WotH Chpt 48

==War on the Horizon - Chapter 48==
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===Not safest Neighborhood===
Date: July, 3015/07.7954 CRC
Two Weeks later...
"I assume you have a plan," Siri looked around the holotable we'd installed in the Messenger's briefing room.
 
"We do," Paige stepped forward. "I've got two companies of Marines here, and some of Dunham's intel people. Sienn is in charge of the intel squads."
 
"What we have here are some of the remnants of the groups that benefited from the old Status quo on Ryloth," Sienn's purple and olive hands touched a control on the table, bringing up an image of an armored Twi'lek. "They've banded together and are hoping that they'll be able to convince Ryloth to return to the fold of the Republic. Now, we're not certain, but some of our traces point to them being funded by Orn Free Taa."
 
"Terrorist actions funded by the old regime," Paige agreed. "Based on the reports I've read, they won't hesitate to execute the hostages if they think they're going to get caught."
 
"Also, Colonel, you're going to want to stay in the ship," Sienn glanced in Hull's direction. "There are a lot of bounty hunters on the planet, and considering that there's a pretty lucrative bounty on your head…" She trailed off.
 
"I thought this was just a backwater." Hull glanced at Siri, the Knight nodding in confirmation.
 
"It doesn't even have a name," Siri agreed. "It's just a number in this sector."
 
"Doesn't matter," Paige looked at the map of the warehouses and other assorted building "below" them. "We're not going to make a bunch of noise down there, we're going to get in, quietly take out the terrorist and then exfil. No springing traps, no running battles, we do this like professionals."
 
"I've got three people tailing the 'Rising Storm' now," Sienn agreed. "Once we get the location of the hostages we'll be making a HALO jump from a Gozanti."
 
"We've got two of them dressed up like standard freighters," Paige explained. "We'll make it seem like they were badly maintained and suffered a failure, having cargo and other things drop from the cargo hold to conceal my Marines on their descent. Upon landing, we'll group up and begin moving through, securing the hostages first and then clearing out the terrorists so our ships can land."
 
"And we're ready for failure points as well," Sienn continued. "In the event that something goes wrong, we've got a Sting on standby to provide Close Air Support."
 
"We'd rather not need it," Paige sighed. "But I won't protest some air support on hand."
 
"Once the hostages are secured, we're transporting them in the Sting to Raxus, we have multiple ships on standby from the CIS to provide escorts and a medical frigate for any medical assistance they might need."
 
"I'll keep an eye on things from here then," Hull nodded. "I'll be sending Knight Tachi with you, she knows to follow instruction and will stay out of the way, but you might want someone with some precog to assist."
 
"We've worked with Tachi before," Paige nodded. "She'll be a welcome addition to the team."
 
"I'll work with the splicers we have," Hull said after a pause. "If we can get access to the systems they're using we might be able to trace things all the way back to whoever's behind this."
 
"Half of my team specializes in data recovery," Seinn glanced at her assistant. "We'll rip everything we can from their databanks."
 
"Alright," Hull clapped his hands together, the sound echoing a bit. "We've got a plan, let's execute it."
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===Aggressive Negotiations===
"Hey Xito, mind if I snag one of those?" Pra Cusinn eyed the death stick in the hand of his buddy.
 
"Nah, go ahead," Xito held out the pack, allowing Pra to grab one. "It's been a long few weeks."
 
"You think that they'll actually respond to our demands?" Pra asked, squeezing down on the end of the stick with his thumb and index finger as the ignition device at the end hissed as it lit the stick.
 
"I'm just here to admire the beauties," the other Twi'lek shrugged. "You saw that Togruta that the boss has, right?"
 
"Fine piece of ass on that one," Pra smirked. "I'd love to have her dance at my place."
 
"I want her on her knees," Xito puffed on his stick. "The things I'd do…"
 
"She's just as liable to cut it off if she gets the chance," Pra snickered. "The boss had to inject her with that special drug to get her to calm down."
 
"Yeah," Xito shuddered. "I like spice as much as the next guy, but not when it's like that."
 
