Taloraan City
Taloraan

The blasts of laser light could be seen striking the civilian platforms throughout Taloraan City, the autocannons being quickly eliminated. The administrator himself looked away at one point, from a combination of artificial sun-blindness and horror. One, on the other hand, did not. “I would hope that you are getting all of this, Til.”

Til nodded wordlessly.

“Reinforce all entrances to the city from the platforms. Ensure that they are forced to endure fire for every step they take.” To One’s right, statistics scrolled off a holographic display, primarily relaying battle reports from Stormtroopers embedded in civilian units. The Outer-Rim Sovereignty was fighting using conventional tactics; but this was not a conventional battle.

The enemy was suffering heavy casualties. For every three men that landed on the city, at least one died in the hail of gunfire that would enshroud the platform from all angles. As the units attempted to force their way into solid durasteel doors, they would continue to be pelted by laserfire; even once they had entered the interiors of the buildings, fire would continue to meet them.

Even using fighters to selectively target buildings would be hopeless; every building was an enemy building.

The Sovereignty was being slaughtered. They’d landed in what had transformed from an innocent city among the clouds, to a floating fortress.

"The reinforcements have arrived."

"Good. Continue the push forward." Drall said to his XO.

"Yes sir. But I must warn you it is difficult to kill an enemy who fires at us from the shadows." Commander Macneil.

"I know," Drall replied, "But tell them that we are to win here, or never at all. We have created a beachhead, now we must reinforce our position."

More transports landed, carrying fresh waves of new reinforcements - thousands of them. The soldiers rushed out, this time with portable blaster resistant barricades. They set up hundreds of them near the landing pad, giving the soldiers much needed cover. The Shockers dove behind the barricades as Clone Commanders took control of the scattered forces and directed their fire as one.

Clone Commander 4H1 kneeled down several foot soldiers and tapped the side of his helmet to send a transmission from the internal comlink.

"This is 4H1, confirmation code alpha-three-eight-two. I need civilian surrender calls made to the two bu9ildings north of the landing pad designated two-d, confirm."

A distorted voice confirmed the request and almost instantly loudspeakers suddenly came to life.

"Citizens of Taloraan! Disarm and surrender and you will not be harmed. Come out with your hands in the air, the Sovereignty will not harm you if you give up now."

The loudspeaker rose over the blasterfire, in a final warning to the citizens who were firing at the Sovereignty. Some of the people did come out, but it was not nearly enough, the blaster fire did not die down. 4H1 sighed slightly to himself and called in air support.

Three Samurai Gunships swooped down from their positions and directed all of their fire on the two buildings flanking the landing pad exit area. Blasterfire was directed into the windows, and the foundation.

After a few strafing runs along the street. the general area was clear. There was still some blasterfire coming out of the two buildings, but it was not neafrly enough. Thousands of ORS troops spread out, and entered the two buildings, easily stunning - not killing - the survivors. The survivors were rounded up, disarmed, and placed under guard near the landing pad.

The blaster resistant barricades were carried along past the cleared buildings and set up. Thousands of more Shockers were advancing into Taloraan City.

With the Shockers who had landed, also landed a battalion of Rangers. These were the elite of the elite of the ORS special forces and were almost entirely made up of the shapeshifting Shi'ido, and the shadow-like Defel. The Defel moved into the unnoticed parts of the city, and the Shi'ido formed into unnoticable animals, garbage rats and the like. The invisible special forces infiltrated the city, unnoticed by anyone. They were trained to infiltrate enemy units and eliminate them.


Meanwhile in orbit, the Birds of Prey had dissapeared into hyperspace, leaving the rest of the ORS ships fanning out into defensive positions, weapons charged, sheilds up, and missiles loaded.

Much like other cities, Taloraan City had lots and lost of alleys. And with those alleys came shadows, and lost of them. The Shi'ido Ranger designated 'Fat Man' (he hated the that codename), moved quickly and easily through the labryinth of alleyways. This gave him access to the buildings the Taloraan defenders were holded up in.

