HeySeuss

Star Wars - Liberators

Very interested in this RP if there is room.

@YungTweak

There's room!

Star Wars - Liberators

First post is up; basically, We've got an infantry contact and they're pulling in the outposts.

Edit: Also, I just want to make clear that I needed a larger post for an intro. Feel free to cut it down to two to three paragraphs on responses or write more as you see fit. But like the Lore and Character stubs, I would rather have a good tempo for posting than people working on novels for a week.

:)

Star Wars - Liberators

First Shot

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The Grolsk reserve was a forested area, as much of the planet was, far enough above the equator of the planet to be cool in the summertime and frozen over in the winter. The hardy forms of plant life that survived up here were coniferous trees that grew large and threw up a wide canopy; the snow would accumulate on the branches and then slide down as the branches bent, rather than broke. They were hard to cut down, traditionally, because they were so damned wide at the trunk. The branches grew toward the top, above even the worst accumulation of snow that happened in the winters.

The ground was grooved from the erosion of countless thaws, creekbeds of snow surrounded by rock and mineral formations, exposed to the air. Hardy vegetation clung to the hills created from this erosion, also above the typical snows, fast growing weeds that threw down their seeds during the brief thaws.

And the 7th Uslam Liberators used mining tunnels beneath the surface to deploy. They used specialized equipment to tunnel through the snow and set charges close to the surface, frozen beneath a thin surface of ice, on the likely approaches. They used repulsor sleds to move equipment and repulsor suspendors for moving over the snow lightly, giving the Uslamers a loping gait as they got over the snow. It was a common technology for the locals that kept them from sinking down into the snow if they had to move over the top.

For guerrillas, that meant few tracks for scout-troopers to spot as they made their passes.

Silence reigned over the area, but they saw the landing craft activity and knew that the Empire had finally come. Sensors in system detected a large force of starships bearing in. They all knew the Empire would come back for its pound of flesh, and made preparations accordingly.

Jenk could hear only the wind and the rustle as snow rolled off the branches of the trees and hit the ground with a loud hissing sound that Uslamers all knew in these parts; you curled into a ball if they were coming down, and dug yourself out later. They all had the means to do so. The wind chapped at their exposed cheeks, when they weren't wearing something to cover against that raw exposure. Like many of those that could, he'd grown a dark, bristly beard to help cope with that.

And they'd done just that when they saw an accumulation above them in a likely spot. They put shelter structures in place so that the snow would come down on them, and give them camouflage. Then they dug out portholes so they could see. Then they waited. The 7th took a pasting in the fight for Lorya, storming the secondary Imperial garrison there after the sappers put det charges in where they though they could create an entrance. Uslamers were miners, they were good at that sort of work. Still, the Empire put up a stiff fight and the 7th was under strength now. But they were blooded. So they were put out as the screening element outside Lorya, to try and keep the Imperials pinned down to buy the city time. If possible, they were expected to fall back. Worse came to worst, disperse and carry on the fight.

They used sandbags for cover behind the snow and turned the little snow-houses into snow-fortresses. But no one was throwing snowballs here.

They had a Merr-Sonn Mk.II medium repeating blaster and a Golan Arms portable rocket launcher, his squad did anyway, in expectation of a need to take out vehicles and anything that strayed into their killing zone. He was a combat engineer attached to a heavy weapons unit, and his job had been to find the most ingenious ways to make the best use of sensors, mines and other equipment of that nature, even as they supervised emplacements for larger weaponry. Mostly, as was typical for the Liberators, it was experienced mining foremen, like Jenk, telling others their assignments and providing their specs. With a planetary population used to doing mining work, preparing fighting positions here, and fortifications further back, was relatively easy.

The infantry heard the whining of a speeder bike and tensed up, but it was too far away and going in a different direction. The sounds of blaster fire, bursts of it, echoed through the cold air, and then an explosion. Then more silence.

"Movement on sensor grid 33-alpha," Jenk noted from the wrist-mounted tablet he was using to keep track of such things, "humanoid sized."

Minutes passed like tense hours, beings bundled up in the heated body gloves under the other equipment, to ward off the elements clutching their weapons and breathing, along with some muttered talk.

"Shut it," snapped Koller, the infantry squad's sergeant, even as she took a look down the electronic sights of her A280 rifle, trying to spot movement. Trying to hear movement.

"Contact, 318, counting squad strength, stormtroopers of some kind. 140 meters, wedge formation."

Others were tempted to shift over and crowd the firing ports, but the Koller waved them back down into position, hissing, "concealment!"

