Alpha Team: All Your Base are Belong to Us!

[Squee]

Valry couldn’t help but marvel at these mandalorians she ran beside now. They were quick, quiet, and vicious. For every breath exhaled there were at least three steps made. There was no chatter between them. The group communication relied on signals and hardly a word was uttered over the helmet system. Nothing got by them, not when they wanted something to remain a secret. Bane was covering their rear, and that was not a statement to be underestimated. She had noticed him return, possibly gone to take care of some business and now joining back up with the group. Kaarmine had put a stop to an alarmed Republican soldier who had been ready to flick the base into high alert status. Yes, nothing was happening that the mandalorians did not want. Valry could not but feel a sense of pride that she was there alongside them.

Heck, if this kept up, maybe she’d stay with them for good instead of an extra pawn. She had realized a while back that her opinion of herself had changed. How she had acted had changed. How her thoughts and things of favoritism had changed. It wasn’t just a little change, but a strong, noticeable one. When she had been sixteen, she had been far from an adrenaline lover. She had disliked change. She had disliked being anywhere but home. She had wanted nothing more but to be the wife of a good man and raising children.

And look what she was doing for children now. By being faithful to her child and the promises she had made herself, she was right here in the midst of raid that was bound to be the start of a war. Valry, who had never had the personality remotely defined as adventurous, was a player in prewar. Due to her change of tastes these past years – years flying the galaxy with Candar and years planet hopping back to Concord Dawn with Orak – Valry was finding she was enjoying it. Enjoying jumping from the backs of transports and dropping through clouds to the planet below. Enjoying scaling down cliff sides to break into a Republic base. Liking the way secrecy was maintained as a fist slammed through the halls and muted the cries of surprise.

This was what she was made of. This is what made her mandalorian.

Sa kyr'am nau tracyn kad, Vode an.

As they came upon a door, Trin motioned her to one side of the door. Quick to oblige, Valry crouched with her shoulder to the wall and blasters ready, fingers on the trigger. The door was open and there was no reason for Valry to fire. She steeled her nerves, which were beginning to go haywire a bit, and signaled to Trin that the her view was clear and that she could proceed. Trin went in, followed by Valry, and so on the rest of the team.

“Crap.” That was Valry first thought as she saw the open courtyard before her. The thought of being exposed made Valry’s skin crawl with jitters and her mind crazy of what could happen. Trin understand that as well, the dangers of an exposed area in when trying to remain inconspicuous, and that it should be covered one by one to hold at least some element of surprise in case one was caught. Trin made the dart first, and once to the other side, signaled for the next.

It was then Valry thanked her mother for giving her the genes of a light frame and the speed in which to carry that frame. Her father had taught her to endure much, one of them had been her speed in everything that she did: decision, reaction, and physical strain. The dash across the courtyard was not a difficult one, and soon Valry was against the wall next to Trin. The rest joined them and the group was quickly organized to breach the door. Valry moved back, allowing Bane and Kaarmine before her, and took position now nearer toward the back.

Even back here, there was an excitement rushing in her veins, and a nervousness to accompany it. So far, this mission had been pretty quiet, Valry was thinking. Maybe just maybe, she was thinking as Trin counted down, it would remain that way. The flashbang was tossed and Valry made sure that she didn’t catch even the faintest glimpse of the explosion. When her eyes opened again, Trin and Bane were gone, already within the room. Only moments passed and an all clear was stated. Valry waited as the others entered in the room before her, then rotated into the room itself and closed the door. If anything was going to come in this way this door opening would be their signal. Valry wasn’t too keen on getting shot by someone who was on the other side of the courtyard.

As Trin did her nifty work at the computers, Valry stared at the screens. She didn’t know what motivated her to do so, but she did for a few moments. Something nagged her brain, and it was as if staring at the screens would help her remember or to come to some conclusion that was effectively avoiding her mind. It created a sore spot and feelings of frustration.

The alarm made her jolt. Goodness, that had been a flaw. She had been thinking to hard within herself at a time like this! At least her reactions were just as well, turning as quick as she did toward the blaring device upon the wall. It seems things would not be so quiet after all, as Valry had somewhat hoped. It was then, as if the surprise the alarm had given her had jarred her memory, that she knew what she had been grasping for within her brain. She clicked her comm over to Bane.

“Sir, our imprisoned vode. Should one or two of us go free them?”

He probably already had a plan, knowing Bane. Curses, she wasn’t used to this military thing.

Jorso’ran kando a tome. Vode An.

[Mara]

As she followed Trin with the rest of their small squad of Mandalorian soldiers, she kept her arms loose, ready to grab the holsters of her two pistols at a moment's notice. They could finally see their objective up ahead: the comm center. The ease of the mission so far tugged uneasily at the back of her mind. Even though Ambria knew the Republic was inept, she didn't expect them to be this lax on security. It must mean that--

Quickly and efficiently Trin had slaughtered the stupid man trying to enter the hallway they were currently walking through to reach the comm station. They stepped past the bloody dead soldier as they continued on their way. Ambria took a brief look into the room where the soldier had departed but located nothing with her HUD in her helmet. She returned her focus forward.

They were at the door, and Ambria quickly moved on the opposite side of it from where Trin was, Justic joining her. Quietly, she reached back for her rifle stock, pulling the weapon into her hands. When Trin opened the door, she quickly scanned her half of the courtyard with her scope. In part of her view, she could see a corner of the communications center in the middle of the empty courtyard. No Republic soldiers. She nodded at Trin and replaced her sniper rifle over her shoulder, her hands going down to her pistols.

A few more steps, a few more minutes, and they would be there. Ambria briefly wondered how the other half of their squad was doing, coming in from the other side of the building. But she quickly pushed those thoughts away. They could take care of themselves. Afterall, they were Mandalorians just as she was. While it would be a shame to lose good soldiers, hopefully the entirety of Alpha squad wouldn't be demolishing, speaking to the general's quick thinking to split them up, double their chances of securing the station.

Trin sprinted through the door and, after securing her position, the rest of them followed, one by one, the general going last. They all crouched their, armor pressed to the wall, waiting to breach the comm center. Immediately, when Trin called for the flash grenade, Ambria knew her plan and moved out of the way, giving the private more room at the doorway. She stretched her fingers, cracking the knuckles and waited for the right moment to charge inside.

Even though she had her helmet on, Ambria instinctively turned away and closed her eyes when Kaarmine shoved the grenade through the doorway. Trin and Bane rushed after it almost immediately, and she recognized the sounds of weapons being fired into Republic flesh. A small smile crossed her face as she waited with the others to follow inside the building.

When the thud of dropping dead bodies had ended, she waited a few more moments, then entered inside with the rest. Her gaze rested momentarily on the dead soldiers before she looked around the rest of the room. Trin was working frantically at one of the consoles, and the sudden alarm blaring made her snap her head back around the room, looking for an alive soldier. None. One of them must have triggered something before dying she hoped Trin could mask their presence here, turning off the alarm in the process. The longer it went off, the longer it gave the Republic base to prepare to come after them.

Ambria moved off to the side of the room, pulling her blaster pistols out of their holsters, snapping off the safeties. She wasn't about to get caught in here, the mission only partially completed.