He morphed quickly into the shape of a avian-like being, and instantly took flight. He soared over the buildings, and up into the clouds. He headed to the area of a pinned down- ORS unit of Shockers. Their Samurai Gunship had dropped them off at this point int he city, and like most areas, they were instantly pinned down. Fortunately, the enemy fire was coming only from one building, because this building was the only with a clear line of sight to the ORS troops.

Fat Man landed on the roof of the building and quickly formed into that of a snake-like animal. Only this snake had 'suction cups' attached to it. Using the cups, it made it's way down the side of a building and into an open window, where fire was being directed out of. The defenders did not take notice of the tiny snake-thing.

As soon as he was inside, he changed into the form of a Wookie. Sharp claws extended, and Fat Man charged the surprised civilians. Having no formal training, they reacted like any person would do, they panicked. A minute later, it was over, and the building was cleared. He signalled this to the ORS troops, who made their way forward.

Incidents like this were taking place all over the city...the Rangers were having quite an effect, resistance at key points was being slowly, if surely, eradicated.

At the current 'front' of combat, thousands of more troops were landed, and reinforced the slowly expanding Shockers. Buildings were taken over, one-by-one, Rangers and Shockers alike were infiltrating target buildings. Even a few heavy landspeeders and tanks were landed, mainly to provide mobile-cover for the troops as the Shockers advanced.




OOC: I have edited, Theren you are clear to post. Also note, theat your civilians are fighting against superior numbers, and against highly trained soldiers and special forces.

OOC: Actually, you're fighting against superior numbers with a massive tactical handicap.

Taloraan City
Taloraan

One stared down at the city below. Stray laser blasts could be seen ricocheting about the cityscape. “Many of the entrance buildings have been taken,” One reported, relaying the information he’d gathered from his implant.

Til nodded. “There is still a great deal of area for the enemy troops to cover, and they must advance in a predictable pattern.”

“Too right they must. Order all Stormtroopers embedded with citizen militia units to spur them on. No surrender under any circumstances. Fight to the last and ensure that those who have already surrendered attempt to fight back.”

“How will we deal with the captured buildings?”

“Use explosives. Order the Stormtroopers to assault captured buildings with thermal detonators and whatever homemade explosives the citizens may carry. Set fire to them and fill their halls with explosions.”

“There will be no escape.”

“Correct.”

And below, buildings occupied by Outer-Rim Sovereignty troops began to explode into flames, the citizens crude explosives setting them alight and the thermal detonators filling them with minor nuclear reactions. The rate of fire outside and in un-captured buildings intensified. The Sovereignty forces had only one entrance with which to gain access to any given building, and that in itself made the numerical advantage possessed by the resident forces multiply tenfold.

"Here they are, Major!"

Drall turned to his subordinate, "All troops equipped properly?"

"Yes sir. Air breathers have been implemented. We are ready for gas attack."

"Bombers?"

"Incoming."

As his subordinate said these words, Tie Bombers and other craft swooped across the city, dropping hundreds of canister-like devices all over the city.

Out of the canisters came a gray-ish smoke like substance that had been developed by ORS scientists. It looked like smoke, but in reality it was a type of tranquilizer gas, that when ingested, caused a person to fall asleep. It was effective against all types of people, and many aliens and humans. It was harmless in the long run, with no side effects or sickness. And the person would awake within twenty-four hours or when given an antidote.

The citizen fighters fell by the hundreds, all asleep as the gas spread and took effect.

The Sovereignty Shock troops instantly hit the city like a storm, spreading throught the city, taking out any resistance that had survived the gas as thousands of Sovereignty troops landed, reinforcing the force already there.


In space, even more ORS ships left orbit, at the order of the commander and headed to their pre-hyperspace entry points.


