Chapter 2

[LGN_Antillies]

The foliage was dense, more thick than Ramius had expected. Visibility was null, ferns and thickets constantly swept past his eyes and even an occasional tree that seemed to leap into his view seconds before he walked into it. His gray uniform was probably the dirtiest it had ever been. Splotches of mud, water, and other substances Ramius cared not to identify covered his trousers and tunic. The humidity was horrific, somewhere around eighty-percent. Ramius tugged at his collar with his free hand and stopped for a breather.
It was nearly a day ago since the Chinook had participated in a mass-attack against a pirate outpost, the frigate Tornado and Victory Star Destroyer Striker had also been present. After the station was blown into the smallest universal building block, Line Captain Calder had asked for a ship to investigate a planet nearby that was under suspicion of pirate control. Ramius had quickly volunteered and he was now somewhat regretting that decision.
Orbital scans indicated three areas of intense electromagnetic activity and Ensign Fox and a detachment of eight Stormtroopers had accompanied him down to the planet’s surface nearest to the largest source. Landing a couple of klicks south of their designated target, the group had trudged forward and made remarkable pace. As Ramius climbed over fallen over trees and sloshed through both puddles and rivers, he knew he had gained new appreciation for groundpounders.
Fox tapped Ramius on the back, “Sir, the building is located five-hundred meters through there.” Fox pointed directly in front of the group.
“Very good,” Ramius turned and spotted the Stormtrooper with the orange pauldron. “Sergeant, I need to skirmishers on either flank and a sniper up top.”
“Yes, Sir,” The Sergeant said and gave wordless orders over his helmet COM. Three troopers departed.
Ramius turned back to the edge of the jungle and moved toward it. Peeking out, heavy blaster in hand, he surveyed the small valley.
They were on a ridge some two-hundred meters above the floor of a valley and had an excellent view of the pirate compound and adjoining defenses. Ramius kneeled down and pulled a pair of elctrobinoculars out of his pack. The main pirate facility was fairly large, constructed prefab-like in large square and rectangular sections of durasteel that were turning a brownish-green color as the compound was assimilated into the jungle. There were four turrets; one on each cardinal direction of the compound, a high ten meter chain fence running between them. There was a sole anti-aircraft turret in the middle of the grounds, in between what Ramius perceived as a COM array and barracks.
Ramius zoomed his binoculars in to see several bold infrared figures walking about the complex. “Sergeant, I’m going to need telemetry data.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Ramius pulled his comlink out of his utility belt and opened a secure channel to the Chinook.
Lieutenant Wilson answered: “Wilson here.”
“I’m going to need a trio of dupes pasting a target at-”
The Stormtrooper Sergeant spoke. “Three-three- mark two-Bravo-Charlie-Nine.”
Ramius repeated the coordinates into the comlink.
“Acknowledged, captain. Bombers have launched. ETA: two and a half minuets.”
“Thank you, Lieutenant.”
“Aye, Sir. Wilson out.”
Several heartbeats later the trio of TIE Bombers screamed overhead and launched proton bomb after proton bomb onto the pirate base. The turrets disappeared in flaming explosions and the anti-air turret tried to swivel but, because of the effects of the local weather, failed to confront the bombers in time and was destroyed alongside the COM array.
The compound was in ruins; black, jagged metal rose up toward the sky like angry teeth, smoke billowing around them.
Ramius tucked his comlink away, hefted his pack onto his back, and turned to face the group.
“Alright, let’s move out.”

Score: 2