Chapter Three
Ground Invasion Begins
Rezin sat processing what had just happened. The one person who we wanted to catch most was right under his nose and he didn't even know it until it was too late. No point wishing for change now, he thought. Rezin got up and paced the bridge of the Skyline. "Where are we with the ground invasion?" he asked.
"Troops have landed and are advancing on the nearest enemy encampments. Very little resistance to this point." Came the reply through the coms.
"Thank You Vizla." Garn Vizla was one of Manda'lors's top warriors and frequently led the advanced parties into battle. Today, however, Garn was coordinating the invasion and helping establish a forward command center. Garn had served with Boba Fett when he was Manda'lor and now served Rezin with the same loyalty as Fett.
"The Canderous Assault Tanks are nice with the new upgrades. I might have to take one for a spin during this war if they keep producing like they are down here. Even our Basilisk War Droids are no match for their combined speed and firepower." Vizla commented. This caused a laugh on the bridge.
"Glad you like them Garn. I still think that if a Basilisk were to fire at one, it would go up in a matter of seconds. The tanks may be upgraded and have shields, but nothing has broken the Basilisk armor." Manda'lor responded with a smile. Garn always knew how to lighten the mood. This forced Rezin, his Manda'lor, out of the stupor he was in. "One thing Garn. Don't have all the fun gone before the rest of us arrive to help."
"No promises!" Garn laughed. The signal was ended and Rezin began to make preparations for his second wave of forces to land.
Garn knew he had succeeded in cheering up his Manda'lor when we ended the transmission. "What is the plan, sir?" an officer asked him.
"We move forward and take this base in the ravine. We should have it by the time Manda'lor arrives." Garn replied.
"So he is joining us down here already? I thought the space battle would take longer than that to end." the officer questions again.
"Not when Manda'lor leads us. They made quick work on the Sith. Our job is to make sure we have made the needed advancements so we are ready for him to lead us down here." Garn replied. This kid is young, but was promoted because he was a very talented fighter. He is from Clan Fett after all.
"Do you think he will bring his Liger walker, sir? The question came kind of as a surprise to Garn. He knew Manda'lor had been working on a new unit with their technicians but he knew nothing about what it would look like or do. Manda'lor's personal fighter pilots were the only ones to see them and, as far as he knew, the only ones to train with these new walkers.
"You know son, I think he might. By the way, I do not think I recall your name." Garn asked.
"Teck, sir." Teck replied.
"Jate jate'kara (Good Luck)" Garn gave, and Teck walked out to prepare his brothers and sisters for the coming battle.
"Are you sure you want to take them? They have not been tested much." Valkyria questions her husband. She was, of course, referring to the new walkers. Rezin called them Liger walkers. They looked like massive cats when sitting still and not protruding all the different weapons that they have.
"Yes. I think this is the perfect time to get some field work in with them." Rezin answered back.
"Alright then. Good luck. I'll keep everything going smoothly up here." Valkyria told Rezin. She was unsure about a new unit entering battle that had not been field tested by their technicians first, but she also knew that they would give their people, the Mandalorian people, a much needed moral boost to start this war off.
The Liger walkers looked like what their name suggested, except somewhat bigger. They were built for two people at the most to be in. More of a tank than a walker, the ligers would produce an assortment of weapons that could be used. Each one was custom designed to the pilot's fighting preference on the ground. Rezin had his set up for close combat. He had two energy blades on the mid back of the walker that he could extend to the side for pass by attacks or swing around to cover the nose of the walker and charge head first into something. Around the head of the liger are 5 more blades that can do an almost 180 swing to add to the energy force being driven into a target when the two main blades swing to a forward position. The Mandalorian tech people highly suggested that Rezin include some type of ranged weaponry, so he had them include small guns on the front legs. This would allow him to soften up a target before he made impact. Rezin took great pride and joy in designing this new toy of his. All his pilots did. The final thing that he had to do was to select a color. Unlike many of the other pilots who went with variations of blacks, greys, and whites; Rezin went with a dark forest green with black and dark brown coloring. He requested that his team change the coloring of theirs to match them, but time ran out before they could accomplish this request.
Rezin and his team completed the pre-launch checks before piloting their walkers into the drop ships. Just like in space, they paired off. Two Ligers to one drop ship. They drop ships would then get them close enough to the ground that they would make the jump form the back of the moving vessel and already be close to full speed when they landed. Alli, once again, was paired with Rezin. "You ready for this?" Rezin asked.
"Of course. Why wouldn't I be." came the witty comment. Alli loved to be moving fast. Like Rezin, she had her liger focused mostly on melee. Unlike Rezin, she also had a decent sized gun on the underside and two on the head where Rezin had his 5 extra blades. Alli also left off the ability to energy ram with forward facing blades.
The drop ships took off and headed for the surface. Multiple troop transports and more Basilisk war droids came with them. Once the second wave broke through the clouds, they headed straight for the battle that could be seen on the horizon. "Garn seems to be having trouble." Alli commented.
"Agreed. Apparently, they came out to meet our brothers and sisters rather than stay in their base. I guess we will get to test out our full capabilities today after all." Rezin replied. He was looking forward to seeing what this thing can do.
The transports for the Ligers dropped to unloading distance and the bay doors opened. Rezin and Alli sprinted their Ligers out of the bay, onto the ground, and ran straight at the nearest enemy forces. A shout went up from the Mandalorian people when they saw the dismount. Another roar went up as Rezin extended his blades to full forward facing and rammed head first into the nearest sith tank. The energy blades, all 7, found their mark and penetrated right into the hull. Rezin then forced his walker to jump up onto the top of the massive tank. This dislodged the blades and he drove them in the top of the tank. Alli followed suit and fired a salvo at the front left leg while closing the distance to slice the left side legs off. The enemy tank fell to the ground and Rezin and Alli proceeded to their next target.
The battle proceeded in this way for a while. The 5 teams of Ligers ransacked the enemy heavy artillery and support while the Basilisk war droid and Canderous tanks supported the Mando'ade in taking out the enemy infantry and taking the base. The sith forces were in complete disarray within minutes of the Liger unit landing that the battle moved from a stalemate to a complete rout. One the remaining Sith forces had been captured or fled, Rezin led his liger unit to the command center within the base they had just captured. "Those things are amazing." Teck gocked. Garn agreed silently.
"I agree with that." Ace replied. Ace is one of Rezin's pilots within his personal squadron.
"Yes they are. Better than we could have imagined." Rezin replied to both.
"We have the base now. Reports are coming in that a few of the enemy managed to escape, but they are being tracked down as we speak. What is our next move?" Garn asked Manda'lor.
"Rest. We need rest. We also need reports from the rest of the invasion forces. If all is going well, we will march on the capitol city within 12 standard hours." Manda'lor commented. "Go. Rest up. Check on your brothers and sisters. Make sure your families know you are safe. Report back here tomorrow morning. Jate oya'karir. Ve'ganir some udes. Ijaat te dead. (Good hunt. Get some rest. Honor the dead." Manda'lor told his team. They all went their separate ways to rest up and celebrate with their brothers and sisters.