| abstract
| - No expenses have been spared, these wargames are designed to increase the combat effectiveness and overall experience level of the Republic's primary offensive fleet. And nickel-and-diming things really will only come back to bite the Admiralty in the behind. Seeing that New Alderaan and Wolport were off-limits, quick-fab habitats were deployed at several locations on the planet, designed to replicate environments that troops attached to the Second Fleet might encounter. And battles rage through many of those areas, defenders trying to hold on to precious ground, attackers trying to dislodge them. The brutality of those fights, as small as two squads or as large as entire regiments, only slightly lessened by the types of weapons used and the protective measures enforced. This area has been one of the calmer ones of late, though given the recent landing of troops not too far, it is predicted that that calm will be a thing of the past soon. An industrial area with at its core a large power generating facility, the units assigned here, and its attackers, having been informed that the facility is to be treated as a critical target. The defences are manned primarily from the 224th marine batallion but with complementary members from the Army. The approach to this area is made easy with the presence of uneven ground, the surroundings dotted with hills both small and large. Though it presents some problems, the commanding officer has arranged his troops as best he could, with the primary roads and corridors of approach covered as thoroughly as possible. The plan is rather simple, and it is one that has been conveyed to the soldiers, let the attackers get deep enough into this area, and then open up fire on them. Enb'Zik has taken his position atop one of the one-story prefab structures. With the reports coming in of opposing forces landing not far off, he'd joined one of the lookouts in order to assist there, perhaps hoping to help see with the Force what couldn't be detected with macrobinoculars. The low parapet comes as high as his waist, and the young Shistavanen he's with is knelt behind it, peering over the top. "You feel anything, Jedi?" the canine creature asks. Enb'Zik shakes his head. Just a mass out there. Portents of a large force, but nothing specific. He looks down and checks for the fourteenth time to make sure his lightsaber and blaster are both with him, and that his armor is secure. These ground battles have never gone well for him. Indeed, that's why he's here. Reaching the top of another prefab, Tarkis breaks out his spotting scope. A bit unorthodox to go it alone, but that's what Bothans are known for. Making a few sweeps of the area, he is met with only an eerie silence as the wind simply blows across the open field leading up to the setup. Rivo had joined on with the marines after completeing officer training academy. He had volunteered to play the opfor in this wargame, hoping to contribute somehow to the bigger picture. Besides, there were a few things he wanted to cook up. He and his three soldiers are dressed head to toe in the armor they were given. Nothing too spectacular looking, though covered from head to toe. From behind his visor he quietly scans the objective zone. The commando crouches and signals for his soldiers to stay put. Quietly he wonders whether or not their deception will immediately work, but he remains focused on his goal. Gripping his rifle, he remains with a low posture peering off into a street. Surveying the battlefield scenario, Cassius studies the objectives outlined in her little list of 'to do' things and shakes her head briefly. As a naval/ officer, ground combat always feels way too limiting for her sense of order and organization. Of course, she's never been one to indulge nor engage in hand to hand combat either, so while her tactical training covers ground ops, it's not something she's well versed in. To that end, however, she does have enough time in combat under her belt to make a rather decent go at this. The objective, of course, is rather simple. Get to the power generating facility and either take control of the facility itself or disable it to the point where the defenders are unable to utilize it's capabilities for their own needs. Once they've been 'dropped' into the combat zone Cassius organizes her forces into small groups and sends them on a quick-march around the area they'll be using for her plan. The groups consist of no more than a handful of men each, one carrying the supplies they'll be using while the rest carry their gear, packs, weapons, etcetera. One elite group is cordoned off from the rest, the commander of this unit is given the full brief of the rough plan that Cassius has come up with, and they are tasked with carrying the 'football' into the endzone when the time comes. Accompanying one of the units that take the leading edge of their battle line to the defenders, Cassius is rather glad of all the time she's spent running combat medics through an obstacle course wearing full combat gear and full medical backpack - if for no other reason than that she keeps up and doesn't trip over her own feet and make an absolute idiot out of herself. While these men and women are not storm troopers, they are professionals, and they look to her to prove herself - and she's determined to do so. It is not a particular large battlefield, limited resources having confined the prefab area to no matter than a kilometre and some change to each side, arranged into a square-like form. And as such, the groups sent into this area by the opfor don't have much area to work with, still, it is enough for them. With the general defenses arranged against the standard human mass tactics that the Empire favours, the small teams might