Vayne

Chorvat had entered the hideout quietly though not escaping notice. He had walked in during a conversation, enough to hear about attacking the Hutts. Wagging a sucker-tipped finger before him, he spoke in a heavily-accented basic, "If target Hutts, better wipe out completely. They avenge 'til dead." With his 9118 heavy carbine slung across his back, the Ghestslayer gestured towards Seraphis while adding, "Much better kill Sith. No revenge. If die to us, then too weak and culled from herd." Giving a light shrug within his Stalker battle armor, the Rodian added, "No much for revenge on what considered non-threat." It wasn't a secret that many of the Sith, if not all, considered themselves gods among insects when compared to any non-force sensitive. Shoot, many of them thought of themselves as such even when compared to Master Jedi, though at least the Jedi received recognition from them as a viable threat... usually. This current crop of Jedi weren't seeming to prove much. Moving over towards the Kaleesh's side, Chorvat Chattza made his vote known, "Stand with Kaleesh. Kill Sith. Most evil. Most pain Galaxy. Least revenge." Holding up that singular, sucker-tipped digit again, the Rodian finished with, "Better have one indifferent enemy, than few determined." In Chorvat's mind, targetting the Black Sun and/or the Hutts would only cause those criminal organizations to expend resources to hunt and kill the Stormcloaks. A person could only deal with so many enemies at one time. Not only that, both groups were -extremely- resourceful and this young group would be left consistently looking over their shoulder. At least with the Sith, if one of them was slain, it was likely that the other Sith would assume that the dead Sith was too weak, and thus the Stormcloaks did them a favor, culling the weak and incompetent from their strong, mighty force. Or at least, that was how the Rodian saw it in his mind. Whether that would play out to be true in real life was yet to be seen.

The flight so far had been long and uneventful. Gamble had more than enough time to float in the bacta tank while his 'crew' tended to the vessel en route for Ryloth. It wouldn't be too much longer now before they arrived. Less than a couple of days.

Gamble was informed that the Highborn General had gone against the wishes of the Sith Lord Draken and had instructed the Doctor to allow Billy access to Bacta. Not wasting anytime, the nurses moved the Commando down the hall to one of the chambers that held a vat filled with the stuff which he would be suspended in for a few days while the mission proceeded onto Ryloth. Traveling through space wasn't like getting in your speeder and flying to the next town. Nope, it was often multiple days, if not weeks between destinations. Before moving into the suspended state, Billy had his men ready his ship for transport of the vat. If he was to be -ordered- to go on this mission after being treated in such a manner, he would certainly take full advantage of the bacta that was being offered to him. It didn't take his team of four long to ready his vessel for departure. 0400 would come awfully early the following day. Inwardly, Gamble was actually happy to get out and get in some action. This mission should prove fun!!

Having been given a small wrap of leather that had been rolled up to an inch's thickness, Gamble bit down into it. As the strokes came, his teeth dug down deep into the leather as he clamped down hard, the incredibly intense pain being nearly unbearable to the point of passing out. Nearly. While wishing he could keep silent and not give Draken (or Malus for that matter) the satisfaction of hearing him groan or cry out in pain, the whole ordeal was just too much. It was one of the longest half-hours of his life. Once he was cut down and taken to medical, the nurses took extra-special care not to cause him any further pain while keeping to Draken's order of doing nothing but cleaning and bandaging. One of the nurses, a shapely blonde in her early thirties, pushed two others aside as she held some neosporin-type gel that not only disinfected, but also numbed the pain. While she applied it liberally, she stated matter-of-factly, "It cleans the wound more thoroughly." Of a truth, she was correct, since that was the primary purpose of the gel. Gamble was especially appreciative of her gesture as the pain-killer began to go to work immediately, numbing the nerves as the gel itself seemed to cool them. It was an... odd... sensation. "Don't go to sleep jus' yet," one of the nurses stated. Just then, a doctor strolled in and began to examine Billy's back and the numerous gashes. Shaking his head, he stated, "I'm putting you on bed rest the next three days at -least-. Probably seven. Light duty for two weeks to follow." He wrote down his diagnosis and slapped it on the clipboard at Gamble's bed. Turning to one of the candy-stripers, he stated, "Inform the General." And with that, the Doctor simply walked out, leaving the nurses to tend to the bandaging. Krath were they gentle... The Empire certainly trained them right. It wasn't too much longer before Gamble was moved to a semi-private room and left to rest. Before passing out, he made a call to Zayn, having them stand to in shifts of two. He wasn't looking forward to missing this first mission. It was a Krath-damn shame...

