The Phaeda Triumvirate

[Devrim Wolfe]

theme — dice thread​

The time had come.

Having poured through the reports of the destruction and terror that was wrought upon the system by the Phaeda Triumvirate, Devrim was intent on putting a stop to it this very day. Having dispatched several other rebels on multiple assignments to assist him in doing so, the crime syndicate would be struck on all sides, and though their might was great, they would be unable to withstand the combined efforts of the Galactic Alliance. Even now, rebels had arrived in the hangar bay and were wreaking havoc on the pirate's starships in the base. While Devrim and Toland had also landed on the first of Phaeda's two small moons where the headquarters was located, they would not be joining the others in sabotaging the ships. Today, they had much bigger fish to fry.

"You ready?" Devrim asked quietly of his fellow rebel, ramming a fresh power pack into his trusty R5R and loading the first round into the plasma chamber. Taking a moment to peer at his beloved semi auto blaster, he realized that it had been his constant companion throughout most of his assignments in the Galactic Alliance. And rather unlike his DH-7 and Quickdraw pistols, it had not failed him yet. Devrim pressed the gun into his shoulder and crouched behind the box of crates that lay strewn about in the weapons manufacturing facility. Having gone there first after arriving, the two rebels were surprised to find that right now, despite being fully stocked with supplies and materials for crafting ammunition and weapons, the assembly line had halted and the facility was quite empty. "The workers must have been called to fight elsewhere," Devrim muttered under his breath. While certainly a nice surprise, they needed to get moving to find their targets. Their three targets.

"They must be in the barracks," the dark-haired rebel concluded. The passageways leading upwards to the living quarters above ground were well-marked, but Devrim suspected they would find opposition and bodyguards in their path. "That staircase, over there," the rebel stated, pointing out said stairs off at the other end of the weapon manufacturing facility. Stepping out from behind cover, he quickly and quietly made his way through the lines of conveyor belts, supply crates, and workshop tables. If the rebels could seize all this equipment as well as take down the criminal syndicate in one fell swoop, then it would be a great victory for the Galactic Alliance indeed. This manufacturing facility would be a priceless addition to their efforts in the war.

@Shalken​

 

[Toland Vult]

Though the workshop's great forges were silent, the building was no less formidable to behold. A wide array of guns, missiles, bombs, and many other various munitions and firearms stretched out across the many workbenches before them. It would prove to be an essential asset to the Alliance in keeping their forces supplied and well-armed in the coming conflict against the Empire. However, this sector was controlled by the Triumvirate, a powerful group of warlords that would stop at nothing to maintain their tight chokehold over Phaeda. Today, their tyranny would end.

Toland nodded as he checked the charge level of his own R5R. "As ready as I'll ever be." All things considered, it was eerily quiet in the workshop; the ex-Imperial couldn't help but feel like they were walking into a trap. What's more, while they could do plenty of research about the Triumvirate's horrible misdeeds, there was little to nothing on their tactics in battle. "This could go south really fast. Keep your head down, and be ready for anything." Weaving through the tables of equipment, Toland made his way to the staircase that led to the upper levels. Ascending the first flight up to the landing, Vult turned about to go up the second staircase when he saw a very large man pointing down accusingly at him, with three bodyguards beside him taking aim. "PUT DOWN THE INSURRECTIONISTS!" The large man bellowed, adorned in a very expensive-looking suit of armour that looked more ornamental than functional. With that, the bodyguards opened fire, forcing Toland to retreat down the staircase. Ducking and rolling to use the banister as cover, a bolt singed the top of his helmet as he fell back.♦

Needless to say, they were in a predicament. The two rebels would not be able to attack the guards without presenting themselves as a target, and the bodyguards had the drop on them. However, they wouldn't be Rebels if they weren't resourceful. Toland drew a concussion grenade from his belt, indicating silently that he would throw it onto the landing. As he looked at Devrim, however, Vult spotted a line of perfectly functioning RPGs♦ laying on a table nearby, which he pointed to. Such a weapon would certainly come in handy. Once Wolfe had grabbed one and returned, Toland released the flashbang, rolling it to the far end of the landing. Not expecting the invaders to be so well-equipped, the bodyguards were all blinded by the explosive; however, Vult was unable to shield his ears properly in time and was momentarily deafened as well.♦ Despite his injury, they had a perfect moment to execute a surprise attack, and Toland would not let such a minor injury impede his ability to fight.

@Vosrik​

 

[Devrim Wolfe]

Nodding in acknowledgement, Devrim understood that they were certainly outnumbered against these elite leaders of the Triumvirate. Each one likely had their own array of special weapons, armour, or bodyguards to defend themselves against attacks such as these. Sure enough, upon ascending the first flight of stairs to reach the barracks, one of the Triumvirate found them. While the man himself looked rather ill-suited for combat, his three bodyguards were quite the opposite — heavily armed and likely the best that money could buy. As he was following Toland, Devrim was not in immediate danger from the first volley that the mercenaries sprayed in the direction of the rebels.