even have an edge. The bulk of them arranged to the area facing the direction most likely to be taken by enemy troops, and the sides, though the rear of the 'city' has a squad assigned to its defence. Enb'Zik listens to the sporadic chatter that comes in quiet tones across his headset commlink. Groups checking back and forth with one another. Nobody's seen much just yet, but all eyes are peeled toward the horizon and the low ridges in between. A small team of about five snipers has been dispatched to rooftops around the tiny prefab hamlet, three toward the main front, one away from it, and one keeping an eye on the bunker that houses the shield generator. While things are still quiet, the Jedi takes time to rid himself of negative thoughts, fear, nervousness... to concentrate upon the Force and the battle at hand. This is not his most comfortable domain; it's time to learn to get over that. Captain Lofte has split his four man commando team into two two man teams. From his concealed position he has perfect sight over the position of his assault element. The veteran soldier keepers his blaster rifle on the edge of the window frame as he quietly watches down the road. His idea once everything starts getting hot is to employ tactics the republic employed during the days of the rebellion. Focused fire and then retreat, luring the enemy elements into firezones. He is well trained, perhaps a bit better trained than his soldiers. Over the comms all he hears is the static of silence. Completely removed from the rest of the unit he has no idea if they've even landed yet. Though once the firefights start he won't need a commander to tell him whats started. Pointing to his eyes he gets the attention of the man covering his rear and he indicates with his hand to cover them at 170 degrees. From Rivo's position he can cover the other 190 degrees. Over his personal radio he hears clicks that are distinctive only to trained ears, the signal from his other two man team that they are ready and in position. Lofte's unit is one of the first to get into position, signaling Cassius that they are in place, she confirms the sending then transmits he reply which amounts to 'hold position' until the rest of the units get into place. While the use of large group tactics is something that the Empire is known for, throwing assets at an enemy force in one wave after another until they overwhelm the enemy by sheer numbers, Cassius is not working with unlimited resources for this engagement. Forced to be conservative with her resources she instructs the units to move as quietly as they know how, to avoid detection and to utilize every bit of terrain cover available. Once all units are in place, and the ones that had to go the furthest are in place - and only slightly winded (a fact that impresses Cassius to no end) - she signals for the units to begin their advance carefully, readying the first round of weapons to be deployed at her signal. Negative emotions are ones that no commanding officer can get rid, especially those pre-engagement jitters, not even the most experienced and grizzled soldiers. And experienced and grizzled are words that could easily be applied to the man that climbs up to the roof the Sullustan Jedi. "See anything Jedi?", the old man asks, grabbing the rifle that was previously slung from his shoulder for the climb. Varin Rall is a remnant from the Alliance days, and it is only his particular disregard for promotions that has him still working with the grunts, something which he finds quite fine. The question asked, his gaze sweeps across the area the First Lieutenant has been assigned to, his platoon deployed and arranged as decades of fighting taught him. The Sullustan's attention is directed searchingly on the low hills just outside the villa, his arms crossed over his chest adding to the sense of focus coming from him. "They're out there," he answers quietly. Then his brow creases, and he draws his eyes from the far field and turns to the man nearby. His voice raises just a notch, to a more coversational level and cadence, "They're surrounding us, too." He motions toward the back of the city with a glance, "We might want to direct a few more men that way -- not many -- and let our snipers know to keep alert. I can't pinpoint it, for which I apologize, Lieutenant, but something beyond the obvious is taking place." The commando's unit had disabled the sensors around the rear of the republic garrion's position, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Peering over the wall he makes sure everything is still. Suddenly he catches movement from his other squad. Across the way they signal using sign language, 'Alert - Sniper - North.' It is experience that tells Rivo that their move has been compromised, though he can't come up with any reason beyond what his gut tells him. Signalling back he orders the unit to keep eyes on and hold fire until they are physically compromised. Nudging the soldier behind him, he signals for him to move to harder cover. Captain Lofte's eyes scan the target zone once more before he ducks down lower, keeping his blaster trained ready to ambush any soldiers wandering into their sector looking for a rear attack. "Don't worry Jedi, I can...", his voice trails off there, a monitor he has attached to his wrist beginning to beep, and he looks over its miniscule screen. "Sensors show that there are at least three squad coming for us...I can't compromise our defences, but something tells me they'll try and get behind us." Varin looks around, particularly at the power facility they are supposed to protect, his mind made up moments after. "I need you to go and take no more than five men, reinforce our rear." With the request, simple soldiers can't order around Jedi, made, the