"When they come to 100, engage by zones," the Sergeant stated quietly and firmly in her alto voice to the rest of her people, as he started to nurse the power settings on the Mk. II. Jenk kept his mouth shut; he had a rocket launcher to engage anything larger, vehicles or anything that required the extra firepower, but he didn't shift up yet. He had an eye on the sensors, but they were only so good and not shielded, so the Imperials were likely to start taking them out once they were noticed.

"Open fire!"

And then the world exploded into light, and the smell of ozone as blasters fired in rapid, aimed fire, trying to catch the Stormtroopers flatfooted. But soon enough, the return fire came in, and people started taking hits even behind hard cover, because even sandbags had their limits. People were keeping up the fire, but also taking hits and others were trying to screw themselves into the ground, plowing into the snow just to get deeper into the ground. Natural instinct when death was flying in over-head.

Even while the firing went on, Koller called in her contact, making sure that platoon and company were informed of the situation, even as they poured on the fire. They had casualties, and a medic seemed to crawl through whatever he crawled through to patch up two guys, ignoring the already dead guy as a matter of course. He murmured reassurances to the men while trying to keep them from screaming loudly.

Then the silence reigned again, except for the moans of the wounded and the panting breath of the guys that just had a minute and a half of shooting behind them, already wrung out from the adrenaline.

And that's when Koller said, "We just got orders from the LT, we're shifting back to the rally now," even as she started to break down the Mk. II, wrapping the black blaster in a white sling/tarp so she could carry it strapped across her chest without it looking totally out of place against the planet's natural palette. She was slender, but had the shoulders of a miner, and plenty of muscle to lift the thing.

"Let's get out before the stormtroopers call it in and the kriffing Empire hits this position with artillery."

Removal Request

I screwed up. Please hide the evidence. roleplayerguild.com/posts/4614257

Star Wars - Liberators

Character Stubs

Character Stubs

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Name: Warrant Officer Jenk Beskad
Species: Human
Faction/Unit: Rebel Alliance, 7th Uslam Liberators Regiment, Charlie Company, 1st Platoon, Gold Squad
Location: Aboard the Intruder, a CR-85a Corvette that functions as his platoon's posting.
Synopsis of Role: Combat Engineer, unit armorer, trained machinist, miner and tech repair guy that ran a mechanic/tech contracting company notorious for employing rebel sympathizers. He fled Lorya before the uprising as he knew his arrest was coming and fought during the Siege of Uslam, though was wounded twice during the months long engagement with an increasingly reinforced Imperial force. Is now an ISB subversive classification 4-X (liquidate upon re-establishment of Imperial rule). Typical Uslamer, actually. He functions as Charlie Platoon's go-to for the acquisition, modification and maintenance of equipment, along with a number of various types of labor droids used to carry out those tasks.

Lore Stubs

Lore Stubs

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Name: Intruder
Type: CR-85a Corellian Corvette
Faction/Unit: Rebel Alliance
Synopsis of Role: The Intruder is a CR-85a Corellian Corvette, designed toward the end of the Clone Wars as a pirate hunter. It is 30% larger than the CR-70 or CR-90 class, but that space is devoted to launch bays for shuttles/boarding craft/landing craft. While it retains a similar number of turbolasers to the CR-90, it adds the capability to lay sonic mines in its wake and a tractor beam. Other modifications have been made. Currently, it holds three U-Wing transport/fighters, each modified to provide close-air support once the troopers have disembarked.

Name: Uslam
Type: Location
Faction/Unit: Contested between the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire
Synopsis of Role: Mining planet in the Outer Rim, its inhabitants are descended from a variety of different settlements, notably with a lot of Mandalorians 4 millennia prior to the current day. The planet is notable for being colder than most, with a band of temperate zones around the equator and otherwise arctic conditions and flora and fauna adapted to it. The planet is extremely mineral rich. Primary industry is resource extraction and refining, along with a robust capacity to maintain and repair industrial equipment necessary. Uslam fell to a sustained and reinforced Imperial assault after a five month long battle on its surface.

Name: Uslam System
Type: Location
Faction/Unit: Contested
Synopsis of Role: The Uslam system has a very rich asteroid field and lots of zero G mining.

Name: Uslam Liberator Regiments
Type: Military Unit
Faction/Unit: Rebel Alliance
Synopsis of Role: The Uslam Liberators started out as the an amalgamation of the Uslam Defense Forces and banned mining unions that the Empire tried to suppress. Their activities in stockpiling and organize were extensively abetted by Prime Minister San Verek, whose government ensured that the disappearing supplies and equipment were accounted for in audits and in the system. After the public execution of San Verek, the Uslam Liberators rose up and took over the Imperial Garrison at Lorya, using their experience with mining charges to breach the facility. During the 5 month siege, the Liberators distinguished themselves while fighting a losing battle on Uslam's surface. They were overwhelmed by the Empire, but some elements were evacuated at the end and continue to fight on behalf of the Rebellion. The Liberators are rated 'veteran; highly motivated to fight' by command.