This wasn't the time or place to point out the idiocy of the one speaking again. He went on about how Gamble had been warned, but honestly, the Commando had only spoken the truth. Malus had forfeited the flag like a little bantha, walking off the field of battle, throwing his helmet at a tree like a toddler having a tantrum, and then went off to get drunk in a bar. Quite the leader. The epitome of a General to be sure, especially for the Imperials. Billy could hardly believe this other idiot supported him so fiercely. Regardless though, when the force user (Draken) relieved Gamble of his weapons, Billy simply raised his arms partially to allow for ease of removal from his holsters. No need in one of his blasters accidentally going off and shooting him in the foot or something. Draken's next move didn't look all that exciting though. Once the needle started heading towards Billy, his Imperial Commando, lightning-quick reflexes kicked in, shifting his forearm slightly before the object and catching it firmly stuck within his bracer. The needle did indeed penetrate the armor, but Gamble was (possibly) lucky enough that the needle found itself not actually penetrating all the way through to the skin. Turning his forearm slightly to eye the portion that was sticking out, Billy replied, "I'm man enough to face the punishment without any exterior influence." With that, he began to follow what passed for Military Police (since I am unsure that we have any officially or not) towards the parade square, glancing back, he shook his head slightly towards his fellow Commandos who had bested the mercenary-general, indicating that they shouldn't interfere, whether they were going to or not. ((Defense Post))

Gamble listened intently as the instructions were given. Only somewhat surprising was the choice of Malus as a team leader for the first squad. The new man, Goro, was freaking huge!! He was made second in command of the first squad. Leaning over so only Goro could hear him, Gamble whispered, "Be ready to take charge of your squad Lieutenant Goro. Mister Malus o'er there is liable to quit an' walk away if things don't go the way he wants." Nodding briefly over at Malus, Gamble added Goro, "See the dent on his helmet there? That's from his little temper tantrum earlier when he gave up during an exercise and forfeited the flag." Shaking his head, Billy finished up with, "Have fun followin' him... hope you like runnin' away... or walkin'... whichever. I doubt our opponents will bend over so easily and let us azz-rape 'em." Then he turned his attention towards Malus' questions. Not surprisingly, the highborn General was going to lead a squad himself. What General ever led a squad? Inwardly, Billy found it amusing. Maybe he felt the need to try to prove himself after their exchange earlier. Gamble honestly hadn't figured the General to not say a thing about his tactics in the exercise, but then again, what was he to expect of this 25 year old? Some other idiot came in and dressed Billy down. This group had a -long- ways to go to get their Empire back; that was for damn sure. Being an Imperialist through and through, Billy was ready for the challenge. Happily on this mission, their squads were made up mostly of Commandos. Heh... Smart choice.

