Kyvarr grunts.  "Security is proving to be a problem.  Lot of the prisoners are wanting to visit a little payback on their Imp captors.  Had to break up a mob who were beating an Imperial tech pretty bad.  This could turn bad real quick, especially if the prisoners we brought with us turn on each other.  There's Imps and criminals in that mix too.  If old hatred's flare, my team isn't going to be able to contain it.  We need to move."

"Maybe we should just dump the Imperials down in the camp when we leave.  But I don't want to leave all the guys down there.  Some of 'em are likely bad but some were just driven insane through hunger.  I can't imagine how I'd behave if I was deprived nourishment for months.  No idea how we separate the good from the bad though."

"We can't leave them."  Heigren says in an uncharacteristically flat tone, not looking up from his glass.  It contains something that looks suspiciously like water but is likely some clear spirit, not his usual whisky.  He just stares into it.

"The pain, the suffering.  Nobody deserves it.  If we can't take them with us, we. . .we can't them keep suffering.  We have to end it."
This message was last edited by the player at 04:47, Sat 05 Aug 2017.

Fiarr shook her head.  "We're doing our best to slice into the Imperial information but it's not my specialty.  Really miss not having Ten around.  Thinking I might have to strong arm one of the junior officers.  More likely to get them complying.

As for the Captain I wouldn't worry.  He's well stocked and armed.  I'm sure he'll just situate his walker outside the shield again if he's worried.  One of the issued is his injured.  Shouldn't we be trying to get them up here somehow?  Maybe we shuttle them back to the container, pick up the wounded and abandon the walker somewhere?  From what Seven is saying we won't be able to fit it anyway."

Kira, sitting up the back in silence, listened to the reports of the others. When kyvarr spoke, she simply nodded, knowing full well the difficulty they could face. She speaks up when fiarr finishes.

"If you want to speak to an imperial officer, there may be an opertunity that can help us." She sighs and sits forward and looks around. "There is an officer that is in the brig.....junior, but still an imperial." She looked at Devon with a shrug. "He has asked for an audience with whoever is in charge."

She then smiles at fiarr....the bothan that brought her into the group. "He may have information, or want something, but whatever it is, I'm sure you can turn things to your advantage"

Fiarr raises an eyebrow.  "I had noticed one of the Ensigns was in the brig before we got here.  Maybe he wants to cut a deal.  Figures he's in big trouble with the Imps and running for it might save his hide?"

She looks to Devon.  "You want this one boss, or should I talk to him?"

Zyra had spent the whole time typing into a small computer.  She looked up.

"While you plan how to get us home I've been looking at our logistical issues.  The good news is we have enough food to feed both ourselves and the prisoners in camp for ten days.  It's not long but we'll need to be gone long before then.  Judging by inventory manifests, a supply transport comes at least weekly.  We'll need to work out when that is and be gone before then."

"I've also reviewed staffing.  The good news is that given the large number of techs and soldiers we've liberated from camp, we have enough capable hands to keep this skyhook running with minimal input.  That means everyone can take breaks.  Our only three areas we'll need some supervision is security, as Kyvarr pointed out, operations and medical.  Dohr is the only doctor on board though we've a few med techs who can help him.  We'll need to keep an officer in ops as these are all junior officers or mostly non-comms.  Mark and I ended up here because our new ranks aren't on file."

"I'd also like to go on record as supporting the idea of trying to help the people still on the planet.  Some of them are good people, I've worked with a few.  They've been driven to this though starvation.  I won't pretend there aren't some truly evil types down there, but not everyone who attacked us is the enemy, some need our help."

"If we only need one person to oversee security then I'll take the first shift and coordinate with Kira and the Alpha team soldiers to cover the others.  Dyre can hit the dorms or the medical bays and rest up.  Wherever the Doc thinks he should be.  Kira, after this meeting, you and Alpha team can grab some chow and sack time.  You can relieve me in four hours, no sooner."