[Meira]

Being so close to the open door, Trin was privileged with a slight ringing in her ears from the flash bang as the team entered. She fared far better than the occupants of the comm center, however. They were all dead. Bane and the others saw to that. Trin didn't even need to fire a single round. The clear was called and Trin stowed her pistol and removed her helmet. She was already at work removing a panel from the side of one of the comm stations when Bane gave his order. A quick Oya! was her only reply. Once the thin metal came loose from the station Trin slid herself in under the panel and among the wires.

Just then, an alarm sounded and Trin popped her head back out to see if perhaps some Republic soldier had evaded their notice and tripped the alarm. Her hand ready over her blaster to neutralize him. But the comm center was occupied only by Mandos.

That wasn't me!

Trin slipped herself back under the panel, her hands moved double quick time now, sorting through the correct wires. Disabling a comm system wasn't like dusting crops. It was intricate work... that is if one wanted to do it right. The quick thing to do would have been to shoot up the panels. But that wouldn't have been the smart thing to do. Trin didn't get to where she was no by just being quick. No, she was smart, and smart meant disabling the off-world comm but make it seem like everything was still in working order. But don't forget, Trin didn't get where she was now by just being smart. No, she was quick too.

Soon enough that job was done. She then moved quickly to the interbase comm stations and repeated the process. Adrenalin spurred her to move faster. Their enemy knew they were here now, and their team wasn't exactly in the most strategic of places to hold off a defense for too long. But Spec Ops had made their way out of worse.

With inter-base communications down, Trin next moved to a large console set to the side of the room. The fallen Republic officer provided the access key and soon Trin was pulling up the main security systems for the base. She disabled the alarm. No, it wouldn't get the enemy off their back, but at least it was a bit quieter.

Justic supplied Trin with her next plan of action, finding the holding cells. It wasn't hard, and soon Trin had the location pulled up on the monitor. It took only a few moments to figure out just where it was in relation to the comm base. But with their presence now known, she didn't know if it would be possible for them to send anyone. But...

Sir, the other half of Alpha Team shouldn't be too far from the holding cells. They would probably have a better chance at reaching them than us. She turned away from the panel towards the man, a smile forming on her face. We could be the distraction.

[Jace]

The Mandalorian's mind was now in overdrive. A mix of strategies and tactics for their current situation whirring through his mind. They only had moments before the Republic soldiers converged on their location. Within moments Trin had brought the comm station offline and was working on locating the prisoners. The other squad had still not reached their position so his obvious choice was to send them for prisoner extraction.

"Bane to 2nd squad. Bane to 2nd squad." He said over the comm. He didn't receive any response but it sounded as if the line was still open."Transferring prisoner coordinates to you, redirect and extract" Bane couldn't be entirely sure if they had received the message or not so he hit his comm once more. "Justic, get to our captured Vod, and see if you can't find out what happened to the others. Move!"

The Mandalorian general then switched from internal squad communication to that of high command.

"This is Alpha. Primary objective complete. I repeat, Primary objective complete."

Bane then moved quickly to the console and brought up the security feed. There was a possibility that they could still find a way out before they were surrounded. A few screens later he realized that it was too late for that. A smile crossed his face as he realized they would have to fight their way out or die trying. Though he had to admit that this was not the optimum location for what he needed. Trin was right though, if they could hold here for awhile, they could buy the others time to free their captured comrades.

"Saddle up people!Looks like we are in for some fun."

He didn't need to tell them that were undoubtedly going to be assailed by numerous soldiers. That much was obvious, they would make their preparations. Bane quickly hurried out the other door which they had not come through and quickly pulled explosives out of his satchel. He quickly began placing them at strategic intervals throughout the courtyard. Just as he turned to head back to the comm station, he heard the yell of soldiers behind him. The general spun around, pistol at the ready, and squeezed off three shots. He was rewarded with the screams of at least two soldiers. Blaster bolts whizzed by him as he dived back into the comm station.

"It seems the Republic does not approve of our presence here" He stated to Trin, catching his breath.

Blasters pummeled the comm station, scorching its exterior to the point where it looked as if it could melt. Bane was running out of ammo, and his pistol was not suited for this sort of long range combat. He was beginning to get a little annoyed. The Mandalorian had expected the Republic to charge their position but they had not done so yet. Well he would just need to use a catalyst to get his plan in motion.

"Damnit!Im out!" He shouted loudly

A few more sporadic shots from the Republic side, and then he heard it. The Republic fools had fallen for it and charged forward. He counted their paces as best he could, he needed the maximum number of casualties. Bane triggered the explosives and there was a large tremor rocked the comm station accompanied by many screams. The Mandalorian peeked out the doorway and could only see smoke and the occasional body part. He could hear the sound of other Republic soldiers charging through. Apparently they weren't as cowardly as he had believed. Bane drew both his blades from their sheathes and stepped in front of the doorway. He charged forward, ready to deal the inevitable death that the Republic had brought upon themselves.

[Val - Warning:Contains Sarcasm]

The high-pitched beeping orienting from her wrist was almost unacknowledged by Danee as she blew a red mist and some small chunks out of the shoulder of a Republic soldier at the end of their corridor. The uniformed guard spun weakly, his rifle dropping with a loud clattering to the ground, and he soon joined it. THe body lay there repainting the ground despite the best efforts of the corpse's former squadmates to 'Get up' and 'Keep fighting the good fight'. Letting out a barely audible tut of disapproval, she was distracted by the beeping and lit module on her HUD and wrist, falling back behind cover. It was a message, from Bane. Apparently they had been successful, which sort of indicated why they'd been running into progressively more and more soldiers at an exponential rate compared with their actual progress. Several shots flung themselves next to her, striking next to the wall she was taking cover by and she shifted a little away from the edge. New orders to take the holding cells, meaning they were either not needed at the primary objective for securing the area, or the holding cells were taking priority for them now.

Either way, she found she needed to get there first, and the first order of duty for that particular objective would be to plot her way there. Tapping in a few orders to her computer system, she brought up area schematics and a route directly to the holding cells from their current position. Glancing up, she didn't need the Force to tell her of the encroaching group of soldiers from where the blaster fire was coming from, and her hand dropped loosely to pick off a sticky grenade from her belt. Pausing for a moment and priming it, the waited for a lull in the blaster fire before dodging out as quickly as the Force would allow her and flung the grenade straight through the air towards the Republic. Returning to cover she did not see the grenade adhere itself onto an unfortunate soldier's leg, though she certainly did feel and see the after-effects which left them with significantly less sturdy enemies to deal with. Returning to the corridor she barraged them with a few sprays of her assault rifle, angry red beams sizzling through the air, before the click drew her back into cover. Open, unload, reload, close, prime. She'd done it thousands of times.

