Space E-war

[The Kingpin]

10 minutes later, a squadron of 5 V-35 attack jets, moving at hypersonic speeds, dropping their payload just as they entered the atmosphere, before changing direction to lower their altitude for a streaking hit. "The troops are ready sir. awaiting deployment". "Do you want to move in personally Grievous? or would you rather let the troops take them out themselves?" asked Serephir...

[dinoman666]

"I will be leading my commandos and Lissarkh personally to get rid of this Covenant filth," Grievous replied. "If you wish to come, by all means."

The Covenant Base's shields flared bright silver as the bombs dropped over its structure, flaring brightly, before finally popping, though the base itself was unharmed...

[The Kingpin]

"In that case, let's go. by this point the Covenent should be getting a very nasty surprise" said Serephir with a smirk as he walked out of the Command room of the Bridge and heading for the elevator down to the hanger to the dropships...

As the bombs hit the shields, several large bluish shockwaves blasted across the base as the shields and surface electronic systems went completely offline, the 10 EMP bombs hitting their target perfectly as the craft veered around, firing a wave of High Explosive missiles, 40 missiles being fired from the jets, all locked on the defenses detected by the jets' sensors...

[dinoman666]

Grievous and Lissarkh nodded, and the female Trandoshan smirked viciously, all too eager to fight, as was Grievous, though his face was incapable of showing it. The pair followed Serephir, and the commando droids down in the hangar busily readied their weapons, while Grievous sent their squad leader a message: "BX-66, get your troops geared up and ready. We have some Covenant b**tards to kill."

Four large, swiveling turrets at the corners of the Covenant Base opened fire. The plasma rounds they fired wouldn't easily hit many missiles, but they had a special weapon attachment: Heavy Needlers. Large pink shards of a glassy substance, each the length of a man's arm, sailed towards the incoming missiles, each one intercepting a missile and piercing it, causing it to explode prematurely, even before the Needler shard itself detonated. Some missiles still made it past this defensive screen, and the explosions left a few medium-sized holes in the base's superstructure, which spewed superheated plasma into the air. Out of small portals in the base's structure came swarms of armored Covenant Engineers, struggling to cut off the damaged plasma conduit and repair the breach...

[The Kingpin]

as the jets rounded again, they locked on the points where the Heavy Needlers had been fired from, another volley of missiles streaking forward, this time the full clusters being fired from the jets' missile bays, each craft unleashing a swarm of 12 missiles, the 60 missile swarms being fired at the large turrets as the jets suddenly scrambled, heading upwards, letting the missiles do the job for them...


it wasn't more than a couple of minutes before Serephir and the two Trandoshans were back in the hanger, 3 large black blockish looking craft hovered, the bow of the crafts rounded with several small holes marking where missile silos and heavy turrets were positioned. Serephir boarded one, the crafts preparing to go.

[dinoman666]

Grievous boarded a separate gunship from Serephir, and Lissarkh boarded the third. A small contingent of commandos followed Lissarkh while the rest, with BX-66, followed Grievous, all of them ready to take off...

The turrets fired another salvo, though they failed to take out enough missiles to prevent themselves from being destroyed. The Engineers mostly ignored the wrecked turrets, focused mainly on repairing the base itself...

The three alien figures watch the battle outside, and the one in the chair, hissed, "This is an outrage! Why are simply letting them penetrate our defenses?! We must send out Seraphs and find those aircraft!" The center alien barked loudly, "No! I will not be fooled by some useless preemptive strike. They will not harm anything vital, and risk being unable to infiltrate out base at all. Let them bomb us. They will soon regret it..."

[The Kingpin]

as the squadron lanced across the sky in a blaze of flames as they unleashed volley after volley of missiles, a message reached Serephir. "General, the Preliminary Strike is almost complete". "Very well. get us underway. have the escorts exit the hanger before us. i want the Covenent to have no way of countering the landing". switching the channel, he said"Grievous. is there anything down there in particular you want to look for?"...

[dinoman666]

Grievous replied over the com: "Yes. We will be heading into the underground area of the complex, and find either the command center or the reactor core, preferably both. We can split up once we get a chance and try to find both. I have charges we can use to blow the reactor, and killing whoever is leading this outpost shouldn't be difficult for the other person."

Phantom and Spirit Dropships and Banshees scattered from the missiles, having no way to dock with the base while the barrage was going on. The Engineers, despite being vaporized in the dozens, ignored the bombardment, trying to fix whatever was broken...

[The Kingpin]

the V-35s dove down at the base, unleashing another bombardment, disabling all electronics once more, as their turrets tore apart the forces on the ground, firing free of the missile targetting system...