Name: Execution of Prime Minister Verek
Type: Event
Faction/Unit: Rebel Alliance and Empire
Synopsis of Role: Prime Minister San Verek was executed during the absence of the planetary governor after it was discovered that he was a Rebel sympathizer and was working with insurgent groups, along with most of his government. It is safe to say, however, that the Empire did not understand the true extent of Prime Minister Verek's operations. His death set off a chain reaction of events that led to the Uprising.

Star Wars - Liberators

Also, inspirations to keep in mind, and we can add to the list:
- The Battle of Hue City
- The Winter War in Finland
- The Battle of the Bulge
- Operation Market-Garden
- The Battle of Britain
- The Battle of Dien Bien Phu
- The American Civil War, specifically blockade running in the Atlantic and Caribbean
- The Siege of Leningrad
- And other ideas as you bring them to the table.

Star Wars - Liberators

@Sep@CaptainBritton@Lauder@Flagg@Jackdaw

OOC here

I've decided to drastically shorten character sheets so it is easier for people to write characters quickly to the need. I feel like we can drop the traditional long ass sheets in the interest of just writing. If you feel up to lore and so forth, please add to it. Also, definitely discuss things in OOC a bit in regards to what Uslam looks like, factional additions and so forth. But we can focus on the narrative here.

Star Wars - Liberators

_{The Rebellion doesn’t look so glamorous from the mud-side…}

Guidelines

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• Discord Chat for the RP. - to plot, collaborate and otherwise make things interesting.
• I want only a couple things over in character sheets - a name, a faction (empire, rebel, smugglers, etc) a location (rebel HQ, Lorya, the hinterlands of Uslam, etc) and maybe a one sentence summary of the character. Yeah, because we need to be writing posts, not character sheets, and this way we can quickly -add- essential characters.
• Please use one sheet for all stubs, character and lore.

Character Stubs

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The whole point of this system is to quickly introduce a character's name, faction, species and a quick summary of who they are in order to get them into the fight quickly. We're doing away with large sheets as an experiment. You can even write this stuff -after- you make the first post.

Name:
Species:
Faction/Unit: (ex. Rebel Alliance, 2nd Uslam Liberators or Imperial Navy, CO ISD Reprisal)
Location:
Synopsis of Role: (One sentence, keep it moving. Ex. Combat Engineer with the Uslam Liberators or Starship captain with 19 years of Imperial Navy experience.)

Lore Stubs

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The whole point of this system is to quickly introduce a location, unit or faction. This allows you to quickly create a reference item for the lore. We will work on a way to organize all this as we move along, but please add this to your character stubs.

Name:
Type: (Location, Company, military formation, etc)
Faction/Unit: (ex. Rebel Alliance, Empire, Corporate)
Synopsis of Role: (One sentence, keep it moving. Ex. Rebel base in the asteroid belt or Imperial Star Destroyer serving as fleet flagship.)

Star Wars - Liberators

_{The Rebellion doesn’t look so glamorous from the mud-side…}

TL;DR Summary

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• Discord Chat for the RP. - to plot, collaborate and otherwise make things interesting.
• "Jump In" really does mean, "Jump In." I want only a couple things over in character sheets - a name, a faction (empire, rebel, smugglers, etc) a location (rebel HQ, Lorya, the hinterlands of Uslam, etc) and maybe a one sentence summary of the character. Yeah, because we need to be writing posts, not character sheets, and this way we can quickly -add- essential characters.
• 0BBY (Before Battle of Yavin, or that is to say -- Episode IV)
• Rebellion Era - Far from Yavin, far from Scarif.
• This is an RP scenario about a battle in an urban area, similar to the Warsaw Uprising, the Battle of Arnhem, the Battle of Bastogne or the Battle of Hue City. Dug in defenders determined to fight against a much more powerful force. So the scope is anything from the individual character to the larger look at logistics and strategy. The Rebel forces are hanging on and praying for reinforcement and resupply while they get chewed up by more powerful formations.
• Uslam is an Outer Rim system with a frontier economy of raw material processing and shipping of all sorts. It is an economically important system, but of little symbolic value - so no Death Star. While the Empire values the Core and keeps them complacent, the Outer Rim has felt the lash of the Empire far more strongly. Uslam, for a variety of reasons, balked at the yoke of the Empire and decided that the time was right to rise up. Unfortunately, the Uslam Liberators, their local resistance forces, are extremely outnumbered.
• The Uslam Liberators are part of the Rebel forces deployed to repel the Imperial Forces sent to quash the planet's uprising. The 2nd Uslam Liberators are specifically tasked to defend Lorya, the capital city of Uslam. They are hoping that the Rebellion can send resources and assistance, but are not sure if that will actually happen. There are a number of support units in the area as well.
• The characters are the various factions involved in this battle. Most of the confrontation is between the Uslam Liberators, who are sector forces raised by the Uslam rebels, and the Imperial 65th Assault Fleet, relieving Imperial forces on planet that have been engaged in combat for weeks against the Liberators. Other forces, such as Starfighter Command and the Rebel fleet are also a part of this, so we can take characters of that nature as well.
• This is an RP about a specific battle in Star Wars. It's not the heroes of the canon zipping around jauntily and evading death. It's more about the people willing to take a pasting for their beliefs.
• Specifically, no Jedi/Sith, no Mandalorians, no Human Replicant Droids.
• The characters' decisions will affect the outcome.
• Collaborative GMing; while the outcome is generally determined, the larger question is 'will some of these characters manage to escape? How will the fight proceed?'
• Multiple characters allowed

