Open Invasion Operation Blue Storm: Dubrillion

[Vako Yizok]

"What the frell did you do to my rockets!?" Vako roared at the Weequay sitting in co-pilot chair. They had swooped down low enough for Vako to see the rockets move towards the target and several drift fiercely off target. In all of winged brigands experience that could only be the result of two things, poor maintenance or improper targeting.

... Except perhaps the magic of the force?...

Vako was not interested in entertaining that notion from the darker parts of his past. The Sith were dead, the Empire saw to that. Vako was very well informed and watched his holo-net news, so he knew that couldn't be possible.

Yes, it had to be his idiot crew.

Vako smacked his three fingered hand on the back of the Weequay. "When we get out of here, I'm pulling each of those rockets off your cut! You hear me!? I'll make you pay for every Imperial you didn't make dead today!"

Vako grabbed the handles in the cabin and peered through the viewport. The battle below was turning messy. From what he could tell the Empire had this well in hand. They're lines were easily denotated from their armor and steady advance. Their strafing had done very little.

Vako's listening nodes perked up, he heard a familiar and growing shriek. It was not followed by a pop or explosion of a projectile, it was something else. He looked around attempting to identify the sound until he found it. His eyes caught it, and seeing how the battle had been going he knew well that it was the Empire's response to him.

"Fighters!" Vako screamed over his comms to all LAATs "We've got fighters on us! Break off! Break Off!"

The LAATs were well armored, well able to handle light lasers... but concussions missiles and repulsor engines did not mix.

Vako heard the explosions hit several of his LAATs. Heard the lasers streak. Heard the shriek of the interceptors move through. Heard the dying of an LAAT outside of his own and the explosion of it crashing behind the lines.

"Back to the palace now!" Vako ordered his pilot. "Get low and away from this hellscape. We'll refit and get under the palace air defenses."

Vako had no idea how many of the gunships and crew he'd lost, but he knew that everyone on the ground would see the LAATs retreating after that hit, no matter how hard or soft it had landed.

@Volene @Tic @Sreeya @GABA @Morse @Panda Hermit 98 @Fantasy Liver @Darasuum

 

[Theia Durand]

The palace rocked from explosions again and Theia dropped her datapad as it sparked and smoked. The back-surge of power fried most of the equipment in the room, a majority of the engineers hissed in their aggravation that their equipment was fried. The padawan looked it over, realizing the charred terminal port had critically damaged her device. She looked to the others to see if there was anymore she could do, but they were packing what was salvageable and heading out, looking to set up elsewhere to re-establish a communication system.

Theia didn't follow, and as she re-entered the field, her senses were flooded by death, pain, and desperation as the Chazrech warriors stood as their last line of defense from imperial invasion. It was surreal, difficult to even focus on a thought as she felt a sense of survival, even a hint of annoyance that this sovereign nation had to suffer such pointless chaos and violence. She could see the glow of a reddish saber in the distance, not close enough to pinpoint who, not that it mattered to her, but she must have been too focused for a moment longer than she realized as a Dubrillion solider pulled from the line of fire.

"Careful!" he shouted before returning fire; Theia breathed deeply, reaching into herself as her mind cleared. Her vibroblade hummed quietly against the rest of the sounds of war, her palm extended and the energies of the Force followed, the wave clashing against a line of imperials, but she couldn't stop, this was a dance for justice as she stepped little by little, and a small group of chazrech warriors and Drubillion soldiers followed, attempting to break the imperial line. She didn't have time to stop and think about the injuries she was also inflicting in return, the vibroblade easily sawing through limbs, creating lacerations that would need immediate medical attention. Though, if she didn't have to, she would send another pulse of energy from the Force, causing imperial soldiers to stumble backwards or into their brethren. It seemed enough to ignite a hope in those as she fought beside on the battle field.

@Panda Hermit 98 @Volene @Tic @Morse @Sreeya @Darasuum @Fantasy Liver

 

[Grettzik]

Two rockets, seemingly redirected by the Force exploded over top Grettzik's beloved cafe. Reacting on the instincts that had been honed by years of Matukai training, Grettzik let the Force flow through him as well and sent a Force Push towards the falling debris. It did its job well enough and most of the debris crashed into a bank building instead (no great loss as far as Grettzik was concerned)

But some debris inevitably did strike the cafe, most notably on that charming little sign outside with the painting of the ducks on it. Righteous fury swelled within Grettzik as the sign shattered on the ground.