Noticing the concussion grenade that his companion extracted from his belt, Devrim prepared to react accordingly if the guards were disoriented from the burst. While initially preparing to shoot with his R5R blaster, he saw Toland point toward one of the many racks of weapons that had been built in the facility. Not having taken the time to look at them before, Devrim now saw that a row of RPGs, or rather PIPEs, were quite ready to be used. A smirk tugged at the edge of the rebel's mouth as he slung his blaster rifle onto his back, retrieving and loading the heavy weapon. This'll be fun, the dark-haired rebel thought excitedly as he shouldered the beast and aimed down the sights.

Pressing the trigger as the concussion grenade detonated, a rocket flew from the PIPE — ultimately missing Devrim's target as he was also affected by the grenade's flash of light. ♦ Striking the solid wall, the shock wave washed over the mercenaries, who raised their weapons and sprayed into the direction of the rebels. Dropping the PIPE and diving for cover, Devrim felt the hot burn of plasma singe the unarmoured part of his thigh — barely missing him in the process. Patting it down to keep any flames from igniting on the fabric, the rebel grabbed his R5R again. Time to go back to what he was used to fighting with.

Kneeling up against one of the facility workstations, Devrim brought his blaster rifle up and sent two shots toward the guards. Despite being well-armed, they were still in an enclosed area and were unable to dodge away from the incoming blaster fire. Two of them took bolts straight to the chest, dropping with burning holes in their armour. ♦ "Get that last one, Toland!" Devrim shouted over the din of combat.

@Shalken​

 

[Toland Vult]

At Toland's discretion, Devrim quickly went and picked up one of the PIPEs that lined the nearby table, shouldering the hefty weapon and firing its payload towards the guards at the top of the staircase. Unfortunately, the concussion grenade had affected both of the Rebels negatively as well as their intended target, and so the PIPE's shot went wide of its mark and broke a portion of the wall. The guards opened fire in retaliation, and though part of Wolfe's outfit was singed, he managed to dodge away otherwise unscathed. Recovering quickly, the burly Rebel fell back on his trusty rifle, felling two of the bodyguards and leaving the rest for Toland to clean up. Their situation remained precarious, and the only way the ex-Imperial agent could get a clear shot was by putting himself back into the direct line of fire of his opponents. Sliding out from behind the banister, Toland propped his R5R into his shoulder and squeezed off three rounds — one at the remaining bodyguard, and two at the head honcho himself who was currently occupied with verbally ripping his last living soldier to shreds. The first bolt struck the bodyguard right in the temple, mortally wounding him; shocked and furious, the large warlord drew his own pistol and squeezed off a round right as Vult's two shots seared a hole through his chest. Though Toland avoided taking major damage, the single pistol shot glanced off his pauldron.♦ Slowly rising to his feet, he commented with a light chuckle, "Maybe the PIPE wasn't a great idea after all." It was messy, but they managed nonetheless.

Moving down a long hallway, they approached another large room that appeared to be completely empty. The lights were all shut off, leaving the two rebels to rely on their own gun-mounted lights to see clearly. Suddenly, the loud whirring of a large machine roared in a corner, a large light suddenly illuminating Devrim and Toland. They would have enough time to make out the shape of a large automated turret before diving for cover. "HAH! Look at you cowards run and hide!" a voice mocked from the other side of the room, opposite the heavy turret. "What do you think we make with this workshop, eh? Watches and gizmos? Tremble and cry, as I unleash my greatest—" Having rambled for so long, Toland took the opportunity to slide out from behind the overturned table he hid behind, staying out of the turret's line of sight while bringing him within range of the rambling Phaeda boss. Whether on foot or lying prone, the Rebel soldier's aim was true, and he quickly silenced the man for good with a barrage of blaster fire.♦ Unfortunately, that was only half the battle, and the turret definitely wouldn't go down as easily.

@Vosrik​

 

[Devrim Wolfe]

Sure enough, Toland showed his proficiency with a rifle and slew both the final bodyguard and the leader himself. ”One down, two to go,” Devrim muttered as they both continued onward. Hearing his companion’s comment, the dark-haired padawan looked down at the PIPE that he had cast aside after using it. ”You’re right,” he replied, turning away from it as they moved past it. ”But it was still pretty fun to shoot.” Silence falling between the two as their mission was not yet complete, Devrim steeled his nerves to prepare for the enemies they were about to face.

Upon finding the next of the Triumvirate, the rebel realized each one must have been in command of a different section of the base — one for manpower, one for weapons, and one they hadn’t met yet. Diving for cover along with Toland, Devrim sprayed plasma fire in the direction of the turret master to occupy his attention. His tactic seemed to work, as Devrim’s companion took out the criminal boss mid-monologue. However, they still had the issue of the automated turret still firing continuously on their position.

Leaning back against the crate that he’d taken cover behind, Devrim decided to do something he’d never attempted before. Closing his eyes, he relaxed and allowed the Force to flow through him and guide his actions. Surprisingly, despite the harrowing situation, the Light gave him peace and clarity unlike anything he’d ever experienced in the heat of combat. Extracting a concussion grenade from his belt, Devrim primed it and hurled it underneath the stationary metal armament. His aim was true, and the explosion immediately disabled the turret. ♦ Hearing it power down as the continuous plasma fire ceased, Devrim’s faith in the Force only grew. Though Toland may not have been able to see it underneath the white helmet, Devrim was smiling.