The next bust of fire seemed to be all the Republic dogs were willing to handle, and regrouping her squad found that aside from a few scratches and burns the Mandalorians had came out the dominant victors in that round.
"We're going to the holding cells. That's our new primary objective. Let's move." She nodded at them slightly, her helmet glinting in the artificial light as she turned towards their destination corridor, her looser bodily parts swinging next to her neck as she spun on the spot. Her pace was not a hurried one, just a slight jog to try and get the group moving before more reinforcements turned up. The eyes behind the visor of the helmet swapped from side to side keeping a visual scan of the immediate area, despite having more reliable spatial awareness for far further than her eyes would be able to sense. At the moment, anyway, they were sensing nothing and mirrored her detection of the area. As she moved her hands wrapped around her rifle and slung it over her back, bringing her blaster pistols firmly into the palms of her hands. She squeezed on the grips, hoping the change of weapon would benefit her on the move.

[Squee]

There was a brief flutter beneath Valry’s visor. A flutter of a smile that touched her lips gently, amusement at Trin’s cry that the alarm had not been any effect of hers. In her breast, a new color bloomed in feathers and tickled her ribs. While her side of the comm was silenced, the woman allowed the chuckle to pass, the feathers dragging up the back of her throat. It was a sort of release that, in spite of the alarm (abruptly squelched in a matter of moments), made Valry relax. When her small laugh ended, she drew in a breath, feeling renewed in a way, like the laugh had washed away something heavy.

And while Trin was voicing that the other team could reach the imprisoned mandalorians faster, Valry was sure they would have heard something from the other team way before now. There was a slight dim in the lightness the laughter had gifted her with. Uneasiness. Uncertainty. Not hearing from the other team toiled the edges of her mind in mild concern. As soon as Bane’s voice penetrated through her internal speakers, the very command of his voice dusted aside the awards of concern and replaced them with trophies of action.

“It shall be done.” The reply was smooth and was naked of even hints of hesitation. With a flip of her wrist, Valry holstered her left blaster. Her steps were bold as she approached a door; a door that would lead her further into the base and not back into the courtyard. The coordinates of the prisoner containment section were received by her when her thumb hit the door’s open command. With a quick, instinctive glance down both sides of the hallway, Valry retreated from the communications room and made sure the door slid closed behind her. Taking up her left blaster once again, Valry pivoted on the ball of her foot and began her swift infiltration through the rest of the base.

Her shoulder barely brushed the wall. Artificial lighting flashed across the black armor, burdened with dents and scars. She was a well visible shadow, but, with amusement tipping the east and west corners of her mouth, it was just as well that the soldiers notice the well armored fist barreling for them. For the first part of her newly given mission, Valry could only hear the soft scuff of her own boots marking the floor and the way her breath huffed against the inside of her helmet. There was caution in her flight when turning corners. She figured she would reach the prisoners first. If the other team had received the orders, she would meet them at the hold. If the team was not there, Valry would spring the jaws of captivity away from her brothers and then, with them following her, they would seek out the other team.

It was closer to the prison hold that Valry noticed more activity in the soldiers. There was one certain corner where two Republic soldiers had narrowly missed walking into her as she prepared to peek around a corner. Her startle had dissolved quickly, her brain charging the soldiers guilty of threat and her condemning gavel the barrels of her pistols. They rose swiftly, and with two strikes, beaten down with authority, of her triggers, holes were driven into the soldiers’ heads, smoke shriveling out in a thin strand. The judge hardly looked at the condemned as she stepped over their bodies and popped a head around the corner, searching for more cases. There were none, and Valry sharply stepped around and entered a short, light run.

She was getting closer. Another soldier fell, and another, and finally there was one more corner to peel around before she could enter the prisoner’s room. However, the door sat halfway down the corridor, with at least three soldiers milling about, edgy. Valry lifted her head back around the corner and breathed a little breath.

She had two grenades, but those were likely to catch the attention of any others nearby. Valry could handle three, she was sure. And she needed a few moments to set the mandalorians free. From there, the silly prisoners would need a moment to locate and don their armor. Perhaps that last one needed more than a moment. Until them, Valry carried to only true weapons unless the freed wanted to try to use their fists. Bodily weapons did not have a reputation of winning against a rifle.

Valry patted around her waistline a second or two, looking for something. Not finding it immediately, she checked the more hidden compartments of her armor. She frowned, still not finding what she was looking for, but decided not to waste the break as she switched the battery packs on her pistols. Where was that little silver ball? Oh, here it was. Valry pressed a button on her belt. A catch was released and a ball fell onto the palm of her hand, leaving a gaping dip on her belt. Valry peeked around the corner again, hefting the silver ball that bore the shape of a grenade. Her thumb stroked the ball once and then she stepped away from the wall and tossed the ball down the hall. It bounced once with a metallic “pong”, and then rolled toward the soldiers.

The soldiers glanced in the direction of the sound. As the ball rolled near, one panicked and cried out something about a grenade. The panic thumped the hearts of the other soldiers and they all dove into the prisoner hold, the door closing with a soft hiss. With all eyes gone, Valry was quick to turn and dash down the hall, scooping up the harmless rounded metal and shoving it back onto her belt. She took up position by the door, waiting for the soldiers to realize that, huh, there was no explosion.

Tension bunched Valry’s lean muscles as she waited for that door to open. Waited for that nose to peep out. Waited for curiosity to get the better of their weak little minds. She waited as curiosity, ready to kill the soldier. What felt like ages had passed, that door finally opened up, but nothing popped out immediately. There were murmurs. These soldiers would not have known war if it trotted up to them, lifted it’s leg, and pissed on their shiny boots.

One brave fool tentatively placed a foot out, followed with the barest hints of a nose. Valry pounced on it like an animal upon prey. The man’s nose crunched, submissive to her elbow as her heel pivoted crushed toes into the ground. The soldier yelped. Valry’s left hand stretched across her collar bone, the blaster’s barrel pointing over her right shoulder. When that trigger was pulled, the bolt seared into the young soldier’s throat. Yet another bolt spat from the pistol’s barrel, clawing it’s way through the shallow hole of the first and piercing out the back of the man’s neck.

The corpse began to fall and Valry ducked into a crouch, swinging her body into the door frame. Her hands were up, blasters before her face. The second of the three was to her left. Five blaster bolts collectively appeared on his chest. Valry’s right arm shifted, pointing to the third soldier, her first shot scorching the man’s trigger hand. He flailed his arm and her second shot missed its target; hitting his forearm instead of his chest. There was movement from the corner of her eye. Her left arm was swinging forward, pointing to the disturbing movement as her right blaster fired at least three more times, hitting the neck and face of the third soldier. Jerking her head left, her other arm was aimed at a rather pudgy officer who was bound in fear of her left blaster.

An officer? He would give her the code to enter to free the vode.

“Here tubby, tubby, tubby,” purred Valry, both her weapons tacking him. She started forward. “Oh, no, you don’t want to do that,” she remarked as he tried to produce a small pistol. Valry squeezed a trigger once and disabled that hand. The pistol was dropped, clattering onto the floor. Valry was close enough that swept her hand in a backward sweep, driving the butt of her blaster and the outer part of her hand harshly into the man’s skull. Her left blaster was being holstered and the free hand grasped the man by his pretty collar.

“Code. I want it and I want it now.”

“I don’t answer to…”

Valry stopped his protest by pressing the tip of her blaster’s barrel deep into his cheek.

“20F6TCR. Don’t…” but the beginnings of a plea was silenced as Valry shifted the barrel to the man’s temple and depressed the trigger once again. That’s when Valry’s T-visor lifted to the prisoners. Oh, if only they could see her smile now.

