War Games

[Alema Torr]

Contruum 6​

In the skies above Contruum 6, a storm was brewing. "Hang on back there, it's going to be a rough entry!" Alema called back into the passenger cabin of the shuttle. She had made their descent as straight as possible, avoiding the low-hanging storm for as long as she could, but it was time to punch through to the surface. The shuttlecraft shook as high winds buffeted them from side to side, and despite the lingering heat a constant spatter of snow and hail clattered and streaked across the forward viewport. The Mandalorian base was somewhere down there, bearing a few degrees off port if her nav-comp was right.

For the moment, she was flying on instruments only, relying on a suite of lasing and sensing devices to approximate the terrain around them. Luckily for her the base was out in the open, situated in a multi-level complex drilled into one of the planet's immense polar ice-sheets.

She glanced at the altimeter. 500... She punched in the docking codes before gripping the control stick firmly with both hands. 400... 300... With her left foot she pumped the air-brake clutch, closing slats on the planetary engines and directing their thrust forward for a 2-second burst. The ship jolted with the sudden deceleration and she pulled up sharply to level off. 250... 200... She reached up and flipped on the repulsors, then released the air-brake clutch and diverted sublight power to the repulsors. 150... 125... 100... She could make out the landing lights in the distance. They were coming in right on target. 50 meters, level off. She let the shuttle coast on repulsors until they were close enough, then angled the shuttle against the wind and diverted repulsor power to the forward thrusters, letting the rush of the storm slow them down as they came in. 20... 15... 10... She pulled the nose up and fired the repulsors again on full to brake, giving her a second for the landing gear to emerge before they started to descend to the surface. 9... 8... 7... 6... The ground warning alert beeped and a garbled vocoder began to count the numbers. Five. Four. Three. Two. CLANG!

The magnetic docking clamps stuck them firmly to the durasteel landing pad, and Alema sighed with relief. She hadn't noticed but her hands were gripping the stick tighter than ever before. These conditions were nothing like the simulator. No matter how many times she'd run the hurricane approach at the academy it couldn't compare to this. It was exhilarating and terrifying all rolled together.

She got up and headed to the passenger compartment as the landing pad retracted down into the bowels of the base, giving them cover from the snow that had already begun to pile up around the outside of the ship. The short transit down gave her the chance to reconnoiter with her compatriot and check over her gear. For this mission the Lieutenant had been authorized the use of a set of Imperial Covert Dress along with her standard loadout. With any luck, she could get one for her personal use if she earned her stripes here.

She stepped into the cramped troop compartment and gave Lt. Stoker a roguish smile. "Hope that landing woke you up, Lieutenant. We've got to meet our new allies."

@Tetsu @Faster Than Light @Nommie

 

[Braun Stoker]

Operation: War Games
Operator: Lt. Braun Stoker
Location: En route – Contruum 6
Grand Army of the Republic, 21st Star Corps
Are we there yet?


Braun snored loudly as the hum of the shuttle’s engine lulled him into a wonderful sleep before their meeting at the strange base of the Mandalorians on Contruum 6. It always felt like the calm before an operation, probably in mental preparation for the stress to come. His helmet and winter veil remained off as he slumped over in his seat, dreaming of welding and other things that the Corellian mechanic found amusing. It wasn’t until he could feel the ship making its descent that he began doing the thing that all soldiers had to do before a mission. He checked his Gladius imperial blaster (30/30) and his purgio Pistol (15/15) removing the safety on the pistol while setting the rifle to its stun setting.

This was a diplomatic mission, and he figured that whatever sort of games they had planned for them were not going to send them back to the republic in body bags. The least they could do for their Manda friends was return the favor. He looked at his newly painted equipment. Braun donned his Sith Snowtrooper outfit with a custom purple paint job that would more accurately represent the Republic instead of the Old Empire. He strapped his blaster to his belt and put his pistol in its leg holster on his right leg as suddenly, and quite violently, the shuttle lurched a bit as Braun could hear a warning alarm coming from the pilot’s cockpit. He trusted Alema’s flying, but this was surely concerning him as he was glad, he buckled up.

This was a normal landing but the clank and startled Lieutenant Stoker. He thought to himself that it would have been funny had the ship blared a, you may now freely roam the cabin announcement as he unbuckled and relished the safe shuttle landing. He stretched a bit before sliding his helmet and veil over his face, latching the insulation clasps to his chest plate. He had a trooper’s appearance, his snow visor and scout HUD loading up as all the connections were made to the armor’s helmet interface. He was pleased with the pleasantness of the ride, up unto the point where they were landing of course. He stood up in the passenger bay and watched as the suited Lieutenant Torr Joined him in the passenger hold.