Giving a light, semi-humored grunt, Gamble replied, "Heh, you heard about tha' eh General?" He stroked a hand over his chin before continuing, "Men'll -always- talk about their chain of command behind their backs sir. Always. My intent was to give them more motivation to excel. Men like to feel as though they are the underdogs striving to prove themselves. I helped to set up that scenario in their minds." Pausing for a moment, he kept his focus on the General, "That's not t'say that I don't agree with my own sentiments... Since you're calling for an explanation sir, I'll continue. I find it nigh-impossible to believe that a mid-twenties year old general actually earned his way to that position. With the age of recruitment, that'd mean you'd have to been commissioned while a teenager, then receive a promotion a year, spending only one year per rank until you made your first star." Shaking his head as he continued, Gamble went on, "Nowhere have I seen that anywhere in the Empire before. Typically, officers go through higher education learning before they receive their commission as well, with an average amount of four to five years to complete such, some as fast as three." Musing, he went on, "I 'spose you could've gone the associates route, grabbing a commission in two years, but still the timeframe just doesn't fit for an experienced General sir." Shrugging his shoulders lightly, he went on, "Your decision to hire a mercenary and promote him directly to General is most undesirable for an Imperial Soldier as well. Most of us are a proud lot. Damn proud to be an Imperial sir." Nodding over, he continued, "Then you go and select some mercenary whose yet to prove himself with us as a General over those who are loyal to the Empire. Not loyal to money." Glancing over his shoulder briefly, Gamble went on, "I respect General Malus' Mandalorian background, I do, but with his little temper tantrum out on the field today, seems he's the type to just throw bodies at a problem until it goes away." Shaking his head, Billy went on, "I don't believe in throwing away Imperial lives like that." Pointing down, Billy went on, "With the field between our location and the bunker being pitted with craters and rocky with boulders the height of two men in places, that didn't leave a lot of good cover and concealment. Instead, since there was no timeline given, I decided to put my men on a work-rest cycle, ensuring that they would stay well-rested until we struck." Quirking a bit of a smirk, he went on, "Most likely, it was going to be either an hour after twilight t'nite, or an hour b'fore twilight come the morning. Probably th' morning. My men were rotating out to harass the Nova troopers all day and night, going well into the morning in order to wear them down, make them tired and complacent perhaps. Since General Malus didn't rotate them out and had them on 100% alert the whole time, it was going to be -very- favorable for my team come the morn." Counting off on his fingers, Gamble went on to explain, "With the weather conditions being what they are, raining; the hour of the morning, before twilight; and the state of his men; those three conditions would've given me the upper hand for a battle that saw him on the defensive in his own territory, and my guys doing a one to one assault." Shaking his head, he went on, "General, when we do raids, Commandos prefer three t'one odds. Today, we had one to one. Also, we like to use stealth and trickery. During the daylight hours, there was no real opportunity for stealth. Not with the terrain being what it was." Continuing, he added, "I did some recon; analyzed the terrain; tested the enemy for a response; found a weakness; employed tactics to enhance that vulnerability; ensured that my men would be well-rested for the assault; and gave my team the best possible circumstances considering what we had to work with." Folding his hands back behind him in a position of parade rest, Gamble finished with, "In the end General, I acquired the flag, suffered no losses, no injuries, incapacitated only one of the enemy, and brought all my men back home." Shrugging a single shoulder, he went on, "I honestly wasn't expecting my little mind-screw game to pay off with such big dividends. The goal was to ensure he and his men were wiped for the morning assault; not push him to the edge of damaging his own equipment and walking out, forfeiting the flag sir."

Gamble and a few of the other Commandos raised their eyebrows at the so-called General's response. A few chuckled as they shook their heads. "All that, -and- he leaves his men behind," Gamble commented, himself in a state of disbelief in a sense. The Imperial Command had hired that merc to do the job of a General and he had failed miserably in Billy's book. The rest of Alpha team weren't as irresponsible as their commander had been, having a sense of brotherhood that clearly the mercenary General did not have, they recovered their fellow trooper and joined up with Bravo as they made their way towards the command post. One of them even voiced their gratitude to Billy for culling the merc from the pack. Clearly he wasn't cut from Imperial cloth, especially letting his anger get the better of him and just leaving his man behind. While en route to the CP, they all talked amongst each other, speculating on what sort of tactics the merc would've used in combat. Probably something equivalent to throw enough bodies at it and eventually you'll come out on top. Someone mentioned how the merc had a record of being some General for... the Mandalorians? Wow... whatever!! Just then, one of the Alpha team members produced a recording: "Where's my brother now?" the man who had been left atop the bunker inquired upon, now cut free from the flexi-cuffs that had restrained him. "Men of Honor my ass," another replied. One of the other Alpha team members pointed as they stated, "I believe he tried to fight that tree over there, breaking his own helmet in another losing battle... then... I don't know. Maybe he ran off to go get drunk. Isn't that what most mercs do after a job? Or should I say, a failed job?" "Ohhh... Too Soon!!" one of them commented as they finally came upon the command post. Gamble called the men to attention, forming them up in their respective squads before turning about to report to the commanding officer, rendering a sharp salute.

"Well," Billy remarked upon hearing the so-called General's transmission, "Mind-screw game worked like a charm." He grinned at his fellow Commandos as they strolled leisurely up the field of battle, claiming the flag for their own that had been unceremoniously tossed onto the ground. Gamble just stood there in the middle of the field as the rest of his Commandos gathered around him. He waited for them to form a circle about him before calling up to Higher. "Command, this is Bravo Team. Be Advised, Mission Accomplished. Zero Casualties. Zero Injuries. All Personnel Present and Accounted For. Over." With that, they turned and gave each other high-fives as Billy stated simply, "Brains over brawn gents. Brains over brawn." They celebrated together, slowly making their way over towards where Command was, joking and story-telling all the way. "Oh Shit!!," said Delta team leader, "We lef' ol' boy up on the roof with his hands an' feet flexi-cuffed." A few chuckled while others shook their head. Gamble came over the radio as he stated, "Alpha team, be advised, you have a flexi-cuffed observer stuck on the roof of your bunker. How copy over?" He figured that they'd heard him just fine, but Billy threw in the How Copy just for shits and giggles... heh.