Lieutenant taps on his commlink before the boom of the first explosion goes off, fortunately he is far from the blast. "Varin to first and second squad, permission to open fire on any enemy sighted, don't compromise your position but get out of there if about to be overrun. Snipers concentrate on officers.", standard orders at this stage in the battle. Ikihsa has enough military background to be used to a command structure, and whether the Lieutenant believes he can give the Sullustan orders or not, that's how Enb'Zik takes them. He gives a quick nod and moves to the stairwell that leads down into the building. The explosion at his back and the sudden surge of danger in the Force leads him to quicken his steps. At the bottom he rounds into the street and motions to a small group of soldiers, "You five, come with me to the backlines." He doesn't wait for them before he starts at a jog down one of the back streets. While he runs, he speaks into his headset comm, "Nek Four, Nek Five, this is Saber unit. I need your eyes on the building tops. Let me know ASAP if you get a bead on anything suspicious. If you've got enemy sightings, permission is granted to fire as soon as you've confirmed your target." He starts to ask for their coordinates, but he already has an idea where they're at. "Confirmed, Saber unit," a female voice replies back in crisp basic. "I've spotted two bogeys, but they've sighted me, as well. My position's compromised. I'm on the move to checkpoint Krill." Zik runs that down over a mental map, looks back at the men and women following him, and dips into a side street to change direction. Radio Silence is broken. "Commander, our position is compromised." Captain Lofte does not need any further notification as the report of blasters ring out. The two men open fire simaltaniously on the sniper's position. Their own mobile sensors detected a small unit heading their way. Rivo motions to his partner to watch the approach to the two men below. He keeps his rifle trained on the wall's edge, ready to open fire. They are well trained, and know what they are doing. The trick is that the forward observation post will create a ruckus and allow the enemy to close in on them. At the opportune time, Rivo's element will open fire and blast them in the back. From their near 3/4 cover they would be hard targets to hit back. Quietly, Rivo whispers a curse. Defensive positions should never be moved after an assault has begun. Not so drastically, anyways. They're defense now has the potential of crumbling. "Copy that," Cassius speaks into the link, but those two words are the only words spoken. She had planned for something like this happening, and logic would imply that they were not going to be able to do this without being detected at some point. With a plan already for such an eventuality, and she is a strong believer in having a plan for everything, she cues her unit to hold their position while transmitting orders to the other units. With care the other units carefully shift positions, laying down cover fire for one unit while the other moves from their position to another one, then swapping duties and covering the other unit while they move in place. Fire is sprayed at the defenders position long enough to draw attention before they move again. Fighting in urban terrain tends to be a messy thing, leap frogging from one building to the next is not something that Cassius would normally call 'a fun time' and she aims to have her units avoid doing so if possible. To that end they setting fires as distractions through out the edge of the city before beginning to work their way inward towards the target area. Instead of the static defence favoured by some, Varin has decided on the more elastic one of defence in depth. When one position threatens to be overrun, it falls back, the opened hole in the line soon taken up by another unit deeper in. Of course, not all the groups that retreat fall back, some of them passing through prearranged paths in the hamlet and trying to go wide around the incoming enemy to try and get them caught between two fires. The third squad preparing itself for the enemy while the fourth is kept at the very back to guard the rear of the defenses. After having observed from his high ground on top of the building, the Lieutenant quickly climbs down and takes control of a passing unit, one of those that try and fight their way behind the enemy. As the shots ring out at her from below, Nek Four has enough time to squeeze off a single shot of her own before yelling at the sting of plastfab pelting the lower part of her cheek as it explodes from the wall beside her upon being struck. That shot was /TOO/ close, and she falls backward behind the parapet, undoubtedly thankful for the visor that had protected her eyes. At the same time Nek Five is now moving through a building to low ground, knowing to keep himself hidden. On this part of the battlefield, though there are only four enemies, he doesn't know that. The man is careful as he begins picking his way from prefab to prefab toward the area where shots have now erupted. In front of his own group now, Enb'Zik approaches the opposing element on the ground. His hand goes to his waist, and he draws but does not yet ignite his lightsaber. Able to hear the gunshots just around the corner and sense the soldiers through the Force, the Sullustan raises a hand to hold his five back at the corner. Going silent, he switches to hand signals. Three of them, he indicates, will stay here at the corner they're already occupying. The other two will follow him in crossing the street. Zik will provide cover with his lightsaber while the first trio does the same from their position at the corner. During the crossing, they will /quickly/ scope out