Battle for Balmorra 2

Balmorra, a world with more continents than oceans was currently in the midst of a desicive battle. Imperium forces were entrenched against a mountain while New Republic forces were doing their damnest to punch a hole through their defenses. New Republic mortar fire bombarded the Imperium troopers, keeping them from blasting their soldiers. Just as it seemed that they were about to break the Imperium perimeter, the sounds of a screeching TIE fighter could be heard. The next thing the New Republic knew was a TIE Avenger Advance coming downwards, blasting them into oblivion. Imperium troopers gazed upwards and felt a gleam of hope now. They had thought that they had been abandoned, now they felt reinvigorated with a burning fire.

Inside the TIE, Markus piloted his ship to do a drift within the air. He continued to fire into New Republic forces, either causing them to route or sending them to Hell. Once his TIE came to a halt in the air, he shot off once again heading for their mortar teams. He came upon them before they even had time to us their AA guns. Firing into them with concussion missiles without missing a beat. He did this for five more mortar teams, illuminating them in an infernal of fire. His sensors went off once they detected a missile had been locked onto him. Without slowing down, Markus soared through the air heading for the New Republic FOB(Forward Operating Base). He wanted to cause their forces into disarray so that Imperium forces had time to regroup, recover, then counterattack.

Markus could see the New Republic FOB straight ahead, it was over three-hundred kilometers away. That said, he decided to turn to his ship's thermal vision to lock onto their sensor arrays. As he did this, he felt his ship rumble from the impact of the missile that was locked onto him. The pressure of the air cracked his ship's window but it did not stop him from going forth. Once he got a lock on the New Republic sensor array, he fired several missiles to destroy them. With this, the enemy wouldn't be able to coordinate an effective attack or defense. Markus didn't wait to see his handiwork, he was confident in himself. He stirred his TIE around, heading back to the Imperium stronghold. Immediately before he arrived, he contacted General Forel Xen. Markus was greeted with a wounded but still fighting fit general. He had a trimmed beard, a missing hat, dirited uniform, and a bandaged arm. "Thanks for the save pilot, my men wouldn't have been able to hold out for much longer." Forel thanked and reported.

Markus simply nodded his head before feeling his TIE beginning to slow down. He looked at his fuel meter and saw it dropping fast, most likely due to the missile that had hit him.

'Well damn it all...' Markus thought with annoyance, though it hardly stopped him. He looked at out of ship's cockpit to find several New Republic survivors from his strafing run not too long ago. They had regrouped and trying to gain momentum in their advance. 'Well that just won't do.' Markus thought then ended transmission with Forel as he accelerated forward towards the New Republic battleline. On the battlefield, Imperium troopers were beginning to feel that they would need to retreat until a familiar screeching sound could be heard. In came the TIE that had saved them not too long ago, it came barreling downwards and into the ground. The vessel skidded across the field ragdolling or running over New Republic soldier alike. Yet that was not the spectacle, it was what had jumped out of the ship's hatch.

Markus while using the Force jumped out of his TIE and landed on his two feet after several twirls in the air for theatrical effect. With an outstretched hand, he called his main weapon to it, igniting the blade. The Imperial Knight stood between the Imperium forces and the New Republic's. For a moment the New Republic were dumbfounded. For in their eyes they saw a Jedi, fighting for the Empire. For the Imperium however, they saw a warrior about to unleash his wrath. With the Force enhancing him, Markus dashed forward with great speed. It only took the New Republic several seconds to register this and begin to open fire open him. Their blasters collided with his blade or were dodged as he moved across the battlefield. Imperium forces slowly rose out of their trenches and watched in awe, even General Forel.

