Ask Terminating Liberty

[Max Dram]

TERMINUS
07.30am local time​

"Two minutes out Sir"

The towers and spires of the Terminus capital shot by either side of their approach. "You stay low, or I'll have your balls" Max warned the pilot, making sure he wouldn't buckle and pull higher without him there. He had flown enough sorties himself to know that would only increase the danger.

Satisfied, he left the cockpit and stepped back through into the belly of the transport. It shifted and swayed underfoot, the sounds of battle outside audible over the roar of the engine. "Two minutes out" he barked, glaring at the few men still readying themselves. His platoon were all aboard, most of them already locked and loaded for the fight down below. Max Dram didn't tolerate mediocre in his unit.

He glanced through a port and saw the ground was racing to meet them. So far so good. The Imperial assault had seemingly caught the Terminus Defence Force off guard, at least initially. The few patrol ships encountered in orbit had scattered and Max and the rest of the invasion force had been able to launch. Even if the Terminus fleet rallied, the fox was inside the hen house now.

Their mission was straightforward enough. Seize and secure the capital's Central Registry. A cornerstone of government and administration on the planet, it fed into Terminus's vast data banks and would enable the Empire to seize control of communications and infrastructure. Together with half a dozen other key targets being hit simultaneously, its capture would force Terminus to surrender.

"You know who we are" Max said, his voice stiffening the men to silence as the transport banked low. "When we go out that door, I don't want to see forty men. I'm not going to see forty men. I'm going to see one Imperial fist". The men cheered over the creak of the landing gear. "One Empire made flesh. One force that no one can stop". They cheered again and Max hefted his sleek black helmet, turning towards the opening hatch.

"So saddle up boys and do the Empire proud!".

@Charles

 

[Brynjolf Baan]

Spoiler: OOC Theme

Gorr and his men were awaiting for the hatch to open above the great city scape of Terminus. They would be taking an arial approach using jetpacks on their decent into the city. The goal was for the arial team to split the attention of the enemy forces so the ground team could work their way up, sandwiching the enemy into a tight choke hold. The White Wolf was ready to draw blood today and Terminus had been on his hit list for quite some time now.

"They have no idea we're coming," Gorr growled to his men as the hatch began to open, howling wind ripping through the hold. "Masks up! Green means go, and we stay in formation! We are the Empire... We yield to no one." Gorr snarled as the hatch slowly opened. Then, the red light switched to green and the black armored troops all followed the White Wolf as they descended down through the clouds towards their target. Luckily for them, Gorr was able to add scatterweave to the armor they all wore to better hide them from enemy scanners. They would have no trouble reaching to top of the Central Registry port.

"Reaching target altitude in three...two...ONE!" Then, like a murder of crows, the dark troopers all activated their jetpacks to break their fall which caught a patrol off guard. Gorr quickly subdued the squad with his rifle and let his men do their part in securing the perimeter while he and five splicers worked on opening the blast doors. Once inside, they'd have to quickly move through each level until the hit the central data cache with Dram and his men.

@Alhon

 

[Max Dram]

Max and his men sallied forth from their ship like horseman of the apocalypse, bringing death to their enemies as they charged out onto the main plaza.

The Lieutenant was taking aim at his first target when there was a sound like a cannon blast and a hail of heavy fire lanced past his shoulder. Max dove for cover, scrabbling behind a stone wall even as he glimpsed the heavy cannon up ahead. A small group of doughty Terminus soldiers had rigged the weapon up on a raised platform in front of the Registry. They must have acted very quickly when they saw enemy ships in the sky.

"Status report" Max barked into his comm, pleased to hear confirmation that Lieutenant Gorr's assualt team had landed safely in the port on the other side of the Registry. If they could both advance, their pincer movement would catch their foes in a vice. More heavy blaster bolts sailed overhead, striking the parked Imperial transport and sending it up in a ball of flame. Indeed, it was advance or die.

Max gripped his blaster rifle hard. This level of competence from the Terminus defenders was unexpected, and worrying. He prayed the fools had just got lucky. "Alpha, Bravo, peel left" Max ordered, motioning to his second Private Callan to lead his half of the unit down the left flank. "Charlie fire team, covering fire, Delta with me!".

