Battle For Balmorra 3

The forests of Balmorra were dense and humid this time of year, anyone who were not prepared for the weather would most likely suffer from heatstroke. Luckily for a certain group, they were traveling through via Imperial dropship, now repurposed for the Imperium. They were quite high in orbit, to remain out of range of the New Republic AA guns. Inside were Shadow Squad and Imperial Knight Markus Numenor. They were arming themselves with Markus having to put on a Special Forces helmet in place of his own personal helmet. It was silence between the group, none not having anything to say to each other. Then the silence was broken by the youngest of the group, a human female by the name of Satarn Korr. "Sir?", she called and watched Markus turn his attention to her, "Why are we not just going to trudge through the forests? It would give us the element of surprise as well as make sure that we can sneak in."

Markus nodded his head, understanding her point and question. He then moved to put on a jetpack onto his back. Each of them had jetpacks as well, meant for how they planned to infiltrate the New Republic FOB. "We don't go through the forests because the New Republic will have likely have set numerous traps", he stated plainly, "As well as having a few Wookies or other species in their service that could smell us out. Hence, why we do a halo drop so that they do not detect us. Thus giving us an even bigger element of surprise." Satarn slowly nodded her head, then went to power up her blaster carbine. All but two of the squad members had blaster carbines. The blasters that they were using were an advanced version of the DC-17m, now coined the DC-18m. The other two had blaster sniper rifles with one being an E-17d and the other being an E-11s rifle.

The leader of the squad, Sasha Saresha held a stoic look. She seemed indifferent towards Markus, as if she had something against him. Of course Markus could sense this but chose not to address it. He found that it would be better to do it after this mission, though he would be ready to put her down if she chose to address him. A red light shined within the dropship's back canopy, Markus seeing this made sure that his helmet was on air tight. For there will be little oxygen as they fell, then without a moment's waste he moved to the side of the dropship. "Remember your roles, the fleet will launch an orbital bombardment onto the Rebel base", Markus called back, "It may not break through their shields but it is to mask our descent. Use your jetpack thrusters sparingly, only when we are three-hundred kilometers should you use the full power of the jetpacks."

The side door for the dropship hissed open, revealing the Balmorran skies and the landscape far below them. The assembled group stood side by side, waiting for the signal to jump. The New Republic base came into view and just as they were about to reach it the light turned green. Immediately, Markus jumped followed behind by Shadow Squad. Right as they jumped, green flashes came down overhead impacting the New Republic energy shielding. As this happened, Markus and Shadow Squad dived down. They had spread out to avoid colliding with each other, the two members with the sniper rifles broke off away from the group. The two were heading for another position, aiming to be overwatch over their squadmates and Markus. The group could see in their helmet's visor as their breathing became labored. They watched the numbers going down faster and faster. The ground may have looked further away, but the numbers did not lie. They were dropping fast, and would have to time their halt perfectly.

"Steady." Markus stated through the private comm channel within their helmets. He glanced over as he adjusted his trajectory. "Rickon, Dickon, you two will be our eyes inside the base, be sure to keep your aim straight and true as well", he said, "We don't want to be spotted prematurely." His words were met with two 'Yes Sirs', the two were brothers and the best snipers on Balmorra. To say that Markus was putting his faith in their abilities simply because of that was quite risky. However, he had no other choice, he would have to use whatever this planet had to defeat the New Republic. The numbers were dropping faster now, showing that the time to use the jetpacks was approaching. Just as they seemed to have sped up in velocity to the ground, Markus initiated his descent with his own jetpack. The other members of Shadow Squad did the same, following his lead.

