IC: Rapier Claw: Demise

[ post #1 ]

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Smoke. Everywhere, there was smoke. She could see it like a haze blurring the sunlight outside the viewports.
The Bridge held an eerie silence in the dark. But why is the ship this quiet? Samithra thought as she tried to breathe. Where was the familiar thrumming sensation of the Rapier's engines vibrating through the deck?
Pain. Pain is good, Samithra reminded herself. It tells you you're alive. The pain forced its way past the fog in her head like a windstorm on Vortex.
Admiral Delilah searched for reasons, when she finally remembered. The space battle above, the destruction of her 3 escorting Imperial-1 star destroyers by the massi8ve rebel fleet that arrived.
Where had they been hiding such a force? None of that mattered now. Rapier Claw was on the ground and most likely a complete loss. At least they had inflicted a devastating toll on the rebels as well. She remembered the brilliant flashes as several rebel ships exploded from the withering barrage of Rapier Claw's guns.
Slowly, Admiral Samithra Delilah undid the restraining straps of her crash chair towards the forward viewports. She placed her hand into the emergency latch and twisted the handle.
With the sound of grinding metal, the plexisteel viewport opened outward, followed by a billow of smoke.
The air was brisk, but carried upon her billowing whisps of superheated air as the outer hull cooled below.
Admiral Delilah could see what was left of her ship and the surrounding area from her vantage point. Small patches of forest burned around the ship, listing slightly to starboard.
The moans of the wounded began to filter through her own pain and she looked back at her bridge. Personnel were moving the wounded out amidst their groans and sighs of pain. The dead were silent and lingered longer.
The red glowing eyes of her protocol droid, Sampson she had nicknamed him years ago, pierced their way through the clearing smoke as the droid approached. She said nothing and turned back to look outside. Two thirds of the ship was visible, with the front third missing, she could see. "Sampson, I need a status report."
"Only after you get treated yourself" Sampson told her and lead her off the Bridge.

The medical ward was a buzz of activity. General Hans Dominic surveyed the wounded while the medical droid set his fractured arm and applied a bacta patch. "The arm should be healed in an hour General, then you can take the patch off." The droid told him before heading off to another wounded person.
General Dominic strode out of the room and into the corridors of wounded and dying, his aides in tow. "What is the situation?"
"General, the healthiest of ship crew and our men are busy digging defenses. Comms are out. Most of our vehicles are in need of repairs or destroyed." Colonel Vicain says, reading off the list. "The Chief Engineer says he can have majority of them repaired in 5 days, if he can get to the materials and parts bay."
"And the bad news?"

__________________
"A cast of millions, a part to play: Killer, Victim, Fool for a day."- Iron Maiden, Running Silent Running Deep.
Mastermind behind Marching Orders Sourcebook.

Last edited by gmjabreson on 1 May 2009 at 10:03 AM

Greccias Garrison

[ post #2 ]

General Jason Karnach watched as 16 of his 40 fighters returned from the fight. Rapier Claw had barely missed the city as she sailed overhead by half a kilometer.
The resulting collision hundreds of kilometers away was violent enough to shake free plexiwindows out of several buildings and send the population into a panic. Duracrete cracked, and dust and smoke filled the breeze heading into town.
General Karnach watched the sensors showing the TIE Interceptors circling the downed ship likr carrion over a carcass, before ordering his guard to get a patrol and his command speeder ready.

__________________
"A cast of millions, a part to play: Killer, Victim, Fool for a day."- Iron Maiden, Running Silent Running Deep.
Mastermind behind Marching Orders Sourcebook.

The Paladin Musters His Forces.

[ post #3 ]

General Dominic muttered something that was at odds with his rank as he scratched at his patch.
"Concentrate on getting the anit-air and tanks up and running, then set in deep with the artillery at the edges of the camp, and surround them with personnel. I want a patrol set up and scouts out in under half an hour, to get the lay of the land. I don't need to tell you how vulnerable we are here, men. We need defenses. You there!" Hans flicked his fingers at the young captain.
"Sir!"
"Find the admiral. Inform her of the situation and move her to a secure location. We might have Rebel agents on board, and I don't want to risk her. This is terra firma, and this is my domain." Hans said with a feral grin. He rubbed his hands together like a child, and strode off to find a defensible position to locate the camp.