He would avenge the ducky sign.

Grettzik hefted his wan-shen and began plodding his way to the palace, where most of the fighting seemed thickest. He casually bashed two scout troopers he ran into on the way with some glorious hits that would have surely made the highlight reel back in his water hockey days.

OOC: Dice roll to protect the cafe - 66/100

 

[Kellan Solari]

The skies had already grown thick with cannonfire and smoke by the time Alpha Squadron arrived. Kellan and his fellow pilots weaved lithely through the crossfire, the nimble Interceptors streaking toward the fleeing assault craft. Kellan widened his sensor array’s field of vision and counted the blinking symbols.

“This is Alpha One. I’ve got fifteen Latties (@Morse) breaking towards the palace” he relayed. “Formation Echo-Nine, tighten up and break off into pairs.”

“Copy that.” came the replies.

“Engage in flights.” he continued. “Flight One, on my lead. We'll cut off escape, engage and draw their fire. Alpha Seven, you have point on Flight Two and handle flank duty. Attack from the sides and watch for reinforcements.”

“Copy that, Alpha One.” another round of responses.

“Stay tight, watch their turrets and keep moving.” he said.

The two flights of six fighters branched out from one another, Flight One banking to port to circle round the LAATs and engage them head on. Meanwhile, Flight Two split into two further groups to engage the clutch of gunships from either side.

@Sreeya @Fantasy Liver @GABA @Volene @Panda Hermit 98

 

[Merian Sere]

“Amaï.”

“Mmh?”

“Would you not let my children drown?”

Amaï Mahoe rose from her sunbath into a sitting position. It was a quiet day on Iloh, one of the few they took off as a family, which meant Sahril read, Amaï napped on the sand, and the children looked to see who could hold their breath the longest.

“Our children.”

“Yes, them.”

“They won’t drown.” She lied back down.

“They’ve been at it a long time.”

As if on cue, Lina emerged with a splash, quickly pouting as she realized she gave up first again.

“They won’t drown,” Amaï repeated. “They’re competitive, that’s all.”

“It’s not fair,” cried Lina.

Before anyone could respond, Jamila broke the surface and gasped for air.

“She’s cheating!” she immediately said.

“Cheating? How?”

“My daughter, you accuse anyone of cheating, you better have proof,” grumbled Sahril.

But they all got close to look at Merian. Three feet below the surface, eyes closed, the youngest daughter swayed with the currents, else she would have seemed frozen in time. Every so often, a string of bubbles carried her breath to the surface.

“There! Cheating!”

“Amaï...”

“She’s fine.”

It was a minute more, two, before Merian felt the need to breathe again.

---

She would only have one shot at this.

As she dove deeper below the surface, below the mines, sunlight made itself scarce, further complicating Merian’s task. Stress loomed, but if she let it take control it would rob her of her precious oxygen like she was leaking, leave her a deflating balloon pierced with a needle.

Thoughts would only weigh her down.

Her legs kicked her down some more, and when she was deep enough they kicked her forward, under the minefield. It could only be here for a reason. Merian swam with a hand to the rocky cliff, to help her make up for the darkness. And just when she was ready to give up, to admit she was looking for something that didn’t exist, she saw it.

I knew it.

She didn’t know where it led. She didn’t know if it went all the way. She didn’t know if it would always stay wide enough for her to swim through.

Thoughts would only weigh her down.

When Merian was just learning to swim, her parents would play this game where they placed her in water and asked her to swim into their outstretched arms, only they backpedaled every time she got close. That was how the tunnel felt. By then, Merian knew she didn’t have the oxygen to turn back. If she’d been wrong, she would die. The only way was forward. And the tunnel stretched on. And on. And on.

Merian panicked. From natural and efficient, her movements became frantic, jolty. For the first time in minutes, she saw light.

Artificial light.

The knight propelled herself upward. The light became brighter. As she desperately reached for it, she emerged and finally breathed. A cave. Merian coughed for air. Beside her, where rocks met water, a small submersible marked with the seal of the king of Dubrillion, with extra room for one or two bodyguards. And behind it, a turbolift. She went to it, spiked it, took place inside. Then she reached inside her pouch for her comlink. She never knew comms had ever been down.

“IK-13, IK-5. I’m inside.”

 

[Enya Darand]

Enya's heart found them before her eyes did - a light among the battlefield (@GABA).