Right as they were slowing down, Markus could see lights beneath them. They came from a patrol of New Republic soldiers moving down a path ahead of them. "Patrol beneath us, they will spot our descent", Sasha stated while taking her blaster and aimed down the sights, "We could beginning firing from here sir, catch them by surprise." Markus narrowed his eyes, already having an idea in mind. "Belay that, we are taking out this patrol before they have time to report", His gaze turned to another member of the squad, "Casian, throw two of your shock grenades as we pass over them. Everyone else follow me!" Markus moved with his jetpack, descending faster with the use of it as the rest of Shadow Squad followed behind him. He immediately took out the hilt to his lightsaber and once they were close enough, he ignited his blade. Before the first New Republic soldier could say a single word, two Shock Grenades landed within their formation. Not long after, the grenades detonated and paralyzed almost all of them. Markus was the first to strike, bringing his blade down on their commanding officer, bisecting the human female in two. The rest of Shadow Squad opened fire, with Sasha aiming at their radioman and killing him with two precise bolts. Rickon and Dickon landed a good ways away and began sniping at any stragglers trying to take cover behind the trees. Markus carved through them, causing several New Republic soldiers to leave cover so that they could get away from him. It only lead them to being shot down by Shadow Squad. Satarn aimed at a New Republic soldier who was about to blast Markus in the back, but was tackled by a Wookie.

She grunted then allowed her training to kick in, with a practiced maneuver, Satarn got the Wookie into an armbar. Then used her free arm to elbow roughly three times into the Wookie's arm. A satisfying crunch was heard, then the pain filled roar of the Wookie. It growled and tried to strike at Satarn but an accurate shot was embedded into it's skull, killing it. The shot had come from Sasha who was slowly approaching her squadmate. "Thanks, Captain", Sasha thanked, "Was worried that he was about to tear my arms apart." Beneath Sasha's helmet, she was smirking before turning her attention to what was left of the New Republic patrol. Markus did a behind the back stab with his blade, stabbing the New Republic soldier through their torso. Around him were several other corpse either having been cut down or bisected.

"Sound off!" Markus ordered, waiting for Shadow Squad to respond whether if they were in proximity or not. "Alive and kicking, Sir!" Satarn answered followed by a wave and a response from Sasha. "Green, Sir." She plainly said. "Winded but still able, Sir." Casian confirmed his status then was quickly followed by the brothers Rickon and Dickon with their 'Yes Sirs'. "Good, we move on before they realize that this patrol is not returning", Markus said while speaking into their comm channel, "Rickon, Dickon, get to your overwatch positions and do whatever you have to stay hidden. Be sure that your aim remains as true as it was just now. Shadow Squad, move out!" At those orders Sasha, Satarn, and Casian fell in behind Markus as they started to hike after him. He was moving with little to no trouble, as if his display just now didn't even tire him.

Markus and Shadow Squad would be hiking their way for more than 15 minutes before they came to a halt. The Imperial Knight had a clenched fist being held upwards, then moved a knife hand gesture to the forest beside them. With no questions asked, Shadow Squad and Markus jogged into the forest. Using the woods as cover for the remainder of their approach. It wouldn't be long before they came across the New Republic base. The shield that kept the base protected from orbital bombardment so far was still holding. Markus waited a few moments as his emerald irises scanned the layout of the base. Then he started to move forward, finding himself stepping into mud. His eyes remained affixed to the base and any outside guards. So far there was no one aware of their approach, before they made it any further, the comm channel came alive with Rickon's voice. "In position Sir, just outside of the shield." He reported.

Markus nodded with affirmation, then began to crouch and move much faster. His eyes glancing around out of the helmet's visor from time to time. "Good, mask your approach well and good hunting." Markus implored, while going silent on the radio. He and the other members of Shadow Squad stalked forward. They followed Markus' example, crouching down so that they couldn't be seen. The group passed through the shield, and just as they did Markus bolted forward with silent steps towards the nearest gate. Shadow Squad did as well, keeping their eyes open for anyone on the lookout for them. Once the group were assembled with their backs to the wall beside the gate, Markus turned to the group and pressed a button on the side of his helmet. Shadow Squad did the same, going into silencing their helmet's outward microphone. Now they spoke similar to Death Troopers, except the muffled and distorted voices were more silent. "Sasha, you and Casian go plant the charges", he ordered then set his visor on Satarn, "Satarn you're with me, we're going to find the New Republic Commanding Officer of this group and send him straight to Hell. If there is any Intel that we can gather from here, that will be our secondary objective."