__________________
The consensus seemed to be that if really large numbers of men were sent to storm the mountain, then enough might survive the rocks to take the citadel. This is essentially the basis of all military thinking.
Terry Pratchett, Eric

[ post #4 ]

Zander had been in his shop when the ship entered atmosphere. He hadn't been able to get to a seat and had haphazardly made his own restraints near one of the built in tool cabinets. It seemed to have worked well since when he regained consciousness he was in the same spot with only a dislocated shoulder and the expected cuts and bruises. As the Young warrant officer reset his shoulder with the aid of a shop droid he began to survey his destroyed shop and began to wonder what the vehicle bay would look like, all he had to do was figure out how to get the frakking door to open

__________________
Strong Men Die While Wise Men Ponder

If I don't return from this life of a soldier don't you be crying for me

"I know" -the greatest line Han Solo has

General Kanarch gives preliminary orders

[ post #5 ]

Great. Just what we needed. thought Jason as he threw one last glance at the sensor showing the wreck.A search and rescue operation.
General Kanarch looked out of his office window. Before, it was peaceful, and he was starting to like the view of the surrounding area and the games the sunlight played as it came shining through the cloud cover. Now, his gaze was diverted quickly to squads of troopers marching about and preparing the defenses.

He turned away and walked over to the desk. Activating the garrison comm, he ordered: "Attention. This is the general speaking. I will be leading a patrol that will search for possible survivors. Until I return, redouble your efforts in preparing the defenses. Be ready for a surprise inspection."
Deactivating the comm by pressing another button, Jason took the blaster pistol from the desk and holstered it. With a steady pace, he moved out of his office and into the nearest turbolift, headed for the ground level.

After exiting the main garrison building, he had to wait for a minute or so for the patrol and command speeder to arrive. Entering the speeder and taking a seat in front of one of the sensor panels, the general reprimanded the driver "An improvement from the last time, I must say. But you can still do it faster."

[ post #6 ]

The red glowing eyes of her protocol droid, Sampson she had nicknamed him years ago, pierced their way through the clearing smoke as the droid approached. She said nothing and turned back to look outside. Two thirds of the ship was visible, with the front third missing, she could see. "Sampson, I need a status report." "Only after you get treated yourself" Sampson told her and lead her off the Bridge.

Delilah bit back the natural urge to protest, sighing to herself. Of all the things... she thought immediately to herself still feeling somewhat shookup, slightly unsteady as her equilibrium was still settling, and a few places where she'd be feeling the bruising from the restraint harness. Were it a lower ranking officer, frell, even her XO; she would have over ruled their suggestion and demanded a status report above all else. But this was Sampson, her droid or several years whom saved her life on more than one occasion. Nor was it often he spoke in earshot of her crew, let alone much less with the gentleness in his normally flat masculine abrasive tone that was reserved for conversations solely private in her company.

Delilah took care to follow the path cleared for her as Sampson stalked menacingly ahead, treading through the debris and bodies; pausing to let bridge crew pass - injured or carrying the injured. His matte black powder coated finish reflected nothing, with only his two photoreceptors constantly a deep simmering red, only glowering brightly on occasion. Delilah momentarily reminisced even on a good day, Sampson managed to unnerve the bridge crew, his towering frame a full head taller, standing in the dim areas of the bridge like an imposing statue. Forever scanning the bridge vigilantly; occasionally moving about at random, settling his gaze on a peculiar point of interest. She had a few moments of silence to herself to reflect. Perhaps it was the blur of cascading events that literally broadsided her once majestic ship, sending it crashing to the planet's surface that spurred the irritation within her the most. Many fine men and women who served under her had just perished, and countless more, their bodies yet still warm to the touch. It will be much later in the day before she'd even hope to examine the reports. This much she realized. It also occurred to her - wondering how much of the ship's basic internal facilities were still operable after the hard landing - primarily turbolifts, power reserves, and just how many emergency bulkhead doors were jammed shut. How many compartments were now sealed shut, and with little to no life support available.

