Hoth's Open Terrain

=Ursi Krak'jya=
Thinking back on her days in the Bothan sector, Ursi answered her master.
"I was born to a couple who worked as spies for the Bothan Spynet on planet Kothlis. It's very beautiful place. Lot's of islands with some of the best beaches in the galaxy. Many across the galaxy go there for special vacations or honeymoons. Growing with a couple of spies, I eventually followed their ways and became an operative of the Spynet. I'd go to star system to star system gathering intelligence for our people so we'd have great knowledge of all what was going on in the galaxy. However, my family and I hid a large secret about myself from our people. That I was sensitive to the Force, and I had great difficulty in controlling my usage of it. Largely due to them manifesting as techniques that created flames. I even once accidentally set fire to my sleeper bed in my sleep. Despite all of the little bits of information I could gather on the Force and it's usage from the Spynet, it didn't help me much in my attempts to control my ability with the Force. It was only until Scarlet Croatia, one of the tararsaarai of the Jensaarai order, came in her searches across various planets recruiting Forcefuls into the order that she found me. She noticed my potential in the Force, and after some talk with me as well as my folks, I got their blessing to leave with her to join the Jensaarai and I left serving the Spynet. Eventually, she sent me along with a few other tyrosaarai to Contruum to meet with you guys for further training, and the rest is history as they say."
She told Crystaall as she raised her index finger up in the air, then a small glow of a tiny fire plume manifested just slightly above it. After creating the small flame with the Force, she then had it burn out and looked at her master.

=Garwig Gil Ga'Mesh=
Hearing Jan'ika Fett say they should have a medical team ready in case if any of them or the Wampas got hurt, the Saarai-kaar responded to the concern.
"Many of us have medpacs in our backpacks, and Maahes can provide further help in usage of his healing techniques with the Force. I'm certain we're prepared in case if any one of us gets hurt."

=Pok the Zoologist=
Listening to both Garwig and Janus, the Yuzzem placed one of his hands onto his chin as he responded.
"I understand that, Janus. But I'm glad to know we're ok in regards to first aid availability."
He told the two, then went over to an area with a large wall that he used to draw marker on to write out ideas and plans.
"Shall we start with the mission briefing then?"

Ali stretched, scrambling quickly to mentally save the dream she had been enjoying. Women…lovely women…Ali reminded herself, reaching for her helmet and pulling it over her head. She brought up the Jensaarai comm frequency they had used for the recent Bespin mission, and shot a message to the Saarai-kar, Garwig Gil Ga'Mesh.
Heads up, Garwig Gil Ga'Mesh, this is Hadrix with GALSAF here. We just arrived in-system and are making for the rendez-vous location. Please acknowledge at your earliest convenience. Once the message was sent, Ali pulled the helmet off of her head and ran a hand through her hair, shaking out the locks that tumbled down over her shoulders. Grasping one, she brought it before her, noticing how split some of her ends had become. I'll have to get that taken care of, Ali reminded herself, releasing the hair from her grasp and letting it fall back to her chest.
She reached over to the forward bulkhead, keying the outside display screen. After flickering for a moment, the screen revealed the harsh, barren white landscape of Hoth all around as the gunship roared towards the rendez-vous location given to them by Garwig's Jensaarai. Ali shut off the display and slapped Sergeant He'gai on the shoulder. "Time to wake up, my tentacle-faced friend." She groaned, reaching down and grabbing her clothes. Sergent He'gai gurgled something back and wriggled his facial tentacles, then began lightly smacking the other members of his squad, including Sylas.
Ali stood and began stripping naked, pulling off her boots first, then her shirt and shorts. Ali reached for the form-fitting body suit that she wore beneath her armor and stepped into the legs before pulling the rest of the suit up over her back and shoulders and sliding her arms into the sleeves. Once the suit settled over her shoulders, Ali reached inside the open front and adjusted her breasts before fastening the seals at her belly and chest. Then she replaced her boots on her feet and pulled gloves over her hands, closing them into fists to ensure they felt comfortable. Hoth was a terribly cold planet and Ali didn't like being cold. She relished nice hot sun and salty-aired beaches above all.
During their final approach, Ali affixed her armor plates over her body, then clipped her helmet to her utility belt and slung her weapon, a Verpine assault carbine. The Morellian sub-assault rifle she had favored on Bespin would be of little help on Hoth, where range and accuracy meant everything in the open, windswept environment. Ali watched as the rest of the platoon, nearly thirty commandos, began donning their own gear and checking weapons and other equipment. For this mission, each commandos' armor had been quickly re-painted a mottled grey-white, as had their gunship's exterior.
Within minutes, the entire platoon was ready, standing by as the gunship's two pilots brought the vessel towards the hangar bay of some long abandoned military station. Small pinpoints of red light blinked on and off around the bay's entrance, glowing dully through the snow-ridden haze of sky. Ali dropped her sidearm, a .48 caliber Enforcer pistol, into the holster strapped to her thigh. "Alright boys, get off my ship!" Ali barked as the gunship's gull-wing doors kicked open and drew back towards the stern of the ship. The interior of the hangar bay looked as frozen as the rest of the planet, which didn't surprise Ali. How one zoologist maintained a station like this in any capacity made Ali wonder.
The GALSAF gunship dropped towards the floor of the hangar bay, resting alongside the much larger Luxury 5000 staryacht that seemed to be Garwig's daily driver. Fourth Platoon's commandos began to hop down onto the icy ground, their tang-bottomed boots cutting into the frozen water with dull crunching sounds. Ali stepped down once the troop by was emptied of bodies, the rest of the platoon spreading out to wander around and check out the place.

