Post by .:Mike:. on Apr 8, 2008 22:05:35 GMT
Five VAAT’s, flew low over the Tatooine sands. The sun glared down on the metallic beasts and the shine could be seen for miles. Then again, Tatooine was notorious for having shiny objects in the middle of the Dune Sea. The only difference in those shiny objects, and these flying beasts were that the VAAT’s were full of troopers. The troopers wore Clone Airborne Armor marked with random black stripes and splashes with a black triangle symbol on the shoulders. The same emblem was painted to the right side of each of their helmets. DC-15A’s and Proton Carbines filled their arms and hands. It was a convoy of death. They were on a mission, and that mission revolved around death, destruction, and the cleansing of a deadly enemy to someone other than themselves.
The troopers weren’t clones, but young men ages sixteen to twenty-one. The leader of the group was only twenty-one and wore a different color armor than they did. His armor was straight dark grey with black stripes randomly placed on it. The emblems were in the same places and were still black. He wielded a Proton Carbine which was modified with disruptor parts, giving it the look of the carbine but the power of a disruptor rifle. The leader sat at the edge of the open cargo door on the right side of the lead VAAT. His legs dangled over the side, meters from the desert sands. The carbine sat in his lap with his arms over it.
The VAAT’s flew for another thirty minutes before the pilots radioed over the com-system linked into each of the troopers’ helmets. “Almost there boys. Two minutes – tops.” Seth looked over at his pilot and nodded. The pilot gave him a thumbs up sign and set about slowing craft down gradually. In two minutes, just as the pilot had said, they were over a small village like place. Two heavy turrets sat at the gates with a stone wall surrounding tent huts and mud-brick buildings. Out of the buildings, sand people ran out with rifles and their weird clubs. Seth shouldered his carbine and began firing down on sand people, dropping several instantly. The troopers behind him and in the following VAAT’s opened up as well. It was like a turkey shoot. The sand people never even had a chance to fire back.
The VAAT’s lowered to within feet of the ground and began moving at a crawl. Seth slid out of the door, landing in a crouched position when he hit the ground. The troopers did the same, jumping out one by one and immediately covering their angles. The troopers broke off into their respective groups and began clearing the village out. Two-hundred-fifty troopers were the first wave. It wasn’t even half of Seth’s force. There were another three waves coming in after them and then the transfer of the remaining troops would begin. Two-thousand troops total, all mercenaries in a way yet trained to be as efficient at battle as a Mandalorian.
Seth took thirteen troopers and moved along a maze of small tent huts. As they passed, one of the troopers would toss a thermal detonator in the entrance. The hut would explode and crumble, very rarely just catching on fire. Sand people of all size, gender, and age ran out, many without weapons. Seth had a job to do, and he performed it. The sand people were cut down mercilessly. It wasn’t that the troopers wanted to kill innocent beings, they had to. Their employer, a hutt named Dagota, had ordered them slay every last one of the sand people. What he didn’t realize, that the sand people had human prisoners in their midst. The troopers quickly found out the hard way.
Two human girls ran out from a hutt screaming. Before Seth could stop his troopers, they were cut down by blaster fire. Seth looked on with horror at what he saw; these two little girls torn to shreds and for what? Why were they doing this? Sure money was all good and great and so was making peace by waging war but there has to be some sort of ruling over what happens in a war and this crossed the line on any factions list. Seth stopped, dropping a few sand people who raised weapons against him. He quickly spoke into his com to all the troopers on the ground and sent a copy of the message to the assault waves coming in. “All troopers, kill only those with weapons! There are live, healthy humans with these fuckers!” He didn’t expect a reply, but he got one anyway in acceptance of the order.
Seth began moving again, the thirteen troopers still behind him. He weaved his way through the maze of tent hutts, being careful to watch his fire as all the troopers now did. It wasn’t long before a stone building dwarfed Seth and his companions. The door was guarded by two turrets, just as the gate entrance had. Seth motioned to one of his troopers, who jogged over to him from the end of the line. Without making a sound, Seth made a fist and hit his chest plate twice with the inside of the fist. The trooper nodded and handed Seth a thermal detonator. The activator switched and the explosive orb thrown, the turrets stood no chance and never even saw the man who threw it. Both of them exploded and the door unhinged and shattered.
Seth moved into the building with the squad. A few guards took pot shots but missed. Their mistake – the troopers gunned them down in a flash. Seth stopped the squad in the lobby, which held a door way in the middle underneath two sets of stairs which met at the same point on the second floor. Everything was polished and nice. “Alright, I want a fireteam to clear the down stairs. Everyone else is with me on the second floor.” The troopers obeyed without question. Four men went downstairs, opening the door and clearing the hallway and the cellar to which it led. Seth and the rest of the squad moved up the stairs, five on each set of stairs. They reached the top and found a long hall with open rooms all the way down. Seth moved down it, and as he passed each room, two of the troopers would break off and clear it, capturing who ever was inside. If there was no one in it, they’d rejoin the squad.