While following Sampson, about the only thing she could offer as an Admiral to the crew she passed by was offer a few words of support, a pat on the shoulder, or gentle squeeze on the arm. The crew station pit / trenches were the worst - consoles toppled over, heavy rack mounted hardware torn loose pinning and crushing crew underneath. Evident by the odd light gray junior officer's leg or arm sticking out and visibly limp. She had to keep it brief though, as Sampson had put her health as primary importance of getting checked out. Nor would it look good for the crew to having see the Admiral get dragged forcibly by her own droid. And Sampson was adamant if sincere in the first place.

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An Hour Later

[ post #7 ]

With an exaggerated sigh of satisfaction General Hans Dominic Ripped off the patch on his arm. "Ahhh, that's better!" He said with a grin and a rotation of his arm. "Now get me my armor! I want to look like a General of the Imperial Army, not some stuffed-up, pampered prig whose parents bought him a rank! I also want my pistols, and will someone get me a cup of caff?" He barked.

Looking around the makeshift Command area, The Paladin scowled. It would take at least a few days before this place started acting like an organized entity, not chaos. He realized that something was missing...the Chief Engineer! He thought with a start.

"Someone get the Chief Engineer down here ASAP! I want a sitrep! And will somebody find a way to contact the local Imperial Garrison, I'm sure they could help us immensely. If anyone from the Garrison comes here, send them directly to me, and inform the Admiral, I'm sure she'll want to know." Hans ordered.

__________________
The consensus seemed to be that if really large numbers of men were sent to storm the mountain, then enough might survive the rocks to take the citadel. This is essentially the basis of all military thinking.
Terry Pratchett, Eric

[ post #8 ]

Captain Verrin Tiorro glared at the back of the officer, in hopes that his gaze alone would make the tech work faster. They needed the comm system working.

"I'll be back in 3 hours. I need to report to the Admiral, and I'm getting tired of doing it on foot." Tiorro told the tech, "and I'm getting tired of doing it on foot. Fix the comms or destroy it so that it stops jamming commlinks."

At least the fires are finally out. Tiorro thought as he made it to the Admiral's quarters.
He had assigned some of the techs to different priorities throughout the ship, including giving engineers to the Ground contingent.

With the trade, some storm troopers were now covering some of the hull breaches near the cliff. Why the rebels hadn't finished them off yet he didn't know. Admiral's strategy must have worked and we damaged them worse than we thought.

Cold comfort on a ship with minimal power, no comms, a central computer damaged and being repaired.

There had been some peaceful moments, until a now deceased idiot cost 12 more crewmen their lives. He'd been warned about his cigarra habit. Unfortunately it was on deaf ears, and he'd lit one up. Nobody realized until the explosion that some of the fuel cells in the Flight bay had ruptured.

It wasn't necessary to warn anyone else with the habit after that.

__________________
"A cast of millions, a part to play: Killer, Victim, Fool for a day."- Iron Maiden, Running Silent Running Deep.
Mastermind behind Marching Orders Sourcebook.

[ post #9 ]

After spending a while scavenging for tools in the upturned tech office Zander had begun getting the door open very slowly with a mix of brute labor and short burst of energy from the usable power supplies he had in storage and eventually the power supply of his droid whom he promised he'd replace the power supply on as soon as he could reach main storage. He could only imagine the lectures in store from the other officers when he finally got out and rendezvoused with them.

__________________
Strong Men Die While Wise Men Ponder

If I don't return from this life of a soldier don't you be crying for me

"I know" -the greatest line Han Solo has

In an undisclosed location:

[ post #10 ]

At a rebel command center, General Darric Stood behind the communications specialist staring at the Admiral on the vidcomm screen.
"I'll need the equipment promised four days ago to mount an offensive against it." Darric told the Mon Cal. "I'll be conferring with my officers and we'll inform you when the mission is successful."
"We'll have the equipment delivered as soon as possible, but you won't be getting as many troops as promised." The admiral states in reply. "We sustained some severe losses up here and are awaiting equipment and tugs to get the severely damaged to drydock. We'll send down what is left on board here."
"Fair enough Admiral." Darric says,"congadulations on your victory. May the Force be with you. Out."
As the vidcomm screen faded to black, General Darric put his hand on the comm officer's shoulder. "Get the group commanders to my office immediately."
"Sir, one of them is on a recon patrol of the area." the comms officer says as he begins sending out the hypertexts. "I'll make sure he's notified to report as soon as they're in."