"Whoever ends up with her is going to have to deal with the symptoms," Pra agreed. "That's going to cost as much as any extra training."
 
"Boss is planning on selling her to the Hutts anyway," the other Twi'lek stubbed out his Death stick before continuing his patrol. "We should get back to it. I'd hate to be stuck out here when it's time to rotate shifts."
 
As the two moved to continue their patrol an explosion sounded far in the distance, a couple of freighters overhead trailing smoke and debris.
 
"Kriffing backwaters," Pra snorted. "That sort of thing wouldn't happen if they maintained their ships properly."
 
"They probably haven't seen yard time since they were built," Xito snickered. "Bet you fifty credits they're Outer Rim manufacture."
 
"You're on," Pra laughed. "Now let's go find the lazy bastards who're supposed to fill in for us."
 
As the two terrorists meandered their way back through their routes to inside, they narrowly missed a handful of lights that shined like the stars among the debris that drew close to the ground, over fifty suits of Mithril hit the ground with dull thuds, and two suppressed rifles coughed, sending both Pra and Xito to their afterlife.
 
"Sitrep!" Paige barked.
 
"Five wounded, two dead" Jenkins replied soberly. "They didn't hit the ground right and broke some bones. The two dead hit the debris on the way down."
 
"Bravo, you're to stick with the wounded," Paige ordered. "Alpha, Charlie, you're with me, let's move it people!"
 
"Delta, we're to begin securing the perimeter," Jenkins ordered the remainder of the Marines. "I want the LZ clear for our wounded and the hostages."
 
"Knight Tachi, you're to stay on my six." Paige looked at the armored robes of Siri Tachi. "We'll need you to calm down the hostages once we have them secured."
 
"Got it." Siri nodded.
 
"Stack up!" A noncom barked as they neared the closest doorway, the sensors causing it to remain shut for a moment.
 
"Flashbang going out!" a Marine pulled the door open for his partner to toss a grenade in, a bright flash and thud echoed as the marines moved in. The flash barely showing inside of the Mithril's helmets as the visors polarized to compensate.
 
The first squad finished breaching and continued down the building, Paige bringing up the rear with a second squad and the Jedi Knight in tow.
 
The first hallways and rooms were cleared quickly as the alert hadn't yet been sounded, the squads each branching off to clear different sections of the facility as Paige, Siri, and Fireteam Charlie moved to where Siri had sensed the hostages.
 
"This next room has the hostages," Siri stopped the fireteam before they breached the next door. "I would caution you against using lethal options in the next room."
 
"Flashbangs and stunners," Paige ordered, allowing her rifle to dangle from its sling as she grabbed the stun blaster rifle from her pack, her marines doing the same. "On you," she nodded at Siri.
 
Siri took a deep breath and then slammed the door open, a flashbang tucked into her had that was released and controlled with the force to hit the best spot to blind the room's occupants.
 
Then Paige breached the room first, clearing out a corner with her stun blaster as Siri leapt in afterward and knocked out the leader of the terrorists with a swift punch.
 
"Corpsman!" Paige called for the Doc after the room had been subdued. "Get in here! We've got wounded!"
 
"Room's clear, Major!" the leader of Fireteam Charlie reported. "Permission to prepare prisoners for transport."
 
"Granted," She looked at the group of Twi'lek men and women huddled in the center of the room. "But keep them separated from the hostages. If they get ahold of the prisoners we won't have any intel to collect from an interrogation after they're done with them."
 
"Yes, ma'am," the noncom nodded before ordering his fireteam around.
 
"Jenkins, we've secured the hostages, please tell me you have good news."
 
"Perimeter's clear except for a small group," a bit of gunfire was heard in the background. "Give us a few and we'll have them dealt with."
 
"Copy that," Paige knelt down and unpolarized her helmet so that a shaking representative could see her face. "I'm calling for evac, these people need to get out of here."
 
"Archon's Favor, we've cleared out the Tangos, you are cleared to land."
 
"Roger that," Hober's voice sounded chipper. "Your ride is on its way."
 
"Make sure your Docs ready," Paige pulled out her medkit. "We've got wounded."
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Chapter 48