Devon massaged his temples for a moment.
What he WANTED to tell the others to do was that everyone should get about three days worth of sleep and several solid meals inside them.  Instead:
"Doc - we're gonna pull out of here as soon as we're able, so make sure your patients are ready to move.  Be ready to go on short notice - we might have to run for it.

Kyvarr - you've taken security.  So keep a lid on things an' especially make sure no-one gets any bright ideas about takin' the shuttle.  We're gonna need that.

Fiarr - you already know what I need.  How long have we got before someone comes knockin' on our door?  Any way we can stall 'em?  Passcodes an' stuff.
Let's you an' me have a talk with that guy in the brig too.  Find out what his deal is, an' what he can do to help.  Maybe he can save us a whole lot of effort."

Devon paused and looked around the room.
"Look, we got a whole lotta problems on our hands here, an' we can't solve all of them.  We're gonna do what we can, but we simply ain't got the time or resources to do everything.

The prisoners down below... I hear what you are sayin' - they're in hell.  But we don't have the room to ship all of them out, an' what else could we do?  Kill 'em all?"
His face twisted.
"That don't sit right with me.  We've already dropped a bunch of food on 'em... that makes their situation somebetter.  I dont see what else we can do."

He sighed and sat back.
"We got any choice but to leave 'em?  This ain't easy.  But we've gotta do what we came here to do.
We prep the shuttle, we start ferryin' people out to the container.  An' we get the hell outta here."

Fiarr nodded.  "Do my best boss, but as I said I'm no slicer.  Hey Five, could you get the young officer in Brig 3 and bring him to the CO's briefing room.  We'll chat to him there."

She turned back to Devon.  "I suggest we take Four with us.  Maybe leave him outside or bring him in with us and have him on comms.  His 'talents' might be of help."

She stands and prepares to head to the briefing when Devon is ready.

Dohr listened with great interest to the discussion between Kira and Fiarr about an imperial wanting to have a chat with the Talon lead. It was always easier to consider the whole of Empire or at least its army as evil, but Dohr knew that was not the case. He’d met a few defectors during his travels. Some people had been forced to work for the imps out of fear or having no other option available. Some had fallen prey to their ingenious marketing strategy and joined up believing they were doing the right thing. Some still considered the rebellious forces around the Galaxy as the evildoers who wanted only to create chaos into the lives of ordinary people. But some… some had seen how the Emperor valued his soldiers, how he threw them into the flames like tiny pieces of coal that served no other purpose than to keep the fire alive… How he burned entire worlds that stood in his way… There had been so many even back on Dorin, who had considered the change brought by Vader’s invasion army a good thing. People who had embraced the new order only to find out all too soon what it really meant for a member of an “alien” species on a world controlled by the Empire...

The Doc sighed quietly to himself. He missed his home world and the old ways. And oh how he missed the peace…

Dohr returned from this thoughts in time to hear the latter part of Zyra’s words and nodded to her. Medical staff. He needed more and fortunately he knew exactly where to get them. The Kel Dor nodded to Devon too. ”Will do.”, but waited until he had finished and Fiarr had said her piece.

”I will make sure the patients are ready, when you say the word. However, to make that happen and to make it safer, I would require the help of doctor Lin-Wan and her team. The best would be to have them all up here, but if a medic is still needed to watch over Sivren’s soldiers, then get me at least the doctor and her nurse.” How he had  forgotten the Cerean doctor in such a short time, was a surprise to Dohr. Too much had happened in such a short while that it had completely slipped out of his memory… Well almost.

”I cannot see how leaving anyone down there in the jungle would be a viable option. I would vote for dividing up the people between the shuttle and the container. If we need to leave the walker behind to save just one person, then we must do so. Could we perhaps hand around weapons to those we know we can trust and have them act as security to make sure none of the prisoners onboard the shuttle can cause problems? I am sure Captain Sivren and his troops can handle the rest of them in the container.

And if we cannot fit everyone onboard the two craft, then let us at least bring the rest to the safety of his station. Naturally we need to make sure they do not alert the imperials in the orbit before we leave.”