Passing further through the corridors of the barracks, they finally came upon the central hub of the moon base. There, at the helm of a strategic holotable stood the final surviving member of the Triumvirate. It was a woman, clearly the commander of the syndicate’s naval branch. Dressed in regal clothing and armour befitting a leader, this one seemed to have a much better head on her shoulders than the other two.

”So you’ve taken out the two bumbling fools?” she inquired, her powerful voice resounding toward the doorway that the two rebels were taking cover from. ”Good! Now once I’ve dealt with whoever you are, I’ll take over the whole operation myself.”
Drawing an ornate pistol from the folds of her trenchcoat, Devrim peered around the corner to see that she wielded a highly dangerous disruptor. Though he’d never actually seen it in use, the broad-shouldered padawan had heard of its destructive capabilities — simply vaporizing whatever it touched. Upon seeing Devrim peek out from his cover, the woman raised the disruptor in his direction. ”Die,” she commanded, firing off a shot that impacted the wall. He knew they wouldn’t want to get hit by that thing or it would mean their deaths for sure.

@Shalken​

 

[Toland Vult]

Though Toland had managed to eliminate the second warlord, he quickly directed his attention back to the armoured machine in the other corner as it scanned the room, searching for a new target. The rebel took a short breath in and out in preparation for the next fight. Ultimately, as he quickly discovered, his assistance would be unnecessary. Toland initially expected the turret's armour plating to be tough and quite resilient and resistant to damage; however, through either experience, instinct, or a plain stroke of luck, Devrim's simple concussion grenade found the droid's weak spot underneath its chassis, creating enough kinetic force to disable the construct entirely. Pausing a few moments to ensure that the turret was no longer functional, Toland emerged from behind his makeshift cover. "That was lucky. Who knew that thing would get knocked out by a mere flashbang?" he asked rhetorically. There was no time for celebration yet, with one more warlord left to go.

Reaching the central command hub of the station, Toland kept his R5R shouldered, prepared to react to the final leader's actions. Initially her speech indicated that she never liked the other two of the Triumvirate, potentially opening the opportunity to work alongside them. However, after punctuating her statement by drawing forth an extremely deadly blaster, Toland put aside those thoughts in lieu of diving for the nearest piece of cover as fast as possible. Pressing his back to the console desk, he called out to the woman, "Perhaps we can come to an agreement, then! You report to the Alliance, and we allow you to oversee operations here." He was forced to move away from touching the desk as the metal back was suddenly superheated from a disintigrator blaster bolt. "You rebels really are quite dim. Phaeda belongs to me; go find someone else to be your puppet."♦ Toland huffed lightly, his attempt at persuasion ultimately futile. "Well, no harm in trying," he murmured to himself. Figuring that the woman's gun was still trained on him, Toland realized he would need some kind of distraction to avoid getting shot as he emerged. Grasping an empty powerpack from his belt, he chucked it out from the left of the desk as he emerged from the right. However, it seemed the warlord didn't even notice the powerpack, immediately training her gun on the ex-imperial as he peeked out from cover.♦ With only seconds to react before being vaporized, Toland suddenly called the Force to his hand, releasing it suddenly in a wide blast towards the woman. Not expecting this kind of attack in the slightest, she was knocked from her perch on the holotable and sent sprawling across the floor, the powerful blaster knocked several feet across the room away from her.♦ If Devrim needed a safe opening to attack, it was now or never.

@Vosrik​

 

[Devrim Wolfe]

The woman's utter rejection of working with the Alliance was not surprising to Devrim — this woman had likely spent most of her life in control of people, and certainly wouldn't want to give that up simply because her literal partners in crime were dead. This woman was a survivor, and she would rather die than give up her position as a leader of the crime syndicate on Phaeda. Looking over at his companion, Devrim gave Toland a shrug with an expression that said, "Oh well, nice try." The rebel sprang into action, tossing a power pack as some sort of distraction, but ultimately utilizing the Force to knock down the rebels' target. Impressed by Toland's utilization of Telekinesis, Devrim rose from his position behind cover and leveled his R5R blaster at the Triumvirate leader.

Despite being so well-armed a second before, she clearly did not expect these two rebels to have the Force on their side. With the lethal disruptor out of her hands, she was defenseless and sprawled across the ground on her back. The dark-haired Jedi's aim was true, and with two squeezes of the trigger the final Triumvirate leader was no more. ♦ Their work was done, and now the Phaeda moon base was theirs. Sighing in relief and pulling off his helmet, Devrim took one final look at their dead target. "What a shame. I'm sure she would have made an excellent pilot if she'd joined the rebellion." Turning to the console and briefly reviewing the information on-screen, he was pleased to see that the rebels had finished defending the base from the pirate counterattack.

"I'm gonna call this one in," he said to his companion. "There is now a rebel cell on the moons of Phaeda."

@Shalken​