"Sir, there are numerous ships airborne near the base. should we have the V-35s shoot them down or save their munitions for ground based targets?" asked the Bridge Officer in charge. "Hit them with the STG missiles. save the V-35s for air-support. and send in another 5 to boulster their ranks. judging by what Grievous told me about their defenses i highly doubt they're hitting us with everything yet" ordered Serephir. "Understood sir". the Dropships moved forward, lifting out of the hanger amidst a swarp of V-25 Air support craft. smaller than the V-35, they were lighter, faster and more maneuverable, but lacked in missile weaponry. instead, they were armed with advanced gatling guns and Heavy plasma cannons for taking out enemy armour. the dropships, as well as the 15-strong V-25 squadron, were covered in Point Defense Systems. hitting them through conventional weaponry was nigh impossible, and advanced shields stopped whatever the point defenses couldn't...

"Eagle-flight, weapons cold on the Dropships. fire on ground forces only. Dropships and reinforcements inbound. ETA 5 minutes" came the HVMS Fury on the V-35s' comms via heavily protected, encrypted channels. "Copy that, Control. Holding fire against Dropships, focusing on ground forces" responded Eagle Squadron's leader as he pulled up, leading the squadron upwards into the upper atmosphere, preparing for another bombing run. far above, numerous glowing spots could be seen streaking in an arc into the atmosphere, the STGs arriving before hand...

[dinoman666]

Banshees did their best to tail the V-35 craft, peppering them with plasma fire, but they weren't fast enough to handle jets moving that quickly. The dropships, which weren't made for air-to-air combat, moved closer to the base's main entrance, which was covered in a purple frame (which normally projected a protective energy shield). The EMP forced the dropships to blast the frame apart with their plasma cannons, and drop off the numerous troops they carried, letting the Jackals, Brutes, and Grunts scurry into the base even as their craft exploded above them...

From higher in the atmosphere, having watched the battle previously, a flock of around 30 Vampires descended from the sky, unleashing their Heavy Needler turrets to attack the V-35s head-on, their smaller plasma turrets providing point defense against enemy missiles, the anti-air aircraft more than a match for the enemy craft...

[The Kingpin]

as the Vampires attacked, the V-35s responded by opening fire with their gatling guns, the guns winding up and letting loose with a hail of ultrasonic plasma rounds, the sheer firing rate of the weapons enough to mangle most craft, the V-35s scrambling as they entered a dogfight with the Vampires...

Meanwhile, the STG's arced into the Dropships as they offloaded their troops, the penetrative missiles tearing into the dropships' hulls and detonating, blowing scrap metal, plasma and ordinance outwards in a deadly blast, ripping through the troops being offloaded in numerous cases, one Dropship being blown downwards and slamming into the side of the base's main structure...


the Vardian Dropships rapidly descended once they entered the atmosphere, the roar of the engines powering them towards ground level, a loud jet engine like whir being heard as the reverse thrusters activated,the wings on the ships twisting to turn the ship into a horizontal position, thrusters on the underside of the hull slowing it to a stop mere inches from the planet's surface, the sides of the troop carriers falling to the side, letting the troops out, Serephir leaping out, assault rifle in hand as he moved towards the entrance, the V-25s zipping up to help their comrades against the Vampires, bringing their heavy plasma cannons to the battle...

[dinoman666]

Grievous and Lissarkh leaped out, Lightsabers activated, while the commando droids followed with their blasters. The Covenant Base's front gate opened, and a small contingent of Jackals, crouched behind their shields, opened fire, their shield wall difficult to penetrate as the droids and Covenant troops exchange fire. A second line of Jackals angled their shields up to stop grenade attack, while a trio of Brute Ultras, clad in violet, nondescript armor, fired their Brute Shots over the shield wall. Commandos rolled out of the way of the incoming, high-velocity grenades, but one wasn't fast enough, as a grenade bounced up from the ground and exploded, tearing the droid in half. Its upper half continued to crawl towards the base, only to have a green plasma bolt blow its head off, finishing it for good. Grievous shouted, "There's no cover out here! Serephir, see if you can clear a path inside before I lose all of my troops!"

To assist the Vampires, a large hatch in the back of the base's rapidly-weakening structure opened, and a column of bronze-armored AA Wratihs streamed out, spinning around and aiming their Fuel Rod Cannons at the sky. Hails of green, explosive fuel rods filled the airspace, and the Vampires pulled back while the V-35s were knocked in every conceivable direction by indirect explosions, while some were completely obliterated by direct hits...

[TyrannoTitan]

As the two entered the cellar, the mercenaries approached the bar itself, the lead humanoid, face covered by a helmet, pounded the bar with a fist. "Barkeep!" it barked angrily, trying to summon the bartender...

The foliage parted as they approached the base, which was now consumed by the chaos of battle. Unnoticed, the cloaked machines approached, slinking toward the structure to begin their harvest of the fallen...

