Stenn examines the image for a moment, his eyes briefling illuminated from within. Nodding, he turns back to his guests. "We'll get him. The droids have been updated with this likeness." He nods at them, and gestures to the command deck. "Well, lets get this show on the road." he says as Boulogne comes into view.
"Zero? You know what to do." There was no need for elaboration.
Zero didn't give an answer, but simply nodded back, before turning around and rushing towards the door. Listening, it was possible to hear him radio in with the other Brigands, as he left the bridge.
"Everyone, prepare to fight." Simple, and sweet.
Within mere moments the Forlorn craft scrambled, flying in V-formations out of the hanger taking point around the Haven. Zero shortly followed, rendezvousing outside with the other Brigand attack wings that were dragged along with the Haven. As they all flew out, the few Brigand freighters docked with the Haven, keeping themselves safe until the opportune moment.
Before them was the base, only a few clicks out, and now most certainly alerted to their presence. The time to strike was nigh and there was one last step. Everyone checked in with their various squads, make sure all were accounted for and the siege could commence.
"All squads checked in and ready. Operation is a go."
The scanners lit up on both Boulogne and the Haven as the Brigand and Forlorn ships charged forwards. Boulogne had begun unloading fighters at an alarming rate, but the station seemed almost devoid of any heavy bombers, which made the Haven nice and secure.
Within seconds the skies over Le Crotoy were set ablaze. Ships exploded left, right, and centre as the two sides clashed. The Boulogne fighters were large in number but were countered by the Forlorn skill and the Marne masses. With the main bulk of the fighters focused on the hostile swarm, the Marne Jaguars lined up their run.
The station control has warning lights appearing across the board as 14 separate torpedoes locked on in a single run. As each one pounded the hull between the Ecommoy - Boulogne connection the entire superstructure rattled and shook. With the amount of pressure being applied, there was no way the defenders would be able to stop the investible; though many would die trying.
After several minutes, the defence force became worn down and withered. They were fighting a losing battle right from the start. With the situation looking even more favourable, the Haven closed the distance, locking on to it's target.
"Alright men, let her rip. All hands, fire at will! I repeat, all hands, fire at will!" Commander Stenn ordered the Haven with a true sense of authority.
After a brief moment of silence and stillness, the ship shuddered at its own power. The guns roared to life as they began pounding the station's structural weakness. Combined with the bombers and the Haven the connector's hull slowly ripped apart, revealing a gaping hole at the top of the station.
Within seconds the air flooded from the interior before the emergency cut off sealed the gap. It didn't make a difference. There was an entry point, which meant the docking ports could be overridden from the inside. With the Haven's job done, and the fighter dead or scattered, the path forward had been carved and cleared.
The freighters of Brigands and droids unloaded from the bays of the Haven heading for the station. The Brigands went to the docking bay waiting for entry, while the droids headed for the opening in the station. After a few moments, the reinforced doors were spliced open by a monstrous army of robots. The robots systematically purged those near opening with nightmarish precision.
Once the area was clear the bots vented the upper regions of the air, they didn't need it, and forcibly opened the docking bays, granted the Marne Brigands access. With the gateway open, the forces flooded in. The main landing pad was where most of the Brigands were congregating. One side behind them opened up and with it, the Robots poured in, all the while pods were shot in from the docking bays above, unloading Brigands en masse.
The lack of cover made things difficult, the Boulogne Smugglers were nested in deep, preparing for the worst. They still outnumbered the invading forces, which meant slow progression. Coupled with the automated turrets that lined the walls behind the defenders, the entire room became divided. Robots and Marne on one side, Boulogne defenders on the other.
It wasn't until there was an 'unexpected communication' that the situation took a drastic turn. Zero's communicator started beeping mid-firefight. Keeping his head down while hurling bolts of plasma flew past, he opened it to hear it's message.
"Les Récolteurs Sanguins stand ready to fight. Let us take over Boulogne."
Moments later, there was a hellish fire spreading through the rear of Boulogne encampment. Les Récolteurs Sanguins set off some sort of incendiary device that scorched a large portion of the defenses placed by the Boulogne Smugglers.
"To all Marne fighters I suggest you prepare to push." 'Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.' The sound of the Sanguins pushing through the doors rattled through the docking bay.