Already, the Jensaarai had gathered and were talking with a tall, rich colored Yuzzum, who Ali remembered from the datapack regarding the mission must be the zoologist, Pok. She also spotted Crystaall Sehefadu off with a younger girl, already exploring the rest of the hangar bay. A tall, blue-skinned S'kytri also stood with Garwig and his Jensaarai. Ali kept Jonn and Sergent He'gai at her side, and made her way towards the group, catching some of their final words, including those of a short male clad in Mandalorian armor.
I don't know, getting this Unkajo to help might be a good idea but I don't like the idea of relying on something effected by the darkside. Or really any common animal that can use the force for that matter. The small man was saying, the vocoder of his helmet adding a metallic twang to his voice. I mean I feel like if we work with the Giant Wampa we should have to okay to attack it encase things get out of hand.
Ali listened to the man's words, realizing he was little more than a child, as she stepped up to the group, Jonn and Sergent He'gai at her flank while the rest of her platoon milled about. Their two snipers, Woody Fardak and Yuple Carrin, were standing at the open entrance of the hangar bay, the wind whipping about them as they surveyed the area through their helmet's visors.
"Ne baati ori'dush ulik as wampas, verd'ika. Ni ven hukaat'kama.¹" Ali chuckled, lightly slapping a hand over the boy's shoulder. The young man sported a full set of Mandalorian armor, an impressive display for such a young Mando'ad². Looking over to Garwig, Ali nodded and smiled politely at the man, who she had grown to respect greatly after their previous joint operation on Bespin.
"So, I heard something about a mission briefing?" Ali asked, excited for yet another mission with the Jensaarai.

1: "Don't worry about evil creatures like wampas, little soldier. I'll watch your back."
2: Mandalorian [Singular]

Asha nodded, tapping frost and ice from sections of the outer hull with the butt of a hydrospanner. "They'd be crazy to go out in this weather, Jedi powers or not." Asha muttered, squatting down and checking under the fuselage for frozen fluids and debris. Asha was garbed in a thick jacket and trousers, her bodysuit kept her warm underneath. Her breath frosted in plumes before her face, coating the hull of the gunship with condensation. Asha completed her inspection, returning the hydrospanner to the tool compartment within the rear of the cockpit. "It'll take a plasma torch to defrost this thing when we get back to the Armada. We should've brought a bunch of Tee-Forty-Sevens," Asha muttered, returning to Kaytra's side. She nudged the other woman with an elbow as she kept her own arms crossed over her chest. "You going out with them or what?" She asked, jerking her head towards the rest of the platoon and kicking more snow off her boots.

Asha nodded as @kaytra took her leave. "I'll just be with the ship then. Text me an update when you have one!" She called out, but the other pilot had already started off and didn't hear her. Wrinkling her nose and wishing she'd brought it up sooner, Asha watched the other woman jog off to join Leftenant Hadrix and the rest of the platoon for the official briefing. Returning to her work, Asha clambered into the cockpit and dropped down into her seat, keying in another systems check of the gunship's software. While that was running, she reran the temperature readouts, making sure the larty would be ready to start up again at a moment's notice.



Ali was waiting for the Yuzzum zoologist to begin his brief, one arm crossed over her chest, the other elbow resting atop it as she chewed on a fingernail. Leftenant Kaytra soon appeared at her side, quietly pushing through the several armored commandos between them. "What have I missed?" The woman asked, her voice little more than a whisper. Ali gathered a piece of fingernail between her lips and blew it away, then leaned slightly towards Kaytra and whispered back, "Not much. Poachers taking on wampas, cutting the population down too much. Apparently the species is already endangered, so our job is to slot 'em all." Ali leaned back away, before returning a moment later, realizing what fact she'd casually forgotten. "Oh, and there's a huge wampa running the pack that lives in the valley. He's like…forty feet tall or something. Even has a name: Unkajo." Ali summarized, looking over at Kaytra when she didn't speak up immediately. "You're not worried, are you?" Ali teased quietly, jabbing the pilot lightly in the ribs. "Hibii gar beskad, ya?"¹ Ali suggested, reverting for the moment to her native language of Mando'a. She couldn't remember if Kaytra spoke any at all, though considering it was GALSAF's main operating language before even Basic, she assumed the pilot would have picked some up during her rotation through the commando training course Tagira ran personally.

