|
Promise made, promise kept
| |
| Blackfire_Contacts | Date: Monday, 09 Jul 2012, 2:25 PM | Message # 1 |
 Lieutenant colonel
Group: Users
Messages: 110
Status: Offline
| When they arrived, they came in force. Cyborrea was a ripe, juicy pear just waiting to be plucked and when it came to matters such as as this, an eye for an eye, Blackfire was no slouch. Blackfire Prime had indeed waited patiently the three days in this case and still no word had come from Njon Anjiliac. As per the Hutt's words, this told the Blackfire Council that the Hutt Council had been unable to resolve the differences and that it fell to Blackfire to proceed.
Emerging some six thousand kilometers from the planet came the following formation: in the lead, a Neutron Star-class bulk freighter that was flanked a kilometer to either side by a single Muurian transport. Equally distant from the dorsal portion of the Neutron Star and only five hundred meters apart from one another were a YU-410 light freighter and a YV-100 light freighter. One kilometer off the dorsal portion of the bulk cruiser and centered below it was a YZ-775 freighter, flanked one-hundred meters on either side by six Y-TIE starfighters and three R-41 Starchasers. The bulk cruiser raised its jamming equipment, primarily to jam any communications from any vessels or craft within the system.
A second group emerged and equal distance away from the planet, though three kilometers from the first formation. This time, the guise of 'Zorn Alexian' had been dropped and Thirty-nine stood as he was: almost boyishly young, dressed in a black uniform reminiscent of Imperial cut though with no ornamentation and having a shock of brown hair fall across his tanned face. He rode the bridge of Strike-1 and was accompanied to his port by the sister vessel, Strike-2 which was eight hundred meters distant. Letting go the docking clamps that held it to Strike-2, the IPV-1 that had been stolen from Xalden during the previous engagement, now named Surprise took up a position in between the pair of heavier ships. A full squadron of MorningStar-A and MorningStar-B starfighters emerged from hyperspace, the former in a wedge formation three hundred meters above the three-ship line and the latter three hundred meters below the three-ship line. The wild card of the bunch, a quartet of Planetary Defender Starfighters, emerged separately and moved towards the mercenary formation.
On the far side of Cyborrea and well out of range of both gravitational well and weapons, still within the ability to make an inter-system jump emerged the FarStar-class carrier Support-1, accompanied to either side by one hundred meters by the pair of Barloz-class freighters, Lure-1 and Lure-2, further backed by the pair of KR-TB Doomtreader transports Gaunt-1 and Gaunt-2 and reinforced by two squadrons of Y-Wing starfighters. This group would commence jamming of their side of the planet, effectively shutting down long-range communications throughout the system.
In the few moments after the trap was sprung, the expert crews would already be utilizing active and passive scanners to retrieve the distance, make and location of every ship within range. While this was being undertaken and while, of course, shields were already raised and weapons were taken hot, Thirty-nine broadcast openly in the system. "To all vessels not belonging to Xalden the Black, self-styled Lord of Cyborrea, our purpose here has been sanctioned by the rulers of this place. We advise non-intervention as we undertake what we have come to do.
"Xalden the Black, you have been found guilty of murder and for this crime, you are sentenced in turn to death. May the universe or the Force or whatever you believe in have mercy- oh hell, just die with some dignity."
The Citadel's Contractors
|
| |
| |
| Neese | Date: Tuesday, 10 Jul 2012, 9:35 PM | Message # 2 |
 Private
Group: Users
Messages: 14
Status: Offline
| This time, there would be no Cartel ships in sight, the BeWilder and its squadron of Uglies having conveniently departed the day before.
Neese
Hired Gun and Representative of Njon Anjiliac
|
| |
| |
| Xalden | Date: Tuesday, 10 Jul 2012, 9:41 PM | Message # 3 |
 Lieutenant
Group: Users
Messages: 48
Status: Offline
| The vessels however would soon enough find that their sensors and scanners would be highly ineffective, working either blotchy or showing snow, even giving off false readings. Xalden had left, though he had left guardians to keep his palace safe, as well as enabling the sensor and scanner jamming array within the palace, making any scans of the palace speculative at best. While it would be easy enough to pick up some heat signatures, they would be minor in their scope and it would be more than difficult to make out the exact species of each heat signature that guarded the halls of the palace.