where the opposing pair is located and engage once they're back under hard cover. Looking each person in the eye to make sure they understand, Zik gets five nods and gives one in return. Lifting a gloved right hand, he counts down silently -- three, two, one. Ikihsa leads the way out at a run, his blade igniting in a beam of bright cerulean from his right hand as the two following him run out a second after. He aims to make quick work of this unit and get from here to the generator as quickly thereafter as he can. Rivo straightens his posture and aims his weapon at Enb'zik. In a trained voice he shouts, "Target that Jedi! Open fire!" The two commandos, Rivo and his partner, are mostly covered except for their shoulders and the tops of their heads. The JedI is focused on his forward element and they receive the same order as his partner. Their blaster rifles fire with expert precision. The jedi has four rifles trained on him, two from the front - which he expects and then two from the back. It is a typical ambush, and under normal circumstances would work. They are however dealing with a jedi and that may not be the case. Each soldier fires with controlled bursts, hoping and praying atleast one bolt slips past his defense. Loses are expected, even when it's simulated losses the introduction of real fire to the simulation put a distinctive 'flare' to the over all exercise. Getting the word that Rivo's unit is not only compromised but taking heavy fire, Cassius cues her unit to advance again towards their objective. The units that have not been detected work their way ever closer to the objective. Detailing the two units closest to Rivo's, they edge closer to the action, opening fire as a distraction to draw fire on their position and away from the unit under fire. Maneuver, fire. Fire then maneuver. Never holding still any longer than it takes to fire off a shot, spot a new location, move, fire again. Wash, rinse, repeat as necessary - so to speak. Getting word from the leading unit that the objective is in sight, Cassius cues the rest of the units to pick up the advance. Already those of first squad have left their original positions, seemingly melting away before the well-coordinated attack from the attackers. And second squad is about to pull back when third squad joins them, reinforcing the wavering defenders. Varin's voice is heard then in the helmets of the soldiers in those two units, "First squad in position, hold them there and present continuous fire, we're hitting them from behind." And just as he said that, the first sound of gunfire is heard from the rear of the enemy units, members of the first squad, now under the direct control of the platoon's commander, beginning to fire on the attackers from the back. Still more begin to join them as one by one they make their way through the small alleyways and hidden crawlspaces created for just such a tactic. Their preferred targets being those units providing cover for their allies, the strategy here being to deprive the squads under fire from Second and Third of the cover fire needed in order to maneuver and pinning them in the same position. Varin does not join in yet, "Jedi, how are you holding up, do you need reinforcements.", not that he's any to commit unless the situation is truly beyond fubar. Target that Jedi! Exactly the words Enb'Zik -- and the man and woman he's covering -- were hoping to hear. Ikihsa was not, however, anticipating the position of the second pair that springs up and begins firing. A surge of surprise flares up in him, and his lightsaber hums in counterpoint to the percussion of the blasters that erupt in his direction. In the maelstrom of red lances, one of his crossing soldiers is struck in the armor and knocked onto his butt. He's out! Zik moves his blade and deflects a shot into a nearby wall before the next shot leaves his weapon aimed directly at the opponent that had fired it. A split second later, and another bolt from one side of the street is swept aside, and a second enemy is down. With only half of his group safely across and the other half down, Ikihsa turns to follow the one that made it. "Nek group!" he calls into his headset, "We're taking heavy fire down here. I've got at least two positions left with unknown reinforcements in the area. Where /are/ you guys?" Sensing pain nearby, Enb'Zik lifts his eyes to the trio still across the street to find one of them down, as well. He's not badly wounded, but the volley had given him a twisted wrist that's going to need treating. Zik gives the hand signal for him to bail from the game and get to a medic. Zik takes stock -- two down on his team, four left now; on this group, there are only two obvious. The enemy force had been estimated at around fifty. If they dedicated a fifth of their force on this front, that would be ten, but it would leave them with forty on the main front. Forty was roughly equal to the defenders' entire force, and it wasn't like the Empire to fight evenly. They'd want more than even odds for their primary attack group, so it wasn't likely that they'd dedicate a full ten to this area. How many, then? Five, maybe? Could be four, could be six, but either way, two was likely a significant percentage. With that in mind and deducing that the two others might only have one or two more to help them, a plan begins to form in Zik's mind. "Nek group, scramble to code Senth" Zik whispers back to his comm, "Nek Four, I'm sending your our coordinates. Get over here and give us cover from high ground. Bogeys are on the west approach behind cover. We need you to pin them down. Nek Five, begin making your way toward the shield generator. Scout out the battle and let me know what this holdup is keeping us from seeing." Then, getting the attention