[O15 – Glom Tho – PK] Operation: Iron Vigil – Pt. 2

The industrial quarter of Glom Tho rarely slept, but tonight the factory district hummed with a different kind of urgency. Inside an abandoned processing warehouse near the freight rails, members of the Kalarba Partisans worked quickly. Crates marked with faded Republic insignia were stacked beside piles of dismantled battle droid components-salvaged processors, arm servos, and power cells stripped from old Clone Wars scrap.

Armed guards protected the entrance nervously. Many carried outdated Clone Wars–era blasters scavenged from black markets and forgotten depots across the sector. Though crude compared to modern Imperial equipment, the weapons were deadly enough in desperate hands.

Above them, a lone sniper patrolled along the warehouse rooftop, scanning the surrounding streets. His rifle rested across a rusted ventilation duct, trained on the road leading into the district. The Partisans knew they were on borrowed time. Their stolen cargo-Republic supply crates and droid parts-needed to be moved before Imperial patrols closed in.

The quiet roar of a repulsor engine broke the tension as a Starhawk speeder bike skidded to a halt near the loading entrance. Its rider, a nervous Togruta who had been monitoring Imperial checkpoints across the city, dismounted quickly and rushed toward the guards.

Her voice carried urgency as she spoke. Imperial forces had left the citadel only minutes earlier; security transports were moving fast through the industrial corridors. Patrol routes had changed. Streets were being sealed. Something was coming.

The partisans cursed under their breath. They had expected a few hours, maybe a full night, to relocate their cargo and disappear into Glom Tho’s undercity. Now they had minutes. The guards tightened the grips on their blasters while the sniper above adjusted his aim, watching the darkened street for the first signs of incoming Imperial troops.

The first shot came from the rooftop.

A sharp crack echoed through the alley as the sniper fired into the approaching formation. One Imperial trooper collapsed instantly, armor sparking as he hit the pavement. The rest of the Protectorate assault team reacted in perfect discipline, diving for cover as blaster fire erupted across the warehouse entrance.

Agent Riktor surged forward at the center of the attack, his infamous skull mask glaring beneath the glow of blaster bolts. Security troopers flanked him on both sides, advancing step by step toward the warehouse doors. Riktor raised his blaster and fired twice in rapid succession, dropping one of the partisan guards before the man could reload.

Behind the lines, the Togruta scrambled for cover, crouching behind her speeder bike as bolts tore through the air. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Rheiker saw an opportunity. Breaking from the formation, he sprinted toward the warehouse wall, hauling himself upward along exposed piping and support beams. Within moments, he reached the roofline, advancing silently toward the sniper’s position.

When the fighting ended, the industrial yard fell silent except for the hum of distant machinery.

Several partisan fighters lay near the warehouse entrance where they had been moved, their outdated Republic weapons gathered into a confiscation pile by Imperial security troops. Two survivors remained-the speeder contact and the rooftop sniper-both bound in restraining cuffs.

Agent Riktor informed them of their fate without ceremony. They would be transferred to the penal labor complexes on the harsh world of Corrdair, where prisoners spent their remaining years mining and constructing Imperial infrastructure under constant supervision.

Nearby, a field medic knelt beside the fallen trooper struck by the sniper’s opening shot. Medical scanners blinked urgently as the medic attempted to stabilize him, but the readings were grim. Even as the warehouse was secured and cargo seized, the cost of the raid lingered heavily among the unit.

The operation brought together a small but decisive group of figures on both sides of the conflict.

Among the Kalarba Partisans were the warehouse insurgent cell members-sympathizers turned fighters-along with their rooftop sniper and the speeder contact who had attempted to warn them of the approaching Imperial raid.

Opposing them were the Protectorate forces of Glom Tho. At the forefront stood Agent Riktor, the skull-masked enforcer whose reputation for relentless counterinsurgency had become legend among insurgent circles. Beside him stood Lieutenant Rheiker, the officer placed in overall command of Operation Iron Vigil and the architect of the assault that dismantled the partisan warehouse.

With the cell destroyed and their supplies confiscated, the industrial sector of Glom Tho returned to uneasy order. For now, the borders-and the factories that sustained them-remained firmly in Imperial hands.