Xalden the Black
Lord of Cyborrea
|
| |
| |
| Blackfire_Contacts | Date: Wednesday, 11 Jul 2012, 6:44 AM | Message # 4 |
|
Lieutenant colonel
Group: Users
Messages: 110
Status: Offline
| Working past the sensors and relying on visual scanners, which were much harder to fool, the formations of vessels cruised towards the planet from both sides. The third group, with Support-1 in the lead, would be rather immune from Xalden's jamming, being on the far side of the planet and, therefore, the one with the best ability to 'see' within the system. As a safety precaution, the carrier launched it's ten R-41 Starchasers and solitary Aegis-class shuttle. These vessels would provide the present overwatch.
On the planet-side facing the palace, the YV-100 freighter was the first move in much closer. Accelerating to eighty-percent speed, it would begin to breach the atmosphere, somewhat distant from Xalden's palace, so that it might do a fly-over and investigate. This, of course, was providing that none of Xalden's ships were in orbit.
The Citadel's Contractors
|
| |
| |
| Xalden | Date: Sunday, 15 Jul 2012, 7:32 PM | Message # 5 |
|
Lieutenant
Group: Users
Messages: 48
Status: Offline
| Considering that the jamming field was placed over the actual palace and not the system, any and all scanning or sensors directed at the palace itself would be rendered unreliable. Even if the field had covered the entire system, being behind a planet while in a system wide jamming field would still render scanners and sensors unreliable. The palace however was the only thing in the system that was being covered by the field, making any scans of it nothing more than a waste of time. As the palace also had no way to see within, a fly over visual scan would only reveal that it indeed was a palace. The Freighter though would be met with an unwelcoming greeting. The moment that it got within range of the palace, its defenses, which had been switched to automate, would open up as a Light Turbolaser Tower revealed itself when one of the spire tower tops pulled back and the weapon emerged, quickly firing off a volley at the freighter before the gun disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared, making it nearly impossible, from a combination of the sensor and scanner jamming, and the defenses being hidden, to give an exact location of any of the defensive weapons put in place.
The fly by would produce an interesting visual though, if the ship was not too damaged from the volley of fire to continue. Hanging above the front door was the blackfire contacts agent with a sign above that read. "Trespassers will be shot."
Xalden the Black
Lord of Cyborrea
|
| |
| |
| Blackfire_Contacts | Date: Sunday, 15 Jul 2012, 8:16 PM | Message # 6 |
|
Lieutenant colonel
Group: Users
Messages: 110
Status: Offline
| The field, as it were, would hinder non-visual scanners and sensors. Certain systems, such as high-resolution cameras and laser transceivers that allowed for direct pinpoint communication would be much harder to 'jam.' Therefore, the second group on the far side of the planet was designed to run interference in the event any of Xalden's ships were visible.
The freighter that conducted the flyby, the YV-100, was a hardy ship, well known, if unremarkable, and the pilot was no fool. His ship, however, was struck by one of the blasts directly and grazed by another. With shields quite low, he jinked and evaded, breaking for orbit. The visual scan missed the actual sign and the body, but the defensive structures were all that needed to be noted. Relaying this information back, the strike group quickly got into position.
From the type of fire that had struck the freighter, calculating shield damage and rate of fire, it was obvious the defensive capabilities were more than laser cannons. A troop landing would be out of the question at this time, so the bulk cruiser moved into high orbit. The palace, being quite grand, would be visible via magnification from orbit. Once it was acquired, the thirty quad laser cannons simply opened fire, intending to bombard the palace's lofty spires into oblivion. There would be time to sift through the rubble afterwards. Remaining just out of orbit and mobile, the smaller pirate vessels stood on standby to assist and target, also utilizing visual sensors, which of course, were not as accurate, but with a target as large as Xalden's palace, it would be hard to miss.
Meanwhile, the pair of CR90 corvettes began approaching the planet, along with their IPV-1 escort.