of Saber group, he goes back to hand signals -- the two who remained behind will concentrate their fire on the opposition on /Zik's/ side of the street. Zik's partner will aim for the unit on the /other/ side of the street, unleashing an X-pattern of blaster fire to pin down the pair. With them set up, Ikihsa stands, ignites his lightsaber, and steps out to -run- back across the street. His goal is an open door in the side of the prefab. "SITHSPIT." Rivo snarls as he and his last soldier slide down to complete cover. Anger wells up inside of him at the wasted ambush. Under any circumstance that entire squad would have been anhilliated befre they knew what happened. It's just a game, but Rivo is a professional and didn't expect his squad to be nearly dispatched so easily. Quickly reporting to command that alpha element is down, the man begins to get creative. Gazing across to his partner, he signals in sign language. 'Smoke screen, east. Jedi is moving towards me, dropping a stun grenade' They are for all intensive purposes, the special forces. He and his last man are armed to the teeth and are not going to give this round to the Jedi so easily. The unnamed commando throws the smoke grenade to blind the soldiers across the way, at virtually the precise moment Rivo's hand appears over the edge of the concrete barrier as he lobs a concussion grenade in hopes that he'll stun the Jedi or atleast shake him up enough to disarm him. As soon as the grenade and smoke screen are deployed, Rivo and his partner begin to retreat down the street. One of the main differences between the Republic and the Empire is, simply put, how each side views it's assets. To the Republic, each soldier is unique - an individual - irreplaceable. To the Empire, each soldier is a weapon. Basic training is standardized the Empire over, so that each soldier comes out of basic with exactly the same skill set. They are, to put it bluntly, interchangeable until specialization is added after basic to tailor each individual to the specific job that they'll be assigned too. The Imperial war machine is precisely that - a machine. Each person is a cog in the machine, and trained to do exactly what the machine needs it to do - when it needs it to do it. The cogs are, still, interchangeable. Commanding officers now that this soldier from that unit can be swapped with a soldier from a unit a sector or further away. Training, at it's best - from the Imperial mindset. Further, they are all replaceable. All of them, ultimately replaceable. When a battle plan is drawn p there is a certain percentage that is marked down for what is acceptable losses and what is not. To take it a step further, there is the sure and certain knowledge that failure is not an option. What would be considered barbaric by Republic standards is matter of fact for the Empire. It is this that separates the two, and it's across this Gulf of incomprehension and difference that Cassius is - again - attempting to explain Imperial tactics. Leading her team left, center, right, center, and back again, the units under her command break apart, scatter, and reform on the other side of the quick-fab shells used for this exercise. each time they re-form they do so with less soldiers, but this was to be expected. At the core of her remaining fighting force is a unit that will be tasked with one mission and one mission only. Move back, east and west, yes, but there is simply no moving forward, the second and third squads having dug in deep and tenaciously holding on to their positions as they lay down an impressive hail of fire at anything that moves in front of them. Hampering movement even further are the barriers and barricades put up by Varin and his men, particular ends of the streets and roadways blocked by rubble and other things that prevent movement. And then the next phase of Varin's can begin to be executed, prefabs begin to crumple at their foundations, small explosives planted at specific places now detonated to bring down those buildings. All of this in an effort to trap the units in these streets and render maneuver, at least past the individual level, all but impossible, though cover is something the defenders cannot deprive the enemy of. First squad has for the most part now assembled behind the enemy lines, and its members are doing the task assigned to them, firing on the enemy below them. Below them as they have now climbed atop those shelters that still stand, firing down on the attackers below. Varin himself has begun to fire as well, but he mostly keeps an eye out on the battlefield, trying to determine whether or not there's something wrong, something that he cannot see, or just that something that'll end this battle. Having committed her forces to this one maneuver, Cassius crouches down behind the partially collapsed wall of one of the quick-fab structures and takes a nose count of her remaining people. It's one of those 'crunch' times, where she has to decide what to do next. IF this weren't a war-game she'd call in for air support to lay down suppression fire to occupy the enemy before making another push forward. With that option not on the menu, however, Cassius orders her people to pull back and sends a scout out in both directions to recon for a way around the barricades. Keeping her fire teams busy covering each other as they cautiously retreat from their position, one of the scouts reports back that there's a way through, but they'll have to fight their way back before they can shift east ward a few streets and try a different approach. Giving the go after a moment, Cassius is in the last group to fall back, continuing to fire as she does so. Rivo is irritated. Both he and his last remaining squadmate sprint away from the encounter with the jedi. He