OOC: Leaving (1st Post) -

12 Silencer-Class Cruisers
1 Allegiance - Class Star Destroyer
2 Victory Mk. I Star Destroyers
2 Republic - Class Star Destroyers
70 XM-1 Missile Boats
76 Tie Defenders

The gas spread quickly, knocking out every civilian it came into contact with. The Shock Troops followed in kind, using air breathers as they ran. Any holdout of civilians was quickly destroyed by the Sovereignty forces using stun weapons.

Major Drall, the one in charge of the battle, looked out over the city. One of his subordinates walked up to him with a datapad. He looked down at it and realized it was a casualty report. He sighed quietly as he read the list.

"So many dead." He said quietly, "For so little gain."

He turned to his immiediate subordinate, "Take over the rest of the city. I want it under my control by the end of the day. And make sure all of those civilians are under heavy guard. Also, find all Imperial forces and destroy them. No prisoners." He said. His subordinate nodded and left.

Drall turned back to the city.

Samurai Gunships, tanks and other transports were fanning out over the city, delivering more and more troops to certain areas. Hotspots were subdued, and the halls of the city were quickly taken. Shi'ido and Defel soldiers guided Sovereignty infantry through the city, to it's Tibinna facilities, and command facilities.

More and more Sovereignty forces were landed to help contain the knocked out civilians. Doctors and medical droids were also landed to tend to the injured. who were being evacuated.


OOC: Gone (2nd Post) -

12 Silencer-Class Cruisers
1 Allegiance - Class Star Destroyer
2 Victory Mk. I Star Destroyers
2 Republic - Class Star Destroyers
70 XM-1 Missile Boats
76 Tie Defenders

Cloud City,
Bespin

Dej chuckled. Two did not.

“Gas,” Dej muttered. “Quite ingenious, really.”

“I am sure the opposing commander would appreciate your sentiments,” Two said.

“Why, Two,” Dej replied, without missing a beat, “was that sarcasm?”

“Of course not.” He gestured towards the city, where quite a fair number of buildings had fallen to the Outer-Rim Sovereignty troops. “The Stormtroopers have been equipped with masks and are taking up the positions of the civilians, but they will not be enough to hold out forever. I believe it may be time to initiate our endgame plan.”

Dej nodded. “I believe I know a way we can spin this to our advantage, as well,” he noted, and stepped forward, tapping a few buttons on the command center’s console. A small map of Cloud City appeared, complete with a number of lines running through it of a variety of colors. “City gas management system. You see, here, at this valve set, the main tibanna line intersects with the city air purification network.”

Two nodded. “It could be dispersed throughout the city?”

“Yeah.”

“We would not require a great deal. Only a moderate amount… a very slight portion would cause significant damage.”

“Yeah. About two seconds dispersal would do the trick.”

“Do it, but seal off all shafts near this cabin. Half-seal those in buildings still held by New Order troops,” Two ordered, glancing at the various personnel in the cabin. A number of them moved to relay the order. Throughout the city, a small portion of tibanna gas – barely half the volume of a human being – was pumped through each ventilator. It may have combusted instantly, or moved as a cloud until it reached enough sunlight to react, but many explosions rocked the city quite suddenly, filling the buildings with fire. Many ORS troops fell, but so too did those of the Empire.

“I have relayed this plan to One on Taloraan; he will do the same. And,” Two added, lowering his monotone voice so that only Dej could hear, “order all personnel involved with our plan to report to this cabin.”

“You got it.”

"Sir...! Scouts report numerous expolsions in all sectors!..."

"Damn..." Drost muttered as he watched roughly half of the buildings on Taloraan City explode, with flame gutting out of multiple damage points.

"Get me the damage report as soon as it is available." Drost muttered again to his subordinate.

"It is time to take the city." He said.

Thousands of ORS forces, fresh from the landing platforms, pushed forward, annihilating the Imperial opposition that stood in their way.

Vengefull, they showed no mercy to captured Stormtroopers.