A nod from Satarn and Casian was returned, though only Sasha didn't nod. It seemed to go unnoticed by Markus, but the reason for her not nodding was that she didn't like the youngest going with him. She had some reservations for the Imperial Knight, though she would not voice them here while they were in the Lion's Den. Without another word spoken, Markus and the group used their grapplers to climb up the wall for a stealthy approach. Once they reached the top, they halted and listened out for another. They could hear footsteps coming by on some kind of walkway. The first to peek over was Casian, he saw that there were three guards watching before bringing his head back down. So slowly, he unsheathed the hidden blade in his armor's gauntlet. Sasha did the same and so did Satarn, though Markus did not and allowed the group the vault over rather quickly. They rushed the guards and sent their blades into precise locations in the guards. One was a Rodian, another way a Zabrak with the last being human. All three were male, but it didn't matter to this group, they were going to die regardless. Casian was the first to strike, shoving his blade into the brainstem of the Rodian. Next was Sasha, who sent her into the Zabrak's testicles causing him to open his mouth to shout. Before he could she covered his mouth then began to shank repeatedly until his body went limp.

The last was Satarn who sent her blade right into the shocked human's mouth. The man's eyes rolled to the back of his head as he fell backwards onto the walkway. Markus came over the edge of the wall to the New Republic base and observed Shadow Squad's handiwork. He nodded his head with acknowledgement then began to head in another direction, Satarn followed behind him after removing her wristblade from guard's mouth. Sasha watched the both of them leave, frowning underneath her helmet before heading off with Casian to take out the shield generator. With Satarn and Markus, they moved quickly but stealthily. Keeping their eyes peeled and vigilant for any guards. They came to a sudden stop once Markus placed a hand to halt their advance. He could sense a big group of guards around the corner, seemingly mingling with each other. Markus glanced back at Satarn and did a gesture for them to go around the group. Just like that, they silently moved towards the headquarters of the base. Markus being behind Satarn now with her taking the lead. She was anxious, not because of Markus but because this was her first time being away from the rest of the squad.

Just as they were about to enter, two New Republic guards stepped out and had seen Markus and Satarn. Before either of them could try to kill them, two accurate shots embedded themselves into the sides of the guards. Rickon and Dickon were showing off their accuracy once again. Markus waved for Satarn to get inside while he used the Force to hide the guard's bodies. Once inside, Satarn kept herself low and wary, her blaster carbine facing forwards to put a hole in whomever she saw. Markus soon joined her and together they stalked their way through the halls. They were not even walking for another 5 minutes before they came across a console. "Can you hack it?" Markus questioned in a low voice, with Satarn nodding her head quickly. She moved with precision as she plugged a device into the console. Then she typed away at it, getting into the system while Markus made sure no one came around. Several seconds into hacking the console, Satarn gasped causing Markus to glance over at her.

"What is it?" He questioned, then looked over her shoulder to find something concerning. The information that she was sorting through seemed normal for the most part, schematics to the base and who all were there. However what was concerning that roughly 300 Imperium personnel were imprisoned within this base. Meaning that things have become complicated, Satarn was worried that Markus would disregard this information and leave these men and women to die. Fortunately for her, the Imperial Knight was currently coming up with a plan. He narrowed his eyes then came to a simple conclusion, the plan had to be modified. "Korr are you able to recover our people without me?" Markus suddenly said, causing the woman to freeze. She was being asked if she could do this task alone, she cared for her comrades but doing this alone seemed...out of her expertise. While she felt like she was about to fall upon the burden being thrusted upon her, Markus grabbed her by her shoulders and had her look at him. "Can you or can you not soldier?" He said with more authority behind his tone. Satarn centered herself, her visor locking onto his before standing straight. "Sir, yes Sir." She answered with professionalism, realizing that this was not the time to quake under pressure. She had a job to do, and now it was to help 300 men and women escape from this base.