Finally it came down to the last door. Seth motioned to one of the three remaining troopers who weren’t occupied with prisoners. The trooper came up and set an explosive charge on the door. They went into the room right beside the door and blew the door open. The second the door exploded, Seth moved in while the smoke was still thick and gunned down the guards, leaving three sand people and one human sitting in chairs around a table. They raised their hands in surrender, fear apparent on their faces and movements. The individuals were the most important in the assault; they were the leaders and chieftains of the village. Seth moved to the human and put the carbine’s barrel close to his face. “What the fuck are you doing in the chieftain room?”
“I- I’m part of the council. This village has humans in it as well, s-s-so I’m their representative.” The fear was thick in his voice.
“So you can communicate with the sand people?”
“Y-yes! Please don’t hurt us!”
“I won’t hurt you if you’re unarmed. Tell them turrets need to be deactivated. We’re here to help you.”
“Help us!? You destroyed half the village!”
“Yeah, hell of a proposal isn’t it?”
“You- you heartless son of a bitch!”
“Yeah I get that a lot from working for Hutts. The thing I need you, and them, to understand is that we’re not working for them anymore.”
“W-what do you mean?”
“I was ordered to take my men and wipe this village out to end the little war between you and Dagota. Once we found out there were humans here, it was over.”
“S-so you’re going to help us?”
“Yeah – after my men are done wiping out all your armed villagers. They won’t touch the ones that lay down their arms. So it’s wise of you if you announce that before the second wave lands.”
“Y-yes.” The human turned to the chieftains and spoke in their tongue. The chieftains nodded and began typing on a console in the table. A microphone flipped out from the table and one of the chieftains spoke into it. Soon after, the sounds of blaster fire ended. A trooper addressed Seth with a datapad. It had an after action report. No casualties on his part – aced mission. The kills of the day, four-hundred sand people and thirty-six humans. Not bad for their third strike. Seth had other problems though.
“We’re going to need a place to stay a while. Got anywhere like that?”
“No.”
“Then what about underneath you? Can you guys dig us an underground base?”
“Maybe, it’d require a lot of work and-“
“Then get it done. We’re going to hit Dagota and need a place to lay chilly when all the other hutts are after us.”
“Alright then. We’ll dig you a base.”
“Sweet, you’re a real pal when you have a gun to your face.” Seth lowered the carbine and turned to his lieutenants. “Intel?” What do we know?” One of the lieutenants plugged a datapad into the table and the holo projector displayed Dagota’s palace. It was more like a fortress.
“The walls are heavily guarded and they have enough men to cover every corner with five guys.”
“So attacking is suicide?”
“Pretty much, unless we drop inside the palace from the air. Thing is, we can’t use ropes because it’ll put the vaits in a bad spot for far too long. And we can’t land them because of space.”
“What about parachutes?”
“Sir?”
“In the clone wars, airborne troopers, who wore this armor, would have repulsor lift packs to help them survive to the high altitude drops.”
“It could be done I guess. It would slow our fall well enough beyond the limit for survivability.”
“Then get on it. We attack most ricy tic, understand?”
“Yes, sir.”
The troopers weren’t clones, but young men ages sixteen to twenty-one. The leader of the group was only twenty-one and wore a different color armor than they did. His armor was straight dark grey with black stripes randomly placed on it. The emblems were in the same places and were still black. He wielded a Proton Carbine which was modified with disruptor parts, giving it the look of the carbine but the power of a disruptor rifle. The leader sat at the edge of the open cargo door on the right side of the lead VAAT. His legs dangled over the side, meters from the desert sands. The carbine sat in his lap with his arms over it.
The VAAT’s flew for another thirty minutes before the pilots radioed over the com-system linked into each of the troopers’ helmets. “Almost there boys. Two minutes – tops.” Seth looked over at his pilot and nodded. The pilot gave him a thumbs up sign and set about slowing craft down gradually. In two minutes, just as the pilot had said, they were over a small village like place. Two heavy turrets sat at the gates with a stone wall surrounding tent huts and mud-brick buildings. Out of the buildings, sand people ran out with rifles and their weird clubs. Seth shouldered his carbine and began firing down on sand people, dropping several instantly. The troopers behind him and in the following VAAT’s opened up as well. It was like a turkey shoot. The sand people never even had a chance to fire back.
The VAAT’s lowered to within feet of the ground and began moving at a crawl. Seth slid out of the door, landing in a crouched position when he hit the ground. The troopers did the same, jumping out one by one and immediately covering their angles. The troopers broke off into their respective groups and began clearing the village out. Two-hundred-fifty troopers were the first wave. It wasn’t even half of Seth’s force. There were another three waves coming in after them and then the transfer of the remaining troops would begin. Two-thousand troops total, all mercenaries in a way yet trained to be as efficient at battle as a Mandalorian.
Seth took thirteen troopers and moved along a maze of small tent huts. As they passed, one of the troopers would toss a thermal detonator in the entrance. The hut would explode and crumble, very rarely just catching on fire. Sand people of all size, gender, and age ran out, many without weapons. Seth had a job to do, and he performed it. The sand people were cut down mercilessly. It wasn’t that the troopers wanted to kill innocent beings, they had to. Their employer, a hutt named Dagota, had ordered them slay every last one of the sand people. What he didn’t realize, that the sand people had human prisoners in their midst. The troopers quickly found out the hard way.
