StarDestroyer.Net BBS

I wrote this last night. Its the first thing I've written since grade school, so be merciless.



The gleaming bulk of an Imperial Star destroyer floated solemnly in high orbit over an emerald green world, the first hints of sunlight lighting the horizon. Silently shuttles, landing barges, and a swarm of fighters and bombers fell out of the cavernous bays and streamed to the surface. The assault shuttles, touching down in a large clearing filled with tall grass just as the sun rose in the east, landed at precise positions along the edge of the clearing. Troopers clad in mottled green and brown fatigues disembarked and moved to the tree lines to the south and west edges. More took up positions along a wide green-brown river flowing lazily from the north along the east flank, and still others took the low hills to the north. As the infantry was tying in to each other at the perimeter corners the large transports and barges landed in the center of the clearing, disgorging dozens of AT-AA, AT-ST, and AT-PT walkers of various models. Earth movers rolled out and started clearing ground while construction units unloaded the prefab structure components. As soon as each transport was empty it lifted off and returned to orbit. After less then an hour since land fall the troopers had secured a perimeter roughly 6 kilometers long in a trapezoidal shape surrounding a fortified base with no less then 300 meters of open ground on any side.

General Siv Atone was in his newly constructed command post, overseeing the ongoing construction and troop movements. His holotank display showed the clearing and his base, but only static where the jungles were to his south and west and across the river to his east. The scanners on his towers and recon units were not penetrating the foliage even though they should have been able to easily. Comms and Air Control were reporting that cloud cover of all things was interfering with transmissions and scanning.

He turned to the young Corporal manning the communications post for Corps Command.
"Corporal Taylor, get me Ravisher Actual on the line."
Young Corporal he may have been, but he was old guard with the unit. The new Com/Scan Lieutenant, however, was not.
"Sir, the cloud cover is between us and the Ravisher, we can't signal through it."
Even as the Lieutenant was saying this, Cpl. Taylor was speaking into his headset.

"Raptor Two Bravo Five, this is Warlord One, over."
Taylor awaited the reply from the Interceptor pilot.
"Two Bravo Five, do you have clear coms with Ravisher?......Roger that. Stand by to retrans holo sig, hold position."
Taylor turned to the two officers. "Sirs, I have Ravisher Actual on the line for Warlord Actual."

The image in the holotank changed to that of Ravisher Actual, Captain Steele. Ridged and severe, the Captain spoke one word. "Report".

"Landing zone secured and base camp is up. We are having the same problems down here trying to scan through the jungles and clouds. The rest of the Corps will be down in the next hour, Theater shield will be up in the next two."

"Very good, General. The scientists will be down following your supplies. Do you need anything else?"

General Atone looked around at his command staff. Corporal Taylor handed him a PAD. Looking at it the general raised an eyebrow and Captain Steel picked up on it.

"What does Corporal Taylor want this time?"

"He wants 100 probe droids fitted for electronic surveillance. Not his oddest request."

"No its not. Very well, he will get his droids. Ravisher Actual out."

Sorry for the half post, but I got distracted then went to work. Slipped my mind until today.

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Sgt. Malann sat strapped to his jump seat facing his 11 man squad in the back of an assault shuttle. Even though the LZ was secure, unit SOP still called for combat decent, a high speed fall with a sudden stop. Keying his unit comm, Malann addressed his squad.

"Mission change. Team two will disembark on landing and load the LP/OP kit being staged for us. Once loaded we will fly South West to coordinates to set up a remote LP/OP and Comm relay. After securing our immediate area and setting up the kit we will conduct team element grid patrols. Team leaders acknowledge."

Two voices in quick succession said "copy". The shuttle shuddered and stomachs hit feet as the retros and repulsors flared to life, ending the suicidal drop in an almost gentle landing. The rear ramp lowered and the four members of team two unstrapped and ran out into a steamy haze. Heat rushed into the compartment, hitting everyone in the face like a spongy hammer. Ops had said that the temperature here, even so early in the morning, was already over 100 degrees, with nearly 90 percent humidity. One thing he envied about the Stormtroopers was sealed environmental armor with that greatest of all inventions, temperature regulation. Looking out the back Sgt. Malann could see a thin drip of blue green something oozing off of the shuttle. As team two brought the grav sled on board with the LP/OP kit one of them, Private Karr, walked right through the ooze, splattering it on his left shoulder. Seeing this, another private called out jokingly, "Yo Karr, You got the Goo on you man."