“Well, now,” she said aloud to the other mandalorians. They were easily recognizable by the tough, warrior builds. Some of them wore wild grins to the violent display that had taken place before their eyes. “Been enjoying your vacation have you? Hm?” She stepped up to the computer, using her left hand to scroll through options and find the command to turn off the energy cells. “Sorry to say that it’s ending.” In a moment, as her fingers danced across numbers and letters, the cells were deactivated. “Let’s find your arms and armor, brothers. There’s Republicans to fight.”

[Meira]

There were a few moments, in the midst of the chaos that built around the comm system that Trin felt herself seperate from time. Everything moved around her at one speed, seemingly fast and slow all at once. Valry was out, moving to make her way to the others. Bane had grabbed something and disappeared. The others on the team were taking up their positions to defend what little ground they held.

Apart from all of that. Trin was picking up her helmet off the ground where she had set it aside. The visor impeded her sight when working on electronics. Now holding the thing in her hands, it felt so light. The orange metal, so new and untested compared to Bane's, to Arcane's, to everyone's, with hints of red accenting the curves; it felt both heavy and light in her hands. As she slipped it on over her head, shutting out the chaos and colors and falling in to complete black for a moment, it was like waking up.

An explotion rocked the courtyard and Trin was abruptly back in time with the others. She dove to a covered area beneath a panel, pulling her blaster from it's holster. When Bane called that he was out of ammo, she was about to toss him some, but their leader had drawn his swords. Trin was suddenly reminded of Coruscant. She had not been there when Bane and the others had held off in the Museum. She had been back at the ship. But from what she could piece together about what had happened, and what she knew of Bane having served under him for three missions now. This much was clear: when the swords come out, it's time to play. The woman smiled.

Trin adjusted her grip on her blaster. It wouldn't do much for her now, not with close quarters as the name of the game, but every weapon counted. She then activated the lines of three crescent shaped blades on each of her gauntlets. They sprung out noislessly, clean and thirsty for blood. The young woman then took a series of deep breaths and her eyes closed lightly. This was it, kote. She switched her internal comm, opening the line to only one: Itani. What had he told her?

Keep your eyes up, missy. See you at the finish line.

She opened her eyes. Bane charged through the door, out to meet those Republic soldiers that were either too stupid to get out of his way, or brave... very brave. Activating the comm, she spoke.

Be advised. Trin has reached the finish line and now awaits Itani's arrival. She would much appreciate if he'd hurry his tiny, albeit well shaped ass up!

And with that she moved. Through the door and into the smoke. The explotion had done more than thin the numbers that came their way. It created a nice cover, should any Republic soldiers have the urge to shoot from afar. As she moved through the haze, the enemy was easy enough to eliminate, though her guard had to be up. Just as they were at a disadvantage at seeing her, so she was at seeing them. She kept herself low to the ground, relying on her lower center of gravity and slightly more agile form to give her the advantage. But this wasn't the finish line. No, this was just the beginning.

[Mara]

Finding a good spot behind a console desk about diagonal from the door where the Republic soldiers would most likely be entering from, Ambria had holstered her weapons. While they were good, the room was wide enough that her sniper rifle would be the best choice in the situation. The weapon now lay snugly against her shoulder, the end of its barrel resting on the edge of the desk. She had optimized the sight. Now all she needed were some targets.

Gratefully, though, Trin had turned off the alarm, and so Ambria brought the sound back up to normal range on her helmet. She had toned it down so as not to go deaf standing around there in the communications room. There was some chatter from Velos and Justic about the prisoners. Her ears perked up about their secondary mission. She hoped that Bane wouldn't send everyone; some of them needed to stand here to make sure that they held off as many soldiers as possible so the other half of Alpha Team could rescue their own.

Ambria smiled satisfactorily to herself hearing the general's voice over the comm. She would be staying to defend the station and take down as many soldiers as possible. Plus, just hearing the completion of their primary mission said out loud swelled her heart. As fun as it had been rappelling down the cliff, running through the dark, skulking through hallways, taking down a few inept soldiers and finally capturing this comm center, for Ambria, the real joy was about to begin. She flipped the safety off her rifle, made sure it was set to 'kill' and settled in comfortably as she could.

She heard the muffled sounds of shots from the general area of the courtyard where Bane had gone to lay explosives after Justic had went off to rendezvous with the rest of Alpha squad. Ambria set her face and put her eye to her rifle sight, looking at the empty doorway, just willing a Republic soldier to dare walk into her crosshairs. Instead, though, the general himself dived through the bottom of them. Ambria held her fire.

Confused, she heard the general yell that he was out of ammo. But she kept her ground, figuring it to be a trick. They had all come to the mission armed to the hilt. It was impossible that he would be empty so soon. Her suspicions were met correctly when she heard the explosions rocking the courtyard along with the beautiful screams of dying soldiers. Still, though, no Republic dogs had gotten into the comm station. Ambria was feeling a little impatient, her trigger finger jumpy.

She saw Trin go through the doorway into the haze of the smoke created by the explosive devices, but she stayed in her hideway. Though she did have her two blaster pistols to fight with as well as her rifle, she was a lot more accurate with the rifle. And, Ambria knew, she wouldn't do a lot of good running around in the smoky mist with her rifle, trying to get off a shot. The smoke was sure to dissipate soon, and then the soldiers would be coming for the station.

Sure enough, the vantage point she had into the courtyard from the doorway was clearing up. She heard lots of shots going off along with screams. But as far as she could tell, they were ahead. After all, they were covered in beskar'gam; the Republic dogs only had silly linen uniforms or light penetrable armor.

The loud rapport of her rifle broke the silence that had settled throughout the comm station, felling two enemy soldiers before they had a chance to take a step over the threshold. She didn't move a millimeter, her eye wide open and waiting. Ambria squinted through her sight and saw another pair working their way to the station, having somehow been missed by her Mandalorian comrades. But not missed by her. Another couple quick pulls of the trigger and they lay on top of their fallen patriots.

Things were quiet for a while then. Apparently all the soldiers were busy in the courtyard fending off the Mandalorians out there. Ambria slowly moved to the side to get a better look through the doorway, perhaps to pick up some of the soldiers still out there. Settling into position again, she moved her rifle around, looking for a new target. Trin was off to the side engaged in combat with a Republic soldier, and Ambria spotted another one aiming for the woman's back.

She sighted, pulled the trigger, and he fell, a smoky hole in his forehead. Without thinking twice, she looked for her next target, settling in for a long battle.

[Val - Warning:Contains Sarcasm]

Stepping first through the door of what was labelled the holding bay, Danee's eyes scanned around suspiciously. It would have been a clever ruse on the Republic's behalf to have this room laced with explosives in case someone tried to enter, but no. The only dangerous materials in here were the Mandalorian warriors she could see stepping gratefully out of their limited casings into the wider room. Stepping tentatively over the untidy corpse on the floor, and resisting the urge to kick it just in case, the Mandalorian captain approached the familiar armour from behind, holstering her weapon after checking the rest of her group were behind her. They had the entrance covered suitably, so Danee engaged the other member of Alpha team in conversation. Not bothering to remove her helmet, or even open it for recognition, she brought her arm up in greeting. If you don't remember a tall Mandalorian warrior in armour with montrals sticking up through every metal orifice of her helmet, the colour of their eyes doesn't tend to assist your memory.