It wouldn't be ideal to have dozens of people in the Gamma class shuttle, but anything would be better than leaving them to die in the jungle.

"I have no doubt that collecting the wounded from your landing site will be an issue Dohr."  Zyra offers.  "The shuttle used to visit the camp fairly regularly and often at random times.  The shuttle visited the camp several times today to ferry all of us and nobody has responded.  While we shouldn't push our luck I imagine if someone flew down towards the camp then flex to your landing site and ground level, you could load the rest of your team and your wounded and be back very quickly."

Dohr bowed to Zyra. "Excellent. Thank you. I will see to it right away."

While Dohr himself would not dare to leave Mark's side, Private Trycson on the other hand was now available for a quick stop at the landing site. The Doc excused himself and left the meeting room to find the medic. Zyra was right. It was better to move the injured soldiers to the Skyhook than to fit them in the container with dozens of prisoners. If it was possible to move them. Sivren would need a medic or two though, so Dohr ordered Trycson to report to the Captain once the transfer of the Cerean doctor, her nurse, patients and required equipment was done. He also requested the private to give him updates of the progress.

The meeting quickly broke up and the team went their seperate ways.  Devon, Fiarr and Heigren went to interrogate a junior officer.  Kyvarr went to oversee security.  Mika returned to her slicing duties.  Dohr returned to his medical duties after arranging for the shuttle to pick up the wounded and medical team from the container.

**FOUR HOURS LATER**

Much was achieved in the next few hours, more than could be expected.  The interrogation of the officer had proven fruitful and Fiarr and Mika were now scouring Imperial databases for information.  Kyvarr remained on security patrol.  Devon, Kira and Dyre had managed a well-earned rest.

The shuttle had been out less than an hour and had returned with several wounded from the initial attack at the landing site.  All were doing better now thanks to bacta therapy and Dohr was joined by Sivren's doctor, nurse and medical assistants.  Thanks to this Dohr also managed some well earned rest.

The camp had remained fairly quiet.  The shield had reset and was keeping the predators at bay.  Whatsmore the prisoners had remained quite docile.  Wether it was from being fed, the shock of battle or the fact that trying to climb up a five metre walker to reach the troops was futle at best, it hadn't mattered.  Sivren's command was quiet enough that the Captain himself had ascended to the Skyhook to discuss matters with Devon and his team.

Devon had managed time for a shower, a meal and a few hours of sleep.  Whilst it wasn't the same as a night's sleep, he felt refreshed.  Dohr looked similarly well.  Kira had taken over security allowing Kyvarr to take some downtime.

Sivren now sat with Devon and Zyra in the same briefing room, the Talons had sat in a few hours before.  All Talons had been invited but none had shown yet.  Kira was on duty and Kyvarr was hopefully asleep.  Devon had instructed Fiarr and Mika to get some rest but he wasn't sure if they'd complied to date.

---

OOC:  Okay so time has moved on.  Dohr, Devon, Kira, Heigren and Dyre have had a chance to rest.  Kyvarr is off duty right now.  Fiarr and Mika are still working on various things.  Sivren is on the station and the medical team from the container is now aboard with their wounded.  Time to share what you've learned and make plans for your departure.

So far only Sivren, Zyra and Devon are in the room.  People can attend or not attend as they wish.

Fiarr wandered into the briefing room, a giant mug nursed in her hands.  It nearly matched the size of the mugs Cor used to prefer.  A protein bar was nestled in a pocket of her jumpsuit, which she pulled out once settled in.  She munched as she flicked through a datapad in her other hand, waiting for the meeting to start.

Kyvarr will be in her assigned quarters grabbing some rack time.  She won't attend unless instructed to do so.

Sivren sits at the head of the table, reading a datapad, containing numerous reports from various members of his teams.  He frowns as he scans the information before looking at Zyra.