After securing the sled into place Pvt. Karr looked down and scraped some of the slightly sticky stuff onto two gloved fingers. Quickly, with a boxer's speed, he stretched out and wiped his fingers on the offender's left cheek, leaving two distinct blue green lines on his skin. "Now you got the Goo, too." He laughed as he sat down and strapped in, the shuttle lifting of seconds later filled with cursing and rough laughter.

Minutes later the shuttle slowed and the pilot's voice came over the loudspeakers.

"The jungle canopy is too thick for us to land. Your going to have to rappel. Hook the cargo to the rescue line and we will lower it after you."

Sgt. Malann stood up and hooked his tac harness to the rappelling cable over one of the side hatches. "You heard him, on your feet. Order is Three One Two. Corporal Herak get that gear secured to the rescue line, your team follows it to the ground." He tapped the crewman next to the cockpit on the shoulder and relayed the decent change, then signaled to Corporal Madry. Seeing the signal, CPL. Madry yelled "GO!" and team three dissapeared out of the side hatches, followed five seconds later by SGT. Malann and his team one. The gear swung out the back of the shuttle five seconds later and descended through the foliage. giving it ten seconds, Cpl. Herak signaled his team and they were out, passing the returning lines from teams one and three.

As Sgt. Malann fell free of the shuttle he got his first glimps of this planet. Jungle stretched away as far as he could see, nearly neon greens and blues of the upper canopy. He broke past the huge and almost transparent leaf below him and entered a dimmer but still bright area of winding branches and more solid leaves and flowers. Apparently the noise of the shuttle had scared away most of the animals as he saw none. Within seconds he was engulfed in a darkness as he approached the jungle floor. It was quiet here, the sounds of the shuttle muffled. There was a smell, sickly sweet, permeating the air. His boots touched loam and he disconnected his cable. without hesitating he activated the low-light on his goggles as he moved ten paces out to form part of the perimeter. It was strange, looking around at trunks wider then some houses separated by low ferns and, odly, flowering bushes.

"Team two dirt side."

"Copy, Two and Three spread out and form perimeter, One, set up the stand and establish comms with Platoon"

The stand was a telescoping pole with a ringed platform just barely large enough to hold a man. The pole itself served as an antenna mount. Sgt. Malann walked the perimeter, adjusting individual positions as he saw the need, as the three remaining members of team one set up the stand. There were four loud "Whump" sounds as the support legs anchored themselves to the ground. A few minutes later the low hum, more a vibration of the air, signaled that the portable generator was up. Soon, the pole extended, rising a hundred feet into the air. It stopped seventy-five feet short of breaking through the canopy.

"Jundenson, take the extension up there and see if you can raise anyone."

"Yes, Sergent." Specialist Jundenson, their comm tech, took a box and stepped onto the platform. Activating the AG he rose, dissapering into the trees.

"You two get one of the shelters set up over there between those two large roots. Madry, when they are done they will relieve two of yours to set up your team's shelter, then they will go to Herak."

Within 30 minutes the three shelters were up and Spc. Jundenson had checked in with their platoon commander. The jungle had grown noisy by that time as birds and animals returned to the area. Sgt. Malann set a watch and patrol rotation, with those on patrol dropping relay and scanner spikes to extend the strangly limited sensor picture.

"Sergent, update on company comms, expect heavy rains tonight, fifty percent watches at all times with check-ins every thirty."

Sgt. Malann was observing as Two came in from their patrol. He reached up to his helmet and keyed his comm.
"Roger up when Actual asks for confirmation, then come on down for relief."

Team two came back in covered with sweat, the heat and humidity overcoming their SynthSkin bodyglove's ability to siphon away perspiration. One of them, Private Wulnet, had two angry red streaks on his left cheek and was pale. He staggered a little before he sat down on a log.

"Private, you going to make it?"

"Lovely Sithspawn of a planet. I'm good Sergent."