Vengeance Venom

[Tatiana Renkl]

Tancon System, Koradin Sector.
Aboard the Durendal.

"Status report, Lieutenant?" Moff Renkl's sharp voice cut through the buzzing and humming of quiet conversation aboard the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer Durendal, which had served as her flagship for the past years. The tall brunette, clad in her impeccable uniform was ready to open the hostilities. Imperial Intelligence had found the nest of resistance hidden in the sector she governed and she had brought a task force to clean up the mess.

The man - slightly older than she was - stood to attention and answered at once, knowing that the Moff accepted no slacking and no delay. "All squadrons ready to launch, ma'am. The five shuttles with ground troops you summoned will drop out of hyperspace in 10 seconds."

Right on cue, the radars confirmed that fact and the moon at the edge of the Tancon system (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Tancon_system) was now surrounded by imperial forces. While the place had been rumored as only used as a pirate hide for a while - bringing no territorial issue - things had changed in the last months and it was time to act.

"Moff Renkl, are you planning to give them a warning or..." Tatiana Renkl's deadly gaze fell upon the deck officer who had dared ask such an ignorant question. "Captain Finners, if you think bringing tea to these terrorists is suitable, do us a favor and shoot yourself in the head at once. It will make the Ministry of Finances happy."

The Captain opened his mouth and closed it, gathering himself in a crisp salute and not saying another word. The Moff didn't give him further attention as she looked through the viewport, but High Admiral Zierask dismissed the Captain without a word. The operation didn't need unsavory and pestering questions. They all had work to do.

Tatiana was ready to wipe these terrorists out. She had no patience for such plague. Imperial Intelligence hadn't been able to establish any link to other dangerous groups and organizations, indicating a local operation. While it had produced significant losses and damage with several bomb attacks and heists in the past months, it made things easier with no outer attaches. They had no need for prisoners.

"Engage the enemy."

Tatiana's eyes remained focused on the moon as more imperial ships would soon filled the viewport. There would be resistance, and their foe knew by now they were here, but the Empire would crush its enemy once again.

[Willem Van Beek]

Aboard the Imperial star destroyer, Willem sat at his post in the CIC, deep within the bowels of the immense ship. His eyes now glued to the holodiplay before him, the weapons officer's first priority was to keep any enemy ships off of the flagship, but also evaluate targets offered to him from the sensor operators. The command given, Willem grinned to himself knowing that within moments pirates were going to wish they had moved their operations somewhere else. Blue light glowed from a host of computer stations, illuminating the Imperial crewmembers in their deep grey uniforms, all fixed on their respective jobs as the assault began.

Red blips began emerging from the pirate's outpost, fighters now rising from the surface and entering the world's atmosphere. Few running from the fight, Willem voiced his excitement. "Twelve contacts, sector four. Confirm eight Z Ninety-Fives and four Skipray Blastboats."

"Confirmed," the commander stated from behind and to the left. "Target and fire, clear a path for the shuttles."

"Copy that," Willem replied, then began sending the information to the weapon crews along their nose and starboard side. Within moments, lances of red streaked through the emptiness of space and toward their targets, more following as the ships maneuvered, the Skiprays now firing proton torpedoes of their own. "Twelve torpedoes inbound," Willem stated to the shield operators. "Fire countermeasures."

"Countermeasures away," another junior officer stated, the interception of the dangerous torpedoes now underway.

[Tatiana Renkl]

Intelligence had reported that there would be aerial counters, as well as terrestrial defense canons. It was why Tatiana had decided to not only show up in person to crush the pest but also bring enough force to ensure nobody would survive this. The Koradin Sector had had several anti-imperial groups flourish over its centuries of history but the territory was imperial and nothing would ever prevent the Moff from showing how the Empire was the true order and auhority there.

She listened to what was relayed across the different imperials working at the CIC. Having served for several years in the Imperial Navy, including during the civil war, she was quite familiar with following such courses of actions. Sometimes, she missed being more hands-on because she believed that bring on the ground gave you insight nothing else could provide.

"Shuttle Y56 damaged. Captain Heckard asks whether they should proceed with crash-landing or evade."

Tatiana had only met Heckard once and knew he had only been recently assigned to his current position. "Keep the course." Trying to bring them out of harm's way would just delay everyone and for the display she saw over the control station, there might be a couple casualties as they hit the moon, but if they tried anything else, more casualties would be certain and diminish the ground presence.

