Ask Boots On The Ground

[Asher Teric]

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In truth, Asher was still adjusting to the rapid changes underway across the Empire. It had only been a few weeks since the Lieutenant was recalled from the southern warfront, effectively conceding the territory to the ISC. The proclamation of the New Order and expulsion of the Sith Order had sent waves throughout the Galaxy, fundamentally changing how the Empire had operated for decades. It meant that Imperials were hard at work, aggressively responding to reports Sith activity and quelling any opportunistic rebellion.

Nevertheless, Asher couldn’t deny being more hopeful than ever. He had long struggled to align himself with the ideology of the Sith Order, and had quietly seethed beneath their oppression. The proclamation of the New Order gave him hope that the Empire could evolve into something to be proud of - and it filled him with a desire to protect their new regime from any threat, internal or external.

Kalee was Asher’s first assignment on that task. For years, the homeworld of the Kaleesh had been a loyal member of the Empire - having secured the allegiance of the last Khagan and his tribe. The recent death of their leader, however, had left a power vacuum on Kalee - and an opportunity for more traditionalist, xenophobic elements to arise. Reports indicated that a new, self-proclaimed Khagan had begun leading a raiding party across the planet - gathering support to his cause and quashing dissent. It wasn’t an uncommon occurrence on the warlike planet,

Save for the fact this new Khagan advocated for the expulsion of the Empire from Kalee - and had razed an Imperial garrison only four days prior. Their objective was to locate and eliminate the Khagan as soon as possible - aiming to put down the would-be revolutionary before he gained enough support to seize the capital of Kaleela.

For the moment, Asher stood at the outskirts of his encampment - lazily drawing from a cigarra. He was adorned in his standard IAF armor, though the helmet was removed and neatly placed onto a nearby Boulder. His black hair was combed and styled professionally into place, while his face was clean shaven from the morning.

The Lieutenant and his platoon had made landfall on the planet a day prior, establishing a makeshift camp on the edge of the Kunbal Jungle. Their tents and supplies were discreetly camouflaged into the surrounding vegetation, with the hopes of maintaining a low profile for the time being. While his men prepared for an excursion deeper into the wilderness, Asher allowed his gaze to sweep the horizon expectantly. He was informed that a specialist from the Foreign Legion would be joining his expedition, one who seemingly had a far better understanding of the wilderness than his platoon.

With little other details, Asher waited patiently - head tilted back against stones behind him.

@Sreeya

 

[Shale Vizsla]

To his surprise, Asher would spot a Mandalorian walking his way. She was adorned in jet black beskar’gam. Immediately, the platoon soldiers gave her some space, several of them noticeably nervous. In truth, Shale was the uncomfortable one. She had never spent this much time around aruetii, and it made her far more uneasy than she would admit. She wasn’t around her people, her clan, didn’t speak her own language and everyone thought she was going to punch them in the face without notice. Well, the last part was 50/50 factual.

She came to a stop before the cigarra guy that would gravely disappoint Smoky the Ewok, “Ensign Vizsla reporting for duty,” She said. Shale paused for a moment before remembering to add on a salute in the Imperial custom. Teric was the commanding officer here, and she would show the proper respect.

“I scout perimeter when I first arrive,” She said with accented Basic, gesturing out around her, “Clear in immediate area, but potential rebel camp located…eh six miles,” She pointed in a particular direction, “Heavily guarded. They may..know you here already.”

@Altaris

 

[Asher Teric]

Asher couldn’t help the almost comical look of surprise upon spotting Shale - immediately able to pick the woman out from his camp of Imperials. While he had been informed that the specialist was Foreign Legion, the Lieutenant had expected some Gand Mercenary or Ubese Bounty Hunter to roll into the camp. Instead, his green gaze traveled across the heavily armored figure - the beskar’gam and T-visor immediately signifying her Mandalorian heritage. It had been a while since the collapse of the Mandalorian territories, and their alliance with the Empire had been shaky at best.