[C S]

Kystion forced the two into the door way, slamming a hand into the hooded figure's back, making the disoriented man stumble, which then took his small counter part with him. At the same time, he looked to a shelf within the cellar itself. He reached forward with his other hand, a bottle flying into his palm as he pulled its contents towards him. He pulled out of the opening and shut the door. He walked casually to the armored figures, standing over the bar and slamming the bottle down. "How can I help you?" Kystion growled to the one who called him, pulling off the ruse that he went to get something from the cellar flawlessly. After all, he was once a pirate...pirates held some...less than legal items... being able to put up an act to fool galactic law enforcement was a nescessity...

[TyrannoTitan]

The mercenary stared at the bartender for a moment, before motioning with a gloved hand for a drink, the small band of armed beings seating themselves at the bar...

The drunken man was sprawled across the ground, while his companion managed to move out of the way just in time, clinging to a shelf near the entrance to the room. "Was that honestly necessary?!" it asked, the question directed at no particular individual, as the drunken man groaned in response...

[C S]

Kystion nodded and ducked down under the counter, pulling out shot glasses for each of the mercinaries. He placed them infront of the men and grabbed the bottle, shaking it for a moment before uncorking it. He poured out the drinks, humming softly, which wasnt much of a hum, more of a grumble...

[dinoman666]

Even in the chaos of the gunfight, Grievous noticed the grenade fire lessen, and he risked looking straight at the enemy formation. The Jackals, to his surprise had scattered, leaving a gap in their formation, while two of the Brutes were on the ground, obviously dead. What the... Before Grievous could even finish his thought process, he saw a tracer bullet slam into the third Brute's helmeted head, overloading its shields and Power Armor with a single shot. The alien toppled backwards, reflexively firing its Brute Shot at the confused Jackals. Several of the avian creatures were torn apart as the grenade exploded behind their shields, and Grievous took the opportunity to charge forward with Lissarkh and the droids, slicing through several Kig-Yar that made the poor position to turn around, looking at the carnage behind them. As he made it to the doorway, he waved his troops and Serephir inside, and looked down at the dead Jiralhanae. Nudging Serephir, he nodded at the corpses. "Did you post a sniper anywhere without telling me, by any chance?"

Meanwhile, hidden in the treeline, a single, blue-white glowing eye watched the battle, before pulling back into the shadows...

[TyrannoTitan]

"Leave the bottle." the mercenary barked, before removing his helmet, revealing a human-like face, though covered in ridges and crests, downing the glass of alcohol in one gulp...

[C S]

"Right then" Kystion said, putting the bottle down. He stood behind the counter, when the faint hum of a land speeder reached his ears. The pub's door swung open, the small grey bar keep poking his head in. "Hey you! Newbie!" He called to Kystion. "I need you to unload the new Nova-Ale shipment and put it in the cellar!" Kystion's eyes seemed to light up... while taking inventory, he caught sight of another door in the back of the cellar...perhaps it lead outside? Kystion moved over to the bar door, opening it and walking towards the entrance...

[The Kingpin]

"No" responded Serephir, as an especially deep booming gunshot of one of the Vardian Snipers rang out, positioned over one of the Drop ships, amongst large amounts of metallic cover that had been extended over the craft specifically for such action, the sniper blowing apart the head of a 4th Brute, helmet, shield and all, the shot having been charged moments before hand according to a scanner that read what kind of protection the Brute had. around it, the ground forces shredded the weaker ones with assault rifle and plasma cannon fire, blasts of silvery blue energy blowing back groups of jackals and grunts ahead of the group, large, heavily armoured Gunner Troopers carrying the massive cannons, normal infantry not having the strength to man such monsterous weapons, instead using standard plasma assault rifles and covering the Gunners to do their work uninterrupted. Meanwhile, Vardian forces were advancing from either side of the base, snipers clearing the way of the more powerful units while Gunner Troopers and the Vardian Infantry eliminated anything that the massive plasma cannons didn't, carving a passage inwards towards the interior of the base, attempting to split up the Covenent ranks so as to weaken their ability to hold the lines against General Serephir's forces. "General, the V-35 squadron are reporting casualties from AA defenses both airborne and ground based" came a report from the HVMS Fury. "Bombard the ground-based defenses and send in 5 Arrows, and boost the V-35 squadron with 10 more jets. i won't have their defenses drive off the air support. pull back until the bombardment is complete then veer around and deal with them head to head" responded Serephir. "Yes sir"


Above, the V-35s went into evasive maneuvers, pulling up and heading skywards while activating their Afterburners, the craft going at nearly 20 times the speed of sound, leaving the atmosphere rapidly to regroup with the larger V-35 force, as 5 black, flattened, semi-circular craft dove in past them, the black craft having a silver 'edge', which split into several small parts with small turret ports on them, the edge shimmering brightly before a barrage of silvery plasma fire rained down on the Vampires, just as the AA Wraiths were blown apart by a small Orbital Bombardment, Grievous and Serephir having given orders not to damage the base too much so as to avoid letting them gather information where possible...