"Looks like you got here quickly." It was a greeting, even if it did appear to be rather accusatory. Clearly Bane's squad had the shorter path to the objective, if they were able to send off a member of their squad to the secondary after reaching it. What's more, even she was able to get here before them. The Togruta's eyes narrowed, mind running suspicious queries about the group splitting up and then finding solo Mandalorians turning up. Playing a more reserved state of mind, Danee merely moved on cooly with the next statement. "The other half have achieved their objective by the looks of things." Whether their objective was easier, closer, or simply her own team was holding her back, making her look bad. She scowled off to the side where the doorway lay just out of her peripheral vision. What was the point of her squad anyway? A barely audible, exhausted sigh drifted from her lips and heated her chin within the helmet.

Looking past the lower-ranked soldier she saw the multitude of muscular warriors ready to get out of the cliffside hellhole they'd jumped down into. Several of them looked... interesting. Turning to face the entrance, her mind wandered to thoughts of how she wouldn't mind being stuck in a holding cell with one or two of them. The corridor, and outside world, was clear. A lack of blaster fire told her that before she took a pace out, glancing from side to side and beckoning the others to follow her. The Republic armory would have weapons, but the Mandalorian equipment would probably be in the contraband area, or whatever equivalent room was called. It irked her that the hosts had decided to be clever in not having all the gear lined up along the far wall or something, which would have been stupid but helpful to their progress at the moment. Flicking her data screen open she fiddled around magically with the buttons until a new path was plotted for the most likely location of the lost items, and then a reuniting with Bane. Maybe see just how much the other team was actually putting up with.

[Deceit *Drinker of Jawa-Juice*]

Jauran's head twitched to the side as a group of Republic soldiers dove for all hell into the room. From this angle, it really was quite a ridiculous scene, seeing three of the morons running desperately through the doorway, some of them throwing themselves to the floor and then scuttling across to the corners of the doors, the others just throwing themselves around the corner and harshly into the walls. They breathed heavily and covered their ears, expecting an explosion of sorts. Jauran simply stared blankly as nothing happened.

The three Republic soldiers stared for a moment, expecting dumbly for something to happen. They discussed in whispers among themselves what to do, and after some time of arguing, they concluded that one of them should go around and figure out what they had fled from. Of course, another argument as to who to send, and the more senior officer eventually had the rookie, as he seemed, go out. A smirk grew on Jauran's face as the kid became pale and disheartened, turning nervously and inching through the door.

Suddenly the poor guy flailed, and Jauran wished he had some sort of snack and Juma Juice to witness the ensuing 'battle' if it could be called that. A graceful and lithe form in black mando armor stepped out, breaking the rook's nose and his toes in one fluid movement. She elegantly but brutally turned the mans own gun against him and sent two rounds through him, a gruesome sight. Something about the way the woman plunged into the next two opponents, her movements, her attack, sent his mind wandering. It triggered some sort of familiar feeling.

This Mando, cloaked and covered, made him think of her. Valry, his sister. A woman so long gone from the Keyas presence that she seemed a vague memory and nothing more. But Jauran had known her movements so well in that time. He had seen her adventurous heart and he had seen her train, over and over. Her dedication, her physical fitness that allowed her to move liquidly, and yet react and attack with all the ferocity of a Zakkeg. He didn't want to say for sure that it was her, his sister. Not yet. She quickly interogated the officer, which he did conclude that whoever this was, they were a she indeed.

Jauran's massive form hovered only an inch from the force-field when it was shut off, the electric barrier disipating immediately. As soon as that thing was shut off, he felt himself in swift motion already, as well as the others in the cells. Mando's piled out, but kept orderly. Without their weapons and armor, a Mando was still deadly. To a Mandalorian, weapons and armors were just toys, tools of war. It was mind and body that counted for all, though the armor and weapons were still greatly appreciated and added to their strength.

In light of that, he was the first to run up to a Republic body and scoop up a blaster, a simple republic one, and remove the holster. He put it along his own waist and holstered it, then moved to grab the soldiers rifle, but thought better of it. If anyone else wanted a weapon, the more spread out their weapons were the better. It just had to hold until the vode got to whatever armory their things were being kept in. He turned to the woman, who spoke up quite loudly and ordered them all to get out of their cells and that good-fun was coming up soon.

Jauran, his whole squad lining up behind him, walked over to the woman who'd free'd them, just as a second squad seemed to walk up to the woman. The two ladies had some sort of conversation, a very brief one. He detected some sort of jealousy, or malice within the second one, leader of her respective squad. Jauran stared for only a moment, then turned his attention on his rescuer.

When their short dialogue was finished, he stepped up and gave a quick salute, "Jauran Keyas, Special Operations Squad Sergeant at your service. I lead the forward scouting unit in here, but we were surrounded and forced to surrender. If you need any help getting these proud warriors there, my squad's qualified to back you up." He turned, and noticed that the other members of his squad had also grabbed a few Republic weapons.

[Jace]

Blood, gore, death. Twas glorious, absolutely glorious. Smack in the center of this paradise was Brigadier General Bane Haseful. He could not describe the beauty with words, he wasn't an eloquent man. Instead, his blades, glistening red with the blood of the fallen spoke for him. No, it was not as simple as speaking, it was something much more beautiful. A poem, perhaps even a song, suffice to say those that heard it were either dead or dying.

Another scream echoed through the courtyard as a soldier's hand fell away from the rest of his body. His scream was cut short as Bane's blade pierced the man's throat. The Mandalorian had already turned to face his next victim by the time the soldier fell dead to the ground. Ducking under a vibroblade, he slashed at the soldier's thighs, causing the man to buckle. The hilt of Bane's blade, crashed into the man's nose releasing a sickening crunch.

The General felt a sting in the back as he rolled forward with the blow to reduce the damage. As he came to his feet, he slashed another soldier in the stomach. He didn't have the time to watch the woman's insides fall to the ground. A horizontal slash with one blade, followed by another, dropped the next Republic fool. He spun around, sending his elbow crashing into another man's face.

Bane looked around him as he had won himself a brief respite. Bodies littered the ground, not enough bodies he reminded himself. He could see Trin doing her part, no doubt enjoying the slaughter of these Republic bastards. The Mandalorian was once again struck with a deep sense of pride. It was just as it had been on Coruscant, possibly even greater. They fought against overwhelming numbers in the heart of a Republic base as the preemptive strike to an invasion.

The next wave of Republic soldiers had appeared. Bane wiped the blood off his visor, and with a smile, charged forward once again. A blaster bolt nicked him in the shoulder and was only responded with a grunt. Adrenaline was coursing through Bane's body, pain meant nothing to him. Well he still felt pain, but it was the least of his worries. He had other things to focus on, like the slaughter of Republic soldiers.