He did not wait to hear them obey, scuttling around the stone wall and sprinting down the right flank. The Terminus soldiers up ahead look startled, but unconcerned, training their weapons on him as they pressed themselves against an ornate security booth.

The covering fire hit them just in time, throwing off their aim and distracting their focus as Max closed the distance and leapt the booth's outer barrier. Steel flashed as he drew his vibrosword from its sheath, cutting down the first men and slashing open the second's throat. He was in amongst them now and the cannon up above would not dare risk hitting their own.

He turned to the next and steel rang on steel as a stocky hostile locked weapons with him. Max grunted in frustration and shoved back.

They could make it hard if they wanted. They would die all the same.

Spoiler: Dice

Roll to see how robust the initial defence is:
D10: 8/10

@Charles

 

[Brynjolf Baan]

"Breaching complete, Sir." The door opened with no problem, and with Dram's offensive, hopefully they would be able to get far enough inside to take a real advantage. "All of you, on me. I want this hallways cleaned and clear of any lingering security personnel. Steal their coms, if you can, so we can predict our enemy's movements." And soon enough, the platoon made their way inside the building, making their towards the main security room.

However, a few militia guards caught the Imperials off guard and set off the alarms. Great. Now Gorr had to deal with whirring sirens that really gave him and his ears and huge headache. Subduing the guards was no problem, but soon there was more than what Gorr had intended on arriving. Now, with the numbers split between Gorr and Dram, Terminus would soon be in trouble.
After Gorr tore apart a guard's throat with his teeth, he fire two shots into another who dropped to the floor, skidding in front of the White Wolf. They must have figured out what Gorr's plan was as they were now falling back into defensive positions near the security detail room.

"Use concussion and flash grenades. We don't want to damage any of the computers." He ordered his men before they took pressed on, Gorr leading the way. After the outer guardsmen had perished, the rest all barricaded inside the security room while firing out of the windows to any who would draw near. Gorr hissed as they were in a bit of a pickle. There wasn't any clear visual on the snipers and there was about half a huttball field of space without any cover the Imps would need to cross to get to the room. "Lieutenant Dram, we've made our way to the head security. Once inside, we'll guide your men to the cache registry. Stand by for further instruction..."

@Alhon

 

[Max Dram]

The stubborn fracker held Max's blade in place, then shoulder barged him hard. The Lieutenant half stumbled, then regained his footing. Who the frack did this guy think he was!

He kept his blade hold with one hand and punched the enemy soldier straight in the face with the other, armoured fist cracking his visor and knocking him backwards. Max went after him, ripping his blade free and slashing at the man's exposed throat, sending him sprawling.

"Advance!" he barked, his order half shout, half furious roar. His men came up behind, leaping from cover and charging while firing. The heavy cannon rang out in response, but fired haphazardly and only hit one or two. The Terminus men could not break the Imperials and they knew it.

Max slid over the barrier at the far side of the booth and started up the steps toward the cannon, far wide of its firing arc. The men behind it seemed to dance with indecision, torn between keeping it firing or engaging with those closing in. One loosed a couple of blaster rounds in Max's direction, catching his shoulder guard as he slid to the floor and rolled a grenade into the cannon emplacement.

It seemed to explode twice, the initial blast followed by a second as the cannon's power cells ruptured. Max pulled his broad form into a protective ball as the destroyed cannon's components scattered across the plaza in a hail of dust and metal.

His comm flickered to life as the roar of the explosion died. It was Lieutenant Gorr. The famed wolf was doing his part "Good going Lieutenant, we've about taken the front yard here".

He paused as another grenade went off over the far side. Six of his men were down, but only two for good and the rest were still standing. "We'll move round to the main door, looks like the Terminus trash will be holding up just inside it. If you can give us any help getting it open, I'll owe you a drink after this".

Spoiler: Dice

Roll to see how much more of a fight the entry guards put up:
D10: 4/10

@Charles

 

[Brynjolf Baan]

Another one of Gorr's men peaked from their cover and was immediately gunned down. Kriffing indoor snipers... The wolf snarled something fierce before popping smoke and moving down the long corridor, thermal vision up and running. He spotted two of the snipers who were now falling back due to the smoke, but they would not escape Gorr's bite. One bolt to the back of each of their heads finished the job, and just in time, too, as the other Lieutenant was finishing up as well.