Once upon a time, such a presence would inspire and embiggen her, but now, on the opposite end of the warzone, it only served to fill her with dread and shame. One of her former brethren had taken to the battlefield, and now she had to do her duty, like it or not. Despite that, a part of her still hoped that she would be able to remove them from the battle without killing them, but she knew such a hope was vain, at best. The Imperial lines she had hoped to bolster found themselves put upon again, but now they needed to contend with a Force beyond their abilities, but not hers.

When the Jedi sent a wave of the Force toward their lines, Enya was quick to action, thrusting her arm out and countering it with her own, with the hope that the Force of each would cancel each other out. Afterward, she would seek out the Jedi, not particularly hard given she was openly moving through the field wielding her vibrosw- wait what? A vibrosword? The pit in her stomach only grew deeper as she briefly contemplated the implication - either they lost their lightsaber or they hadn't built it yet, and if it was the latter then they were likely...she couldn't kill a padawan. She drew her sidearm and set it to stun, firing two stun blasts toward the Jedi. If she remembered correctly, a Vibroblade wouldn't deflect blaster bolts...

 

[Altair Din]

“Advance!” He called out to his troops now that Alpha Squadron had the LAATs on the run. The waves of Imperials clashed against rows of Chazrach defenders. The Jedi using their powers identified them immediately and Altair saw a few of his soldiers thrown back. The tiefling growled to himself as he advanced with the rest of his men, “Ground soldiers storm the palace!” He switched comm lines, “What’s the status on the factory?”

As Altair kept moving, he spotted a burly figure (@Fantasy Liver )standing amidst debris covered in pastries and cakes. The man looked prepped for battle but Altair had no time for any nonsense. Without warning, the tiefling charged in with a Force imbued punch directly to the man’s solar plexus. With the amount of Force strength he commanded, the hit would likely send him flying through an entire building and take him out of the fight entirely.

With the soldiers making the final push towards the palace, Altair hoped they would take it over soon and win the day.

@Volene @Tic @Panda Hermit 98

 

[Levet Vizsla]

Spoiler: Music

Levet’s focus was on bypassing the Superlaser facility’s archaic cyber security. The clicking and clacking of the rotating computer spike would eventually cease, resulting in the Mandalorian Padawan pulling away and resheathing the spike in the gauntlet from whence it came. “Yus!” He cheered to himself as neighboring terminal flickered with more lights than before, signalling he would be able to navigate the rest of the factory’s records. Throughout the facility some non-essential systems would begin to come back online as a side effect. Power was routed to motion sensor doors, lights and other machines that had previously been off for decades or required manual interaction.

The difficult work was done. Now the youth who dabbled in slicing would begin accessing the archives on the facility’s layout on one such neighboring terminal. Details on past energy readings, materials and design were opened and viewed briefly by Levet. But the padawan was not there to read these details despite being curious about the destructive capability of the superlaser. Instead the Vizsla figuratively drilled into the operating system with forged permissions. He began to modify the integral software and firmware settings, in the process of deleting swaths of data meant for basic infrastructure rather than the vast data of research and development. “This looks important.” It would take too long to delete the data so Levet was going to corrupt it and make it unreadable.

The information in the superlaser facility’s databanks would digitally ‘collapse’ becoming corrupted beyond recovery. The physical structure and perhaps isolated records would have some information, but the primary network that used to connect through the whole island was now non-responsive and inoperable. Anything that was not a standalone device was stuck and required hardwiring in for any chance at working. It would need to be completely wiped and all information would be lost before it could be replaced. Levet hoped the Empire had no intention of using the superlaser, but thus far the Padawan’s hopes had been proven naive. This way it would at least delay any progress towards developing a superweapon. That was the last thing the Jedi needed to add to the list of problems to deal with.

@Sreeya @GABA @Volene @Tic @Panda Hermit 98 @Fantasy Liver @Morse

 

[Grettzik]

Good grief.

The explosion of the case has truly done a number on the building, the street, and Grettzik. The Dowutin had been splattered with Ortolan muffins, Correllian cakes and jogan fruit pies. Fortunately, the monkish robes of the Matukai were fairly easy to clean. Unfortunately, one of the pies had landed on Grettzik's face.

Removing the pie by grabbing the tin, Grettzik was able to see now and immediately saw a little humanoid running towards him like a rat on coke.

Dazed from the explosion, having just recovered his vision and in no kind of combat stance, Grettzik was left with one option.