A grisly arc of blood shot into the air as Bane decapitated the first soldier. It splashed over his armor and the closest Republic soldiers. To them it must have been the equivalent of Hell, to Bane it was like a soothing rain. The closest soldier turned to run, the damned coward. Bane's blade went straight through the man's back and blossomed from his chest. Spinning to the left, blade reversed gripped, he stabbed into the next soldier's chest. No time to recover his blades, Bane dodged a vibroblade, and sent his fist into the third soldier. One, two, three more punches followed by a nasty uppercut which sent the female motionless to the ground. He drew two knives from his person as the next group of soldiers charged towards him. A brief thought of the others and their objective crossed his mind. He hoped they took their time.....

He was having too much fun...

[Latus]

Chaos. Pure unadulterated chaos. It erupted around him through every blaster bolt, grenade, and dead body; a fire that some would call the lust for battle, the glory of war. Itani found it sickening. As an assassin he wasn't above taking a life for money but this was simply too excessive. In his mind the best way to settle ones differences on a grand scale was simple; send the best out from each side, give them each a big stick, and let them kill each other. Whomsoever came out on top, his side was the victor. Simple and with a much diminished waste of biomass. Then again he had a similar thought about reducing the galactic population; it was simple.

Kill the stupid.

His hiding place felt nearly perfect. It was a decorative overhang that ran through a small portion of the hallway clusters. He had found them after splitting from wossname Xoxin. They weren't in the schematics and Itani was astonished as to their underestimated tactical value. At this moment he was well behind enemy lines completely invisible and packing enough heat to eliminate several well armed squads. All in all an assassin's dream. The footfalls filled the air and passed Itani constantly, ignorant that not feet from them was one of the more dangerous threats in the facility. The assassin's ego had inflated and he almost became concerned about it giving his position away, poking over the side of the overhang. What was he doing hidden in not-so-plain sight? Plotting.

Behind the armor Itani was beaming. From the electronic readouts in his helmet he was able to keep an eye on his allies, their general status (are they dead or not), and calculate his path. Sure he had left them, preferring to work alone, but he was an expert at disappearing hence his current position. His intent was to seal of parts of the comm station, funneling the soldiers into an area where they could be cut down and their superior numbers wouldn't matter. Now to wait and plot for the right moment. In his mind the devious and malicious thoughts ground to a halt and his eyes swam to the status of the one person he cared about in this little escapade; Trin. Would they call him a coward? Maybe. Would they talk of how he didn't take part in the battle? Possibly. If his little scheme worked the Mandalorians would have a much easier time escaping.

Every now and then his com set would burst to life, advances and status reports played across the speakers like music to his ears. Such a large republic force, one would think it would provide more of a hindrance. Tugging one of his nonpoisonous daggers from their clip he slid it over the top of his concealment watching the reflection for any newcomers. The flow had trickled ever since the alarm went off and fewer soldiers now ran through the intersection. For his plan to work he would have to get closer to the action, a lot closer. Hoisting himself up onto his elbows he half rolled, half fell to the duracrete floor below landing with a sharply muffled report. Withdrawing his pistol with his main hand and off handing the dagger Itani slowly made his way to the door panel a few feet up the northern hallway. Wasting no time he plunged the razor-like blade into the readout and pried the face plate open. Shoving the barrel of his pistol into the jagged gash he pulled the trigger, the shot muffled by the deep opening. The assassin uttered a light chuckle as the door slammed shut; perfect. Not too subtle but, hey, its the army.

Working with a spring in his step he closed off the Eastward passageway the same way, the panel gutted and damaged beyond operation. As static burst into his headset Itani slipped to a wall and hustled down the Westward hallway. "This is Alpha. Primary objective complete. I repeat, Primary objective complete." As he reached a new section scarred by blaster fire and explosive marks he paused. Really? Huh, that was quick. Beneath the helmet Itani's smile vanished. The Republic would not take this incursion lightly any longer. It was about to get hot.

*thunk thunk thunk* Mmm, fmm thmm mmmph! Geth thith mmd mmm dmm mmpn MMM! *muffled footfalls*

Whirling around Itani realized that this was certainly not the best time to be right; gotta accelerate the plans.

***********

Five minutes later Itani had crossed into the center portion of the facility, following the echoing footsteps of the charging soldiers. He hung back well enough to seal off key hallways and keep the drones guessing. He knew that if they couldn't get down one hallway they would simply find another; a contingency that the assassin relied on. As he pulled his blaster from the final smoldering gash several sets of footsteps became louder than the rest. Cursing Itani spun to about just as a trio of armed Republic soldiers rounded a sharp bank in the hallway, guns up.

Aw' kriffin h...

The red clad assassin didn't have time to finish his statement as three bursts of red hot blaster fire ripped through the air he had been standing in moments ago. Though bulky, he still took the deep doorwell to his advantage as cover. Another burst of static broke through his com, followed this time by a not so masculine voice.

Be advised. Trin has reached the finish line and now awaits Itani's arrival. She would much appreciate if he'd hurry his tiny, albeit well shaped ass up!

Your call cannot be completed at this time, please wait while the party you are trying to reach...

Itani quickly withdrew a second dagger in his off hand. Stepping into the line of fire his left whipped straight out and his right pulled the trigger. Both daggers flew horizontally and struck true, digging deep into the vibrant body armor while his blaster bolt hit on only the third shot. Slipping into an identical door frame on the other side of the hallway finished his movement and he breathed out.

kills with exacting precision.

Waiting a moment Itani can almost feel the chuckling building in his gut; who says this isn't a time for laughs.

Thank you for holding. Your Itani has been shipped and is currently en route via excessive concussive force. It should arrive in your general area in the next five minutes. Bye now.

Breaking his cover Itani bolted up the hallway and turned the corner from which his attackers had appeared previously. What he saw was music to any mandalorian's spirit. The unprotected flank of several squads of Republic soldiers each taking cover on a wall corner or behind a prefab/jerry rigged chest high wall. As he looked on, partially covered by his own wall, he saw something just beyond the group. In his mind he knew who it was but his eyes could hardly believe it. Bane, armor covered with gore and swords slick with blood was wading through the soldiers one after another.
If Itani didn't know he had a job to do he would have just let Bane to his fun... but he was on the clock; they all were. Deftly switching com channels Itani opened on to Bane and anyone in his immediate area.

Oh, is that a knock on the door? Well, I'd best answer it.

Switching his throwing daggers out for a longer one, Itani rounded the corner in earnest, charging up the hallway. His footsteps were mute over the sound of the carnage before him. As he ran Itani saw that Bane had lost one of his swords. All the better for an assassin; a chance to make friends.

I think you dropped something, General.

In mere moments he was among the soldiers, dagger and blaster working simultaneously to end as many lives as he could. Some he missed, some were unsuccessful at piercing anything important, but it certainly did look impressive. Tensing his legs he lunged into a still standing headless soldier and rolled through him grasping the dropped blade with two free fingers and, coming to a halt several arm lengths adjacent to his commander. Grasping the blade Itani tossed it gently to the beast of man he flanked, his fists just concluding their rearrangement of a man's face.

Itani reporting for duty.

The line made him shiver; so cliche. Shrugging he smiled, can't win em all. Dropping his pistol Itani instantly drew another of his toxin laced knives and shifted his gaze to the remaining soldiers. Could he beat them all? No. Did he have to? Well, that's the fun part. Lunging foreword he grazed the shoulder of one man with the poison, the man dropping nearly instantly. Oh yeah; that's the fun part.