doesn't know whether or not the grenade took Enb'zik out, though he is confident enough that it didn't. Either way, the commando doesn't expect the jedi to follow him. The two disconnected soldiers duck inside a blown out prefab building a rest a moment. Peering through the door he activates sends comms back to command. "This is Snake1 - position compromised. There was a Jedi, we weren't able to take him out. Two casualties, still two men strong. Took out a good squad size. We're disconnected from the main forces, detecting a significant amount of movement around our position. Please advise, what is the situation." The plan had failed. Not in part to poor execution or a bad idea, but simply because of the glow-stick wielding mouse. Rivo realizes the significance of the Jedi, but they won't always be there. Had it not been for Enb'zik's presence, both squads that were sent to intercept his squad would've been destroyed in a matter of moments. The captain sits patiently under the cover of the building with his weapon trained on the street. Fall back, that could only mean one thing, particularly given if rumours of who commands the enemy are true. Quickly, he signals the rest of first squad to lay down as large a suppressive fire as possible to slow the retreat of the enemy troops. And the troops sacrifice accuracy for constant fire, a rain of blaster bolts, really, really low-powered bolts, falls down on the streets and on enemy troops the first squad sights. Meanwhile, snipers return to their initial task of trying to take down any officers they sight, or anyone armed with the standard heavy weapons provided to individual squads. While this is going on, Varin receives a report from the Jedi and after a quick conversation, the Sullustan is sent to reinforce the rear position and fourth squad while men are diverted to hunt down the fleeing commandos and any else they discover within this area. Second and Third squads are told to keep their position and reinforce any openings detected in their defensive lines around the factory. Surrounded by incoming fire, the avenues of egress blocked off and barricaded by both rubble and live fire, Cassius has to again re-evaluate the tactical situation and decide on a new course of action. Pulling her forces back, yet again, she instructs them to take what cover they can in the quick-fab structures, directing them to force their way IN to the quick-fab structures to get out of the immediate line of fire. If that tactic proves successful she has a second line of attack already hatching, if somewhat raggedly, for the next move. Via com she speaks directly to Rivo, "We're pinned down in this box," meaning the streets they're trapped in, of course, "snipers up on roof top are taking a heavy toll. Can you set fire to their perches?" she asks, not orders, asks. "We're on it." Rivo responds, immediately pointing his partner to move to the building across the street. Because they are individual soldiers, separate from the main forces they are harder targets. It is difficult to notice their movements midst all the chaos. Despite the fact their original route was cut off, they are deeper now within enemy lines. Normally the squad would have four det charges - one per man, but because they are two down there are only two. The commando pulls away from the doorway and begins setting a charge against the wall. Because it's just a game, there is no real explosion to speak of. Mostly just a concussive detonation, but there is enough to cause these cheap prefab structures to burn. Setting the timer for fourty five seconds, Rivo scrambles to his feet and sprints out of the door across the street to his partner. The two of them enter the building across from where the first charge is set and begin to move closer towards the objective. Unfortunately the building they enter has no back door - so they make one. Rivo's plan behind the first charge is to cause a bit of havoc and confusion: they won't know what exactly is going on. Is it another force they didn't notice before? Either way, it'll start a fire that'll spread. Even if it doesn't knock out any perches, the reaction with the cheap materials will cause one hell of a thick smoke screen. When the first signs of fire are detected, the Lieutenant in charge of the platoon defending this area is quick to react. His snipers, at least those close to the prefabs in danger are relocated. Instead of their previous positions atop buildings, they are tasked to serve as regular troopers and circulate the area in an effort to locate whoever is behind this. Soon after, when the rest of the attackers take shelter within the structures they were trapped by not too long ago, the rest of the snipers are tasked to do the same, now serving as a roving force of scouts within the battlegrounds instead of being wasted or endangered atop the single story buildings. After seeing to that, Varin Rall and most of first squad leave the top of the prefab shelters near the entrance to the town and begin to go about the task of trying to flush out the enemy troops hidden within the houses. Shelter by shelter, they put into effect long-practised drills and showing just how qualified Marines are at squad-level combat. House to house fighting is time consuming and a serious drain on resources, but from the steady advance of the NR Marines Cassius knows that they are well trained in this specific aspect of warfare and, further, knows that this pins them down in known locations. "Make a door," is her orders, following the example relayed to them from Rivo's team, using what explosives they have on hand to start punching holes through the back of the structures that they're pinned down in. The team that she's held in reserve all this time is addresses face to