"I am not cheap, LT. I prefer steak, mhmhm..." He chuckled as he let the rest of his men secure the corridor. The security room was just up ahead at the end of the hallway. It wasn't installed with blast doors but was barricaded in with desks, chairs, and the like.

"And I like it raw- Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot, get that door open now!" And the teams wasted no time to set up the breach charges. After the three team returned behind Gorr, the White Wolf gave the mark and the charges blew. A huge hole where a door should've been was all that was left. Gorr then signaled for his men to keep quiet before following him to the hole. Two soldiers threw in flashbangs before everyone stormed the room to take it by force. By the time Gorr entered, the fight had already been won and the remaining security personnel had surrendered.

"Locate Lieutenant Dram's position and get those doors opened for him." Gorr was not the greatest with all the confusing tech, so he let his men do their jobs. "Make sure you close off any enemy entrances that might want to sabotage our brothers. They need a straight shot to the cache." Max would soon find that making their way passed enemy lines was going to be much easier.

@Alhon

 

[Max Dram]

"Steak it is then" Max chuckled, hurrying around to the Registry's main exterior door. A heavy durasteel security shutter had closed over the ostentatious facade. "I know a little place back home that'll blow your mind".

There was a mechanical creak and the heavy door began to grind open. Gorr's team were good it seemed. Perhaps he'd earn that steak after all.

A stray blaster bolt or two ricocheted out the growing opening and Max and his men pressed themselves again the wall either side, waiting for the door to yawn wide. When it had reached chest height, Max pulled the pin on his remaining grenade and threw it around the corner, hearing it skitter down the corridor inside. Cries and shouts were silenced by the sound of explosion and Max's unit poured into the building.

Half a dozen Terminus stragglers lay dead, torn apart by the force of the grenade in the confined space. The Lieutenant strode past them without a care, hazel eyes fixed on wide steel door at the end of the hall marked Central Cache. The prize was in sight.

"We're at the door of the central cache, Gorr. Once we're in, we'll take their comms and control systems down. An army that can't see or speak doesn't stand a chance". He reloaded and motioned to his cutting team to start breaking through the door.

@Charles

 

[Brynjolf Baan]

Another huff of pleasure escaped Gorr after hearing Dram's confirmation on the Shistavanen's future meal. Though the other Lieutenant's forces would be able to secure the cache, they would still need help defending the perimeter. So, Gorr told one of his teams to stay behind and continue to operate the security room while everyone else was to join Gorr in exterminating anyone who dared cross the perimeter. Silently and carefully, the arial team made quick work of stray guards and planetary defense forces that made their way to the Cache Registry.

"Shit..." Gorr growled as he spotted a heavily armed squad all utilizing heavy repeaters. "Sergeant Shiloh, take your men around and flank these karkers from behind. Everyone else, we strike on my command." This ambush was going to be bloody, but Gorr needed to make sure none of these brutes made it to Dram and his men. The clanking of their heavy steps got closer...closer...not yet...NOW.

"Open fire!" The squad seemed to be ready and fired a barrage of blaster bolts into Gorr's front. The White Wolf took three shots to the side and yelped from the searing pain that burned in his gut. But Gorr wasn't finished yet- the flank had arrived just in time to split the heavy troopers' attention. The Shistavanen lunged for one of the troopers ripped out his throat before sweeping the second one of his feet with a low kick. After prying the repeater from the trooper and using it to finish him off, Gorr slumped his back against the corridor wall.

"I'm hit...bloody fuckers...I'll send the remainder of my men to you." One of the sergeants looked at Gorr with surprise. "Sir, one of us can stay behind- Medic! We need a medic!" Gorr grunted and got back to his feet. "All of you... You heard me... Get to Lieutenant Dram. Now!" Everyone but two medical units left the White Wolf behind. Don't screw this up, Maximus... You owe me a meal...

@Alhon

 

[Max Dram]

They had come prepared for this particular security door and it soon yielded to the cutting team's equipment. The heavy bolts were cut in two and Max's team shouldered their weapons and forced their way in.

The room was vast, row upon row of databanks blinking and humming in a recessed section in the centre. "Fan out" Max ordered, motioning to his secondary fire teams to take up position on the surrounding gantries. The room appeared unstaffed and uninhabited, but his men would have a strong vantage point from above if that changed. "Lets get this done". His comms chief hurried over to a large console overlooking the databanks, opening up his kit and connecting ports. "How long is this gonna take sparky?"