Markus wasted no time as he jumped high into the air, coming down with a Force Push directed towards a large group of New Republic soldiers. The next thing that happened could only be described as a massacre. He carved a swath into the New Republic, hearing profanities, cries of pain, and orders alike directed at him. His blade cut into one New Republic soldier, cleaving her in half. Then another who had the luck to be behind that one. With the usage of the Force he pulled another towards him to act as his shield. He used the Force again to call over a New Republic pistol. Then he Force pushed the New Republic soldier's corpse back at those still shooting at him. He used the blaster pistol to fire precise shots into the more hardened soldiers, taking them out them in seconds. Markus was not wasting energy nor a moment to give the New Republic a reason to run. By the time he had reached this point already one-hundred and counting New Republic personnel were slain. Now he was just adding to the kill count without slowing down. As he moved his blade up to deflect another blaster bolt, his helmet was hit at the side of the head. It didn't kill him but it did compromise his helmet's visor. With a grunt, he tore it off of his head and hurled it at a Rodian New Republic soldier. The helmet collided with the Rodian's face, most likely breaking their nose and sending them stumbling onto the ground.

Markus' face was for all to see now, letting all know that he was in fact a living being capable of such carnage. His hair was trimmed with short black dreads, his skin a dark brown, eyes a jade green, and stern look was upon his face. He was not a little upset that he had to take off his helmet. Before he could show the remaining New Republic soldiers how upset he was, he heard over a hundred battle cries coming in from behind him. With a glance, he saw Imperium troopers leaving their trenches and charging forth to aid him. Each of them still wore Imperial armor, though more than half gad bandages and pieces of their armor off revealing the human inside of them. With a brow rising and a smirk playing onto his lips, Markus turned and held his position as the remaining New Republic began to finally route. As they retreated, the Imperium troopers came to a halt on both the right flank and left flanks of the Imperial Knight.

They all let out a cheer of triumph as they watched the New Republic fall back with rheur tails between their legs. Markus remained silent for the most part, and felt a small modicum of pride in these men and women. They threw aside their fear and came to aid him, even though he most likely did not need it. Markus began to walk over to where his helmet was, a blaster mark was on the side of it, scorching the paint. He knelt down and lifted it in his hand as the Imperium troopers continued to celebrate their small victory. The Imperial Knight clicked his tongue, seeing that he could no longer use the helmet for the remainder of his stay on Balmorra. Of course, it did not deter him from his mission.

Markus turned and found almost all of the Imperium troopers beginning to salute him. He towered over all of them, his height being roughly six feet and eleven inches tall. His muscles even put the more well built of them to shame. The Imperial Knight returned the salute then turned his gaze upon the Imperium defensive perimeter. "The Imperium was born not to fight wars, but to fix what the Empire had broken", Markus began to say as he addressed the men, "The New Republic calls us monsters, demons, evil incarnate! Yet they cause far more destruction by simply being in a peaceful environment while he held the peace for two decades. The New Republic tells lies upon us, we are no longer the Empire, nor are we are corrupted brothers in the west. We are the Galactic Imperium, and if the New Republic wants war...then we will give them war!"

At that last sentence, all Imperium troopers raised their blasters and fists into the air. Feeling motivated to keep fighting now, little did they know that Markus had used a specific Force skill to keep these soldier's morale up. Force Valor, meant to make the men more inspired and to fight harder. Of course he wouldn't tell them that, these men didn't need to know the truth of that. Markus with a turn began marching towards the Imperium base, he was followed by several others who weren't going through what was left behind of the New Republic. As he drew closer, more and more Imperium troops came into view whether they be medical personnel or not. They saluted him like a war hero, showing him respect. It wouldn't be long before he found a smiling Forel Xen who saluted him as well, clearly impressed. "Well color me impressed, that will give us time to evacuate." At those words from Forel, Markus raised a brow in confusion towards him.

Forel noticed this, then gestured for him to walk with him. As the two walked, Forel moved a hand through his shaggy black hair. "We're spread too thin", he began to explain to Markus, "With what we have, we don't have the means to begin a counterattack. I'm loyal to the Imperium, but there is blind loyalty and common sense. Unless you have a better idea Knight Numenor, I don't see any other way to beat the New Republic off of Balmorra." At those words Markus slowly nodded understanding the situation more clearly. Then he began formulating a plan, he stopped and turned to Forel, the General did the same, expecting to be berated with accusations. "How many troopers do you have capable of striking the New Republic FOB?" Markus questioned with a cool tone. Forel took a moment to register that question, then gained a serious expression. "Five at most, my best men." Forel responded, curious as to what this Knight had planned. "That'll do, if we do not have the numbers to counterattack the New Republic's positions", Markus elaborated 9n his plan, "Then we will make it so that we can. I've already demolished their way of communicating their other positions across the planet. For now they are unable to coordinate effectively, I aim to cut the head off of their leadership and strike a blow to their morality."