[Willem Van Beek]

As he watched the battle unfold, Willem was amazed at how brazen the Z 95 pilots were until they played their hand, firing the triple blaster cannons into the oncoming shuttles, some getting hammered now by the escorting TIE's, most being damaged within the first pass. The Skipray's, however, were another story altogether. Their shielding and heavy weapons were beginning to take their toll on the invasion force. Maneuvering from the incoming missiles and quad turbolaser fire, the pilots of these vessels proved to be more veteran than the Imperial navy expected. They were still outnumbered and were going to lose, but these pirates intended on taking as many of the invaders as they could.

"Battery Eight," Willem stated, "Firing solution for these coordinates," he relayed, then sent the three long series of numbers to their fire control computer. "Mark."

"Copy," the battery commander replied, then began inputting the coordinates, then aimed the group of five turbolasers at the intended location. All the information accessible on the main command holoprojector, the individual batteries and other weapon systems' details were only monitored by the individual officers in the CIC. Willem smiled in anticipation as he watched, then saw the draw on the generators to that battery, then as the array of blaster bolts then flew toward the opposite side of a large asteroid that the Skipray was using for cover as it moved, it's intended destination obvious as the pirates wished to keep as much between themselves and the fleet until they could fire their own missiles. Just as the target's nose emerged around the large asteroid, the shots slammed into it's body, making the open space now an explosion of fire and then cloud of debris.

"Well done," Willem smiled, relaying to the battery, then focused on other dangers as the shuttles and their escorting TIE's continued screaming toward the pirate base.

[Tatiana Renkl]

When the asteroid was destroyed, clearing a better path to the invasion force, Tatiana was satisfied. She had seen the number of imperial casualties rise, but that was part of such operations. They all knew what the job entailed when they enlisted and while she did her best to protect her people, she recognized when sacrifice was necessary. She had barely survived twice in her younger years because her squad had been deemed expendable. She had lost several comrades on those days but she understood the reasoning of their commanding officer back then. Such decisions had also shaped the Moff she now was.

"Ma'am, incoming from North quadrant." Tatiana frowned as she looked at the display before her. It wasn't good and indicated that the pirates might have a secondary smaller base in the area. It must be small enough that it had escaped Intelligence, or it could also be part of their fleet. They had to take this threat into account, but must carry on with the primary objective.

"Squadrons XJ-47 and XJ-48, Shuttles Aridium and Fulorium, deploy to the North Quadrant. All other units, stay on the base."

[Willem Van Beek]

"Diverting two shuttles and escorting TIE's," the executive officer for the base ship stated to the staff and Willem's eyes then glanced to the now exposed second base which Intel had forgotten to mention in their report. He wondered sometimes if things like this were intentional, though shifted his mind back on task which was to help defend the fleet. "Divert two gunships to provide cover fire," he continued, the older veteran having seen many battles such as this.

Soon, the smaller force aimed their vessels toward the other threat and headed for it, Willem's job with them done other than monitoring what other stations reported if somehow this new group of enemy fighters happened to survive all that firepower. Moving the cursor back over the main objective, the shuttles neared the main hangar to the base as now shorter ranged guns opened up. Targets now for the TIE bombers' weapons, the attacking force made quick work of the emplacements, losing two of their number to the barrage.

Voices chattering in the background, Willem then heard that the first shuttle was entering the docking bay to the pirate base and troops began disgorging, the autofiring heavy repeater in the background firing into the defenders. This wasn't going to take too long, he mused.

[Tatiana Renkl]

There had been losses from the spy team sent to scout the area but based on the gathered information as well as likely extrapolations, a secondary base nearby had been ruled out. Yet Tatiana wasn't surprised that the smaller fraction of odds could come into play. Just the same way, she was set on completing her mission. Nothing would stand against the Empire, and certainly not in this system.

Watching the display with acute scrutiny, the Moff eventually diverted her attention to the reports provided about the ground attack. It was unfolding as expected though getting some pricey prisoners deeper in the base would be the next stage. "Prepare my shuttle. Contact Captain Denaloy. He will take his cruiser Night Fire to join the North Quadrant Task Force. I want this second base discovered. We won't leave either functioning today."

After giving her command, the athletic brunette headed out of the CIC, heading to the docking bay where her shuttle awaited.