It was almost over.

Clone Soldier 4X3K felt no emotion as he tracked and shot Stormtrooper after Stormtrooper. One of the white armored soldiers peaked out from his cover, only to be blasted by a dozen different weapons.

4X3K watched as four platoons of Sovereignty clone soldiers advanced on the Imperial position - one of their last holdouts in the city. The Imperials killed many of them, but there were simply far too many to be completely destroyed. Stormtrooper after Stormtrooper was killed mercilessly. The Sovereignty forces knew their orders: Kill all of them.

There was no hope for the Empire on Taloraan. 4X3K blasted yet another trooper as the four platoons closed in...



Drost nodded to his subordinate, a Captian, as the other saluted him with his right hand, and held a datapad in his left.

"Sir, most of the last enemy resistance holdouts have been wipe out. Air support is focusing on search-and-destroy type missions. Ground forces are finishing off the rest of the Stormtroopers. We expect the city taken shortly."

"What about the enemy commander?"

"We are gradually slimming down the areas to where he could be. Most of the city is in our hands."

"Direct the Rangers to find the commander and kill him." Drost said.

"Yes sir." The captain replied.



Three Rangers - Two Shi'ido and one Defel moved silently through the darkness of the alley ways of Taloraan City. Ahead of them was a small holdout of a few Stormtroopers. One held the rank of a captain, as indicated by the coloring on his shoulder bars.

The lead Ranger (R120), a Shi'ido made silent guestures to his two companions. The other Shi'ido shifted his shape, into a crystal snake from Yavin 4. The Defel moved silently to the other troopers as the snake slithered across the ground toward the captain.

Ranger 120, the leader of the three, moved silently as well, as he changed his shape into that of a Wookie. He motioned once more and the Defel withdrew a long slender assassin's knife and lunged at the troopers that accompanied the captain. All of them dropped dead within a few seconds, victims of the knife-wielding Defel.

Ranger 120 grabbed the helmit of the captain and ripped it off, as the other Shi'ido, in snake form, wrapped itself around the captain's neck, choking him. Ranger 120 stood over the fallen stormtrooper captain.

"Where is the leader of the Imperial forces on Taloraan City?" He asked.

The captain gasped, "I.... don't...know..." He rasped.

"Tell me or you will die. If you tell me, you will live."

"All...my...orders...come...from...a certain location..." He rasped in response.

"Give me the coordinates to the location." Ranger 120 said.

The captain rasped out a series of numbers, that the Defel promptly typed in to a datapad. Ranger 120 looked back at the Defel, "Where?"

"I have the location. Air strike? The Defel asked.

"Yes."

The Defel nodded.

A minute later, a squad of Samurai Gunships swooped overhead, heading to the location designated by the Defel. A minute later, an expolsion was heard as the Gunships destroyed the location that the Stormtrooper had given them.

Ranger 120 turned back to the stricken Captain as the snake refored into it's Shi'ido form. 120 nodded to the Defel, who withdrew a blaster.

"But you said you would let me live.." The captain protested as the Defel leveled the blaster at him.

"I lied." 120 said.

The Defel fired.

The Zenith,
Corellia

Theren Gevel emerged back into the bridge looking somewhat more disgruntled than before, a lit (and seemingly chewed-upon) cigarra hanging from one corner of his mouth. He was managing a variety of battles throughout the galaxy, and clearly, the stress was weighing upon him.

“Sir!” One of the officers addressed him. A young man, seemingly right out of the officer candidate program, saluting stalwartly. “One of the enemy’s lesser craft has broken formation and is making a run for the line.”

“Shoot at it,” Theren suggested sarcastically, walking away and nodding to Tornel. “Everything under control?”

“Yeah. How about on your front? Or fronts, should I say?”

“The second one, yeah.” Theren took the cigarra out of his mouth seemingly by reflex, then put it back in. “As well as can be expected.”

Tornel raised an eyebrow. “Bespin?”