He chuckled at her comment, “Was it the landing or your flying?” Braun jested, having full confidence in Alema’s abilities as a pilot. What he was unsure about was her capability of being a soldier. She was by far the best pilot he had ever met, Twi’lek or not; however, he had been forged on the battlefields of planetary combat, which was different from flying a ship. She had guts, but this was going to be a real test of her mettle. He nodded in agreement to her sentiment. “I suppose it is time to pay our Mando friends a house call, even if this base is in the middle of nowhere, shouldn’t we Lieutenant” Braun commented as he pressed the module at the back of the passenger hold to open up the bay door to expose them to the internal hanger they were about to enter. “I’m glad you’re here Lieutenant Torr, this will be excellent experience,” Braun commented as the bay doors opened up completely, allowing them access to the hanger outside.

@Sandshark @Faster Than Light @Nommie

 

[Birdmando]

Parek doesn't have good experiences with war games, like when he had to fight that Sith Lord not too long ago and one of his clanmates were captured, a member of Clan Ordo dead, and Parek had to fly away. Maybe if it wasn't for that he'd be continuing on the Crusade against what's left of the Sith instead of training a bunch of Republic soldiers with a mock battle, or so he thinks. Perhaps this is punishment. Who knows, but either way Parek does what is needed of him, that is his duty.

Parek Kelborn and his partner Radth, a fellow clan member would be the ones to greet the Republic Lieutenant. Parek and Radth were to make note that the Republic makes heavy use of left over Imperial equipment, so they know not to go guns blazing at the sight of Sith armor.

The simulated battlefield is set, now just the standard pleasantries and formalities and then they can get straight to it. The Rishii are fine in arctic conditions, and his undersuit and armor should keep his plumage nice and warm. He would have his standard gear except for his weapons modified to be set to stun. Honestly he wasn't a fan of pulling punches. Mandalorians as kids spar with real beskads and train with live blasters. But he will not complain, although he does wonder how soft the Republic troopers are.

The birb would greet the Republic lieutenants. "Lieutenants Torr and Stoker?" he questioned to confirm. Parek is a birb of a few words, eager to get started so this task would be completed faster. Parek would allow Radth to speak.

@Nommie @Tetsu @Sandshark

 

[Radth Kelborn]

What are Radth's first impressions of the two soldier of the Republic. That is a questionable topic. He doesn't exactly think down of them. But for sure the two will have a lot to do if they want to impress this Kelborn.

What exactly was he doing here? Perhaps it was because the Mando wanted something else to do besides hunt down what is left of the Imperials and the Sith.Who knows.

But for sure the man felt strange holding a weapon in his hands that was set to stun. At least he will be able to still test these two soldiers to see if they are worthy of calling themselves soldiers.

For a moment or two the Kelborn was silent. Then will speak, "Let's get started already." He will simply say out of boredom and eagerness to get started with what the four of them came here to do. Signified with Radth loading his rifle with a fresh round of stun bolts.

Time to see what these two Republican Soldiers are made of.

@Faster Than Light
@Tetsu @Sandshark

 

[Alema Torr]

"I look forward to fighting beside you, Lieutenant." She said, her tone changed as if by the flick of a switch. As the door opened her posture became straighter, her face settled into an unreadable expression, and her eyes grew intense, focused on what was in front of her. She was a well-honed weapon sheathed in a scabbard: simple, possibly seeming delicate when out of battle, but when drawn for conflict it was clear that something terrible had shaped and tempered her.

She stepped out of the shuttle first, grabbing her scarf from the cargo netting on her way out. Alema was interested in getting a first impression of the Mandalorians while they were still unsure of what to expect. She wondered if they would be surprised to see a Twi'lek in the opposing party, but dismissed that idea. They were Mandalorians. From her research, they didn't care about anyone who didn't prove their strength with action. It was up to Braun and her to do that, and she had some tricks up her sleeve.

Though the hangar was shielded from the blizzard outside it was still chilly, and a slight puff of hot breath misted the air as she closed the distance to the pair who awaited them. "Su cuy Mando'ade." <<Hail to you, Mandalorians.>> She said in Mando'a, her tone only just slightly accented. Hours of listening to diplomatic corps recordings during their voyage had drilled a handful of phrases into her vocabulary, which she hoped would endear her to the Mandalorians slightly. "I'm Lieutenant Torr, and this is Lieutenant Stoker." She began simply. No elaborate speeches, no frills. She expected that would be appreciated. Though she couldn't get a good read on the bird, neither of them seemed happy to be there and speeding things along might help their attitude.

