Citadel - Chapter III blog - Ori`verda

Playlist

Dha Werda Verda - Republic Commando Soundtrack
Gra'tua Cuun - Republic Commando Soundtrack
Kar'ta Tor - Republic Commando Soundtrack
Vode An - Republic Commando Soundtrack
It's Time - John Dreamer
Becoming A Legend - John Dreamer
Arising - GRV Music
Supremacy - Secession Studios
Despair - Posthouse Tuomi
Dystopia - Secession Studios

Music suggestion? Comment below!

We made our way through the wreckage and joined up with other warriors, before us the Imperial fortifications. Above us, shrieks from the engines of air cavalry and missiles as they flew past. In the distance we heard the thundering sound of explosions of our counter attack.

Our ruus'alor took a stand on a wrecked Canderous tank. She raised her beskad towards us. “Take out your blades brothers, from here we can stroll all the way to Coruscant!” Almost in perfect synchronization, every Mandalorian gathered grabbed his or her beskad and in some cases beskade, raised them in the air and shouted the brief warcry, Oya.

The Battle Legionnaires lined up, guns raised over their shoulders, circuit to circuit they were ready to be our well respected canon fodder. Our Canderous tanks trained their guns and readied their repulsors to follow the Legionnaires. The grunts, us, climbed on the tanks.

Beviinn helped me up a tank called Miller, I sat on one of its threads, a eagle motif adorned it.

“Brother, behold what I snatched off a trooper.” He presented a shattergun to me, Imperial design and built for close quarters in trenches, a small bayonet seemed soldered on recently as the metal was still a shade of red hot. “I wish I could see the look on his face as I used his own gun against him, took me some time to get the knife out of him and onto the gun. Got any kills during?”

With a grunt came my admittance that I hadn't yet overcome his original thirty kills yet, the metal trench we passed seemed to be devoid of targets. My rifle was built for long range, if only officers counted more.

But before Beviinn was able to boast of his score, a familiar sound washed out all other noise and the skies darkened before a powerful purple storm came down upon us. A shockwave launched me into the sky and I landed on what felt like a pile of Battle Legionnaire parts. The sky filled with lobs of plasma devouring our missiles and TIE craft chasing down our pilots, here and there a proton bomb fell shaking the ground and me too my core.

What followed was the barking of orders and marching of mediocre made boots and large metal feet. I rolled over and pushed myself off the ground, my rifle was somewhere in the pile but I quickly decided to make due with what a Battle Legionnaire had attached as the sound of marching Stormtroopers became louder as they approached.

I gave a quick glance over my shoulder, there stood a Stormtrooper aiming down the sights of his blaster, pointing at me. At that moment, I accepted my death and closed my eyes, my breathing stopped, I heard the blaster fire and the sound of an armored warrior falling down on the mud. “On your feet brother, you won't get a second chance.” Instantly my eyes opened and I breathed in the cold night air. Standing there, defiantly, with her pistol in one hand and her beskad in the other, was the ruus'alor. “Stop gawking at me and let's go.”

I got up and followed her, bodies of Imperial Stormtroopers were the only thing I recognized in my blurred sprint chasing a green dot on my visor. The dot got bigger, I slowed as I approached it and my vision returned to me slightly, I made out a formed up line of warriors using husks of twisted steel as a makeshift barricade against Imperial onslaught.

“Alor'ad, we need to get back to our trenches, we seriously overestimated their defences and numbers. If we continue our assault we will lose the battle.” My mind recalled the ruus'alor commenting that from here on we could stroll to Coruscant. The alor'ad's armor was simply in design and colored jet black, the only notable feature a belt that held three large pistols and a small personal beskad. “Negative ruus'alor, gather your men and press on, command has invested a lot in this attack. Keldabe is at stake.” The ruus'alor clenched her fist and looked to me, she stepped towards me and with little effort pushed me over. “This is what remains of my men.” The alor'ad and several of his men dispersed to make way for the ruus'alor and me, now covered in more mud then ever, to walk through and make our way back to the trenches.

I glanced back, we were just about half way to both the Imperial fortifications and our own trenches, I could see the alor'ad and his warriors fight the Imperials only as colored dots and flashes in the distance.

The ruus'alor stopped near the corner of a burnt out vehicle, I took a knee and scanned for my weapons. I never had a beskad to call my own and my rifle was gone. With a grunt she handed over her beskad. I admired the weapon briefly, it was heavy and broad, plain in features along the blade.

Swiftly the ruus'alor rose over our cover and started firing and providing commentary simultaneously. “Hey di'kute, save me the trouble and point the guns at yourselves!” Heaving myself up, I could see the troopers jump into an impact crater. “They say thunder never hits the same area twice, it doesn't mention anything about thermal detonators.” She pointed her pistol downwards, her gauntlet revealed a launcher that ran across her entire lower arm. “Hold your fire, we're friendlies!” A voice yelled back in perfect Mando'a, a figure rose from the crater. The armor was white and blue but appeared Mandalorian in design, maybe an older design of beskar'gam. The ruus'alor swore loudly and mumbled something of an apology towards the group of three white and blue armored Mandalorians.

After seeing the other group off on their way to the frontline, we made our way towards the trenches. I wondered what it would look like when it was first dug and during day, at night it was impossible to see all of it but I did make out at least several layers of trenches, with gun nests spread around at regular intervals, in the far distance I saw the palisades with high towers that formed the last line of defense for Keldabe. I struggled to keep my balance and felt a metal taste in my mouth. “What the sheb is wrong with you? Keep moving!” The ruus'alor snapped at me, giving me a slight shove and nearly tipping me over for a second time. She noticed this and, with a sigh, grabbed me by my arm. “Blasted tender foot. Fine, you can steady on me.”

Slightly humiliated but primarily tired and beaten, we arrived at our station. The ruus'alor simply dropped me in a soft pile of mud, face first. As most of my senses dulled and muscles relaxed I was reminded of Beviinn, what had happened to him? If anything, he was alive and probably doubling the number of kills required to win the bet.

Quite suddenly and very painfully, I felt a razor sharp object being removed from between my upper and lower back armor plates “You di'kut! Why didn't you tell me you have a dagger in your back?” With what little strenght I had left in me and a lot of will power, I rolled to my side. The blur in my eyes had since returned, but I did notice the familiar green dot that was the ruus'alor holding an oddly shaped knife.