((OOC: Can we call this won then? Since it's been well over 3 days...))

Delta team used their fibercords and small grappling hooks, throwing the device up over the ledge of the roof as the smoke began to billow. Moving quickly, they clambered up to the top of the roof as the spotter was blinded, both of them with their masks on that allowed them to both see well enough and block out the screeching pitch. The two commandos moved quickly and relatively quietly in comparison to the screamer as they approached the spotter, restraining him quickly and knocking him out with a rag soaked with chloroform, they took away his comm piece so that he couldn't radio to the rest of the squad. Utilizing flexicuffs, they stripped his boots off of him and stripped him of anything that could be used to slit the cuffs. One down, eight to go. Then, Charlie came over the radio. Seems that the merc was growing impatient. He'd brought the flag out into the open. Well, kinda. He himself had moved back to the building and was positioned at the front entrance. With the merc up against the building and the spotter incapacitated, Delta called Charlie team to back off and circle about, coming up the back to where they were now blind, but first, they would need Alpha and Bravo to make an appearance. During this whole time, Alpha and Bravo team had been taking a nap, having planned to take this op well into the night, Gamble had begun to make preparations, namely, ensuring that his men would be well-rested for when they did decide to make their move. The man keeping watch over the cams awoke them and spoke quickly, giving brief instruction and intel to the two teams. Nodding as he smirked, Billy stepped out quickly from behind the cover he had been sleeping behind, waving an arm to draw the attention of the merc. Hollering, he cried out, "You want to just get it out right now General? I'm on my way... Hold up a sec. Be righ' there." With that, the rest of Alpha and Bravo came out, beginning to walk forward slowly as they had five hundred yards to cover. Moving quickly, Charlie team snuck around back in a wide arc, and utilizing the same fibercords as Delta, made their way up to the top of the bunker. Quietly, Delta team leader addressed the four, "Alright, sound dampeners on. Let's have th' point man sneak ahead a bit, keeping in line of sight, an' he'll determine which side we'll take. We'll hit either left or right, but not th' front. Left an' right, we'll have two t'one odds. Un'erstan?" They all nodded ascension, activating their sound dampeners and moving quietly into position at the stairwell that led down to the second floor. It was quiet as they went. The floor was empty. They stacked up again, ready to move on down to the first floor. The point man would have to make a decision, left or right. Either way, they would have to move quickly. Two of them made ready rags doused with chloroform. This weapons-free crap was for the birds.

Delta team leader suddenly had an idea. Coming over the comm, he addressed Charlie team. "Charlie team, be advised. Change of plans. Instead, wash, rinse and repeat. How copy? Over." Delta team shifted closer to the back of the bunker, moving to the position that Charlie had been at earlier when they chucked up a smoke screamer. Charlie took a few moments before replying back in acknowledgement. The team leader wasn't too sure just what he had in mind, but he had enough trust and confidence in his counterpart to go along with his plan, impromptu though it was. Heck, this whole exercise was rather impromptu, as were a number of operations in real world environments. Charlie moved into position, keeping mostly opposite over Delta yet at an angle so as to observe the front of the bunker, but also catching one of the side walls, affording them two angles of observation. True, they had the cameras to use as well, but there was something comforting about having direct eyes on. Delta team approached the back of the bunker, pretty much where Charlie had earlier. Popping his own smoke screamer, Delta team-leader set the timer for two seconds, releasing the pin and chucking it atop the bunker. As before, smoke poured out thickly as a loud, ear-piercing scream emitted from either side so very loudly. It'd be hard to hear anything up there. Delta team waited only a moment as they readied their equipment. Those screamers could last a couple of minutes at least while the smoke would linger and linger and linger. Wash, rinse, and repeat indeed.