__________________
"A cast of millions, a part to play: Killer, Victim, Fool for a day."- Iron Maiden, Running Silent Running Deep.
Mastermind behind Marching Orders Sourcebook.

The general starts moving

[ post #11 ]

After getting familiar again with the panels and the interior of the speeder, General Kanarch used the comm panel, first to contact the patrol.
"General Kanarch to patrol leader. Assemble in a scouting formation and start moving. I hope you have the last known coordinates of the wreckage?"
The speeder's engines started slowly, and the pilot slowly turned it towards the garrison exit.
"To all Imperial units. Codenaming this speeder as Zephyr One. The patrol is Zephyr Two."
Allowing a short pause for the words to sink in, Jason continued "Zephyr One to TIE Fighter flight. Report status."
The pilot maneuvered the speeder out, its speed obviously matching the patrol's.

Last edited by Xenon on 3 May 2009 at 10:25 AM

[ post #12 ]

"Zephyr One, This is Claw One." An unfamiliar voice responds. "Commander Yaerin Gorsis, Wing Commander for Rapier Claw. Your remaining fighters are en route for refuel and to then cover the survivor zone of escape pods and shuttles from the Omtheraunt. I request usage of garrison to refuel my squadron survivors so we can provide continued air cover over Rapier Claw."

__________________
"A cast of millions, a part to play: Killer, Victim, Fool for a day."- Iron Maiden, Running Silent Running Deep.
Mastermind behind Marching Orders Sourcebook.

[ post #13 ]

"Request granted, commander. I'll have the garrison ready for your arrival."
A frown appeared on the general's face, but he managed to suppress it after a short while. "Zephyr One to Imperial garrison. Ready the refueling teams. A number of TIEs will be arriving soon, some of them from the Rapier Claw. Give those the priority."

As much as it hurt him to be reminded of the days when he had to take every kind of orders, even those he did not agree with, this request was okay. Or was it the sudden situation which escalated wildly with each passing minute that made him feel strange?
I've been on this planet for quite a while. Maybe I'm too old for this kind of things.
Managing to draw his mind back to the panels and the moment, Jason asked "Pilot, what's our ETA at the wreckage?"

[ post #14 ]

"Sir, with the slower speeds of the AT-ST's, we should arrice in about 4 hours." The driver replies after a short pause. "I'm getting a message from medical transport requesting we investigate the dropships and escape pods for wounded before pressing on to the Rapier Claw."
"We can be there in less than a half hour." The driver says.
"General." Senior Sergeant Miarzan says from the sensor chair, his normal position as the General's guard. "Those men will be in more need than those that might still be alive at the ship. We can request more transports to move them back to the garrison should they be needed."

__________________
"A cast of millions, a part to play: Killer, Victim, Fool for a day."- Iron Maiden, Running Silent Running Deep.
Mastermind behind Marching Orders Sourcebook.

[ post #15 ]

Zander had freed himself from his office prison almost 20 minutes ago but was only now attempting to find the command center. The disarray in his bay was shocking but even more shocking was seeing all the engineers in his command wasting time standing idly by and conversing, he would have been angry had they tried to free him instead of repairing the machines but doing nothing infuriated him. After reprimanding his troops he had taken a few minutes to recenter and calm himself while making sure everyone else at least redoubled their efforts without attempting to sneak off to smoke or socialize before leaving to find command. Seeing what had appears to pass as a command center coming up Zander braced himself for his entrance and the other senior officers.

__________________
Strong Men Die While Wise Men Ponder

If I don't return from this life of a soldier don't you be crying for me

"I know" -the greatest line Han Solo has