He threw the pie at Altair's face.

The mushed pie still in its tin, hurtled through the air towards Altair. The tiefling could either dodge the pie in some way or commit to the punch and risk a major case of pastry-in-face.

If it was the former, Grettzik would use the temporary distraction to get into an actual fighting stance with his wan-shen staff. If it was the latter, he'd go sailing through the building as planned although given his bulk and the fact that there now wasn't much left of the cafe to impact on, it was unlikely this would take him out of the fight completely.

 

[Theia Durand]

The line was breaking and Theia could feel it all, it was becoming difficult to block out the waves of death and pain as she did her best to lock down her mind, to separate herself on the frontlines of the battle. Her wave was countered by another Force user, one with sabers clearly indicating they were her enemy and it was likely they will do anything to kill her and the soldiers she was with. The Dubrillion forces started to divide as the Imperials pushed forward, flanking herself and allies and she seemed to draw the ire of the Imperial (@Panda Hermit 98 ) as she raised her blaster.

Theia assumed they were lethal regardless, knowing her vibroblade is not near in comparison to a lightsaber, the nimble padawan evaded the shots, letting them absorbed into the stone ground where she stood previously. The padawan didn't remain still, moving back with the line in an attempt to reform, to regroup as a signal was called to pull back. Theia and a few others begun to retreat, their blaster fire keeping cover clear for others of the Dubrillion resistance to fall back to safer distances, while still keeping the imperials occupied. Theia kept weary if the Imperial Knight followed, or if she was directed elsewhere, but the chances she would just ignore her were slim and the girl remained at the ready as she helped her fighters to safety and out of the death or capture of Imperial forces.

@Darasuum @Fantasy Liver @Volene @Sreeya @Tic @Morse

 

[Vako Yizok]

The LAATs raced back to the Palace, half their number turning around for refit. But the advance of the Imperial military was impressive, awe inspiring really. They had only just come into contact with the enemy and they were already crushing the defenders. The King had an army of well trained, royal, and loyal lizards that were well equipped to stand against invasion, and the Empire was grinding them with the efficiency of a machine built for that sole purpose.

Vako looked out through the view port on the side of his gunship back at the Imperial advance that was as unflinching as it was uncompromising. It was like watching the flood waters of Dagospar crush its sand dunes into dirt.

It put him almost at a point of envy he'd been born on the rim and left to scrounge in situations like this for his whole life.

That did not change the fact that they had bandits all over them, and the situation in the sky was little different than on the ground.

THWAM!!!!!

One of his flanking LAATs was blown to bits by a pair of fighters.

FOOOM!!!!!

Another took laser blasts to the rocket control, burning its repulsors to bits.

THWEEEK THWEEEK THWEEEK!!!!!

Another LAAT fired green lasers as it lost control, the laser striking another LAAT.

"Gendish pirates were a bad call for pilots." Vako bemoaned his situation, realizing he should have paid for better help.

All the while the LAATs directed their weapons back at the fighters. They were faster and strafed over them, but while the LAATs were well armored, enough fighter power would take them to pieces. The remaining LAATs made it to the palace, only 7 of the 15 that had broken off, (and even those had some damaged) landed in its many courtyards just before the Imperials were arriving at the walls.

Air defense guns on the palace were thorough, certainly better trained and prepared than Vako's pilots. They unleashed a swarm of laser blasts at the pursuing fighters. It would not hold the fighters off for long, but it would buy Vako a little time.

"All you Chazraks get out there and defend your king!" Vako roared at the lizards on his gunships. He flapped his wings and moved outside. "Go! Go! Go! All of you! Defend the walls!"

The Chazraks left Vako's LAATs at his urging, dramatically running to repel the Imperials.

Vako watched the lizards dutifully do their part and valiantly head off to either their greatest victory or their final defeat.

Whatever the case his mind was made up.

"Close those doors boys, and lift off!" Vako called out. "We're leaving! We'll hit a bank on the way out to recoup the losses... I don't think the King be in a position to give us our hardship pay."

The LAATs lurched up from the courtyards, doors close, turrets hot and aimed in a formation to only provide cover from the air. They set a trajectory away from the battle entirely, bays with only their own forces and moved to abandon their benefactors.