"Glad to see your alive and healthy ma'am."  Despite them both being Captains, Sivren was an army captain which was far junior to the Naval Captain rank Zyra had been assigned.  "I am also informed the Admiral is alive which I am happy to hear.  My medical officer assures me his survival chance is positive if we can get him out of here quickly."

He seems to hesitate slightly.  "What are your plans ma'am?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:10, Tue 22 Aug 2017.

Zyra smiles at Sivren.  "Captain, I am hardly in a fit physical or mental state to be in command of anything!  I am happy to serve in an advisory capacity but until I'm medically cleared this is your operation.  I will not interfere with your command decisions.  Up until now I've been helping Mister Kismet in such a capacity."

"As you wish ma'am."  He focus his attention on Devon.

"Delta lead.  Your team has been busy.  Bring me up to speed."
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:09, Tue 22 Aug 2017.

"Well.." Devon hesitated, glanced at Zyra, then tried again.

"For the moment we're secure up here, but that wont last forever.  Sooner or later, someone's gonna notice somethin' aint right here on the Skyhook an' investigate... an' then we're screwed.  We need to be leavin', an' quickly.

When it comes to gettin' outta here, I can see three problems:  Blockade, Medical an' head-count.

Head count:  if we stick to the container, then we can get ourselves an' a bunch of prisoners out, especially if we leave that walker behind...  but my medic, Eight, do't like that.  He's tellin' me that even with the treatment we can give here on the Skyhook, some of our wounded may die if we dont get them outta here fast.  Includin' the Admiral.  Thats our medical problem, we're on a time limit here.  Eight wants to fly them out on that shuttle we captured.  An' if we're usin' the shuttle an' the container, then we can take a hell of a lotta people with us, if we want.

That brings us to the blockade - anythin' we launch that gets detected will be investigated by the Imps.  Our container is stealthed, an' got in undetected, so we're runnin' no extra risks there... but that shuttle is a different matter.

Now here's where it gets interestin': when the Skyhook was taken, we managed to capture most of the crew, rather than kill them.  Now we're tryin' to decide what to do with them.  Given the files we've found an' what Six learned from interrogatin' the base commander... current favourite options seem to be either killin' them or dump them down in the jungle an' let the local wildlife sort them out.

Anyhow, one of the officers was in the brig... a junior lieutenant called Arcas Endeel.  We interrogated him.  Says he was locked up because he protested the treatment of the prisoners.  We've managed to dig supportin' evidence outta files belongin' both to him an' the base commander.  When you look at his age compared to his rank, Five an' Six reckon you're lookin' at a guy who's pissed off someone high up, and they've blocked his promotion.  Probably repeatedly."

Devon paused to gulp from his mug of caf.  Decent hot caf.  The supplies they had down there in the jungle just didn't cut it.  Or sometimes they DID cut things, depending what had managed to crawl into your lunch before you ate it.  That had been a bad day to go to the toilet...
"The bit I like is that Endeel wants to cut a deal.  His duties included shuttle pilot whenever they did supply runs.  He knows the clearance codes to get that shuttle past the Star Destroyers.  The comms officers know him.  They won't suspect anythin'.

In return, he wants safe passage for himself an' four others - technicians an' crew who he says feel the same way he did about the prisoners treatment.

If this guy is on the level, its just removed one problem for us - we'll be able to get the shuttle out easily.  We could put our injured an' high value people on it, an' extract everyone else via the container."

Sivren listens intently while Devon briefs him.

"Interesting.  It seems to all fall to the question of wether you think we can trust this Imperial.  I've had similar reports from my Doctor on the state of some prisoners.  They won't survive the trip in the container.  So as you say we can load all the badly wounded in the shuttle and the rest leave the way we come in.  Walker was always expendable."

"I guess that brings us back to the key issue.  Can you trust this Imperial fellow?  If so then we get moving.  My team would have to leg it back to the container.  I think we could use your shuttle to ferry troops quickly.  The walker we can just dump in the jungle.  It would take the better part of a day to take the walker back.  Shuttle can do a round trip in less than an hour."

