“Thank God Kyvon’s been so heavy handed. No, no, I don’t mean its been good that people have been kidnapped. You know I don’t mean that! … No, I don’t! … No … Whatever! Anyhow, Kyvon’s always been disdainful of non-nobles. Him kidnapping Ariend critics was the last straw for a number of wealthy commoners, some of whom have joined me. Many of those who joined me have donated to the Legion. And thank God for that. I’m paying out at least 70+ million script. That’s a fortune! I hope it pays off in the end.”
- Duke Shasta Ardeind
05 February 2021
Ariend Arms arms factory in Jakanerva
“Man! This is boring! Why the hell are we the guys out here?” a burly Amarr man asked. “Why the ■■■■ we gotta babysit? Menani’s boys are out making cash, and we’re stuck here!”
“Shut the ■■■■ up! You hear me?! If Williano hears you complaining, you’ll be gone! Gone!” a short, stocky Brutor said, punching his comrade. “Just shut up! You hear - .” Suddenly, the klaxons in the facility began wailing.
“ALERT! ALERT! Report to battle stations! Report to battle stations!” a voice blared over the loudspeakers.
“What the - ? I swear, if Williano decided to have another ■■■■■■■ drill, - ,” the Amarr began as the two guards began suiting up.
“Shut up, Vikkin!” the Brutor replied as the two men grabbed their rifles and ran out the door.
Meanwhile, the Legion dropships had just entered warp.
“Status, Praetor?” Duke Shasta asked over a broadcast channel.
“We’ve just entered warp, milord,” Darim replied. “The Gurista report that the cruisers and ⅔ of the frigates in the defense fleet have been neutralized, and the remainder are busy 20km away from the facility.”
“Good, good! Stay safe out there, boys! And hit them hard!” Shasta said before closing the channel.
“Alright, boys! You heard the boss! Hit them where it counts! Remember, these are OUR people! We’re fighting for them! Got it?” the company commander shouted as Najir put his helmet back on. The troopers cheered. “Alright, boys! We’re thirty seconds out! Brace!”
The dropships came out of warp 5 km from the arms facility. 15 km away, the Ariend Arms defense fleet was engaged in a fight for their lives with a vastly superior Gurista fleet. Wreckage from the destroyed Ariend Arms warships littered the space around the facility.
“Brace for impact!” the pilot of one dropship shouted as he rammed his craft into the arms factory. As the vessel bounced off of the structure, his crew deployed grapplers to grapple the structure and bring the ship alongside.
“Ready!” the point man shouted as the two sappers on board the dropship attached explosives to the hull of the structure.
“Go! Go! Go!” a sergeant shouted as the sappers detonated the explosives, blowing a section of hull in and allowing the Legionnaires to swarm through the opening.
The troopers raced forward, firing blasts at the few defenders crouching in the hallway. One trooper shot a guard standing next to a doorway and raced over.
“Door! Give me two! Give me two!”
“Two!” a second man shouted as he ran over to the door. “Go!”
“Right side clear!”
“Left side clear!”
“Let’s go!”
Firefights erupted throughout the factory as Legionnaires carved their way through the opposition. Two squads, led by Praetor Darim, raced down a hallway that, according to their intel, led straight to the holding cells… They turned a corner, and discovered a group of Ariend Arms guardsmen standing there. It was hard to find out who was more surprised as the two groups of belligerents began spraying fire.
“Clear!”
“Cease fire! Cease fire!” Najir ordered, holding up a fist. He surveyed the scene. All the guardsmen were lying on the black tile floor with massive blast wounds in them. “Come on. They’re all dead. Let’s go!” They continued down the hallway before finding a large, reinforced door.
“Ready!” the point man shouted as the Legionnaires stacked up. A sapper began carefully attaching explosives to the door.
“Ready!” the sapper added as he finished attaching the small breaching charge and jogged back to his spot in the stack.
“Cover!” Darim shouted as he made a slashing motion with his hand. The sapper hit the trigger as the Legionnaires turned their heads away from the door. “Go!”
The point man turned and dashed into the room to find an elderly woman chained to the floor.
“Ma’am! Are you alright?” the point man said, crouching next to her. “One of the hostages is here! We need a medic!”
Praetor Darim surveyed the hallway and noticed even more reinforced doors. “Alright boys! I think this is the detention facility. Start blowing the doors in! Get the hostages out! We’ll have medics standing by outside!”
The troopers nodded and began moving off. Suddenly, their radios crackled. “All units! All units! The arms facility is secure! The arms facility is secure!”
“Excellent,” Praetor Darim radioed. “Start searching the facility!”
About forty minutes later, the Legionnaires had concluded their search, and given the all clear for Duke Shasta and the I-team to land. Praetor Darim met the team in the cargo hold.
“Well, the hostages are secure,” the praetor began. “The Legionnaires found a ton of contraband - mostly weapons and drugs. We’ve also got some prisoners.”
“How many?” Agent Alinez asked.
“Twenty five injured. Thirty seven unwounded. And four warclones,” the praetor answered. “Of the regulars, twenty one of the injured and twenty nine of the unwounded volunteered to join us. The others, well, when we made the offer, they rejected it using some of the most foul language I’ve EVER heard!”
“Did you run them for warrants?” Agent Jankov asked.
“Yes. Two of the injured who joined us have warrants from CONCORD, and three of the unwounded who refused to join us are wanted by Amarr Customs. Two more unwounded non-joiners are wanted by Amarr Customs,” the praetor answered.
“Alright. Put them on a separate transport. Agent Jankov, Agent Vitten, you’ll be in charge of the extradition,” Shasta ordered. “Agent Alinez, go direct the Legionnaires to start loading their prisoners onto the prisoner transport. Praetor, what contraband was found?”
“Weapons - mostly Ariend Arms produced, and drugs - mostly Blue Pill and Drop.”
“Seize some of the narcotics for forensics to check out, and then load the others onto the transports. We’ll let the Guristas divide them up back in Itamo.”
“Yes, sir!”
“And the hostages are being loaded onto the transports now?” After receiving a nod, Shasta continued, “Excellent. I want to tour the facility. Have the Legionnaires start pulling out though. We leave in twenty minutes. In twenty five, we’ll send an anonymous message about the facility to Caldari Customs. Roberts, start sifting through the facility. Have forensics unload the equipment.” Intelligence Agent Olivia Roberts nodded and ran over to direct the forensic techs. Shasta and the rest of his team continued forward into the facility.