[Willem Van Beek]

Glancing toward the Moff as she left the CIC, he knew that everything that resembled an enemy would have to be eliminated before she arrived, otherwise many would be new bunk mates in a penal colony, or worse. The Bakuran had no intentions on being in that number, so focused all his attention once more on the main assault force. TIE's swarmed the few remaining pirate fighters, red blips vanishing one after another as one ran for it. Dodging asteroids, the frantic escape was soon cut short as a pair of TIE Interceptors quickly caught him and fired into the Z 95's engines, sending the now careening vessel into a fiery explosion as it's trip ended in the face of a large planetoid.

The remaining Skipray also eliminated, Willem relayed that information to the executive officer. "All enemy fighters in Zone Alpha terminated. Gunships now returning fire on secondary base. Commander Brannoc reports eight turbolaser cannon emplacements on the surface."

"Focus missile batteries from the Vengeance on those emplacements," the commanding officer in the CIC relayed, then turned his attention back to the Moff's shuttle as it prepared to leave the hangar.

Sending the orders to the cruiser, Willem watched as the trails from the missiles screamed toward the second base's heavy guns. TIE's continued escorting the second wave of troopers to the first, racing the mission's leader to it's hangar to ensure that their benefactor arrived without incident.

[Tatiana Renkl]

There was something equally unnerving and frustrating at watching the damage report unfold on the small display on the datapad Tatiana was carrying. She couldn't wait until she was on ground again, immersing herself into the work at hand. Once in the hangar bay, she promptly took her seat and kept reviewing the stream of information as the take off procedure went on.

She peered out of the viewport of the shuttle from her seat as they flew their way towards the main bay. She knew they would have to dislodge some of this scum within the depths of the place. And she wasn't going to miss that. She not only felt personal responsibility as it was her territory, but she also abhorred any threat that came against the Empire. As much as her personal ambition knew little bound, she remained a loyal servant to the Empress.

Heavy fire was exchanged on the way to the base and the shuttle took a hit but the shields held on. After they passed through the demolished turrets, she pointed towards a point further. "Land there." she ordered sharply, her pilot doing as told.

As soon as the shuttle had landed, she had grabbed her gear and her weapons, leading the charge as the imperial soldiers left the spacecraft.

[Willem Van Beek]

"Commander, feet dry," came the call from the shuttle and Willem knew now most things were out of his hands. Tatiana being inside the hangar area of the base, his focus now changed to keeping the fighters on a patrol cycle that would ensure that no one interrupted the takeover.

"Copy that, feet dry." Glancing over to the holodisplay revealing the last of the mercenary ships vanishing from existence, he grinned. "Wraith flight, fly CAP over the asteroid, all other flights resume patrols between there and the fleet."

"Copy that, command," the Wraith leader called out.

Now it was all up to the stormtroopers, he mused.

[Tatiana Renkl]

While the Moff knew she benefited the Empire in her leader position in the Koradin sector, being in the midst of the action gave her pragmatic ways to remain anchored in the reality of conflict and some of the threats aimed at the Empire she had served her whole life. Stormtroopers were by her side, and a couple of Intel teams were also part of the ground strike, as per her orders. She had always believed in cooperation between various branches and services and the most efficient combination was always a winner. Sometimes members agreed to such joint missions begrudgingly but for the most part it went as smoothly as ground operations like the current one could go.

Alarms were blaring as they stormed into the installation. Ambient cacophony didn't deter the terrorists from being ready to fight the imperials. A welcome committee stopped them almost right away. Tatiana plunged to take cover. Her back to the wall, she gestured for one of the Lieutenants to split the group for a deadlier and more efficient strategy. Casualties began to happen quickly but for the most part, it was among the terrorist group. She didn't know what the operatives were up to, but they had their orders and she trusted them to fulfill their mission of taking prisoners as they saw fit.

As much as the idea of wiping this place from all enemy life was appetizing, having scum to interrogate would prove more useful in the long run.

[Willem Van Beek]

His eyes focused on the three holodisplays before him, the older officer began watching the rescue shuttles moving out to gather up surviving pilots as well as gather up any prisoners that they could. Some of the enemy pilots having ejected in their cockpits - the older escape pod for the older fighters - and their fate would now be sealed, he knew. Especially once the Moff was done with them.

"All departments," Willem called out. "Reload and resupply as needed."

A short pause, then the inevitable, "Sir, the fight's over," one of the department heads replied.

"How do you know that," he asked, irritated that these younger NCO's would doubt him. He had seen it before, the victor having thought the fight was won and then the remaining enemy threw a hydrospanner into that thought. One last gasp, as it were and he had seen it more than once. "Just get it done, that's an order."

"Yes, sir," he acquiesced.