@Darasuum @Fantasy Liver @Volene @Sreeya @Tic @Morse @GABA

 

[Altair Din]

If his opponent thought Altair was going to be fazed by pie, he was sorely mistaken. The pie collided with the front of his helmet, but it didn’t stop his momentum. He felt his fist connect, driving into the man’s torso and sending him flying back like a scene from Dragon Ball Y. The pain would be intense and the man would have a hard time getting up after such a direct hit. It was less about the buildings he hit and more about taking that punch, after all…

Altair wiped off the front of his visor, mainly displeased at the low quality of the pie than the fact that it hit him in the face. He could make a pie far superior to this garbage.

The tiefling leapt from where he was, dropping down near the downed Matukai.

By now, the Imperials were successfully advancing on the palace. With the LAATs having left and the Chazrach starting to fall back, victory was imminent.

@Fantasy Liver @Tic @Volene @GABA @Darasuum @Panda Hermit 98

 

[Kellan Solari]

The Interceptors of Alpha Squadron raked the gunships like birds of prey, unleashing destructive torrents of laserfire across the armored but largely helpless vessels. The LAATs exteriors were durable but the baleful output of the fighters soon began to prove too much as concussive blasts began to resound from the ships as they made desperately for the palace. One by one they sprouted collars of flame that soon engulfed the plummeting starships.

At Alpha Squadron's lead, Kellan watched his targets fall from the reflective visor of his flight helm with pitiless efficiency. He zeroed in on the lead craft, swinging his ship hard to stern to avoid a gout of its laserfire. The targeting system cheered and he moved his thumbs to the firing stub.

Without warning, a crackle of galvanized energy as his Interceptor’s deflector shields shuddered from the groundfire below. He banked hard and glanced groundward. Who had them in their sites? Below, anti-aircraft turrets belched a steady stream of fire and as the air around his ship began to thicken with fire, he realized he had unknowingly stumbled into its range.

To his starboard, Alpha Four was bearing down on another gunship when the anti-aircraft fire came shrieking from below. Solari clenched his jaw tight as he watched his squadmates Interceptor tremble, the shields give way and then the entire ship burst into a brilliant fireball. He watched for any sign of ejection but as the flaming wreckage fell, saw none.

“Alpha Squadron this Alpha One!” he called into comms, pulled his flight yoke round. “Break off! We’re coming into range of the palace’s point defenses!”

As he watched the remaining, wounded LAATs descend towards the palace ground he felt a twinge of regret at having left any of their number operable. Banking round towards the colliding ground forces, he flipped his comlink to the main Operations band.

“Raging Bull (@Sreeya), this is Alpha One.” he relayed. “Skies above the palace are clear. Watching for bandits and awaiting your orders, over!”

@Fantasy Liver @Morse @GABA @Volene @Panda Hermit 98

 

[Merian Sere]

The turbolift was asphyxiating. Within it, Merian’s Force-enhanced senses pushed their boundaries, wondering what awaited her beyond, yet she could feel nothing past the metal walls so close to her. How quickly she’d gotten used to perceiving the smallest things in her environment. Stripped of that edge for even a minute, the knight felt claustrophobic, vulnerable. Her lightsaber was ignited, ready to fight off a welcoming committee. If blasters were being readied just a meter away, she could not know. Then the moving stopped, and she held her breath. The door opened.

Nothing. The hallway seemed void of life on this level. Void of life, but not completely dormant. Indicator lights on motion sensors and holocams quietly warned they were live, forcing Merian to tread carefully. But the garrison had to be defending the front, focused on the twin-pronged imperial assault.

The main superlaser was not her objective. Not that Merian or the Empire had any reservations whatsoever about using a superweapon, in the right circumstances, but here it would be impossible to use discriminately. Especially now that they were storming the palace like she’d heard in comms.

Instead the lone knight would target the facility’s defenses themselves. Mounted turrets, energy shields and barriers that kept their troops at bay. Without them, defenders would be overrun in short order. And the skeleton crew of technicians left inside were powerless to stop her.

Merian heard footsteps. She didn’t hide. When the man turned the corner—technician, custodial staff?—she grabbed him by the throat before he could scream. His eyes went wide as he hovered two feet above the ground. Defenseless. Merian closed the distance to her victim and sliced him in two from shoulder to waist. His simple blaster she took for herself, as well as an access chip she didn’t know what clearance it carried.

When the alarm rang, it was already too late. She slipped inside the security room, cleared the hapless worker inside, and let the alarm close and lock the door behind her as she started working the defenses.