Now that she was close enough to make out clearly, it was also obvious what she brought to the fight. The Twi'lek wore a parka over some kind of armored bodysuit, though the hood was down behind her back. In terms of armaments she had two blaster pistols holstered on a belt around her waist, and some kind of baton attached to a magnetic pad on her thigh.

@Tetsu @Faster Than Light @Nommie

 

[Braun Stoker]

Braun nodded in agreement as the shuttles bay door opened. Lieutenant Torr straightened up, as tended to be her habit, as they made their way down the gangplank to parlay with the Mandalorians. The base reminded the trooper of his time on Rhen Var. The cold desolate planet was not too different from the one they were now on. He had grown accustom to the Arctic equipment that he now wore, knowing that regardless of climate control the base would still be cold. He was oddly at home on the winter world.

As they approached, Braun was relieved that Alema was the loquacious type. She greeted the warriors in their native tongue. He had made no such efforts to learn their language and felt a little bad that he had not spent more time studying their opponents. Braun had fought mandalorians before during the battle of Corellia, and even now they looked to be just regular people to him, but he knew

The reality was that every mando was a breed killer. The bird stood out the most of the pair of mandos. He could tell by their body language and the way the spoke to them that these warriors were in a rush.

It appeared as if they did not care to be there for this training exercise, as if they were being punished by entertaining these republic officers. How quaint, Braun thought to himself as they now stood face to face with the officers. “We are ready to being the exercise whenever you are” Braun expressed, trying to hide his annoyance as he addresses the mandalorians. He did not know what the environment was to looks like in their “war game” and so Braun left it up to the mandalorians to lead them to where they needed to go. This was their base after all.

He was excited to be able to practice with some of the best fighters around, to the very least. The mandalorians had, almost single handedly, taken out the Sith empire. He was a little afraid to be quite honest, but repulsed the thought as he watched Alema’s demeanor. She was the diplomat of the two, and hopefully her curt introductions would help get them on the field faster.

@Sandshark @Faster Than Light @Nommie

 

[Birdmando]

Oh the twi'lek said a phrase in the language. Impressive. Parek would nod towards the two after they confirmed their names. With that out of the way, Parek would gesture towards a pair of 67-X Stormcloud swoops in the hangar. "You can take those and follow us to the designated trained field." he said

There would be a different set of for Parek and his clanmate to get into. Parek would get in the drivers seat, once Radth would get in the passenger side, he would fly off and be leading the Republic troopers to the battlefield. As Base 6 is high in the mountains of the planet, the Republic soldiers might be feeling shortness of breath if they aren't already used to high attitudes along with the frigid temperatures.

Parek's speeder would fly outside the hangar and eventually he would be closing in on a mountain pass as they headed south, Parek would comm towards the others "The inside of this mountain pass will be our training ground for today. We land away from each other and we can begin the exercise on my signal" he asserted.

Once inside the mountain pass, he would land close to a corner in the pass. He would disembark from his speeder and draw his two pistols to his hands. Ready for battle and aware of his surroundings.

Spoiler: OOC

So, I figured we can use this as a map. We can begin combat after the Pubs land. The green star is where I'm electing to land and disembark. Trying to skip over the boring stuff as much as possible so we can get to the good part quicker ^.^

@Nommie @Sandshark @Tetsu

 

[Radth Kelborn]

Oh? So one of the Republican soldiers speaks the two Mandalorians' language? Well that is impressive. While it is a plus. It will take a bit more to prove to Radth that they are worth his time. The Kelborn crossed his arms listening as the two confirmed to him and his partner as to who they are.

Great these are the two they are supposed to meet. That is one more thing out of the way.

"I'm Radth Kelborn. And this here is Parek Kelborn." He will tell Alema and Braun before his partner gave the two Republican Lieutenants some instructions. While the two Mandalorians are used to being in conditions such as this in regards to the altitude and weather. The two soldiers may not be. Which all will add to the test in a ways.

With the introductions and instructions out of the way. Radth followed Parek to their ride; hopping onto his quickly so they can get moving. Following close behind the other Kelborn to the mountain pass that will be the location of the days event. Stopping his speeder to Parek's left Radth armed himself with his usual rifle as he disembarked the ride. A quick glance at their surroundings he is now ready to begin.

This will be fun.