In Character Info

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The Republic has fallen and the Empire has risen in its place, having undermined and manipulated its way into power -- what seemed rational and logical turned out to be a manipulation. The Jedi are gone, the law no longer protects and the military no longer defends. The Empire has turned everything into an instrument of oppression under the New Order.

Still, there has always been resistance, even through the dark times. The young take up the fight against the tyranny, filling the ranks of the opposition to the Empire with a generation that does not justify the Empire by claiming that the Republic was more corrupt, worse and so forth. Some are idealists, others have their backs to the wall. The Empire creates its enemies -- the harder it squeezes, the more people consider banding together against the Empire. And now the Empire's enemy has a name.

The nascent Rebel Alliance is generally unable to mount more than harassing attacks against the much larger Galactic Empire, but it has the advantage of surprise -- the Empire has to defend the entire Empire, whereas the Rebels can disperse their forces and often can strike where they care to, though if they are caught in one place too long, they are crushed. It has to, by necessity, wage a grim and dangerous guerrilla war in the shadow of the Empire's might, wagering their lives and freedom for small victories in a long, long war that has anything but a certain outcome.

Despite the strategy of "Do not get stuck in" the Outer Rim planet Uslam is rising up against the Empire. They know the odds are against, and the Rebel Alliance is not sure if they can or cannot send supplies. Nonetheless, other Outer Rim denizens, having felt the lash of the Empire the hardest, are flocking to Uslam with the intention of making a stand. The Liberator regiments are trying to find the equipment and organize as quickly as possible to turn their capital metropolis, Lorya, into a fortress to repel the Empire's might. And while the Empire might like to destroy Lorya from orbit, it's extremely expensive to do so and lose a planet that is too economically important. So they are investing in the ground troops necessary to take it back, though no one is sure how many 'white jobs' are going to buy it in the process. That doesn't mean the Empire is going to be soft. They have walkers, they have the fire support, they have the equipment.

Even in the face of that, there are people who are ready to fight, knowing that it might be the last fight they fight.

Out of Character Info

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This RP will center around a specific battle during the Rebellion and I am willing to consider characters in any role; infantry on the line, command, communications, starfighter support, the Alliance Navy, and so forth. The scenario is that the rebel forces are facing a nearly insurmountable opposition and they are going to fight like lions. The outcome is probably a Rebel loss, but the question is whether or not the Empire will have a complete victory or will they be bled dry and rue the day they ever landed on Uslam. Will the Alliance come through with the support or will they cold-bloodedly cut their losses and live with it for the rest of their lives?

So depending on your character(s), the perspective could be Rebel Command, scrambling to figure out a way to slip the Imperial Navy's cordon of the planet, from the command center in Uslam, watching as icons representing people disappear on the screen as the Empire advances block by block, or from the perspective of the Rebel trooper, fighting for yards in a brutal urban firefight where everything they can think of is put to use against a better supplied and supported Empire.

So many RP's are about "WIN TEH GAEM!" but this is an RP about a battle where you're going to lose but the choice is how you lose it.

Pacing-wise, let's aim for a couple paragraphs a go, keep it moving. Also, this RP will start fairly quickly, so there will not be a weeks long screening process once in OOC.

Oh, and character sheets...we aren't bothering with the traditional ones. It's set to 'Jump In' but I really just want a couple of items of information - name, faction, location. We're in advanced and people are expected to work toward a good story, and don't need to be bogged down with unnecessary lore-writing. However, if one wishes to add more detail, that is their call.