@Tic @Sreeya @Morse @Fantasy Liver @GABA @Darasuum

 

[Grettzik]

As Grettzik was knocked into the burned-out cafe by the forceful punch, his massive Dowutin physique and Matukai training allowed him to withstand the pain, although it was undeniably intense. He knew he had to act swiftly in order to gain the advantage (or even survive) this unpieable beast.

On the ground, Grettzik used his wan-shen to help him get to his feet and in a combat stance before Altair arrived.

"Any reason you hit me squirt? I was just enjoying some caf!" Grettzik asked Altair, gripping his weapon tightly and preparing for battle. Or a pleasant chat, depending on Altair's mood.

 

[Levet Vizsla]

The Mandalorian Jedi balled both hands into fists and brought them both tight and close to his body as he saw his mischief have an effect. “Ori'jate!” He exclaimed happily as errors started to pop up and lights blinked, panels with lights froze or changed to amber. The damage was done and all of the data on the superlaser was unusable. There was still the chance engineers could reverse engineer it from examining the superstructure but the Vizsla did not have enough explosives on him to destroy the facility outright and neither had the Rebels back in the old days.

This guardian of peace had a commando state of mind. The sabotage was the best that Levet could do in his current situation. <“Alright smart guy, now what?”> He asked himself, continuing in Mando’a and looked around the dark and cavernous facility for signs of a turbo lift down. The padawan knew he was below sea level so he could take the elevator back up to the surface but there was nothing good waiting for him up there.

Having reviewed some of the structure earlier, Levet knew where he could find a means of evacuation. The Padawan was alone on the island as far as he knew and had to get off before the Empire eventually arrived. Something in his gut told him that their arrival was an inevitability. If he stayed here, he would be captured or killed.

On record there were potentially a few submersibles in entrances to underwater caves. The craft were either sport or industrial class vehicles from what the young human could gather. Hopefully they would not be too difficult for Levet to pilot. If that was not an option then he would have to start getting creative. <“Get to the sub, swim out of here.”> The armored Jedi in training set off towards the direction of the turbolift. The young saboteur would take the vehicle waiting for him and make for the nearest city and find a place to evade the Empire.

Exit attempt
​

@Fantasy Liver @GABA @Tic @Sreeya @Morse @Volene @Panda Hermit 98

 

[Theia Durand]

Theia moved back with the Dubrillion forces, the Imperial Knight who seemed to have their attention set on herself disappeared into the growing number of troopers that were storming the palace ground and the castle. There weren't very many soldiers left, and many who once stood in defending their home and values of the Dubrillion people now laid scattered, literally some in several pieces across the battlefield. The padawan, if not for the constant state of shock that she was already in, would have revolted to the sight, but the urgency to remove herself from this area was strong, not only within her sense of the Force, but instinct told her it would be time to leave.

The small handful of soldiers she had moved along with directed her along a path that lead away from the battlefield, still working together to cover one another, the Imperial troopers still followed, but not as many. She knew many were going to stay behind and fight the Empire regardless what happens, though for herself, she would need to find a way off world. Being captured, held and interrogated was not on her plan, and would absolutely have to hide her face for the rest of her life if Ezzie had to rescue her. Theia would be directed by other retreating soldiers on where she needed to go, and to find the right people to help her off-world.

/Exit Attempt

@Darasuum @Morse @Fantasy Liver @Sreeya @Volene @Tic

 

[Merian Sere]

One by one, the facility’s defenses fell as Merian’s manipulations bore fruit. First the turrets firing at the invaders went silent. The shields went down. And finally the energy gates that blocked the main entry vanished, leaving the way clear for a ground assault. Though Merian couldn’t hear it, outside the defenders let out screams of incomprehension as fire from Imperial assault vehicles suddenly found their targets and pounded the facility walls with their high-caliber guns.

It wasn’t long before they opted to retreat inside.

Her deed done, Merian considered taking her lightsaber to the controls to ensure the damage wouldn’t be reverted, but decided against it. That facility would belong to the Empire soon enough.

“All Imperial forces, this is IK-5,” she announced. “The Superlaser facility’s defenses are down. Shields and turrets are offline. The facility is ripe for the taking. Over.”

Only she wasn’t done. As what remained of Dubrillion’s defenders scurried back inside the facility, taking last-ditch defensive positions against the soon-breaching IAF, they wouldn’t be prepared for the invader from behind. Much less someone like her.

Orange blade in hand, Merian marched to meet them.

/exit or /end