Markus nodded and released his hold on her before looking at the schematics for the base once more. He saw where the command center was and began to move after it. Satarn looked at the schematics to find out where the brig was and began to go after it. Both had been separated with separate tasks at hand, now time was of the essence.

[Casian and Sasha]

Sasha snapped the neck of an unsuspecting guard who strayed too far from his group. Casian held his blaster upwards, aiming for anyone that could have seen it. The two of them had arrived at the shield generator, undetected so far. In the back of the woman's mind, she was worried for Satarn. She already distrusted Markus not because of his rank but because of what he was. She hadn't been on the receiving end of a lightsaber nor any Forve powers, but she has seen what one could do. Before she could reminisce of her past, Casian patted her shoulder to let her know that it was safe to approach the shield generator. As they did, Sasha cursed inside of her mind once she saw something. It was an armored man who had a T shaped visor on his helmet. 'A Mandalorian...great.' She thought, then waved for Casian to stay low and out of sight. She did the same, both getting behind a nearby crate before the Mandalorian could spot them. Casian took out a Shock Grenade, ready to toss it as Sasha began to inhale then exhale. They had a way to deal with Mandalorians, by the look of his armor it wad most likely pure Beskar. Meaning that blasting him wouldn't work, so they would use their own unique alternative way. With a nod from Sasha, Casian hurled his Shock Greande over the crate. Both bolted out of cover as the Mandalorian turned his visor towards them. Before he could blast at them, the Shock Grenade went off at his feet shocking him. Both Sasha and Casian dashed directly at the Mandalorian and tackled him to the ground. He grunted and sent a punch into Sasha's helmet. She shrugged off the blow and unsheathe her wristblade, then shoved it into his exposed neck. Casian did the same with his own wristblade, shoving it into the man's exposed armpit. The Mandalorian gurgled trying to speak, but eventually he went still as Sasha glared down at him coldly.

With his death, Sasha and Casian removed themselves from the Mandalorian's corpse. Then prepared to set the detonator for the shield generator. For some reason, Sasha felt as if something bad was about to happen. She didn't know why, but she had a very bad feeling about this. Just as she thought that, an explosion went off behind them at the main building for the New Republic base. Then over a hundred shouts was heard as blaster fire erupted from the compound. Sasha and Casian looked back confused and unsure as to what happened. What confused her even moreso was that she saw Satarn in the midst of the gunfight with a group of unarmored Imperium Troopers. Only one question came to mind and she voiced it aloud. "What. The. Fuck?!" She exclaimed.

[Moments Before Explosion with Satarn]

The young woman bounded a corner, heading towards the brig. She had the daunting task of releasing 300 unarmed and unarmored Imperium personnel. So of course she was anxious, but she stowed it away for a later time. Markus was counting on her, Sasha is counting on her. She pressed a button for the lift to take her down to the brig, her blaster was held pointing at the door. Just in case she had to blast anyone inside. When the doors opened, Satarn immediately blasted a droid who was inside. It was repurposed IG unit, knowing full well that it would have shot her had she hesitated she shot it right in the head. Once she entered the lift, she pressed the button to head down to the brig. As she stood in the lift with the carcass of the IG droid. Satarn took deep breathes, keeping herself calm so that she doesn't panic. She checked her blaster carbine to make sure that she wasn't low on ammo. Then faced forward once the lift door swung open to reveal a dimly lit hallway. She moved forward tactically, making sure that her blaster was pointed forwards. She dare not look at the cells, knowing to keep her mind focused on the task at hand. She needed to find the main console for all cell blocks, or at least the one for this cell block. When she passed another cell, she was about to bound a corner until she saw a nearby console. She looked around, then around the corner to find a napping New Republic soldier. With a nod of affirmation to herself, Satarn rushed towards the console, then pressed the Release button for the entire block that she was in. When the cell doors opened, she saw a head peek out confused before locking their eyes on her.

