The Storm

The Storm is the fifth campaign mission in DICE's Star Wars Battlefront II.

Overview
Inferno Squad has been given instructions to extract Protectorate Gleb, an official on the planet of Vardos, Iden Versio's homeworld. Gleb is an Imperial instructor, teaching military tactics to soldiers the likes of Iden Versio and Agent Hask. Commander Versio is yet unaware of the connection between Gleb and Operation Cinder, but trusts her father to know what he is doing and decides to leave it at that.

After making the jump to Vardos, Versio, Hask, and Meeko notice the Dauntless is also in orbit, along with the satellites protected by Inferno Squad in a previous mission. Hask tells Iden that Moff Raythe had mentioned the satellites were needed for Operation Cinder but wouldn't say who the target was. It suddenly dawns on Iden that her father intends to point them directly at Vardos, the very planet she grew up on.

She takes a TIE fighter and flies to the Dauntless and confronts her father. When she demands answers, he responds by having the satellites fire on the planet, then tells her in an uncompromising voice to retract Protectorate Gleb. Frustrated and angry, Iden storms off, promoting the Admiral to ask a subordinate to connect him to Agent Hask.

On the surface of Vardos, Inferno Squad finds only chaos as hundreds of civilians are either hurt or detain. While Iden and Del show compassion and anger, it becomes much more apparent that Hask shares the ideals of Admiral Versio. They find an unappreciative and obstinate Gleb waiting for them in the Future Leaders School building. She demands immediate extraction. As Gleb heads for the door, the ceiling crumbles, injuring a civilian. When Iden helps him and offeres to help get him out, Agent Hask protests. When Del agrees with Iden, Hask calls them both traitors points a weapon at Agent Meeko. Iden shoots Hask in the leg and escapes with Meeko. Hask notifies the Admiral who sentences the traitors to death.

Every Imperial armed soldier has been notified of the defection and are on the lookout for Versio and Meeko. They fight their way through ground troops and walkers until they finally reach the Kestro Defense Center. Here they hijack an AT-AT Walker and use it to destroy the AA Cannons. Their plan is to evacuate civilians using the Corvus, then get out of Imperial space.

A severe lighting storm has been caused by the satellite damage to the planet and now the storm is causing electrical damage to the Corvus. Commander Versio and Agent Meeko must hold off Imperial forces while civilians board the Corvus and it's crew attempts to repair the damage. This takes quite a while but eventually the Corvus is able to take off, with everyone relevant aboard. The Corvus flies past the still-firing sataliites, past the Dauntless and into hyperspace. Agent Hask has returned to Admiral Versio with Gleb. An appreciative Admiral promotes Hask to Commander.

The Corvus has escaped to the Outer Rim where we find Iden and Del, discussing what comes next.

Objectives

 * Reach the Archive
 * Escape the Archive Couryard
 * Reach Kestro Defense Center
 * Hijack the AT-AT Walker
 * Destroy the AA Cannons
 * Destroy the AA Targeting Array
 * Reach the Corvus
 * Defend the Corvus
 * Board the Corvus

Walkthrough
After a long cutscene, Inferno Squad lands on Vardos. Players will be able to move Iden toward the school, but there is no combat at this point. Once at the school, a new cutscene will begin. This is a turning point for Iden Versio and Del Meeko as they decide that what the Empire is doing is wrong. Hask, wanting nothing to do with their decision, informs the Admiral and extracts Protectorate Gleb as ordered. A death order is placed on Iden and Del and they have no choice but to attempt to flee the planet and get back to the Corvus, taking as many refugees as possible.

Iden suggests they sneak past Stormtroopers between the school and the end of the courtyard. Trooper are spread out, with two near the pathway, so it's not likely the duo can get past them unnoticed. Players will need to fight their way through. Inside the next building is a supply crate that will allow a loadout switch. Use the ID10 Seeker Droid to open it. New abilities will be added including Bodyguard and Survivalist. Complete the loadout and move on. The next area is more open and the crossfire can get intense if players are not careful.

Wait for the large group of Troopers to pass, then scan for others. You should be able to get through the first open area unnoticed. Head for the Defense Center. Further down before a set of stairs is a Barrage (Grenade) weapon and another supply crate. Adjust loadout here if needed.

(In any part of this mission until here onwards can you unlock an achievement. The best portion to earn this is the open area with the group of troopers. Sneak and use your melee to kill a trooper using Iden's melee takedown. However, you need to kill a scout trooper (The ones with snipers). Doing this to any other trooper will not count towards this achievement. Once you do that you have earned the "Master of Deception" achievement.)

The distance to the Defense center is multi-level and many of the barriers do not offer full protection. The lower walkways and paths seem to be less guarded than the upper sections. Once Iden arrives at the Defense Center, she will mention hijacking the AT-AT (again) and using it to take out the targeting dishes, taking out every AA in the district. Once inside the walker, use it's weaponry to take out the AA cannons. Players will also need to destroy the AT-ST's and an incoming TIE fighter. Take out the targeting dish, additional ST's and a nearby AT walker, then blast a hole through the wall ahead.

The storm caused by the satellites will smash the AT-AT, Iden and Del will need to escape through the wall. The same storm is also causing electrical problems with the Corvus and it is temporarily grounded. Defend the ship while the crew re-enables the engines. This will take a while so continue clearing out the immediate area until the next (and final) cutscene starts.