comrades how to do it, Victor pushing up to the front with his Machine Gun and setting up on a berm. He aimed up at the Outpost and let loose in bursts of five rounds, casings and links falling to the floor as he swept the area ahead. Beside him, Paul moved up to a tree and utilized a lower branch to stabilize his DMR, sniping at the gunner on the twin heavy blaster.
Vesna and her female comrades, Ayesha and Lita, rallied a few Clones up and looked to Meetra, who ordered, "The Flank! HIT IT!" before chopping her hand forward. The girls replied in Russian, grabbing the Clones and a couple more of their Marine buddies and pushing further right. The woman then barked, "Form a Front Line! Leapfrog from cover to cover and follow me!" as she drew her lightsaber. She motioned for Ordo to follow along as she deflected blaster bolts from the enemy's own weapons.
Behind her, Clones and Marines surged forward with Johnson and Ordo in the lead. Ordo hefted his DC-15a and fired up at the Droids, nailing one. He, however, caught one of his brothers' corpses after a blaster bolt drilled a hole through his helmet. Sighing, Ordo set the soldier down gently while a Marine Corpsman came up to check on him. He gave the all clear, then rejoined the push, distracting the enemy's force with the main forward line, firing his weapon.
It felt almost like second nature to him. Despite the fact his heart thumped like the drumroll of an artillery barrage in his chest and despite the fact their newfound Basic comrades were proving to be both terrifying and terrifyingly friendly, he couldn't help but feel at home in the midst of warfare. Even as blaster bolts zipped past his head and he shot back in return, he felt it, his boots slamming into and digging through mud and dirt and plants.
He slid into cover beside Meetra as the girl deflected more bolts back, then paused as he saw her charge forward through the use of an ability he recalled was named Force Speed. She moved like a blur, cutting down droid and human militia alike with her Lightsaber. It wasn't long before she rendezvoused with the UNSC Marines from the Misfits that had assaulted the flank.
An all-clear was given by both outposts soon after, with the troops soon peering out toward the walls of the capital. The place looked and felt familiar to Meetra. It felt like a shadow still loomed over this part of the Galaxy. Of course, with a certain superweapon's activation nearly four millennia ago, anyone would think so, seeing as that was what it was named after. But no.
Something else irked her. She looked back, however, then gasped as she saw a still-functioning droid lifting its blaster at Ordo. She drew her Lightsaber again, but paused as she watched Victor pounce on the Commander, drawing his pistol and firing at the droid while covering the Clone with his body. Vic sighed in relief, then stood to his feet and dusted himself off, before offering a hand to Ordo and stating, "You alright, sir?"
Ordo took his hand and replied, "Yes. Thank you, Marine..." before looking at the Droid and noting the oil dripping from its head, down its tan-colored body and onto the plastic flooring of the outpost. He sighed deeply, then took his helmet off and looked over at Vic. The Marine with the LMG smiled at the Commander, gave him a salute, then stepped off and set up his MG. Ordo sighed, rubbed his eyes and walked over to Meetra. Sliding his helmet back on and pulling his binoculars out to peer at the enemy's defenses, only to watch a missile slamming into one of the enemy's air defense systems and explode it, he asked, "Ma'am, is combat always like this?"
"Adrenaline-filled?" Chuckled the woman, "Yeah, usually."
"Hectic, ma'am... Nothing like the Simulations..." He asked, his voice a bit more low, quiet. He'd lost a few brothers in this fight, then got saved by a Marine of theirs. He looked over to the rear as the distant drone of engines filled his ears and saw the first UNSC Pelican landing in the clearing, followed by dozens more Drop Ships, both light and heavy, unloading troops and armor onto the battlefield.
When he turned back toward his General, he saw the girl staring at him with sympathy in her eyes. She sighed deeply, rubbing her face, then replied calmly, "War is not a kind mistress, Ordo. She is treacherous, vile and will make you look your worst self in the mirror many times," then she leaned against the edge of the barricade that made up the wall of the outpost, "However, that same War will bring out the best of you if you let it. You'll find friends, comrades and Brothers and sisters, even if they aren't bound by blood to you like your Clone siblings. We all have a role to play in it... You'll understand as you go, considering you're still relatively young for a Clone on the field, far as I know."
"Yes, ma'am..." he replied, sighing deeply and moving next to Vic. He peered through his binoculars, watching the enemy stirring about in the capital, a sprawling city with raised defensive walls, then murmured to himself, "That's gonna be one tough wall to crack..." as he saw the extra anti-air pieces being brought forward while extra defenses were being built. More outposts surrounded the city like a concentric ring. Outposts he felt they'd need to take out.
He paused and looked over to the rearmost mountain, stating, "General. Far Outpost, on that mountain face. Looks like an artillery battery manned by Droids. AAT tanks and a few Spiders..." then handed her the binoculars. She looked through it and hummed, while the Commander stated, "They have Triple-A there, too. Might be their fallback plan. If we take the capital, they just level it..."
"Probably," Meetra replied, "We'll take a Strike Team. Take it out," then she called, "All units, this is Actual. Enemy Artillery located at the far end of the Valley. Requesting a Strike Team to help me take it out. All others, hold position, fortify these outposts and be ready for any possible Droid Counter-attacks..." only to look up as a flash glowed in the blue sky. She spoke, "Admiral, status!?"
"... Contact with an enemy reinforcement fleet. Two Lucrehulks and several enemy transport ships are probably heading Planetside, General," Lasky replied, surprisingly calm even as alarms blared their loud wail over the comlink. He told her, "We'll hold the line up here. You take care of the enemy city, ma'am. All ships, prepare to engage, move to Red Alert. Godspeed."
"Likewise, Admiral..." she sighed, then switched back to the ground forces channel and told them, "That's our reinforcements cut off for now. Ready up, boys and girls," as she stared at the city ahead. The air battle above was still ongoing, Clone fighters engaged in a furball with the dozens of enemy strike craft, but meaningfully keeping the enemy's bombers grounded for now.
"This is gonna be a long day, isn't it?" A Clone with a thicker voice and slightly more bulk asked quietly as he cradled his Z-6. Meetra chuckled at that, then looked back at him, the man being the heavy gunner by the name of 'Warden'. Apparently, he'd been called as such because he was the guy who kept everyone safe in the middle of a battle. She had seen him in the corner of her eye, helping his brothers out.
"Seems like it, big man," Vic quipped in reply as Vesna set up next to him.