1: "Take your knife, ya?"

Ali raised an eyebrow at @kaytra's quipped response. "Gar etyc dal'ika, ni ru'gana kar'tayl gar ru'cuyi as chaavla!"¹ Ali muttered back, a smile playing on her lips. She was going to enjoy having Leftanant Kaytra as her pilot, that was undeniable. Ali's smile faltered slightly as Kaytra switched topics and voiced her concerns over running the gunship at night. Her smile faded completely as she addressed the pilot's concerns somberly. "You're right, and I was planning on speaking against it. Don't worry, ver'alor², we're not taking the larty anywhere without daylight." Ali nodded her affirmation, then patted Kaytra lightly on the shoulder. "Thanks for bringing it up, it's always good to have a pilot's word about her own ship."

1: "You dirty little girl, I had no idea you were such a scoundrel!" [Informal, affectionate]
2: Leftenant, as in rank

=Ursi Krak'jya=
"I agree. Let's go."
She said with a smile, then walked with Crystaall up to the others for the briefing.

=Garwig Gil Ga'Mesh=
Looking over at Jan'ika Fett and the two Imperial Knights sent by Xeonon Solomon to see if they were ready for the briefing, Garwig spoke to Pok the Yuzzem.
"We're ready for the briefing, Pok. You may..."
It was then Garwig received the message from Ali Hadrix . After listening to it on his comm, Garwig spoke to the others.
"Give it a minute. Seems Ali and her people are on the way here. They must be close given how clear the transmission is coming in."
He said, then answered Ali.
:: Roger that, Ali. We'll see you here at the abandoned rebel base. ::

It didn't take long after that for Ali as well as those with her to come to the hangar. With everyone present, Garwig looked to Pok.
"Ok, let's begin the briefing."

=Pok the Zoologist=
Nodding to the Saarai-kaar, the large Yuuzem made his way to a large wall in the area. Some nearby old oil drums with fire within them gave off enough light so those in the area could see the wall, as well as the photos and written markings on it. Due to not having a holoprojector in the area, the Yuzzem was going to use these things to explain the situation.
"Nearby this here old base is an area called the Wampa valley. Itself on one end of the valley, while on the other end is the abandoned Echo base that was more famously used by the Rebel Alliance."
Pointing to some large holopictures he had on the wall, he continued to explain the mission.
"These here are images of the various poachers who've recently set up camp within the old Echo base to carry out their illegal hunting of the Wampas within the valley. At the time I was doing research on the Wampas in the valley, on behalf of the University of Coruscant who considered me a good choice to send here due to my resistance to the harsh weather on Hoth. Despite all my attempts to get them to leave, they've been a stubborn group, and their firepower makes them difficult to approach."
He then showed holopictures of various holopictures of their weaponry. The poachers seemed to have possession of WLO-5 speeder tanks, starhawk speeder bikes, SPMA's, AT-TE's, AT-RT's, AT-XT's, battle droids, and a few other weapons that it seemed they acquired via the black market.
"Besides their illegal hunting of the Wookiees, they're also using them as "target practice" for the weapons they've got. Your mission is to capture and or destroy their weapons, as well of course to get the poachers to surrender."
Pointing to another holopicture, it showed an image of what looked to be caves.
"Nearby this base is a system of caverns that are connected throughout Wampa valley and Echo base. We are to go through these caves to first find Unkajo..."
Looking Crystaall Sehefadu, Pok answered her.
who is not Force sensitive, and fight him, though not kill him or terribly hurt him so he can be swayed to joining us easier through usage of the Force. With him tame and in control by us, the Wampas will be sure to not a danger to us during the fights against the poachers."
Showing a picture of Echo base, the Yuzzem continued.
"After getting Unkajo to join us, we'll continue through the caverns to Echo base to get in a surprise attack on the poachers. With the attack, we'll force them all out onto wampa valley, where they'll be easier pickings for us and the Wampas. During the attack on the occupied Echo base and the battle in Wampa valley, be sure to destroy or take any of their weaponry so as to lessen their firepower."
After saying all that, he then looked to everyone in the area.
"Once the poachers surrender, we'll use the Force to have Unkajo and the rest of the Wampas retreat back into the caves. After that, we'll get any poachers in the area within cells at the Echo base so authorities can take them in. Any weapons you guys steal from the poachers you can take with you off this planet as a sort of payment for your help here. Any questions?"
The Yuzzem asked.