The Citadel's Contractors
|
| |
| |
| Xalden | Date: Friday, 20 Jul 2012, 1:33 AM | Message # 7 |
|
Lieutenant
Group: Users
Messages: 48
Status: Offline
| The moment the vessels had been detected, defensive protocols kicked in. The bulk cruiser would only get one or two bursts from its quad laser cannons which struck against the palace, though the workmanship and durability of the structure was shown when the burst left large gashes and burn marks instead of tearing down its "lofty spires" which must have been the intention. The next burst from the quad laser cannons though would strike against a defensive shield that was brought up around the palace, making an orbital bombardment by laser cannons no longer viable as it would now require a ground landing. The shield generator having been built beneath the palace to ensure the generators safety from ground forces. This meant that if the blackfire contacts wanted to destroy the palace they would have to land troops on the ground and attempt to take it by force which would without a doubt result in more deaths than what they probably would deem acceptable losses.
The palace defenses having been risen now, targeting computers within the palace were already at work tracking the various vessels in the system that posed a threat, including the CR90s and IPV-1 that were approaching the planet. The defenses of the palace already on full alert and waiting for any hostile vehicles to come closer.
Xalden the Black
Lord of Cyborrea
|
| |
| |
| Blackfire_Contacts | Date: Friday, 20 Jul 2012, 4:17 PM | Message # 8 |
|
Lieutenant colonel
Group: Users
Messages: 110
Status: Offline
| The disadvantage Xalden's automated defenses would have were largely based in the fact that they were automated firstly, and secondly that with defenses such as light turbolasers and simple laser cannons, they were positively outgunned. At maximum range, the combined firepower of the massed vessels outdid that which Xalden's palace could currently offer. It also helped that the Neutron Star cruiser currently had two-hundred mercenaries on board that would be capable of gaining the ground. Upon the raising of the shield, the bulk cruiser departed high orbit, moving distant from the palace.
Several vessels proceeded to dock with the cruiser; the Aegis-class combat shuttle, the YV-100, the YZ-775 and the YU-410. This would allow a total of seventy-six mercenaries per trip, for a total of three trips, for the most part, with the final being carried out solely by the Aegis. Once the first load of troops were set, the quartet of craft would move distant from Xalden's palace by some eight or nine kilometers and effectively out of weapons fire by means of a low mountain range. If they were not attacked, they would proceed to offload the troops and go back for the subsequent loads. Meanwhile, the primary elements of the attack fleet were gathering closer by a few kilometers here and there. The idea was to utilize visual scanners to target a solitary point of the shield, some twenty meters across whereupon it would be fired mercilessly upon by the varied weapons so as to weaken it in that spot and punch a hold through it; a not-uncommon problem with stationary shielding such as Xalden had installed. For now though, the forces present were simply waiting, almost as if they expected something else to come.
In the meantime, any satellites and communications devices around Cyborrea that could be found orbiting the planet would be targeted and destroyed, or if possible, would be tractored in to be re-calibrated for later use.
The Citadel's Contractors
|
| |
| |
| Xalden | Date: Tuesday, 24 Jul 2012, 11:15 PM | Message # 9 |
|
Lieutenant
Group: Users
Messages: 48
Status: Offline
| The problem with the location where the troops landed was not only the fact that it was kilometers away from the palace, it was also the fact that it was being attempted in a low mountain range, while the palace was constructed in a larger mountain range. Meaning that the location to land, the most likely place being a low valley would be very difficult to find and would likely be further away than the eight or nine kilometers, it also meant that the enemies forces would be forced to march along narrow mountain paths, often only allowing one man at a time, with some spots being so tight it would require the being to press their back up against the face of the mountain to make their way pass. This meant that the only reliable location to land was the actual landing pad at the palace which would be covered by various fields of fire from defensive positions. The fact that the shield though had to only cover a limited range, the landing pad and the palace, also meant that it would be able to withstand the direct fire into one position, though such precise fire was difficult when it came to the varied weapons that the enemy had.
With the landing pad being the only logical solution to landing forces on, if they continued on their mission to attack the palace in an attempt to shut down the shield generator buried under the palace and held within it's own room deep in the basement, it meant that any forces that managed to actually make it into the palace wouldnt have enough time to flee the palace once the shield was down. This would make anyone going in to shut the shield generator down, going on a suicide mission in which it was highly unlikely that they would return alive from it.