Two human girls ran out from a hutt screaming. Before Seth could stop his troopers, they were cut down by blaster fire. Seth looked on with horror at what he saw; these two little girls torn to shreds and for what? Why were they doing this? Sure money was all good and great and so was making peace by waging war but there has to be some sort of ruling over what happens in a war and this crossed the line on any factions list. Seth stopped, dropping a few sand people who raised weapons against him. He quickly spoke into his com to all the troopers on the ground and sent a copy of the message to the assault waves coming in. “All troopers, kill only those with weapons! There are live, healthy humans with these fuckers!” He didn’t expect a reply, but he got one anyway in acceptance of the order.
Seth began moving again, the thirteen troopers still behind him. He weaved his way through the maze of tent hutts, being careful to watch his fire as all the troopers now did. It wasn’t long before a stone building dwarfed Seth and his companions. The door was guarded by two turrets, just as the gate entrance had. Seth motioned to one of his troopers, who jogged over to him from the end of the line. Without making a sound, Seth made a fist and hit his chest plate twice with the inside of the fist. The trooper nodded and handed Seth a thermal detonator. The activator switched and the explosive orb thrown, the turrets stood no chance and never even saw the man who threw it. Both of them exploded and the door unhinged and shattered.
Seth moved into the building with the squad. A few guards took pot shots but missed. Their mistake – the troopers gunned them down in a flash. Seth stopped the squad in the lobby, which held a door way in the middle underneath two sets of stairs which met at the same point on the second floor. Everything was polished and nice. “Alright, I want a fireteam to clear the down stairs. Everyone else is with me on the second floor.” The troopers obeyed without question. Four men went downstairs, opening the door and clearing the hallway and the cellar to which it led. Seth and the rest of the squad moved up the stairs, five on each set of stairs. They reached the top and found a long hall with open rooms all the way down. Seth moved down it, and as he passed each room, two of the troopers would break off and clear it, capturing who ever was inside. If there was no one in it, they’d rejoin the squad.
Finally it came down to the last door. Seth motioned to one of the three remaining troopers who weren’t occupied with prisoners. The trooper came up and set an explosive charge on the door. They went into the room right beside the door and blew the door open. The second the door exploded, Seth moved in while the smoke was still thick and gunned down the guards, leaving three sand people and one human sitting in chairs around a table. They raised their hands in surrender, fear apparent on their faces and movements. The individuals were the most important in the assault; they were the leaders and chieftains of the village. Seth moved to the human and put the carbine’s barrel close to his face. “What the fuck are you doing in the chieftain room?”
“I- I’m part of the council. This village has humans in it as well, s-s-so I’m their representative.” The fear was thick in his voice.
“So you can communicate with the sand people?”
“Y-yes! Please don’t hurt us!”
“I won’t hurt you if you’re unarmed. Tell them turrets need to be deactivated. We’re here to help you.”
“Help us!? You destroyed half the village!”
“Yeah, hell of a proposal isn’t it?”
“You- you heartless son of a bitch!”
“Yeah I get that a lot from working for Hutts. The thing I need you, and them, to understand is that we’re not working for them anymore.”
“W-what do you mean?”
“I was ordered to take my men and wipe this village out to end the little war between you and Dagota. Once we found out there were humans here, it was over.”
“S-so you’re going to help us?”
“Yeah – after my men are done wiping out all your armed villagers. They won’t touch the ones that lay down their arms. So it’s wise of you if you announce that before the second wave lands.”
“Y-yes.” The human turned to the chieftains and spoke in their tongue. The chieftains nodded and began typing on a console in the table. A microphone flipped out from the table and one of the chieftains spoke into it. Soon after, the sounds of blaster fire ended. A trooper addressed Seth with a datapad. It had an after action report. No casualties on his part – aced mission. The kills of the day, four-hundred sand people and thirty-six humans. Not bad for their third strike. Seth had other problems though.
“We’re going to need a place to stay a while. Got anywhere like that?”
“No.”
“Then what about underneath you? Can you guys dig us an underground base?”
“Maybe, it’d require a lot of work and-“
“Then get it done. We’re going to hit Dagota and need a place to lay chilly when all the other hutts are after us.”
“Alright then. We’ll dig you a base.”
“Sweet, you’re a real pal when you have a gun to your face.” Seth lowered the carbine and turned to his lieutenants. “Intel?” What do we know?” One of the lieutenants plugged a datapad into the table and the holo projector displayed Dagota’s palace. It was more like a fortress.
“The walls are heavily guarded and they have enough men to cover every corner with five guys.”
“So attacking is suicide?”
“Pretty much, unless we drop inside the palace from the air. Thing is, we can’t use ropes because it’ll put the vaits in a bad spot for far too long. And we can’t land them because of space.”
“What about parachutes?”
“Sir?”
“In the clone wars, airborne troopers, who wore this armor, would have repulsor lift packs to help them survive to the high altitude drops.”
“It could be done I guess. It would slow our fall well enough beyond the limit for survivability.”
“Then get on it. We attack most ricy tic, understand?”
“Yes, sir.”
