Topic: Redundancy - A Sarlacc Squad adventure

[Commander_Kurgan]

Just as ordered by General Crix Madine, Sarlacc Squad had assembled in his personal briefing room aboard Home One.

The door to the General’s quarters hissed open and the Squad snapped to attention.
Madine strode into the briefing room.
“Thank you, Gentlebeings.” he greeted them and motioned them to sit down. “I’m glad to see you.”
He activated a small handheld control device and dimmed the lights.

“If many of your missions have been classified, this one will be far beyond top secret.”
Madine looked at the Commandos as if he was waiting for their nod of approval.

Sarlacc Squad was one of the most experienced Commando units in the Special Forces brigade of the Rebel Alliance. They had pulled off the most dangerous and unlikely missions before and listened to his words with the confidence of seasoned veterans.

“You are here because you are best suited for what is to come.” the General begun his briefing. “But you know that already. In precisely three standard days the Fleet will jump out of Hyperspace here.”

A holographic projection showed the Moddell Sector. Madine zoomed in on the gas planet Endor and its moons.
“As you can see there is a Imperial battle station being completed near this moon. A shield is being maintained from a base located on the moon. The tactical intel is being copied on your tacpads as we speak.”

He stepped towards his Commandos.
“Now for the important bit: You know very well that much of what we do is influenced by political infighting. Sometimes soldiers like you and me are forced to do things differently just to please political bigwigs. Unfortunetely, this has been the case concerning this OP. A strike team has been assembled and you are not part of it. For good reason, I might add. That team is being led by General Solo for one reason only: the Alliance needs people like him as idols. Flamboyant characters like him let beings from all over the Galaxy associate with our cause. His team will crew a captured Imperial Shuttlecraft, penetrate the station’s shield, land on the moon and attack the base, blowing off the station’s shield generator.”

The hologram changed. It now showed the Alliance Fleet in attack formation on the half-completed battle station.
“Intel says that the weapons systems of the station are not online, but the shield needs to be off so the Fleet can attack and destroy the station. Gentlebeings, the Alliance needs a major victory at this point. General Solo might be a decent pilot, but I am not going to lay this much responsibility in the hands of this smuggler and freighter jockey. Therefore you will infiltrate before Solo’s strike team and make sure that the damn generator gets destroyed. You, Gentlebeings, are the Ace up my sleeve in this OP. I cannot think of any unit more qualified and trustworthy to assure victory in this upcoming battle. Familiarize yourselves with the tactical data, we will meet here again in six hours to finalize the OP.“

[Tamer]

Sweet. I thought Han and crew probably had some real help!

[wraithnine]

ooooh now this i like   ,Volker

[hangarbay94]

It's been far too long since I checked out some of the work on this forum...

Volker, this is a superb start, I love the idea and I'm totally absorbed already.... What next I wonder!

[Commander_Kurgan]

Sarlacc Squad loaded their gear into the captured Imperial patrol craft. For the duration of the mission they would be living and fighting out of their pockets and backpacks. In the dense forests of the moon stealth was important so once they hit their LZ the Squad would be on hard routine.
This meant cold rations, no loud noises and most of all – to avoid enemy contact until it was time to strike.
On the ground the Squad would travel as light as possible so besides the demolitions kit and the chargers for the weapons it was water, rations and limited bits of kit.

Specialist Rihann Unda leaned back in the pilot’s seat. She programmed the craft’s autopilot according to the finalized ops plan.
After reviewing the tac data from Madine the Squad had developed their ops plan in typical Gungan Parliament fashion. All ideas were on the table, there was no rank structure. This brainstorming method had produced the best results in the past and worked well this time.
Later Sergeant Cap Malice presented the plan to General Madine:

The patrol craft  would drop out of Hyperspace near the forest moon and enter the atmosphere. It would descent quickly to one hundred feet above tree height where the Squad would exit the craft through the hatches and infiltrate the moon by using para-jetpacks. The craft would resume its patrol route after the Squad had dropped and disappear into Hyperspace.
There would be no craft on the ground for any length of time so no enemy patrol would stumble upon it accidentally nor would a sizeable LZ be needed. The clearing they had selected as their LZ was small, yet large enough for a Squad to land there by para-jetpack.
From there they would tab to the first LUP and set up shop.


The Orca-Class patrol ship dropped out of Hyperspace.
Obviously, Rihann had calculated very well. As was to be expected. She was very precise.
She pointed at the half-finished Death Star which hung in space like a wreck and zoomed in on it. Construction droids, transport craft and all sorts of other heavy machinery swarmed around it busily.
“Look at that.” she said. “The Imps are really building a second Death Star.”
“Yeah.” Quv Bannen growled. “It’s too nice a toy not to build another one.”
“Okay.” Sergeant Cap Malice slapped the armrest of Rihann’s seat. “Enough sight-seeing for today. Let’s get back into the war.”