Xalden the Black
Lord of Cyborrea
|
| |
| |
| Blackfire_Contacts | Date: Wednesday, 25 Jul 2012, 5:42 AM | Message # 10 |
|
Lieutenant colonel
Group: Users
Messages: 110
Status: Offline
| Part of the upside of working with Blackfire, at least for the mercenaries, was that somewhere along the line up the chain of command, there was a certain gentleman who just happened to be an arms dealer as well. Things happened, items switched hands, certain shipments were purposely hijacked and this in turn meant that certain items could be found amongst these mercenary bands. AV-1c combat armor, AC-1s scout armor and even, though far more rare, the AV-1a assault armor. Likewise, a good number of the weapons they carried came from certain, more readily-available manufacturers, aside from heavy weapons which were also plentiful. So, as one might say, even twelve to fifteen kilometers was a quite doable march, especially if the suits with built-in repulsor flight packs were utilized. It would also be far from a suicide mission if a team made it within, destroyed the generator and then departed, leaving the fire to wipe out the palace from above.
Picking a point to target on the shield was rather easy, considering the use of laser rangefinders from long-distance. Granted, it wasn't perfect, but with visual sensors it was still quite possible to use. Moving into high orbit, the Neutron Star picked the primary point, opening fire with all thirty quad laser cannons on the set point. Hugging close to its hull, the YZ-775 similarly opened up with a double turbolaser turret. From the left and right flanks of the bulk cruiser, Strike-1 and Strike-2 contributed to the damage with a combined total of sixteen turbolasers. The Surprise would add an additional four turbolasers to this barrage, as well as beginning by launching six proton torpedoes at the marked spot.
With all orbital satellites destroyed save for a scant three or four that had been tractored in, these satellites, which had been checked and cleared for traps, had been sliced into and were now using being used to attempt to slice into Xalden's palace's defensive network. After all, a satellite tended to have much more power than standard communications devices and therefore, when used in a total of four, would be harder for the jammers to effectively jam with their combined power.
The Citadel's Contractors
Message edited by Blackfire_Contacts - Wednesday, 25 Jul 2012, 5:45 AM |
| |
| |
| Xalden | Date: Friday, 24 Aug 2012, 11:28 PM | Message # 11 |
|
Lieutenant
Group: Users
Messages: 48
Status: Offline
| ((post to come tomorrow or saturday depending on how long it takes me to catch up on posts on AGW and a couple other rp sites I'm on.)) Added (24 Aug 2012, 11:28 PM)
---------------------------------------------
The problem with those types of armor was the fact that it was not something that a common mercenary would come across that often, meaning that their training in the use of such armors, making it even more difficult of a march, repulsorlift flight packs or not. It was easy to say that it would take the mercenaries a longer time to make the march to the palace taking into account the lack of experience on the side of the mercenaries using the rarer armors that were without a doubt very expensive as well. For the moment they were not a threat to the palace, as the pilots of the repulsorlift equipped suits would be just as likely to throw themselves into the side of a mountain or down a crevasse than making their way over the obstacles provided by the think mountain trails that lead up to the palace.
For the moment the shields remained strong under the barrage, however, surely the vessels in orbit would find it difficult to keep their ships "hugging close to the hulls" of one another, as the slightest miscalculation or move could cause the vessels to collide with each other. This would cause the crews to be focused on firing at a single point, which would be made difficult coupled with the crews attempting to make sure their ships wouldn't collide, which in turn would aid in spreading out the fire over a larger area than what was most likely wanted.
The problem with pulling in the orbiting satellites was the fact that there had been none in orbit. The four "satellites" that had been pulled in though were four smaller commits that had found their path being pulled into the planet by a combination of the gravity of the planet, along with the pulling of the tractor beams. While a dedicated and skilled crew would be able to pull out of the way from the commits, having the ships so close together would cause them to crash into each other if one pulled away from the commits, which would now require the ships to bring up weapons from their bombardment on the shield to defend themselves from the larger commits coming towards them.