The smoke screamer didn't explode or anything as that wasn't it's designed purpose or intent. It just sat up there, screaming loudly from both ends as smoke poured out thick. Seemed the troopers within the bunker weren't making much movement, though the overwatch posted atop could not be seen. Delta team observed the two-man team posted at the front entrance of the bunker as they... didn't really respond to the screamer. They stood fast on high alert and that was it. No movement from the merc and his partner either. Delta and Charlie team leaders decided to meet up on one side of the bunker, still keeping a good distance of a hundred feet or so. With one Commando keeping watch on the bunker and another keeping an eye on where the merc's position was, the two team leaders talked over what had transpired during the event. No movement and no assistance to the overwatch. They decided to test one of the entrances instead. Splitting back up, this time Charlie went around front to keep an eye on movement, keeping their position roughly 180 degrees from their Delta team counterparts, with the bunker being the dead center of the compass. This time, Delta drew closer to the bunker, testing the waters as it were as they came up on one of the back corners, watching for the top overwatch. Charlie ensured they kept their distance from where they'd seen the merc and his partner go. Glancing briefly over his shoulder, Charlie team leader wondered just what the Alpha and Bravo teams were doing, but shook the thought from his head hardly a moment later as he re-focused himself on the mission at hand. This was a fun game.

The overwatch couldn't be at both the front and the back of the bunker at the same time. Charlie team made a small request of Delta... "Delta this is Charlive. Over." Response. "Roger Delta, gimme a heads up when they're top spotter is back towards the front. We're gonna sneak a move forward. See how close we can get. Over." An affirmative response came as the team kept themselves concealed behind cover, activating their sound dampening units. Delta team drew in a little closer, to ensure they scored the attention of the overwatch. The bunker was decently-sized and it seemed to take a few moments for him to move from back to front and back again, keeping an eye on two teams and only being one man up on top. It wasn't too long before Delta squawked over to Charlie... "Watch is front-side Charlie. Go." With that, Charlie team moved quickly forward, watching their step as their sound dampening units couldn't overcome stupidity and carelessness. While on the move, one of them activated their smoke screamers, setting the timer for a two-second release. After a few seconds of sprinting, the Commando chucked the device atop the building. It hadn't even hit before it began to emit an ear-piercing scream, smoke billowing out thickly from either end. With the emission of smoke came extreme heat from the device, radiating a few inches around the surface area. It wouldn't melt through concrete or anything, but it could certainly burn through flesh and other less solid materials if the length of contact was sufficient. Team Delta watched on as well from the front, having readied themselves to make a move forward if need be. Charlie team leader came over the radio in a gruff, somewhat muffled voice as if trying to be heard over the screaming, yet attempting not to announce their position by being too loud, "Stand fast... stand fast..." They immediately quieted as they got into position.

"Roger boss, be advised, the mercenary is..." "...falling back as well. Him and his partner are strolling back to the front door of their bunker. Over." Gamble had grouped up with the rest of his Commandos, gathering first about the OP which was concealed from the direct line of sight of the bunker due to a rock formation. Voices kept low, he held a small pow-wow. "Alright, so we've seen how far he's willing to go and how much he's willing to commit. We'll keep one man on OP at all times. Team Charlie, go round the back side and test their perimeter. Team Delta, stay opposite of Charlie but don't draw as close. Don't get yourself committed to a brawl or anything. Y'got me?" Er-uh came the quieted reply. Pointing to his left, Gamble voiced, "Charlie, move out. Take your time getting down there, but don't stay gone past four hours. We'll keep a watch on you from here. Communicate with Delta back and forth giving your degree position on a compass, but add 30 degrees every thirty minutes, starting with a 90 degree offset now. Got me?" Both Commandos dropped their heads in a solid nod, giving confirmation as they replied, "Roger Gamble. Movin'." They kept their heads down and did their best to stay behind cover, low-crawling when they thought they could keep out of sight. Turning to the other team, Gamble instructed, "Delta, give them a bit then move out. Keep quiet contact. In fact, I don't want you breaking radio silence unless you have to. Let them do all th' talkin', you jus' keep th' math straight in your head. Got me?" "Roger Gamble. We'll give it twenty." Billy dropped a nod as he replied, "Good call. Check over your gear briefly and study the grid-map 'ere for some ideas." The two nodded as they complied, giving a light, dismissive wave in understanding and compliance. They knew what they were doing. He didn't need to tell them, but it was good just the same. The day you didn't was the day you wish you did. They all understood that. Gesturing towards the remaining Commandos, Billy began to give them instructions. "Now the five of us are gonna..."