[Mara]

It didn't take Ambria long to realize that she wasn't being very effective with her rifle. Yes, she was hitting and dropping targets, but the rate wasn't as quickly as she had hoped for. Republic soldiers weren't always wandering in front of the comm center's entranceway. A quick glance around the rest of the room told her that the rest of her squad of Alpha team were outside, having also gone to join Trin and Bane in face-to-face battle. Except for Valry, who had gone to meet up with the other half of Alpha to rescue the prisoners.

From her hidey-hole, she snapped off another shot, another Republic soldier dropping. Enough was a enough. There was a blur of amber-colored armor as she nimbly ran her way through the maze of consoles and desks out into the courtyard where the real mayhem and... enjoyment was. She was a full lieutenant now, and though her skills with the rifle were almost infamous, Ambria knew she could be a lot more helpful to the rest of her team out in the sortie with the Republic dogs.

An involuntarily war cry escape her lips as she came from the communications center into the full of the courtyard, rifle still in hands. Despite wearing all her armor, she could still move quickly and was almost immediately upon an enemy soldier, his neck twisting in a way it wasn't meant to with a sickening crack from the butt of her rifle. Another soldier received a couple kicks from her booted right foot, one to the solar plexis winding him, another to a knee, crippling him. With no time to grab one of her pistols, she shot a round from her sniper rifle into his temple before standing upright again, looking for her next victim.

She took the time them to shoulder her rifle, securing it on her back, and grabbing her two blaster pistols in the same motion. One looked light and nimble; the other was heavy-duty with twice the distance and firing power. Both were deadly carried in the amber gauntlets. Ambria fired both at once, and two Republic soldiers dropped together, bodies hitting the dirt within nanoseconds of each other, laying dozens of meters apart.

Ambria rushed from enemy soldier to enemy soldier, using her pistols both to silence them with a laser bolt or to give them some extra curvature to their skulls with the back end. The rest of her body aided as well, disabling kicks and punches (when she wanted, or could, put down a pistol, which wasn't often). She hardly noticed the other Mandalorians as her focus was entirely on killing as many Republic soldiers as she possibly could. Her blood boiled with adrenaline as she rushed from target to target. All she saw was blood and death.

And it excited her beyond belief, making her fight even harder.

[Meira]

The smirk that crossed Trin's features because of Itani's comment was wide, and distracting. As she turned her head, laughing slightly at the assassin's words, she was met with an armor clad fist to her helmet. Yes, it smarted something fierce in spite of her helmet. What's worse, it knocked her off balance... and it looked bad. She stumbled backward, but only for a moment. Regaining her balance, Trin allowed the man to advance under his false sense of security. When he was close enough, she struck.

The strike began with a swift uppercut, catching the soldier right under the chin. His head fell back, and his body soon began to follow. But Trin wasn't done with him yet. The three crescent shaped blades on her left gauntlet came down hard on the man's unguarded chest, tearing through the light armor easily and gripping his flesh. He cried out, and was now denied gravity's pull toward the ground. His feet moved to balance himself, even as his chest cleaved to her arm. Eyes wide, his hands gripped her arm as he tried to free himself.

Behind her visor, Trin smiled. Even as the man's weight pulled down on her arm and fatigued the muscle, she held still just a little longer to savor the look in his eyes. But the time came that he had to be let out of his misery. She holstered her pistol for the moment and transfered her knife from her left hand to her right. With merciful speed, she drew it across the man's throat and when the light left his eyes, she retracted the blades back into the gauntlet. The soldier fell to the ground at her feet, and Trin moved on without a backward glance.

Soon, Trin noted Ambria's addition to the party, as well as Itani. Again she smiled at the man's words, even chuckling at his report for duty. He might just make a soldier yet. She thought to herself. But then she shook her head. She might not have known the man for very long. But a feeling in her gut told her this wasn't exactly where he belonged. The thoughts that would follow were quickly pushed aside. She couldn't afford another distraction. This time that might mean a blaster shot to her brain pan. That wasn't very appealing.

Trin made her way closer to her comrades, keeping a mental image of where each one was around her. She didn't want to shoot in the wrong direction. Surely Justic had reached the other team by now? And their vode? They'd all hopefully be joining up soon, because if they weren't, then things might just get a bit hairy.

[Squee]

Valry stood just shy of the computer console, watching the mandalorians step down from their cells. A giant of a warrior was one of the first to approach a dead body. He stooped and picked a blaster from a dead soldier’s holster. Others followed suit, taking other blasters and checking over rifles to assure their temporary use. Valry was smirking, knowing some Republicans were going to be pissing their pants upon seeing a larger number of Mandalorians coming to prey on them.

Her helmet logged movement off to the side, coming from the doorway, and Valry turned her head, raising her blaster halfway to the door. Well, look who it was. It was the second team. Valry’s arm descended once again, and she nodded at the team’s leader.

“Looks like you got here quickly.”

“I tend to make swift of things. Su’cuy. Kinda worried a moment when you didn’t respond to Bane.” Valry detected something icy in the leader’s voice. What was her name again? Valry couldn’t recall and mentally shrugged it off. It did not matter at the moment. “We did achieve. In fact, as we speak, Bane and the rest of my team are having fun kicking Republic ass. I figured we should run and get these guys their armor and join the fray before the bodies run out.” The captured, now freed, mando’ade needed to earn back some pride after this embarrassment.

The giant of a man had, by now, stepped closer to Valry and the team leader. As Valry concluded her sentence to the leader, she swiveled her head around to acknowledge the mandalorian. She returned his salute, her fist touching her breast momentarily… and then stood paralyzed as he stated his name and rank. She barely listened to what had happened and how his squad had ended up behind energy fields. For that still moment, Valry was joyously glad that her visor was reflective.

“Jauran Keyas,” her voice echoed in her head. Keyas was unmistakable, but also could be very vague. With Jauran, Valry was very sure she knew exactly who he was. She stared up at Jauran Keyas, her neck angled back slightly just to see up to his head. He still had blue eyes. “By Mandalore. I knew he would be damn tall. He was already at an impressive size when I left seven years ago.” So many thoughts were passing through her head too fast. She recalled, briefly, the crisis their relationship had been in when she had left with Candar those years ago. It through the awkward wrench into the moment. Would he still be so mad? She couldn’t remember Jauran holding a grudge against anyone for very long in the past, but what if things did change after the experience with Candar?

And yet, still, she was so surprised and off balance by his name. Then she suddenly laughed, her external speakers still flipped on. It was spontaneous laughter, created by her surprise at recognizing her brother and the happiness she felt that she did. “Su cuy’gar, ner vod!” There were no sounds of battle outside. Valry reached up with her hands and depressed the catches of her helmet. The outburst was informal and random, likely to confuse Jauran and the other people in this room greatly without some kind of explanation. While Valry didn’t like to remove her helmet in a war zone, showing her face was the strongest evidence she could give. The black helmet slid off with little struggle and Valry glanced back up at Jauran with a lightening smile. “And seeing you now reminds me that I should have bought you weed killer. I hope you didn’t make a challenge with a tree and have stopped growing by now.” Valry gave the group behind Jauran a casual glance, then back to the one team leader, who seemed to be ignoring them and walking out of the door. “Hopefully we’ll talk later? You guys still need your armor and I’m sure you want to shoot a few soldiers before our time is done.” In swift motion, Valry pulled back on her helmet until it was back in place. With an inviting wave of her hand, she started after the team leader.