"Hard to say Sir, the - er - system is in some sort of lockdown" the private replied, keying the controls "we didn't quite model this - maybe twenty minutes".

"Make it ten" Max replied firmly. By now word of their incursion would have spread. If he was the Terminus defence forces, he would have thrown everything at them now.

Gorr's orders crackled over the comm, sending his men Max's way. The wolf was a real team player and Max gritted his teeth on hearing he'd been hit. "Get your asses here" he shot back "I have two medics in my unit and we can get any of your guys back on their feet".

As if on call, the sound of booted feet running on steel began to echo in the hall outside. That was quick. Too quick.

There was a cry of warning from his sentries before the door burst open and a dozen or more Terminus men ran into the room, firing bolts and swinging blades wildly. They were panicked and seemingly leaderless, but perhaps never more dangerous.

Max barely had time to dodge a man's blade before they crashed to the floor together, wrestling for superiority.

@Charles

 

[Brynjolf Baan]

"You're going to have to take things easy, Lieutenant. Maybe we should head back to the-" A sharp growl cut the medic off as Gorr steadily got back to his feet. "I am not leaving Dram behind. We're...so...so close. I'm not giving up now." The medic gave a nod of his head and smiled at his officer. "We'll get back to Dram then, shall we?" The second medic saluted and made his way further ahead of Gorr and Corporal Gibs. "I hear blaster fire... They're under siege." Gorr noted, pausing to sniff the air.

"This way... They don't know we're here." The White Wolf used the FWMB repeater as a cruch as he hobbled down a different corridor. "We'll come from behind- grab that last repeater, we'll need everything we've got to make three men feel like three hundred." Both field medics went back to grab the remaining heavy weaponry and helped escort Gorr down the flank-corridor. Now, they were right behind the Terminus forces who dared strike Lieutenant Maximus in the back.

"On my mark..." Gorr crouched so he could mount the repeater on the side of the corridor. "Three...two...ONE!" The Shistavanen let the heavy repeater's wrath upon the Terminus guards, spraying the entourage in the back. It was perfectly timed, too, as now Max would be joined by Gorr's forces as well. This push was going to work- It has to work...

@Alhon

 

[Max Dram]

The Terminus soldier was fighting for his life. He was frantic, determined. Strong.

But not as strong as Max. There were few men taller, broader, stronger than Maximus Dram. He had spent years honing himself into the perfect soldier. The perfect instrument of Imperial will. And he'd had it with second-rate toy soldiers getting in the Empire's way.

He shoved the man aside violently, grabbing him by the throat and pressing him against the floor. The knife from Max's boot was in his hand in seconds, before he buried it deep in the enemy's throat. He watched impassively as the life went out of the man, the light vanishing from his eyes. He would end all of them.

Blaster fire rang out, a hail of repeating bolts that could have signalled the end. But Max knew that sound; Imperial blaster rifles. Allies, not enemies.

"Gorr you beautiful wolf!" Max roared into his helmet comm over the hail of blaster bolts. It was obviously the other Lieutenant charging the rescue, and doing a fine job of it. Terminus soldiers went sprawling left, right and centre, as the Imperial defenders regained the high ground.

Within a few minutes, their enemies were spent. Dead or dying on the floor of the cache. Max rose to his feet, daring to remove his helmet as he climbed back up to the main console.

"Tell me you have control?"

"Yes Sir" the comms chief replied, uncertainly stepping back from the controls "would you like to do the honours?" he gestured to the illuminated shutdown button now primed to terminate Terminus comms and digital infrastructure.

"Frack yes". Max pressed the button down hard, the taste of victory in the air.

@Charles

 

[Brynjolf Baan]

After the last of the Terminus men fell, Gorr sighed with relief and let his posture sag a bit. The bacta spray was doing it's job, but the wounds in the wolf's gut were definitely going to hurt in the morning. But no pain could quench the overwhelming feeling of victory that swelled within the control room. Everyone was celebrating in their own way, whether it be taking guards as POWs, lighting a smoke for a fellow soldier, or collecting the dog-tags left behind from the fallen.

"Well done, Lieutenant!" Gorr chuckled, which turned into a cough. "Now about that steak..."

/End Thread

@Alhon