@Faster Than Light

@Sandshark @Tetsu

 

[Alema Torr]

So her studies had sort of worked. That was fine. Even if it didn't help her significantly, she knew she had at least fulfilled the diplomatic part of her duty. The second step was much more prosaic: fight, and win. It would be possible to salvage a loss if they fought well, but she had abandoned that line of thinking as worthless. Mandalorians were talented at combat, and some were even raised from birth to be warriors, but they were only human... Or birds, in some cases.

On their way to the speeders, Alema pulled on her hood and activated her commlink. The frequency was encrypted with a single-use cipher, ensuring that the Mandalorians couldn't listen in. Unlike them, Alema and Braun didn't have the benefit of familiarity with the terrain, so they would have to strategize on the way up.

As they rose into the mountains, Alema pulled the parka's hood tighter around her face. She tightened the scarf over her mouth and nose and pulled down her goggles to cover her eyes. "Stoker, do you copy? The air is thin up here. Do you have supplementary? Over." She counted her luck for having lived so long on Coruscant. Until very recently she'd lived on one of the lowest levels of the city, where the air was barely breathable. In theory the ecumenopolis had air circulators, of course, but in practice they were frequently broken. On the lowest levels one could only count on an effective oxygen level between 12 and 15%, which was only comparable at over two miles of elevation in the city-spires above. It had undoubtedly shortened her life, as it did everyone who lived there, but for the moment it meant her lungs were used to the thin, dry air here in the mountains. Braun though? She had no idea. She knew some tricks with a rebreather if he had trouble, but for now they had to get right in it.

"Stoker, the Mandalorians are breaking off, copy? I see a landing site further east in the valley. If we set down there, we can set up a defensive position, over." She flagged him down before angling the speeder low and pulling away, circling down into the valley below. She set down and waited for Braun... And the signal.

Spoiler

@Tetsu @Faster Than Light @Nommie

 

[Braun Stoker]

Braun had not made as much of an impression upon the Mandalorians as Alema seemed to with her linguistic skills. Of the two, Alema was the clear diplomat. When the feathered Mando explained the scenario, Braun would nod in agreement. “Simple enough, we will get to it then.” He expressed as he would look at Alema pull her hood over and activate their comms link. Braun tapped on his communicator, hearing the subtle static of the encryption for a moment as it started up before the link was clear. The encryption, paired with his voice scrambler in his helmet, would help keep their communications discreate.

He walked over to his swoop, having a certain love for land vehicles and their finesse. He climbed on board the vehicle and ignited the engine and prepared to make their ascent. As they rode up into the mountains, Braun thought back to his time on the listening stations in the mountains of Rhen Var. That had been his first true imperial post before the major conflicts broke out for the Republica. This was how he had acquired his snow trooper gear to begin with. His suit was well equipped for the snow, and his body was used to the high altitudes and temperatures of a planet that was very similar in geography to Rhen Var. His distaste for the old post also came to mind. The patrols in the mountain passes of that cold ice block were no more enjoyable than the place they seemed to find themselves now.

His comm responded, feeding Braun his partner’s message. “Torr, I hear ya, my kit is designed for this kind of environment, I’ll be okay.” He said though he could tell that the altitude had made the air superbly thin. He would certainly not be running any marathons; however, Braun was certainly not unfamiliar with this type of terrain and being exposed to the lack of oxygen.

His comm link came alive again with Alema’s voice. “Roger, I see the spot in question, I think you have the right idea. If we can set up a defensive position, we can choose our battlefield instead of letting the Mandos dictate where we fight.” He expressed as he lowed the altitude of his bike as Alema flagged him to the spot. The Mandalorian were nowhere to be they touched down on the battlefield. He looked around at the landscape of the narrow pass as he pulled up next to Alema to await their signal to begin.

Now that they were alone, he felt comfortable asking, “So what’s the game plan Boss? I agree that we need to set up a defensive entrenchment, but the question is where can we do that comfortably?” he asked as they awaited the signal. This was going to be a tough fight. They were in enemy territory and were probably out gunned by the more skilled Mandalorian. Alema was an excellent strategist and he was as tenacious as a hog-rat. Between them, he felt that they make it work. And so, the pair waited patiently for the war games to begin.

@Sandshark @Faster Than Light @Nommie

 

[Birdmando]

The birb mando allowed a decent amount of time for the Republic soldiers to land. Soon after the games can begin. "The games begin" the birb announced to the other side as well. "Switch comms" he didn't say over the comlink but to his partner so they could switch over to a private commm. "Lets get them" he said to his clanmate in the language accompanied a chuckle, eager for the fighting.