Forel frowned, before gesturing to the field of more than a hundred dead New Republic soldiers. "Haven't you done that already?" He pointed out, to which Markus simply smiled. "No, I wounded their pride, their morale is next." Markus answered, causing Forel to smirk. "Right then, this is the best plan that has come up yet", Forel then turned to an officer with a bandage over their right eye, "You, get me Shadow Squad here on the double! Make sure that they are fully armed with whatever arms that we have left!" The Officer dutifully nodded and ran off to find this Shadow Squad. Markus simply stood there, folding his arms over his chest. "This Shadow Squad, are they former Imperial Special Forces?" Markus questioned wigh a hint of curiosity. Forel shook his head before going into explanation. "No, they are all former Imperial Commandos, trained by Republic Commandos", Forel answered, "The best of them actually, if memory serves me right they were trained by a unit called 'Delta Squad'."

As soon as Forel said that, the aforementioned squad coming jogging over. Each of them were Katarn armor that held scorch marks, burned armor, and with helmets removed. The armor looked bulky, giving them a bit of height. Yet, they were still smaller than Markus who gave each of them a once over. "Shadow Squad, this is the Imperial Knight who just saved our asses." Forel introduced, at those words each of the Squad members had different reactions. All except one, who was a human female with a scar going across her face. Her hair was black with a military style. Her gray eyes remained glued on Markus, as if studying him. Markus locked eyes with her and unfolded his arms from his chest. "Shadow Squad, I am Imperial Knight Markus Numenor, the reinforcements", Markus began to say, "We are currently unable to mount an effective counter attack, so I have devised a plan to make it so that we can. This mission will be dangerous for you, are you ready and willing to die for the Imperium?"

Shadow Squad's response was to straighten their posture and step forward. All of them having their chests puffed off. Markus nodded then began to get in contact with Admiral Paelleon. He used his portable Holotransceiver to make contact so that they could get a means of transportation. After a few seconds, his hails were answered. Paelleon appeared in his holographic state, his body straightening as they landed on Markus. "Knight Numenor, how goes things on planetside?" The Admiral questioned before being handed a tablet by a bridge officer. "We are incapable of mounting an effecitve counterattack", Markus reiterated to Paelleon, "I have devised a plan to destroy the enemy's morale and leadership. All I require is transportation and air support where it is needed." Paelleon tapped something on the tablet before handing it back to the bridge officer. "Understood, I can give you that but be advised that the New Republic is already sending a fleet to aid their ground forces."

When Markus heard that, he began to grin for the first time that he had been there. Then with his next words they came out like that of any confident Imperial. "They will not br arriving..."

[Somewhere In Space, Outside of the Balmorra System]

The New Republic fleet heading towards Balmorra were barreling through Hyperspace. They were prepared to give the Imperium Hell for the defeat that they were given in Balmorra's space. Just as they were nearing Balmorra, all of their entire fleet were suddenly pulled out of Hyperspace. As if an invisible force had just snatched them out. As they exited Hyperspace in disarray, they saw who the culprits were, three large Imperium Star Destroyers with over a dozen sleeker and more advanced smaller destroyers, cruisers, and corvettes began approaching them. The three new Super Star Destoyers were stolen designs that the late Emperor Palpatine had planned to use had he lived. These were the Sovereign class Star Destroyers, and they all came with interdiction fields as well as heavy armaments. Another Super Star Destroyer could be seen in the middle of the Imperium formation. He watched as TIE Defenders and Interceptors soared to combat the New Republic fighters.

The man was adorned with a grayed Grand Admiral uniform, with a purple cape that came with it. He stared out at his enemy with cold but intrigued eyes. "Grand Admiral Thrawn, everything is going according to as you predicted", called one of the bridge officers, "The New Republic fleet are trying to form up, but we will already be upon them before they can mount up a defense." Thrawn simple nodded before allowing himself to smile. His scarlet red eyes locking onto the New Republic flagship, Home 1. "Good, it is all artiscally done right..."