“Yeah.”

Theren’s aide nodded knowingly. The look in his commander’s eyes was instantly explained by this simple statement, which would have been opaque to anyone else on the bridge. “You’ve given the order, then?”

“Three minutes ago. Two contacted me.”

“Where’s One?”

Theren shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. They’re connected anyway.” He shook his head, glancing out the viewport and issuing a routine order regarding line formations. “I’ll never fully agree with what I just ordered, Tornel.”

“Things would be too simple if you did.”

Theren took a puff of his cigarra and smirked wryly. “I guess so.”



Taloraan City,
Taloraan

“What was that?” Til asked, somewhat curiously.

An officer immediately answered the question. “Sovereignty forces have knocked out a communications relay unit.”

Til raised an eyebrow. “Why would they do that?”

“Perhaps one of our captains relayed the origin point of the orders he was receiving,” One guessed.

“That means they’ll locate us, soon enough.”

One nodded. He surveyed those gathered before him, and began to speak…

Cloud City,
Bespin

Two looked sideways at Dej, who in turn looked away. Gathered in the narrow command cabin were a motley crew of men and women; mechanics and janitors, scientists and technicians, everyone who had possessed knowledge of the final plan for an assault on Bespin. Each one had a unique facial expression, Two observed; fear, shock, hope, regret, malice, even something that might be construed as a malevolent greed.

Each human being was quite different, not only in physical form, but in morality. Not so, with the Conclave Executors. They were all exactly the same, and there was only one moral in the Executorial Legion; obedience.

Two reminded himself of this, even as Dej seemed to avoid looking at those gathered at all. Finally, the Executor motioned his hand for the gathered men and women to stop speaking. It was, really, not needed; the mere presence of him seemed to garner their attention adequately enough. Most knew who he was; some did not. Those gathered were everyone needed to carry out the final plot for Bespin and Taloraan; some were high-profile enough to have met him, but some were merely grunts.

It had been a delicate process, carrying out such a thing with so few. But now, it was time to reap the rewards, in a manner of speaking. “Today,” Two began, in his monotone, metallic voice, “you gathered have accomplished something – something lasting, that will benefit your Empire for years to come.”

“Unfortunately,” he continued. “None of you will be permitted to witness this. It pains me to do what comes next.” Even as he said the words, Two did not feel pain; he did not feel anything, but for the abstract distance from reality that all combat, all killing brings. Dej continued to look away.

With a metallic shing, his Yevethan claws slid from their sheaths, protruding from the wrists of his specially-designed uniform. In a swift, singular motion, he stepped forward, and slashed down at the nearest of the people. One deafening cry later, he was dead, lying bleeding on the ground.



Taloraan City
Taloraan

Far beneath the city, in an area no one bothered to visit, a piece of what seemed to be part of the structure of Taloraan City’s massive reactor began to beep. It wasn’t large, really; only, perhaps, a quarter of a meter wide and tall. But a moment later, it exploded in spectacular fashion, rending the durasteel and circuitry around it, the explosion gaining power as it set off a chain reaction in the immensely powerful reactor.

And all over the lower section of Taloraan City, strategically placed bombs on reactors and repulsorlift generators did the very same.



“Attention, attention. This is the Administrator of this facility. The occupying forces have critically damaged Taloraan City’s reactor. All personnel are ordered to evacuate immediately. Repeat, evacuate immediately.” The hollow voice continued to repeat these words over and over.



Cloud City,
Bespin

The sudden jolt had been perceptible, as Cloud City’s massive repulsorlift generators and ion reactor suddenly combusted in a wave of fire, far beneath the city. Dej was frantically hitting buttons in the control booth, heeding Two’s orders but not replying. “Ensure all power to the engines and repulsorlifts is cut. Overload terminators six and seven so that it can’t be restored under any circumstances.”

Dej nodded, hitting a few more buttons. Two nodded at him, and they strode from the room.