Raphael Rousselle, did not waste anytime and him and his gang stormed the room completly flanking the Smugglers and leaving them totally helpless. It became a blood bath and slaughter. Between the pushing assault droids, Marne Brigands, and Les Récolteurs Sanguins, the Boulogne Smugglers were totally overun.
Within those few moments, the situation has been turned on its head, with only a few stragglers remaining. Aboard the bridge of the Haven, Rosseau and Stenn exchanged a few words.
"Were you expecting that to happen?" Stenn inquired.
"Not at all. I am very happy that it did though, going to save me a lot of trouble in the not too distant future."
Zero approached Raphael, a smirk placed wide across his face.
"Frère! A damn fine performance there - saved us a lot of trouble. I am sure Rousseau will have some sort of reward for you after this, in fact, I'm certain." After finishing his praise, Zero radioed into Rousseau and Stenn. "The main hanger has been secured, we're having the robots lock down the station as we speak. All that's left is to find the one we came for. Will you to be joining us?"
"Good question. I know I am heading down, are you joining us?" Rosseau asked, looking up at Stenn.
Rousseau gestured the remaining Brigand aside of him to follow and with Stenn he turned towards the exit of the Bridge to proceed his way down to the hanger.
While they made their way, Zero, the Marne Brigands, Les Récolteurs Sanguins, and Forlorn combat droids started cleaning house. Now that the main hanger had been secured, station wide access was now available to the Brigand fighters. The docking ports were opened and access to the various security points around the station was granted. This allowed the droids and Brigands to simply move from room to room, from corridor to corridor. The droids began autonomously moving around the station to clear up, removing any that showed hostile intent, but leaving any others to their business.
All the while the humans began shifting bodies and putting out fires.
After several minutes, Stenn and Rousseau were ferried onto the deck of the hanger. The smell from the charred corpses was not a welcome addition, but time will sort out Boulogne. Looking around at the destruction, Rousseau idly commented.
"Well, good to see we got some results. But, that smell..."
"That's a pretty foul scent, that's for sure."
Zero and Raphael approached the two, stopping their discussion about god knows what. As they walked over Zero carried an immensely smug look, clearly rather proud of his achievement here.
"Here is the man of the hour, saved us a lot of bother I'd say!" Zero was really praising this, before today, unknown individual.
"Most of the defenders are dead now, and whats left will surrender to us in no time at all. What say we take the elevator up to the Annex and finish off the Maxaime fellow? I've wanted to punch his face in for long enough, and I'm sure that you've come here with similar plans, non?" Raphael sounded rather pleased and assuming, perhaps he was planning something himself?
"I'm here to clear up a debt, and a contract as it were, but there is also a hint of revenge in here as well." Stenn answered, his accent greatly contrasting with the strong Gallic accents surrounding him.
"Well, oui. Anyway." Rousseau quickly butted in. "You're right in that we came here with a mission, and it's high time that mister Moreau paid for trying to play us."
With that said, the group, along with a small accompaniment of Brigands and droids, headed for the main elevator up to the Annex. Guns were loaded, lasers were charged, grenades were ready. The Ratpack's weapons were indeed proving to be of use, and a separate thank you was due for Jimmy. All this prep work was building towards this strike, and Rousseau still didn't have an exact idea of how he'd even punish him. However, he did know he wanted him to suffer.
They took the elevator up. Floor after floor. Up and up. Before a very delightful ding was made, and the doors were open.
Moreau was in a rather large office on the upper Annex. That floor was notably less crowded than most of the other ones on the station. It was mostly used to store cargo brought in from Orleanais, so it didn't see much movement except whenever it was being moved to and from the transports.
He was talking with three smugglers, who he would often hire to go to Malta and bring cardamine into Gallia, when the station alarms started ringing due to the impending fleet that had them outnumbered. Maxime used his PDA to tell one of his associates to get some of their mercenaries to the office, alongside whatever weapons they could get in case the attackers entered the station, and to make sure there were as many ships fending off the hostile vessels as they could. He never liked being around large conflicts, so part of him wanted to go to his ship and leave the base until it was over, but since the invading seemed too large, he didn't want to risk leaving. Shortly after, the room began to shake as a result of the ongoing attack on the connection to Ecommoy.