Although wanting to get this over with quickly initally, if this turns out to be fun he'd be fine with that. The cold temperatures make things interesting. The mandobirdo then he would move forward at a good pace, going around the mountain corner in the direction that he saw the other speeders head towards. He had his blasters readied and leveled. Parek was more than willing to go on the attack.

Of course the Rishii has his keen eyes peeled is ready to fight as he rounded the corner, ready to react to the enemies movements if anything came his way.

@Nommie

 

[Radth Kelborn]

As the two Mandalorians waited for the Republicans to reach their starting point of the training ground. Radth used that time to make sure everything of his gear and armor was ready to go. This may just be a training session. But it doesn't mean he will allow himself to slack off. When the announcement was made Radth could not help but grin.

As instructed Radth changed his comm to the two's private channel, "Hopefully they will be a good fight. I didn't come here to waste my time with weak opponents." He said the moment his comm was switched. The Kelborn is curious as to how the weather and altitude will affect the two Republican Soldiers. Even with their gear and armor functions Radth suspected that they are experiencing some sort of difficulty. Up here the cold is more brutal than at lower altitudes.

Staying behind the Rishii by a couple steps as the two began moving in the direction of their opponents. Radth carefully scanned their surroundings for any sign of Braun and Alema. With his rifle ready and level, Radth is ready to respond the moment the two teams stumble upon each other. The man kept his breathing quiet and steady as the two moved. Even his steps are kept as silent as possible.

@Faster Than Light

 

[Alema Torr]

In the moments before the call was sounded, Alema took stock of the surrounding terrain. They had landed at the base of a 10 meter tall slope, chalky with fine glacial dirt and covered in stubborn clumps of snow and fallen scree from the surrounding slopes. It was the perfect obstacle to stymie their pursuers, since the loose dusty soil and gravel would slide down the slope the moment it was subjected to any weight. "Braun, eyes up! We're taking the high ground."

She kicked on the repulsors and angled her speeder up, expertly making the short hop back up the slope. Once there she leapt off the bike and pushed it back away from the edge, so that it would float back to a more discreet location as she got into position, crouching down against the cliff face at the edge of the incline. She peeked over for a moment then hurried back to her speeder to get some momentary warmth and hailed Braun over. "Think you can get sight of them with your helmet optics? We can hit them right when they try to take the hill."

Spoiler

 

[Braun Stoker]

“On it,” He confirmed as he watched Alema preform her aerial maneuver. He was extremely impressed that she had such familiarity with this type of vehicle, and thus copied her tactic. Activating the bikes repulse, Braun launched his bike up the steep slope after Alema. He quickly pulled up next to her, making sure to maneuver his bike away of the edge of visibility. Unlike Alema, he cut the engine of the bike, letting it rest on the ground behind their position, just in case they needed it later. He quietly laid prone next to Alema, trying to keep a low profile as he heeded her words. His blaster was trained forward, ready for action.

He quickly tapped into his helmet’s scouting function, zooming in down the canyon’s opening as he scanned the surroundings for movement and their approaching enemy. They were advantaged in that they held the high ground and had a X4 magnification looking down the canyon itself in search for the Mandalorians. He was a soldier, trained by the empire before the republic had been in swaddling clothes. He had fought these Baskar ’Gam wielding warriors before and knew that it would take a lot to outmaneuver them. He spoke quietly to Alema as he watched the ravine.

“Lieutenant, I’m not seeing anything yet…oh wait hang on,” He told her almost at a whisper. His mask hid his cold breath as his blaster rested in front of him like a combat rifle. He noticed a speck of movement in the distance, on their right side as (I’m assuming with the scout HUD and Height I could see Radth as he did state he was moving in our direction?). “I have contact, at least one tango at three or four o’clock…maybe 50 or 60 meters out,” He expressed quietly to his fellow lieutenant as he hoped that the like-minded Mandalorians wouldn’t spot them in the same manner. Braun was especially weary of the Rishi avian. He was unsure if that race had the ability to fly or if the Mandalorians were equipped with kits to do so. If they tried to do so out in this blizzard though, even in the ravine that provided some decent shelter from the storm, would prove difficult. Their visibility was not great, but the scouting function would help them keep an eye on their targets as they approached.

“What’s our play lieutenant?” He asked, knowing the ever-tactical Lieutenant Torr would have something clever up her sleeve. He was just the means to put the strategy in action. He did not relieve his focus for an instant as the heat of the impending combat began to weigh upon him. He would do as Torr ordered and prepared himself for the confrontation.

OOC: I’m currently located W/ A. Torr & Braun’s Field of vision with the HUD is listed below.

Spoiler: Current Map