Shaking his head, Willem glanced to the officer to his right who just grinned and glanced to him, then went back to his own monitors.

[Tatiana Renkl]

Whatever was going up in the skies, it was not up to her at this precise moment. Tatiana had issued her orders before coming to the ground. She trusted her subordinates.

The whole place was a mess. Smoke came from a nearby explosion. Getting back to her feet and shooting nourished shots at the enemy, she pressed forward with her team. The imperials were taking over now that they had made it to the base.

At least, it was what she thought when the whole place shook from an outside impact.

“What the frak,” she muttered under her breath. Avoiding gravel falling from the destroyed ceiling, she squinted, but didn’t see what it was. She knew it wasn’t one of her imperial deployed crafts. Whoever was up there wanted to burn this place down before the Moff could get any prisoners.

She rushed into a corridor deeper towards the intact section of the building. The operatives must have already moved in there, for she followed the trail of corpses. As ordered, the imperial agents had got their hands on the big guns of the base.

“One of them killed himself. The others are ready for transportation,” one of the operatives curtly stated. The Moff was about to answer when the hallway turned into a pile of rubble. She adjusted her helmet at once.

“Duredal, send a shuttle and a squadron to get retrieve us. Sending you position now. Kinslayer out.” They had no other options than get these assholes down before they could get out. Staying in the bunker section was their best shot as much as she hated it, They would have to make a run for the shuttle once the path was cleared but everything in its right time.

[Willem Van Beek]

The sudden disruption in communications made the whole CIC quieten, prompting Willem to then focus on the message from their Moff. "Copy that," he replied, then switched over to the comm channel for the retrieval team. "Raven One, proceed to the base and prepare to take on our team as well as possible captives."

"Copy that," the commander replied.

He then watched as the small squadron of blips headed for the pirate base and he then noticed the coordinates for the extraction, which he then transmitted them to the shuttle. Guiding the vessels in toward the asteroid base, he heard over the comms now from the stormtroopers now with the Moff as they tried to free several others now trapped in the rubble. Suicide bombers were one thing that they had no defense for other than shooting the target before he could push the button. Apparently someone wasn't paying attention, he mused.

"Shuttle and escort on it's way," he passed on to Kinslayer. "Will be landing when you arrive."

Now he only hoped that no one else was waiting to spring another surprise like that.

[Tatiana Renkl]

One of the strengths of the Empire was the high level of skills of all individuals involved. It had made Tatiana intolerant of laziness and lack of dedication. While certain variables could not be controlled, being ready to act and react to anything thrown their way was how every imperial should behave. She had no time to reflect on what had occurred for them being taken by surprise as they had, but she would get to the bottom of it later on.

They had few opponents left to shoot down until the shuttle would clear the way and get to a nearby position. She grabbed her binoculars and observed the proceedings as soon as she was able to get a visual. The operatives with her kept their three prisoners in check, while the stormtroopers kept their small perimeter safe.

The moment the rubble was cleared and she saw the opening, the Moff gestured for the small party of imperials to get moving, all of them ensuring that the prisoners made it to the shuttle. Catching sight of the enemy ships still nearby, they hurried up to the shuttle, boarding it as one person without hesitation.

Looking through the viewport in the cockpit as they took off, she saw that the imperial ships were still shooting some enemy stragglers.

“Duredal. Engage terminal phase. Kinslayer out.”

There was no reason to now leave any trace of this building. The moon had no other interest and it would show their foe they had no place in this system.

[Willem Van Beek]

Everyone watched with baited breath as the shuttle landed and picked up the passengers, door gunners on station and ready to kill anyone that tried to stop them, then the door closed and they were away finally. Willem heard the order and smiled, then opened a comm channel to every weapon station facing the asteroid. "All weapons, target the base and fire."

Within moments, once the fighters and shuttles were out of the airspace, the destroyer and it's escorts blazed away as one, lances of red and green as well as tracing contrails of light slammed into the asteroid and nearly everything around it. Missiles exploded and sent debris in all directions until the large rock was nothing but a fading memory. Grinning with satisfaction, "Weapon's, cease fire. Well done."

Laughter and comments filled the CIC as the vessel's command section were all pleased with the outcome. "Kinslayer," he comm'ed, "Pirate base is no longer." Executed with extreme prejudice, he mused. Soon, their commander would be aboard with her prisoners and they would join the two enemy pilots that had been captured. No doubt either fated to a short life, or a long one on a penal colony.