Rihann Unda activated the autopilot and swung her seat around. “Saddle up, then.”
The Commandos slipped into the small cargo hold of the Orca and slung their para-jetpacks. The rucksacks with their gear were already attached to the jetpacks, longarms were strapped to their thighs so they could be brought to bear in case of need.
Malice checked the closures of his rough boots and helmet and double-checked the quick-release of his jetpack. He felt the sharp slap of Quv Bannen’s hand on his shoulder from behind.
“You’re good to go buddy.” Bannen said after he had confirmed that the jetpack sat right and all equipment was securely fastened on Malice.
Now it was Bannen’s turn to be inspected. The Squad’s buddy system worked well.
They had done this a thousand times in training and nobody remembered how often in a real mission. There was just one danger: not to let this become a routine job. Deadly routine it was called and routine could lead to sloppiness.
Sloppiness got people killed.

“Sarlacc One clear!”
“Sarlacc Two clear!”
“Sarlacc Three clear!”
“Sarlacc Four clear!” Garvin Ander concluded.

The voice of the craft’s computer announced: “Entering atmosphere in ten, nine, eight…”
“Alright, people. Stand by to get airborne!” Malice shouted over the screeching of the stabilizers as he pulled the goggles over his eyes.

[Commander_Kurgan]

The cold wind of the forest moon’s night cut fiercely into Cap’s face as he dropped out of the Orca’s belly hatch.
As soon as he had cleared he activated the jetpack and steered it towards the LZ. It was going to be a silent ride over almost 20 Klicks. For every scanner they would look like a flock of birds.
Cap clenched his fist. The first ten seconds of the ground mission had gone absolutely perfect. So far they were ahead of the curve.

He monitored his approach to the LZ on the subdued navi screen of his control unit. The other members of Sarlacc Squad were showing on the display as well so everything was fine.
The wind was biting into his body. Supposedly the suit was made of wind- and waterproof yet highly breathable material, but in situations like these it became apparent how relative the manufacturer’s specifications were.

Had it been broad daylight he would have liked to land manually, but in the dark of the night he let the little computer negotiate the approach and descent to avoid overhanging tree branches. After all, the Endor forests had a very dense, thick canopy which made landing a challenge.

The profiled soles of his boots had barely touched the soft ground as he cut off the power of his jetpack and dove into cover next to the massive roots of a tree.
Cap looked and listened.
He punched the co-ordinates of RV Point Alpha into his comm unit and burst-transmitted it to the others.
Each member of Sarlacc Squad would take a different route to the RV Point so in case one of them ran into trouble, he wouldn’t compromise the others.
After a quick equipment check and another moment of look and listen he got up into a crouch and started setting out for RV Alpha to meet up with the others.


RV Alpha was a depression in the ground between a group of trees. From high above it looked like a prehistoric beast had set his gigantic paw down, but for Sarlacc Squad it was a perfect place to rendezvous and lay up for an hour or two of rest. 
Cap pulled the tube of his hydration system out and took a swig of water. Through the receiver in his ear he could hear the tsk-tsk of a Commando approaching the RV Point. Cap tsk-tsked in reply and switched on the night-vision enhancement on his goggles.
The night vision-blurring effect of the Commandos’ uniforms and gear  worked surprisingly well. Sergeant Garvin Ander was very hard to make out as he carefully made his approach on the RV Point.
Malice gave his comrade a grin and a gloved thumbs-up.
Ander confirmed with a thums-up of his own that everything was well.

Rihann and Quv Bannen arrived shortly after. It was decided that they would take first watch.
No matter how large or small the strike team was, half of them would rest while the other half stood guard in case the enemy decided to stumble upon them and pay an uninvited visit.

Cap took a thin emergency blanket out of his thigh pocket and rolled himself up in it. This was all he had brought as far as sleeping gear was concerned. Travel light and freeze at night was a time-proven motto in any Commando force, but this blanket, in fact, created a very comfortable sleeping climate despite its ultra-thinness. He adjusted the blaster rifle which was resting across his chest and closed his eyes.

[wraithnine]

the attention to detail in this story is fantastic volker!

[Tamer]

Wow, I am think we should start our own publishing company with all the great authors here. Fantastic Volker. I do so hope you will make one of those commandos in the jet pack gear. It sounded pretty daggone cool to me!

[Commander_Kurgan]

I think it is safe to assume that you will see updates on my first efforts doing Sarlacc Squad as custom figures.
Yes, I've already done a prototype para-jetpack, too...