But if their reputation was to be believed, Asher was grateful - and maybe a little bit intimidating, just a hair - to have Shale amongst them.

He stared for a moment, allowing the cigarra to barely hang from his bottom lip until the woman came to a halt before him. The Lieutenant straightened a bit when she finally spoke, announcing herself with a salute. Asher nodded, and promptly extended a hand to shake her own - commanding officer or not. “Lieutenant Asher Teric.” He said, “Pleasure to have you on,”

Asher took one last draw from his cigarra before putting it out - giving Shale his full attention. His eyes narrowed ever-so-slightly upon hearing the enemy was.. As close as they were. It was a reminder this wasn't their planet, and they were starkly out of their element.

“Hm,” He glanced back to his own platoon - still in the midst of preparing for an outing. “Any visuals on their numbers?” He asked after a moment, considering their next course of action. If the enemy had already taken position deeper in the jungle, chances are they were already preparing for an assault by Imperials.

He crossed his arms. “If a detachment of our men hits their camp from the front and flees deeper into the jungle, we may be able to draw them out of their camp. While the rest of our men hit their flank.” Asher arched a brow towards Shale. Commanding officer or not, she was Mandalorian and had a better understanding of their terrain than Imperials dude. He didn’t have his head so far up his ass to disregard any input she might have.

 

[Shale Vizsla]

“They know terrain well,” Shale remarked, “Were camoflauged and way they walk suggest lots of traps,” She pondered on his idea, “If we send people, they fall into trap and most will wipe out before escape to jungle,” Shale shrugged, “I think we take small group to scout and study their camp.”

They simply didn’t know how the enemy here operated. The self proclaimed Khagan was a native. While they may not have been stocked up on a lot of modern weapons and explosives, they knew the forests and fauna like the back of their hand, and they could run circles around Imperials.

“We wait till night,” She said, “And then we make our way.”

@Altaris

 

[Asher Teric]

Asher listened to everything that Shale had to say, quietly nodding along towards the Mandalorian. In truth, he wasn’t entirely surprised to hear that the enemy was so deeply entrenched, nor that they’d likely trapped the surrounding area. Kaleesh were known for being warriors of legendary quality, but it wasn’t necessarily good information to digest. It meant his plan was, as Shale pointed out, not the wisest move to begin with.

“Agreed,” He nodded. “You and I will head a scouting party deeper into the jungle after sundown.” The Lieutenant began to make his way back towards the camp, jutting a chin for Shale to follow. As he walked, Asher pulled a small packet of mints from his pack - popping once of them to the roof of his mouth. His smoking habits became more and more prevalent during stressful missions, but that didn’t mean he enjoyed smelling on an ashtray. “Hope you don’t mind hiking in all that armor.”

He didn’t miss some of the nervous glances that came from other men and women in the camp, though largely paid it little mind. “Mandalorian are rare around these parts, especially now,” He glanced back towards Shale once they reached the center of the camp. There were a few rations and being passed around nearby by others. “What made you come to Foreign Legion?” He asked after a long moment, staring back at Shale. He casually snagged a bottle of water for himself, still having a bit of time to burn.

Of course, he couldn’t help but notice the rumble across the horizon. Dark clouds rolled from across the sky, while visual flashes of lightning illuminated their mass. Asher couldn’t help but frown at the sight, knowing full-well that the storm was likely to hit within the coming hours.

@Sreeya

 

[Shale Vizsla]

Shale grinned beneath the helmet at his words, “This armor to me like skin to you,” She explained. Beskar’gam felt like a second skin to Mandalorians. They knew how to move quietly in them and how to twist and turn with jetpacks. They had time to kill and she had to remind herself that wandering off alone wasn’t exactly necessary.