It was a young man around her age range, he recognized her armor and came out of the cell that he was in. Several others came out as well, wearing their armorweave shirts and plated armor below the waistline. They each shared a look before noticing the armored Satarn. Only one of them asked a question with a spark a hope in it. "Is this a rescue?" The trooper asked, causing the others to share the same spark with him. "This is a prison break." Satarn responded calmly after switch her helmet's microphone to be heard by the rest. She moved onwards, beginning to let other troopers and personnel out. They were medics, engineers, workers, loyal to the Imperium. Before long the New Republic guard woke up to find a group of Troopers surrounding him with his own blaster pointed at him. "Where's the nearest exit out of here?" The trooper questioned darkly while Satarn continued to release the others. The guard stared wide eyed at the man, then glanced over to find the alarm button just inches from him. Just as he thought to hit it, a laser bolt embedded itself into the guard's temple. The released Troopers turned around to find Satarn having returned with her blaster pointed at the guard. "There's no need to question him, I know the quickest way out." She stated then went to the comm channel to try and contact Markus or Sasha. Then she stopped herself realizing that they may be too busy to aid her. Then her thoughts landed on the twin snipers, Rickon and Dickon.

"Rickon, Dickon, I need you to cause a distraction." She said through the comm channel then heard an unsure response from Rickon. "I don't think that's a good idea, wouldn't that alert the base?" Dickon responded. Satarn grimaced knowing what will happen if they do cause a distraction. Then remembered that there was no way to escort over a hundred men and women out of the base without being spotted. "I know it sounds crazy, but trust me I know what I'm doing." She reassured, then heard a sigh from Rickon. "Alright, one distraction coming right up." Rickon stated, causing Satarn to turn go the large group of Imperium personnel. "Alright everyone, we're going to make a break for it", she stated plainly, "I cannot guarantee that some of you may die or be left behind. But stay close and if you see a weapon grab it and start shooting back. We are going to be heading for the nearest gate and after that for the forest so that we can get out of the way." One trooper frowned and voiced the question that came to mind. "Out of the way of what?" she questioned causing Satarn to respond bluntly. "The scheduled orbital bombardment from the fleet.." She answered. Before anymore questions could be asked, an explosion was heard above. Satarn knew that was the twins doing, and immediately ran in the direction of the emergency exit. It was a stairway, one that funneled them into an enclosed space. She trudge her way up the stairs with the large group behind her. All were motivated to leave now after hearing that ghe fleet above was going to blow the base to ashes. As Satarn reached the door to the exit, she punched the button to open the door. Then did a combat roll and crouched down to fire at the nearest New Republic soldiers. The majority of them should be somewhere else, that would buy them time to escape. The only problem would be getting out of through the gate.

Satarn scowled remembering that the gate system is inside of the commande center. Just as she felt that she was going to have to go back in. She watched as all gates opened simultaneously, as if on cue for her. For a moment she wondered who did it, then deduced that Markus had done it. She smirked then waved for the group to charge forth. Shouts and profanities could be heard directed their way as she opened fire on two New Republic soldiers. The two fell easily, being hit at center mass. As she dashed with the group behind her, she saw Sasha and Casian quickly making their way to her. "What the Hell happened!?" Sasha demanded, her helmet's microphone being switched upon getting to Satarn. "We found prisoners inside of the base, so Markus told me to go spring them free, ma'am." Satarn said easily as the group continued to charge forth. "50 second people, and the shields go down!" Casian reminded causing Sasha to stow her questions for the time being. Instead she got onto the comm channel to address Rickon and Dickon. "Charges are set, both of you get out of there and meet us at the rendezvous point", she ordered, "Also make contact with the fleet and tell them to send dropships. We've got company." Right as Sasha finished issuing orders, the group passed around a security tower then took cover wherever they could. A small army of New Republic soldiers were blocking the gate that they were heading throug. They shot at the group, killing more than 30 of the escaped prisoners. "Dammit where's that Knight when you need him!?" Sasha cursed, then heard a familiar blade being ignited. Shouts were heard from the New Republic soldiers before the sounds of a lightsaber carved into them. Sasha peeked her head to find Markus making quick work with the small army of soldiers, by the time that she and Shadow Squad opened fire. There were only 5 of the New Republic soldiers left. "Double time it people, let's go!" Markus ordered while deflecting a stray blaster shot without looking. The escaped Imperium personnel moved as fast as they could. Grabbing any weapon within reach and defended themselves as they retreated out of the base. Markus looked and saw one Imperium trooper get shot. They fell to the ground unmoving, causing him to close his eyes and give them a silent prayer for their service. Then he bolted out of the base, being the last to leave as he covered the group with his lightsaber. Seconds later, the base's shields came down. "Everyone take cover!" Markus ordered, then sent a restrained Force Push at the last few who would be in the blast radius of the bombardment.

