Squad Leader Archive
Thread: The Officer's Club: Our stories of the unknown Squad Leader
Well, wasn't sure if you'd want whole books.. *lol* i'm not kidding when I say longish. I typed up the firstpart this morning (told you I was bored at work.. in another thread somewhere.) Just an intro into the fight. Ulldu might recall this day, I think he was the only other SL present. RP/story section follows..
The oblong-shaped ball landed with a thud, skipping off the ground several times to leave a small dust clouds in the air before the ball finally came to rest in a pile of sand. Gusts of wind quickly dispursed the miniature clouds, though they offered no respite against the heat of Tatooine's suns. Qua'yi trotted over to the ball, leaning over to pick it up. As his fingers clasped the bantha-hide ball, he paused for a moment to wipe the sweat glistening off his forehead. He always hated it when the sweat trickled down the tenticles which portruded from the sides of his head. He stood up then, and began to trot back to his friends. Nearby he could hear the traffic and people of Bestine going about their day. The field was near one of Tatooine's busiest spaceports, which only increased the noise level. Still, young children knew how to use their lungs. Qua'yi could hear his friends laughter and chattering as he got back to them, and they got ready for the next play. The big droid tournaments of Power Ball in the Core Systems were a hit in the Imperial capital of Tatooine. Qua'yi and his friends often played a game of their own after watching the big game at one of the public holonet stations.
Ssurg suddenly perked his head up a little. Qua'yi watched him, wondering what it was that the Sullustian's ears had picked up. He did not have long to wait to find the answer. The loud and immediately recognizeable sounds of TIE fighters filled the air, overpowering the din of the city as the flight moved close to the starport. Since it was the Imperial capital city, TIE Fighters and Interceptors in Bestine were not all that uncommon. When Qua'yi looked up, however, he knew this was a special occasion. Six TIE Advanced, ships he had only read about or seen in holonews clips, and a pair of another TIE Qua'yi had never seen nor read about escorted an Imperial shuttle on approach to Bestine. The unknown TIE's had three solar pylons instead of the usual two, and took up the primary escort position on the shuttle.
As the shuttle settled over a berth in the starport and began to fold its wings, Qua'yi and his friends looked at each other with stunned expressions. Grins grew on their faces soon after, and they took off running for the starport to see who the new arrival was, their game forgotten. The streets leading to the starport were cluttered with traffic and pedestrians. Many were just standing and looking towards the starport, chattering with their neighbors about who or why it could be. Rumors flew. It was the sector Moff coming in to check on the Governor, it was someone from the Imperial court on vacation (perhaps the most ludicrous idea), it was an Imperial general come to take charge of ferreting out the Tusken raiders once and for all, the rumors went on as fast as the children ran between small spaces to get to the starport. None of the crowd were ready for who emerged from the starport.
Stormtroopers emerged from the starport's main entrance and began to clear the street immediately in front. A government car, preceded and followed by small military vehicles, made its stop in front, the governor of Tatooine and her Imperial advisor emerging after an officer opened their door. The pair approached the starport, but stopped several meters before and stood, waiting.
He finally emerged, exiting the starport in slow, measured strides. The streets were silent now, not really believing that HE was HERE. Tall for a human, black armor glinting in the sunlight of the desert world, Darth Vader was an imposing figure even from the distance most of the crowd saw him at. Many took a subconcious step back, pressing those behind them. It was a mix of awe, wonder, and no small amount of fear that swept through them. What could possibly bring him here? Did the governor do something to displease the Emperor? She was well-liked in Bestine and the surrounding areas, those that were actually patrolled by the Imperial garrison. The rest of the planet could not really care who sat in the governor's office, they never listened or were forced to listen anyway.
Vader paused in front of the governor, apparently speaking with her and the advisor. Qua'yi could not hear any of it though, and the rest of the crowd seemed equally as clueless. The Imperial party began to move toward the car then, and were just about there when Vader paused again, taking a moment to glance at the crowd which had gathered. With bewildered expressions on the governor and advisor, Vader stepped around the car and stood in front of the crowd. All whispers of what he was here for stopped, Bestine once again returned to relative quiet save for the regular traffic flying overhead or the cars in the distant, ignorant of the events at the starport.