[beige-4]

woah! if these will become figures ... i might faint ... too much awesomeness in my brain because of awesome fan fic with hopefully figures with it

[dana.raye.smith]

As you may have heard, you are doing a great job.
The story flows so well, and really inspires visualization.
Looking forward to the continuation of the tale and possible customs to go with it.

[Commander_Kurgan]

The rest had been a short one, barely long enough for everybody to combat nap.

They moved out in a zig-zag course in the general direction of the Imperial bunker which housed the shield generator for the Death Star.
Although the forest appeared uninhabited and peaceful, the Squad was very careful. Nobody spoke. They didn’t have to, their patrolling was well-rehearsed.
Communication was done by hand signals and if somebody had to speak, he was only whispering.

Quv Bannen was walking Point. His eyes were sweeping the area constantly. He was not just looking ahead or at his feet, but also up and down.
The advance on the bunker was not a let’s-dash-ahead-and-blow-the-place-up type of direct action and so he halted the Squad to look and listen.
Whenever they did so they co-ordinated an Emergency RV Point where they would assemble and re-group in case of an unexpected firefight with overwhelming enemy forces.

Bannen gave the signal to backtrack. This was a manoeuvre to outflank an Imperial patrol which might have been following their tracks and ambush them.
It was doubtful if a freighter jockey like Solo would know about these tactics.
They backtracked carefully according to their waypoint recording and moved into ambush positions. While they were laying up, Rihann Unda scanned the various comm channels.
Obviously, the Strike Team had landed their captured shuttle. She received some communication of  members of Solo’s team. They had left at least one officer in the shuttle to hold the fort. She shook her head in disbelief.
It would have been surprising if the Imps hadn’t noticed them. Probably they were already sending out combat patrols.

She heard something or somebody thrashing through a patch of dry leaves. A bulky fur-covered head dominated by big, dark eyes appeared from behind a tree trunk. Rihann saw the stubby nose of this being sniff around. Moments later the being showed itself. It was bipedal, short, stubby and fully covered in a brown fur with greyish streaks. Its head and shoulders were covered by a hood made from animal hide and it held a club in its right hand or paw.

The being walked on like a toddler, still sniffing the air, looking left and right.

The Commandos stayed in position until the being had disappeared in the distance and then some before they continued their advance on the bunker.

[Tamer]

Sweet, these sound like some well trained Rebs.

[gwest]

This is a really cool "behind the scenes" story.

We all know what happens on Endor, but you put in just enough detail to make it new!

I love the line "Gungan Parliment fashion..." what a great way to describe a bunch of people talking!!!

I can't wait to see what happens.  And, I can't wait to see your customs of this squad.

GOOD JOB!

[Commander_Kurgan]

They reached the co-ordinates of the target without major problems.

Slowly, very slowly, Rihann moved across the soft forest soil, her body hugging every fold and bump in the ground.
Her face was blackened and she had left most of her personal equipment with the rest of the Squad.
She stopped her slow crawl and carefully lifted her head:

It was a standardized Imperial Beta-Type bunker, one front entry, one rear entry, both heavily armoured.
The Imps had cleared the area around the bunker and especially adjacent to the main locks from brush and trees, but it was obvious that they expected any attacker to target the main locks.
Double sentries were posted. Their body language silently shouted “We are bored, what are we doing here and when does our shift end?”

Rihann took a spy droid out of her belt pocket and activated the nifty little toy. It was shaped like a medium-sized insect, one of those countless critters which could be found on any given backwater planet, but this toy was equipped with high-powered cameras and she could remote control it from her position. It could send live pictures directly to her comm or record them for later evaluation.
Almost noiseless, the spy droid got airborne and gained height. It circled the bunker and sweeped the treelines before it returned to her.
As silently as she had come, Rihann carefully moved away from the object and rendezvoused with her comrades.

It was apparent that the Imps were doing things by the book on this moon.
From the markings on their armor the commandos could see that they belonged to the legendary 501st Legion, Vader’s Fist. They had changed from a high-calibre formation of the Clone Wars era to a notorious and ruthless instrument of Imperial terror.
Although it was public knowledge that the majority of 501st troopers were conscripts and volunteers with the occasional Clone mixed in, it remained unknown how the Empire managed to brainwash and control the minds of these young men to turn them from normal people to brutal savages.
Following the manual was assuring the Imps smooth conduct of daily business with precise marching and smart salutes, but it allowed unconventional warriors like the Alliance Commandos to wreck mayhem.

When Rihann returned, Garvin Ander was listening in to the comm chatter of Solo’s strike team.
“They have made contact.” he whispered. “I think they ran into a scout patrol and blew it.”
“Bloody amateurs.” Cap Malice whispered back.
Ander was transferring data to Cap’s comm device.
“They are here.” he rasped.