Markus then used the Force to jump high in the air, to get himself out of the blast radius. Just as he did that, he looked up to find green flashes coming downwards at the New Republic base. The base was being bombarded heavily without remorse. Markus was hit by the impending shockwave, sending him into a tree like a ragdoll. When his body hit the ground, he was dazed, incoherent. He shook his head, then groaned as he forced himself to rise. His helmet had been damaged once again, so he removed it to reveal his face. Shapes could be seen making their way to him, he shook his head and narrowed his eyes to see who it was. It was revealed to being Shadow Squad coming to check up on him. They along with the surviving escaped prisoners were hidden away in the forest, regrouping so that they could be picked up. "Sir!", called a concerned Satarn, "Are you alright? Do you need a medic?" Her concern amused Markus, it caused him to give her a slight smile. He shook his head at her as his vision cleared up finally. "I am fine, you should be worried about yourself", he stated, "You did a grand job, well done. That's deserving of a medal, aren't I right Captain?" His question was pointed at Sasha who sent a look at Markus before looking to Satarn. With a sigh, she gave Sataen a wry smile then placing a hand on the young woman's shoulder. "Good job, Korr." She said with a hint if a motherly tone, causing a beaming smile to come over Satarn.

[One Hour Later]

Markus along with Shadow Squad stood at attention of a makeshift landing pad. So did the rest of the Imperium personnel on the planet. They had gotten word that the Imperator himself was coming. The Imperator was more or less the equivalent to Sheev Palpatine. The Imperator was the reason why the Imperium existed, why Markus existed. a shuttle escorted by a dozen black TIE Defendefs came down from the sky. The shuttle came to halt on the landing pad as the ship began to power down. A ramp came down from the shuttle, letting the occupants inside exit it. The first to come down was a scarlet haired beauty, she wore a skin tight suit with light armor. Behind her came down a man wearing a white uniform. It had golden shoulder pads, a rank insignia that resembled some kind of winged animal. At his side was a curved saber, which wasn't for decorations. The final description of this man was that he resembled Markus, though he had a trimmed beard and a military cut. When his eyes landed on Markus, he smiled while approaching him. Markus and all those around him saluted the man, but he instead hugged Markus which caught everyone off guard. Then the Imperator chuckled happily before placing his hands on Markus' shoulders. "You've done it son", he said with a happy tone, "This victory was well deserved, all of you deserve rest and a good vacation. This victory is the stepping stone that we needed along with the one that Grand Admiral Thrawn delivered to us. The New Republic has called for a ceasefire, as well as wishes to speak of terms of a treaty!"

Markus began to smile, while everyone else did their best to hide their confusion. That was the whole point to winning Balmorra. The New Republic had just finished fighting the Old Empire. They were not expecting to face a fresh group of former Imperial forces with newer ships and far more efficient personnel. Many of the war hawks wished to continue the war, to wipe out all remnants of the Empire. Unfortunately for them, the Peace Doves outnumbered and overruled them. Their spokesperson being the peace loving Mon Mothma. Now they could negotiate a peace treaty that would allow the Imperium to continue to exist without the New Republic's ire turned towards them. "Thank you father", Markus thanked then looked to the woman beside him, "And it is a pleasure seeing you once again Agent Jade." Jade smirked before raising a brow at him before speaking in a playful tone. "Is it?" She asked.