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Vengeance of the State – Introduction

Published on 09. Nov, 2009 ... written by Jaret Kosht, Tags: Articles, Fan Fiction

Picture credit: Wotlankor

He slowly made his way to the bar, brushing past a small group of chatting pod-pilots. With a hand that trembled with experiences that threatened to overwhelm his senses, he motioned to the dour faced bartender for a drink. With a face that’s had seen too many tragic experiences for one so young, he ordered a strong Intaki rum, with brown sugar and hot water.

Jaret Kosh’t scanned the room around him as he waited for his drink, he noticed in the corner of the room a new holo-reel showcasing the grand military parade that circled the planet of Caldari Prime. He listened as the newscaster babbled some nonsense about this being the day being the third anniversary of the liberation of Caldari Prime. He listened for some time as the newscaster continued to list the ‘technical’ malfunctions that shut down the Gallente orbital planetary defense system.

I guess that’s what they call it now, Jaret thought as he accepted he drink from the bartender

As Jaret stared at the golden liquid that was in glass, his mind went back three years back in time and space, back from the dark bar on some dingy station low-sec space to the forests of Caldari Prime.

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Three Years Earlier

Within his camo suit, Captain Jaret Kosh’t, of the Pathfinder Legion of the Caldari State Marines, slowly made himself more comfortable. He had positioned his company of elite Pathfinders throughout this forest on Caldari Prime. In the weeks before they had quietly infiltrated the planet, usually under the guise of being students, business executive or in some cases Scope News reporters. When they arrived on planet, they would usually link up with one of the Caldari Provists that were sprinkled throughout the populace.

Many members of the Caldari Navy had an opinion on the Heth’s provists. To some they were merely undisciplined thugs or maniacs, capable of doing more harm then good to the State. To others they were patriots, who were willing to do anything for the State. Jaret, in line with that of the military leadership, viewed these provists as nuisance, since they were more than likely to screw up a mission for some misplaced act of patriotism.

In the days and weeks since Tibus Heth’s ascension to power, these Provists now became commonplace. They now sprung in positions of leadership or power. They sprung up in the most unlikely of places as well, with the rank and file of office workers, factory workers and the Navy.

Caldari Prime soon became a focus of Heth’s efforts. Lost to the Gallenete Federation during the Freedom Wars, it now was a vassal of the Federation. Positioned behind the Tripwire sensor system, that protected the Federation from any aggressive moves, the Navy had put aside any dreams of liberating the planet. With Heth in power now, that all changed. Soon rumors circulated among the military leadership that there was a way to disable the Tripwire system. However that was not why the Pathfinders were on Caldari Prime.

What concerned the Navy’s leadership even more, was the fact of the orbital canons, which circled Caldari Prine. While, usually, human hands would control these orbital canons, however the Gallente decided on a different approach. The Gallente’s advanced knowledge with regards to drone technology made these canons were more precise, more accurate than anything a human being could hope for. Hence the Gallente had decided to control all the orbital canons via a control centre that was located in an innocuous forest on Caldari Prime.

The Gallente were so confident in their system that they had decided to move a majority of their fleet from the orbit of the planet. They had good reason to. Capable of launching a variety of ordinance, that included bombs, railgun rounds and cruise missiles, the orbital canons in a matter of minutes would shred any hostile fleet to bits. Many a Caldari Admiral had spent sleepless nights worried about the presence of these orbital canons.

These canons were controlled through a drone control system, located in a formidable control centre. Hidden in a remote forest on Caldari Prime, the fortress was defended by crack Gallente Defense Force Kommandoes guarding it whom were backed up with battlefield MTACs. What made it even more difficult was the fact that there was an additional garrison at edge of the forest, no doubt filled with even more Gallente soldiers and armor.

While it was largely intended that the hidden fortress was to remain from prying eyes, the Caldari Navy had found it. By using data collected from capsuleers who had made cargo runs to the planet, they had found that a significant amount of plasma gel was earmarked for a small resort.

What made it even more interesting was the fact that the resort, had been shut down for past three years. Knowing the Gallente, a pleasure resort shut down for more than a week was very odd. What made it even more interesting that the was that thermal scans later sureptiously conducted by contracted capsuleers, revealed that a portion of the resort was far cooler than the other areas, including the forest.

This could only mean, that there was something more to the resort than what meets the eye. Hence why a company of Pathfinders was hidden in the forests surrounding the ‘resort’.
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The Pathfinders, represented the finest fighting force available to the Caldari State. They were trained to operate with a variety of tactics that included jungle warfare, zero g combat and covert operations. They were harbingers of death and destruction to the State’s enemies, be they Gallente spies or Minmatar terrorists. They were the bane of the Guristas, the terror of the Sashas and the nightmare of the Serpentis. They were the wrath of the State, the guardians of the Caldari and the sharp tip of the Caldari State Marines.

However what made the Pathfinders truly elite, was the pool of knowledge they had their disposal. Many Pathfinders had graduated from some of the finest Universities in the State, only to turn their back on a corporate career and join the Caldari State Marines. If they passed the requisites and the grueling training, they were then accepted into the Pathfinder Legion. Hence each Pathfinder not only knew how to effectively create mayhem and destruction, but potentially had knowledge on other matters such as accounting or engineering.

Jaret Kosh’t, as a Pathfinder, wielded some of the finest equipment the State could afford to provide his men. The Pathfinders received training and equipment from all the mega corporations that made up the Caldari State. Some of them wielded the MAR (Medium Assault Rifle), complete with optics, manufactured by the Ishukone Corporation. Others wielded the LDR (Long Distance Railgun), a sniper’s rifle, which shot rounds of dense, magnetically charged permasteel. Every one of them, carried knives that were forged with cold Caldari steel. The Lai Dai Corporation manufactured their armored camo suits, which now reflected the environment surrounding them. They all had received training from the finest instructors within all the mega-corporation’s security forces.

For the past two weeks they had quietly observed their target, a large sprawling resort set close to the forest. They watched as the supposed ‘construction’ crews, which were oddly made up of military age men and women, entered and left the facility. The previous years of peace had made the Gallente forget how to properly hide a military facility.

However tonight would be different. According to his Provist contact, the Navy planned to strike in the early hours of the morning, in order to minimize civilian, primarily Caldari, casualties. Hence they had only that night, to secure the command centre and hold it before reinforcement would arrive. Jaret, suffered no illusions if they should fail.

Over two and half kilometers away from the facility, Jaret and his partner Prashesh, lined up their targets. The plan was that the Pathfinders, would insert into the facility, by moving through the nearby forest. While undoubtedly there would be sensors system hidden in the forest, the Provists had suggested a radical plan to counter the sensors. They would force the nearby herd of Striped Buffalo to stampede.

Weighing in at about a ton and with a height of five meters and a length of four meters, the striped buffalo were not to be trifled with. In fact when the Provists had suggested the plan, Jaret almost laughed it off. But the more he discussed it with his comrades, the more it made sense. If they did manage to force the herd to stampede, it would mean that the sensor operators would be overloaded with a barrage of sensory information, thus giving cover for his Pathfinders to infiltrate the facility.

Hence, this was the reason why Jaret Kosh’t ordered his best sniper Prashesh Kobai to aim the finest piece of military equipment, that there was, at the head of a dumb buffalo. The digital scope fed the sniper information regarding wind, elevation, temperature and angle. Despite all the technology, it still came down to the skill of the operator to aim and pull the trigger.

Thus the opening shots of the Battle of Caldari Prime, were fired from by a Pathfinder at the head of a buffalo.