face, "We're going to make a big noise and put up some distraction out here. You're going to link up with Rivo. Soon as they take the bait Rivo is going to get you through one of those buildings. The objective at this point is simple. Get to the power house and destroy it. That's the end-game we're going to gents. Be creative, anything that leaps to mind that you think will accomplish this, do it." With those at the bare outline for instructions, Cassius signals for the 'distraction' to begin. Pulling back from the quick-fab structure that they're currently occupying they cut a hole into the next one, withdraw, then set the previous one to explode as soon as the next building is breached and the fall back continues. By the time they're into the next building over the first one goes up in a loud explosion that sends debris and sparks spiraling upwards to slowly drift down in a rain of smoking ash. Two more building deeps, they do it again, making sound and explosions. It's in one of these fall back quick-fab's that the demolition team cuts through the back of one of the buildings and starts to quick time it around the side of the structure to link up with Rivo's team. The thick smoke in the air is a double edged sword. It is perfect cover for the commando unit and the reserve squad coming to link up with them, but it also means they won't see any advancing scouts until they are right in their faces. Rivo has gone into soldier mode, this has been his life for the past 16 years and he means to teach a lot of the kids today a few tricks that might save their lives later. From the cover of the building, Rivo places a proximity tag mine and retreats up the stairs to a second level. Once the plan is relayed, the commando immedaitely takes control of the squad even though he is completely removed from them at this point. "Two man teams, leap frog. Fifteen meter intervals. Once you get to my position - take the alley. I'll meet up with you on the otherside. Keep your eyes peeled, don't hesitate. You're moving into enemy territory, anything that so much as twitches - waste it." The smoke is thick, but Rivo and his partner can still provide a small level of cover fire. It'll take a few moments for the backup to sneak through to their location, and even then there is no guarantee the distraction was enough. The commando itches, just begging an enemy squad to try and enter their building or move across open ground where he and the second commando can open fire on them from their dug in positions. When the shelter they were about to enter goes up in smoke, and those nearest to it are thrown to the ground, Varin puts a halt to this tactic and orders his men to pull back and regroup. "Spotted, do you see anything, any movement up there that'd signal an ambush?", the answer is lost to all save him, and the Lieutenant frowns when the commlink with his spotters atop the highest points in the terrain he was assigned to defend. Third squad is detached from its position alongside the defences manned by second squad, and its members are sent to assist the snipers-turned-scouts. Meanwhile, he takes the men of first squad, all of its members gathered and standing around him in a hunt for the remaining enemies. Instead of heading straight after the enemy, Varin sends his men n a wide arc around the line of buildings trying to catch up to them, and if possible cut them off by beating them to those buildings which are likely they'll cut into. Like so many plans that don't survive the first encounter with the enemy, this one doesn't work as well as hoped either. The demolitions team that Cassius had sent around the side of the building towards Rivo's team does, in fact, detect the advance of the enemy soldiers around the line of buildings and advancing on their position. With the choices being relatively simple - that is to say, get caught in yet another house to house fight or get shot down and out of the fight entirely - the demolitions team ducks into the nearest building they can barrel into. Relaying their position they consult their 'map' of the quick fab construction, cut through one of the walls in the house and slip out into the main street again where the whole unit had been pinned so recently. Moving as stealthily as possible they duck from one building to the next, holding their own fire as to not draw attention to their movements. Without serious cover to use as concealment they're forced to move slowly. With the rest of the team, Cassius is reminded of some quote. about being surrounded on all sides - and declaring that the enemy won't be able to get away from them THIS time! Rivo curses. Shouting something that is almost inaudible over the blaster fire and excitement, he motions towards the windows and the two commandos quickly prepare to quick rappel back down to street level. A short moment passes, and in a matter of seconds both soldiers are on the ground. The two expert commandos move and shoot, one covering the other while he moves up. Not a single shot is wasted as they navigate away from the backup squad. Each movement is calculated and both men move as quickly as humanly possible, which considering their training, is pretty fast. If this were real, he would feel guilty. But considering the assets, a soldier is a soldier. They are commandos. They arent playing the roll of New Republic soldier, but cold and calculating imperial shocktroops. Rivo and his partner move closer to the target zone yet, hoping that the distraction of the backup squad is again enough for them to move through. "Cover - Down!" Rivo says in a course voice. His partner dives to the left and comes up on some prefab rubble and trains his weapon down the street. Rivo goes in the opposite direction and falls prone - he doesn't have