After a while, the shaking cessed and instead gunfire echoed through the station as the defenders clashed against the aggressors. Most of the force was in the main hanger, defending the station to the last man, yet a small garrison, of no more than ten, set up defenses around Moreau - shielding him in his office. He didn't really feel like dwelling on why the other Brigands were sieging the fortress that he'd spent his life setting up, so he did what any sane man would do - and hoped. Looking around the room at his guards that had their eyes trained on the door, he realized how little hope there was. These men were hardly a force to be reckoned with and would most likely act as nothing more than meat shields. They could hear the elevator climbing up, and all that sat between them was a lonely blast door.
This was it. Right the elevator opened, a few words could be heard.
Two of the Brigand goons crept out of the elevator to the double doors before them. Slowly and silently the began planting breach charges, they looked innocent enough and it would be hard to tell their purpose at a glance. They just looked like a block of white plastic, but with explosives inside.
Zero looked up at Rousseau, who was quite a bit taller than he, and gave him a smirk. "Here. Been too long since I've seen you lay fingers on a rifle, any longer and I'll get worried you're going soft." He held up a laser rifle with the hilt end aimed at Rousseau. Zero was full of cheek with his comments, yet he knew he'd get away with it given the current situation.
Stenn, looking at the pair, and more specifically Zero acting childishly, and gave nothing more than a grin. He pulled up his sidearm and readied himself, his back against the wall ready for the slaughter to begin. Stenn, compared to all the Brigands around him, came across as far more cold and calculating - a true strategician.
Rousseau joined Stenn on one side of the wall while Zero, Raphael, and the remaining Brigands dispersed to either side of the doors, and some being stupid and failing to take any resemblance of cover. The important characters were smart enough to shield themselves at least. Stenn and Rousseau on one side, Zero and Raphael on the other. Everyone charged their rifles and sidearms.
Zero was equipped with one of the APM Rifles given by Jimmy while Rousseau wielded it's Order counterpart. Ironically, most of the equipment used on this operation was supplied by either the Rat Pack or the Forlorn Hope, friends in high places can achieve anything it seems. The two nameless Brigands setting the charges backed away from the doors and gave a swift nod at Zero, who in turn silently signalled to each of the Brigands - giving them their orders.
Shortly after, Zero pulled out a little switch, black with flickable button. The moment the switch was activated the breach charges set alight, cutting straight through the metal before promptly exploding the doors straight off their frames and sending debris flying in all possible directions. In a matter of seconds lasers started beaming and plasma started hurling. Yelling on both sides. It was horrible.
Zero and Rousseau were cautious and took aim before firing while Raphael, in contrast, was spraying his bolts all over the room while laughing like a lunatic. A fun person it seems. While there were definitively more losses on the aggressors side, before long most of the Boulogne defenders lay dead on floor, filled with holes and burn marks. Some of the unlucky few were melted and disfigured by the plasma bolts that had struck them, plasma is no way to die.
"Someone go and grab that dégénéré connasse!" Rousseau voice was filled with irritation and anger.
It didn't take long for one of the Brigands to scurry forwards into the room filled with lifeless corpses, almost crouch running as he did. Looking around the room, there was one man left it seemed. Slumped down in the corner, hand covering a gaping wound - not that it mattered.
"Is this him?" The young pirate called out, as the others slowly filtered in.
Zero got up close, peering in the guy's face. He forcibly lifted up his head that was constantly looking down at the floor. "Oui, thats him." Moreau was covered in blood and on the verge of bleeding out it seemed. It was going to be over quickly.
"Pathetic."
Rousseau looked slightly angry, almost as if he'd been robbed of the satisfaction of killing him slow and painfully - or rather slower, and more painfully. Without so much as a second thought he shot the dying man straight through the head, splattering the wall with his remains.
"We're done here." Rousseau was cold. Emotionless. "Zero, work with Raphael and get this placed cleaned up and back up and running. I'm done here. Would you like to depart?" He asked, looking at Stenn.
"Most certainly. We got we came for."
With that, and not another word, the two began to leave, heading for the elevator. Zero, looked somewhat perplexed at what he just saw. He gave a brief glance at Raphael before moving his gaze to the elevator doors that promptly shut.
"Well, I guess we run this place now, Zero. We best get to work and get this place cleaned up." Raphael still hadn't broken his joyful spirit.
"Indeed, lets." Zero never broke eye contact with the elevator while listening or talking to Raphael. Something wasn't right.
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