"Citizens of Bestine.." Vader began to address the crowd.
Lieutenant Celerit shifted from one foot to the other. He stood just outside the starport doors, supervising the troops which were to either side. They were all at attention, and in their proper places. Those near the crowd would load onto the skiff transports and stay with Lord Vader, but the twenty or so closest to the starport were to remain with the shuttle, since it was a civilian starport. They had originally planned to land at the military base nearby, but Lord Vader wanted to make a visible impression on the citizens and garrison troops among the city by showing up here. The security concerns were not too great, Bestine was a fairly secure city. Local bandits and raiders, known as Tuskens as Celerit had heard once, were more of a menace than the Rebellion here. Still, it never hurt to keep a guard present.
The young Lieutenant watched the crowd as he listened to the same works, spoken from the same… Sith Lord. Was he really a man under there? Ah, but that was not for Celerit to question. He listened to Lord Vader's speech and the affect it had on the crowd. Despite the heat, or maybe the locals didn't notice it anyway, the crowd listened intently and did not interrupt. A much more polite crowd than other worlds. Or more frightened, who knew. As the Dark Lord began to finish off his speech, heavily hinting that the citizens of Bestine really ought to make sure they remained loyal subjects of the Empire, Celerit turned on his heels and quietly went back into the starport. A few people bustled about in the main entryway of the building, though most watched the holonews updates on what was taking place outside.
Celerit took the main terminal hallway to the right, to make his way back to the berth the shuttle was docked in. He had just begun to pass the first berth entryway when he heard a sudden scuffle of mutliple pairs of boots sliding across the ground. He stopped, and the sound stopped. He turned then, looking at the berth door, his hand subconciously dropping to the small, Imperial officer issue blaster at his side. Just as he began to make his first few steps towards the door, the heavy piece of metal slid to the side on its own. There they were. Rebels. Several of them, until the passageway into the berth bent to the side and Celerit could not see further in. Had his mind not been reeling from shock, he might have thought to shout out for help, maybe even used his commlink, or better yet to duck out of the way of the doorway. Instead, he simply crumpled as three blaster shots tore into his stomach and lower chest.
Unfortunately for the Rebels, the blaster fire was as effective as a cry for help from the now departed Celerit.
I was on Tatooine the home of my former guild, chatting with my former guildmates (in they're created chat), since I will be returning to them soon. They were talking of going down into the depths of the Ryatt Trail on Kashyyyk. Without even asking them, I took off to Kash. Once I got there, I asked if they would like my assistance (in the same chat) by the time that they responded with yes, I was already next to them. Myself, 2 Wooks, another human and a Trandoshan took off, the five of us non-Jedi began the long descent down. The first incident we had was our Trandoshan friend got incappacitated (CL 15 and only his first). We got down to the compound to communicate with Rroot, using Volley Fire/Rally the whole way down. Myself, one of the Wooks and the Trandoshan, got killed. I stayed behind to help out the other two that were still alive. Despite failing the mission (due to a bug or something), the two managed to make their way into the compound and back out.
A short time later, we regrouped and decided to head to the Myyydril Caverns. Upon reaching the caverns, we lost the Trandoshan but managed to pick up another guild member of theirs who was a Jedi (not a full templated one). The group of us, went down and slowly made our way to our primary objective, the Queen. I wish that this was a lie, but alas, it wasn't. I again used Volley Fire/Rally the whole way down, But a minute or two (literally) later, the Queen was dead.
We decided at that point, that a trip further down the Caverns was suicide, but warranted. Again, using Volley Fire/Rally the whole way down, the five of us managed to stay alive. We reached our primary objective and battled N-K ourselves. Myself and the other human died, the rest of the party managed to kill N-K with very little rooting involved.
I have to say this is probably one of the two most exciting times I have ever been a part of. The first was with Loki hunting Krayts, though on a quest, this has got to be the best time I have ever partaken in and that we as SL have shone through. During the quests, I heard a couple of times and through a couple of people that they love SL. Folks, let's keep it that way.
Message Edited by AlienEntity on 10-10-2005 02:04 AM