Jonn lifted the white balaclava over his mouth, white mist forming as his breath escaped. His gloved hand trembled slightly as he lifted a cigarette to his lips and lit it. Unlike his fellow Commandos Jonn opted out of the GALSAF issue Katarn armor instead wearing only a plate carrier with durasteel inserts, front and back. He also had on an armorweave underlay beneath his clothing, which consisted of cold weather fatigues in a mottled grey and white color. He was packing standard issue GALSAF Verpine-class weapons, carbine and shatter-pistol.

Standing near Leftenant Ali and Sergeant Huff, Jonn was barely holding it together. He was just going through the motions. While on the exterior he appeared calm and stoic, inside was a different story. The previous missions had left his energy reserves low and it took everything he had to suppress the hunger. Especially when surrounded by individuals that exuded such strong deliciously exquisite energy.

Jonn redoubled his efforts. Before this mission was done he knew he would feed. Only question being, would it be friend or foe? He hoped it would be the latter.

Jonn remained quiet as he took another deep drag from his cig, barely able to pay attention to the briefing and the people around him as a battle raged within him.

Ali smiled secretively as Crystaall Sehefadu grinned in response to her greeting. She bit her bottom lip before letting it slip from between her teeth, feeling her neck flush warmly. Crystaall went on to suggest a recce of both the base and the valley before sending in the bulk of their forces. Ali nodded her agreement with Crystaall's contribution, then offered her own snipers in response to the Jensaarai woman's call for extra stealth-oriented personnel. Ali looked over her shoulder and hollered, "Fardak! Carrin! Get over here!" The two commandos standing by the hangar bay's wide entrance turned to look her way, then trotted over shortly thereafter. Ali looked them both over before glancing back at Crystaall, gesturing to the other woman with a delicate hand. "Fardak, you'll be with Crystaall, as will I." Ali worried briefly that the self-assignment might make Crystaall feel uncomfortable. She just liked working with the woman. "Carrin, you're taking point for the follow team." Fardak and Carrin both nodded their acceptance, then broke off, the former joining Crystaall and Ursi, the latter staying in place as Ali covered the distance between herself and the Jensaarai woman. She stood beside Crystaall, her arms crossed over her chest, then leaned in to whisper, "Recon sounds fun, I'm glad you suggested it."
In the meantime, the rest of the platoon was organizing itself. Yuple Carrin gathered several other commandos, including Sergent Huff He'gai and his squad. The rest of the platoon would remain organized into their respective squads and teams, prepared to act as the main fighting force against the poachers and their small army. Ali watched from her position beside Crystaall as the rest of her soldiers gathered. Briefly, she caught sight of Sylas, who seemed absorbed in some sort of internal thought process. He looked sickly, though that could have been the cold. He most certainly wasn't his usual self, annoying and socially foolhardy. Ali made a mental note to speak with him before they made off.
Out of the corner of her eye, Ali spotted another one of her soldiers, Consuela Isabel Montiero. The woman was beautiful and shapely, a severe distraction to someone like Ali, if she were to be honest. But she was quiet, silent, in fact, and did her job, which Ali appreciated. Consuela seemed to know Ali was looking her way, and in what seemed like an instant, the woman was standing before her, pulling a datapad out of a pouch within her vest. Ali took the 'pad and read over the information displayed there, which seemed to be how Consuela preferred to communicate. To the point, to be sure, a quality Ali praised with a smile.
It seemed Consuela had previous contact with the wampas of the valley, and had managed to develop a tentative bond, of sorts, with one of them. The 'pad also noted the location of a vessel Consuela had left on the planet some time before her enlistment with GALSAF. Both of these facts intrigued her, and she decided it would be best for Consuela to lead a detachment of her own. She typed a note into the datapad for Consuela to read, speaking with her in the same manner.

Take three soldiers to work in conjunction with Carrin's team. When we break for the base, take off and locate that ship, get a check on its condition. If it's viable, have on of your men pilot it back here, in case it's needed. If not, leave it for later. Either way, see what you can't do about contacting that wampa after you're done with the ship.
Ali handed the 'pad back to Consuela, then turned her head once more to see Sam standing beside her. "Kriffing aye, what now?" Ali demanded.
Undaunted, Sam began rambling on about the obvious. Ali clapped him on the shoulder, "Ratiin cuyi tsikador."¹ She replied in Mando'a. "You'll be with me on Crystaall's recon team." She called for Fardak's attention, then drew her thumb across her throat and pointed to Carrin. The gesture was clear, you're no longer coming with us, stay with Carrin.

1: "Always be prepared."