[Jace]

One jugular, two jugular, three!The Mandalorian's blades were nothing more than a blur of silver now. Bane worked them furiously, carving up anyone that came near him. He was in the peak of Mandalorian bloodlust, a pleasure one could only enjoy every so often. He still kept himself reserved, even if it was only a little. It was a good thing too, otherwise Itani would have been sliced into ribbons. He merely accepted the blade and then nodded as the boy went to wade into the sea of carnage.

He might just make a soldier yet

That thought was cut off but a sharp pain in his right side. Apparently one of the soldiers he had cut up was not as dead as he thought. He was glad that there was atleast a fraction of a soldier among these pathetic cowards. Thus, he drew his katana, and cut the man's head clean off. The Republic soldier had deserved a clean kill. Bane respected courage, and the will to fight, no matter who they were.

It seemed that the stream of these soldiers was endless, not that it particularly bothered him. Itani had hooked up with them, chances were Valry and the rest of the second squad were on their way here. Once he had got word from them, they would make the final push out of the base. Bravo team may have already completed their mission, and the invasion may have already begun. Comm silence was kept between both squads until their objectives had been completed.

The general spun around and launched a knife right into another soldiers eye. The woman hit the ground, screaming bloody murder. Of course such sounds didn't bother Bane, instead he had turned to his next victim. Three rapid slashes at the midsection, followed by a brutal uppercut sent the man crashing to the ground. A flash of light in the corner of his view, gave Bane the milliseconds he needed to save his right eye. Though it managed to leave a formidable cut on the side of his face. Bane had lost his helmet earlier in the chaos when an overly large soldier crashed his fist into Bane's head. The Mandalorian rewarded the soldier with a knife to the gut.

One more body added to the many piled up. He had taken on multiple injuries but they were minor, atleast to a Mandalorian. The Republic tide seemed to be slowing, the disappointment Bane felt was almost palpable.

[Mara]

((Guess I'll do another beatin' the pulp outta Republic soldiers post... ))


While using her pistols was more than enough fun for Ambria to take down the Republic soldiers they were fighting out in the courtyard near the communications center, she felt a little, what was the word.... bored. Yes, the Mandalorian soldier felt that taking down the soldiers with a short and quick shot to the head or chest was much too easy. They didn't suffer more than a nanosecond or two, sometimes a little more if she had to use up a second killing shot for a particularly motivated but misguided Republic soldier. Besides, she was much more effective with her hands, as she had realized sparring a couple days prior with a comrade.

Ambria holstered her two weapons and secured them, making sure her rifle was tight on her back as well. Then she flexed her hands, rolling the knuckles. And looked for her next target. To get to him, she had to crisscross through bloody bodies splayed around the courtyard, many of them no longer whole, a gift from the general's swords. Even in her armor, she nimbly and quickly made it over to the closest soldier, surprising him from behind with a kick to the kidneys. She took pleasure in the 'oof' that escaped his lips as he stumbled forward but retained his balance. A grin spread across her dark features and her green eyes glittered: a challenge, a worthy opponent.

Before he could turn around, Ambria was before him, striking again, this time with fists to his face. The ugly mug of the Republic soldier was uglied even further with the blows from her amber gauntlets. Bleeding from multiple cuts, the man fought back, and Ambria almost wished she didn't have her helmet on, so he could see the joy she felt in assaulting him, one strike at a time. Seeing him suffer. She blocked most of his efforts at disabling her; the ones that missed glancing off her armor. After a while she just stopped defending, knowing that the continued attacks against her armored body would just weaken her enemy, and she continued on purely on offense.

Finally the man fell to the ground, his face a bloody pulp of unrecognizable features. A quick stomp to the chest with her boot cracked a few ribs. With any luck, she thought, one would pierce a lung and enact a slow death for the man stupid enough to defy Mandalorian will. Her battle-side medical training had allowed her double advantage: she could bandage up her fellows, but she also knew which wounds would be more fatal and used those upon her enemies. She wasn't their medic and didn't have to save them.

With her armored hands still wet from the blood of her enemy, Ambria headed towards her next target, vaguely aware of the others--General Haseful, Trin, Itani--fighting nearby with swords, pistols and fists.

[Deceit *Drinker of Jawa-Juice*]

( Yeah, I know the post sucks. Sue me. )

Jauran took a step back as his sister took her helmet off. He was shocked, overwhelmed with shock. He had no idea where she'd been for several years. The last time he'd seen her, he'd just learned that she was to be off and away with a man she'd known for only a short amount of time, a man who'd humiliated Jauran completely and utterly. And while by this point he'd gotten over many of the things in his past, the sight of her brought many emotions back that he'd not felt in a long time.

The first of which was relief. Relief that she wasn't dead, relief that she hadn't gone broke. Relief that she wasn't in some sick slave trade. All of the terrible things that filled this galaxy, in the end, did not happen to his sister. And most of all, that Valry Justic who appeared before him now was pretty much the same one as the Valry Justic who he'd parted with so long ago. So many changes, and yet he could still see that same person within her, just a little more worldly.

“Su cuy’gar, ner vod! And seeing you now reminds me that I should have bought you weed killer. I hope you didn’t make a challenge with a tree and have stopped growing by now. Hopefully we’ll talk later? You guys still need your armor and I’m sure you want to shoot a few soldiers before our time is done."

The second feeling was rapture. He didn't bellow out laughter at her comments, only a soft chuckle at best and a grin spread across his face, but inside he was ecstatic to see his sister again, and inside he was laughing vibrantly. He was hit with the overwhelming urge to reach forward and wrap his arms around her, to take her breath away with a powerful hug, but the thought of accidentally snapping her in half, and the fact that she was right, kept him from doing any such thing.

She was indeed right, too right for comfort. The middle of a republic base, with soldiers ready to arrive at any moment, wasn't exactly his idea of the perfect family reunion. There'd be a next time, right after this mission. Of that he was sure. For now, he just needed to keep his head down, and keep them both alive, though judging by the fact that she was rescuing him, maybe he needn't worry of her. Another grin came to his face. Irony seemed to follow him wherever, the big man being rescued by the small woman. He shook his head, and as the others moved up, he ordered his soldiers into a formation, "We'll cover the rear. You guys lead the way." His team moved forward, like experts, moving lithely, hardly phased by the missing armor. A mando did not need their armor, although, it was evident that they were uncomfortable outisde of it. Jauran took his place with his group, peeking around a corner to make sure the halls were clear, though he trusted in the special ops team well enough to have covered their own tracks, any number of Republic counter strikes could be ready, and he wanted to make sure he was too. So far, coast seemed oddly clear, which was disappointing.

Because with the finding of his sister and the freeing of many Mando's, he could think of nothing better to cement this as one of the best days of his life ( right underneath coming of age, marriage, and having a child ) than killing a couple of Republic bastards.