The soft rumbling above caught her attention, and she knew they’d have to combat a storm at night. Even then, it was better to travel after dark than to be sitting ducks during the day. His question caught her off guard. Why were aruetii always so nosy? It was perplexing, and she doubted any of them actually cared to know her story. Nevertheless, she would humor him. She leaned back against a tree, crossing her arms.

“Trying to figure out what to do with my skills. Thought maybe Imperial army,” She said with a shrug, “You born in Imperial territory?”

@Altaris

 

[Asher Teric]

Asher flashed a half grin towards Shale - glancing over his shoulder to the Mandalorian. He wasn’t entirely surprised by the answer, given what he knew and about her culture. Even still, it would always be wildly impressive to the Lieutenant that anyone could perform such feats in full armor and with more weapons than he could keep track of. “So I’ve heard,” He finally said with a nod, viridian gaze flicking back ahead and to the camp. “If half of what I hear is true, I’ll be happy to have you covering my ass.” He said with a smirk.

As they reached the ratios, Asher didn’t hesitate to pull an energy bar from the packets. They’d be on the move soon, and the Lieutenant wasn’t going to waste an opportunity to get some calories in while he could. It was a rare look at soldiers on their downtime - but likely not something Shale would be unaccustomed to, given her background. Wordlessly, Asher picked up a bottle of Imperade from the bucket - the standard-issue sports drink that was handed out to soldiers. He handed it over to Shale, paused for a few seconds, and followed up with a straw that would probably work with her helmet.

“Mhm,” He hummed with a chew, swallowing his bite full of food. “Born and raised on Raxus Secundus.” It was the Imperial Capital and seat of government now, which brought significantly more activity to his homeworld. Before that? It had merely been another planet that constituted the Sith Empire. “Enlisted in IAF as soon as I coud.” Asher tilted his head back against a crate, glancing towards the jungle around them. It was primal and ancient - and filled with predators of all variety, sentient or otherwise.

“Kalee might be Imperial but.. It’s about as far from home as it gets.” He said with an exhale. As they spoke, Asher could begin to feel the hints of rain start to sprinkle against his face - signifying the first drizzle before the deluge that was still rolling in. He opened his eyes after a moment, smirking a bit to himself.

“Maybe you have the right idea with the helmet.”

Regardless of what she said, they wouldn’t have nearly as much time to sit and relax. Out of nowhere, the jungle shifted and bushes rustled - as a volley of circular, curved blades were thrown from the cover. They whizzed through the air and caused the Lieutenant to instinctively duck downwards. Shale would feel one of them graze against the metal of her armor without doing any damage, while another buried deep into the face of a nearby private in the middle of chugging his Imperade.

“Kaleesh!” Asher barked, immediately reaching for his blaster once more. Whoever was attacking them didn’t emerge from the brush, deliberately using the environment to their advantage.

@Sreeya

 

[Shale Vizsla]

It was a curious thing - in Mandalorian culture they looked up towards the higher command to protect the rest. In other militaries the officers relied on the enlisted to cover their backs. The concept was strange to her, but she was quickly learning how to operate among them. Shale took the proffered drink, though she grimaced at the taste, “I miss Emryc Energy,” She confessed. Unsurprisingly, it wasn’t exactly in circulation within Imperial space while a war was going.

Without warning, blades flew through the air. The rain had made it difficult to hear anything and the Kaleesh took advantage of that. She didn’t duck, but she had faith in her armor. One of the blades collided with her armor, but slid harmlessly. Some of the others weren't so lucky, a few enlisted stabbed in the face or neck as they dropped.

“Get down!” She shouted to the others, though she didn’t do the same. Shale ventured towards the noise, keeping behind trees and other cover. She trusted her armor and the HUD within her helmet. The storm was getting worse, but she had worked in worse conditions.

Shale leveled her rifle and shot a figure in the distance, but she didn’t stay there, quickly shuffling away as arrows and other thrown weapons hurled her way. She hoped Asher would capitalize on her drawing all the heat to herself to flank the group with his men.

@Altaris