Xalden the Black
Lord of Cyborrea
|
| |
| |
| Blackfire_Contacts | Date: Friday, 07 Sep 2012, 3:52 PM | Message # 12 |
|
Lieutenant colonel
Group: Users
Messages: 110
Status: Offline
| One should note that with the cheaper (relatively speaking) combat suits, the mercenaries had had enough time to familiarize themselves with the flight systems as a strike team, and those that were a little slower in learning could be aided by their comrades. Besides, direct flight over the mountain would simply expose them needlessly to enemy fire, so a long march was indeed the order of business, even if it took several hours or more. The commanders in space were hardly in any rush to achieve their goals, after all.
While the maneuver of flying so close together in formation could indeed be troublesome, but the only vehicle actually within fifty meters of another was the YZ-775 freighter, which was more than capable of operating close to the much larger bulk cruiser without flying into the larger ship. The fact that the palace shields were not rotational and simply static made it much easier as well to continue bombardments on a specific area, aided by the fact that any extra splash damage that landed outside the particular area soaked up shield energy to weaken it further. The proton torpedo impacts were likely to tax the shield the most, and it did not help that a further six were launched at the same spot after the first six hit. It came down a matter of time, which the raiders had plenty of, versus the shield energy of Xalden's palace, which was quite finite.
If there had been no communications satellites in orbit and only meteors, the crews, using hi-resolution cameras, would never have tractored in such comets and the like, which would be only foolish. However, if any came in too close, the trio of freighters and six snubfighters flying interference for the larger ships would be more than capable of handling them with their cannons or if truly needed, divert a few weapons away to blast any approaching asteroids.
Eventually, the palace shields would fall.Added (07 Sep 2012, 3:52 PM)
---------------------------------------------
(( Bump. This needs a response and has been way overdue. ))
The Citadel's Contractors
|
| |
| |
| Xalden | Date: Sunday, 09 Sep 2012, 0:33 AM | Message # 13 |
|
Lieutenant
Group: Users
Messages: 48
Status: Offline
| For the moment the shields were still holding strong, the palace having been placed upon a rather large power generator that continued to keep the shield generator at its peak, though the stress that the shields were taking began to show a bit as warnings flashes across the screens. The shields though could still withstand a barrage long enough to keep the palace intact for a good deal of time. For the moment it would appear that the ground forces would be needed to shut off the shield as it quickly fluxuate to a different frequency to bring the shields back to a stronger position. Though that moment had allowed a couple of the laser blasts to get through, which in turn smashed into one of the taller decorative spires and sent it crashing down onto the landing pad, blocking it from further use.
Xalden the Black
Lord of Cyborrea
|
| |
| |
| Blackfire_Contacts | Date: Sunday, 09 Sep 2012, 7:59 AM | Message # 14 |
|
Lieutenant colonel
Group: Users
Messages: 110
Status: Offline
| The order was given, for now, to have the ground forces hold their positions. While attacking the shield itself was, in theory, quite acceptable, there was a far better way. The shield itself was stated to sit around the palace, and the palace itself upon a large power generator. The end result was that the entire thing still sat atop a mountain, which would become the weak point.
Maneuvering their vessels to clear the actual palace, the mercenaries adjusted their aim and opened fire again, this time at an unshielded area, being the mountain below the palace itself. Granted, this technique was likely to take a bit longer, but it promised more definitive results. With thirty quad laser cannons from the bulk cruiser, a combined total of sixteen turbolasers from the pair of CR90 corvettes and an added quartet of turbolasers from the IPV-1, results were bound to show as the blasts were aimed to tear rock and stone away, superheating it or outright blasting it out from the mountain to effectively dig a hole beneath the palace and its generator and the shield.
If, of course, they were still hitting the shield somehow, the aim would simply be shifted lower. There was no need to have the ground troops attack the main gate in this case.
The Citadel's Contractors
|
| |
| |
| Xalden | Date: Wednesday, 12 Sep 2012, 11:26 AM | Message # 15 |
|
Lieutenant
Group: Users
Messages: 48
Status: Offline
| [No point in continuing, I'm leaving AGW]
Xalden the Black
Lord of Cyborrea
|
| |
| |
|