any cover at all so he makes his body a smaller target. Through the smoke and heat, just down the way the two of them spot a scout unit heading towards them. Without giving the order, both men open fire. "Doctor Cassius, you must realize that you are cut off from any reinforcements, the bulk of your force surrounded and trapped. And understand that we will soon kill or capture the rest of those, already the ones you had intended to take us from the back have been beat back. You have no strategic reserve, and you have nothing to throw against us." The First Lieutenant stops there, letting the words sink in, his voice clearly heard for some distance as he uses a voice magnifier, one of those granted to commanding officers in his position. "Surrender.", the word is barely said that he tells those grenadiers among his squad to move, ordering them to get into position and prepare to lob grenades at those position which shelter the enemy. One way or another, the enemy will be forced out of those buildings, either through a surrender or because they will have to leave lest they collapse on them thus exposing themselves. The scout unit fares considerably worse than the rest of the defenders do in general, several men taken down before they even realize there is an enemy presence, and the rest barely have time to get into cover. The surroundings are quickly surveyed, and when the remaining members of that unit come back out to face the enemy, it is with their weapons blazing and laying down as much a cover as possible to allow the snipers within its ranks to get a good shot at the commandos. Half of fourth squad is detached from the rear of the battlefield, seeing as attack from that corner is unlikely, and sent to hit the backup squad from behind and quickly take it out of the battle. The voice of the first lieutenant is loud and clear, and it doesn't take an absolute military genius to see that their options - such as they are - are really non existent at all. With her back against a wall, both literally and figuratively, Lynae scans the faces of the men and women that she's led into this ambush. They had trusted her to get them this far, and more so - they had trusted her to hand out one plan after another and still they remain with her at this point. She takes a nose count, then a weapons count, then checks her own gear over for what weapons she has left. A quirk of a smile forms on her face, one of those brief expressions, before she pushes to her feet and reaches out to clasp the hand of the ranking officer that had stayed with her this entire time. "You did a good job," she says quietly, then lifts her voice to address her entire unit, "all of you. This is the kind of fighting force that gives the Empire a thorough trouncing. The fact that I, a navy officer, can't come up with a way around you guys - and I know you're all part of the some cohesive fighting unit when not in practice like this - is a huge compliment from me to you." She unslings the simulated weaponry from her gear and hands it over, well, almost all of it, before she toggles on the voice magnifier, "All right Lieutenant, I'm coming out," she says before stepping through one of the holes in the quick-fab buildings that her demolitions team has so neatly made. The rest of her unit starts to 'power down' so to speak, standing up from their positions and making a visible show of surrendering. She starts across the rubble strewn testing ground, a quirk of a smile still on her face as she advances towards the lieutenant, hands held at her sides in an obvious show of not carrying a gun as she continues to speak. Her XO's for this exercise follow along a mere pace or so back, no more than that, as this is a formal surrender after all. Once within a few feet of the opposing commander, Lynae gives him a measured nod, "Well fought and well done, all of you," she repeats. Stepping forward she extends her right hand to clasp the other officers, that smile remaining on her face even as her left hand slides into her pocket, withdraws a sim-grenade and presses the activation button. "All glory to the Empire," she states in a tone of voice that carries easily and uses her right hand to yank the opposing commander towards her just as the sim-grenade explodes - spraying them both in an amazingly brilliantly ugly neon shade of green! Now that's not nice is it? Not nice at all. Varin lies motionless though he's still alive, he must play the part, and it is quite grating after all these years that he let a rookie get the best of him. It, however, shows the skills of his own platoon that those around him begin spraying any enemy that has anything resembling a weapon with bolts their weapons soon after trained on the others in a quick warning to them. Varin's second in command, a Gunnery-Sergeant as grizzled and as experienced as Varin takes over his commander's duties. After a quick tap on his commlink, he sends orders to the entire platoon, or those that remain operational anyway. "Lieutenant Rall was rendered inoperational by a false surrender. Permission is granted to open fire on any Imperials who do not immediateley put down their weapons, spread their hands and get on the ground.", recognizable orders given the suicide-surrender is unfortunately common from Imperial. "Clear any rubble and reestablish barricades. Squad leaders, count your casualty levels and inform me, I'll be contacting regional command we will need reinforcements immediately and we have prisoners for them." Their CO might be knocked out of commission, but the members of C company's First Platoon, the "Outlaws" as they are known, go about their duties with quiet professionalism. Especially since there'll be more of it to come.
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