"We'd lift the container off-planet first and give it an hour or two head start.  Your medical personnel would probably need that time to load the shuttle anyway."

"So cut your deal Delta.  If we can use him, get him and his men out.  If not, put your best pilot in the seat and fly like hell.  Our wounded need to get out.  Given your ingenuity to date, Delta can take the shuttle ride.  I'll take Alpha and Beta with me.  If you think the Imp can be trusted we'll pack as many ex-prisoners in with you as we can.  If not, the wounded only and the rest come with me."

"I detected no falsehood from him."  Heigren offers.  The Zeltron had crept into the room while Devon had been speaking and has sat quietly between the exchange between him and the two captains.  When he saw he had their attention he continued.

"I watched on holovid and sat close enough I could sense him.  The man seems arrogant and entitled, typical Imperial aristocrat, but he also seems. . .idealistic.  I think he genuinely is trying to help us.  I'm not saying his reasons are altruistic, personally I think he wants to get back to his benefactors before the Imperials shoot him, but I think his offer is genuine."

Fiarr shrugs.  "Have to defer to Four on his honesty.  The data sure supports him and if he is running a scam it's either incredibly stupid or so complex I can't fathom it.  He has to know he's a dead man if this goes south.  Wether by us or the Imperials, it won't matter, he's a corpse.  He doesn't strike me as a zealot or suicidal so I think he's on the level."

Dohr had entered the meeting just before the discussion began. As was usual to him, the Doc stood in the background sipping his caf and kept quiet. He was an observer rather than someone who charged in without giving things a thought or three. It was the same thing with medical care and surgery... Sometimes of course a situation was a so bad, that Dohr was forced to plan an operation while working. But more often than not, a good examination and observing the patient's symptoms led to far better results than hasty action.

During his time in the Black Talon organisation, Dohr had learned to appreciate Devon's way of working and how the human's mind operated. He could be stubborn at times, but for a person in charge of a team it was not a bad characteristic. Someone who was afraid to make decisions, even tough ones, was not suited for the role of a leader. Devon's leadership was practical, honest and effective like was the case with many humans. Their way of working might lack a bit of finesse and delicacy, but at the same time humans were not overly complicated or confusing in their ways like so many other species were. Dohr himself had spent so much time with humans during his trips around the galaxy, that he had probably forgotten some of the Kel Dorian habits and traits.

He took another sip and nodded to Devon's description of the situation and their options. Dohr had been very positively surprised by the offer the imperial officer had made. He had also been very pleased to learn that he had been right about the imperials all along. Not all of them were evil. Not everyone wearing the Emperor's insignia agreed to everything the imperial doctrines dictated. Some of them were still humane. The Doc didn't for a moment doubt the lieutenant's first and foremost motive was to take care of his own wellbeing and not the rebels, but as so often was the case, helping another could lead to helping oneself.

Dohr had thought of interviewing the man himself. He had after all decades of experience in observing people and their motives and he had studied psychology too. Then again, that had been twenty years ago and mostly on Kel Dorians. But as Heigren had been part of the interrogations, the Doc had been happy to stand back. The Zeltrons had a natural ability for such things and it was something no study could ever beat. Thinking that brought back memories of his mother and father...

Devon listened to Heigren and Fiarr silently, then nodded.  He turned back to Sivren.
"They trust him?  I trust them."  he said simply.
"We'll cut the deal.  But I'll be at the co-pilot - lookin' over his shoulder the whole time.  An' maybe have someone watchin' my back too.  We'll work it out.  Captain... if we approach your fleet in a stolen Imperial shuttle, are we gonna need some passcodes or somethin' to avoid gettin' shot up?"
He activated his commlink.
"Ten, prop the shuttle for launch - we're gonna be makin' ferry runs back to the container."

Devon rose from his seat.
"OK, Delta.  Get to work.  Doc, make sure you an' your patients are ready to move once we done with ferry runs.  Rope in any help you need.  Four - go wake up Five.  She's to make sure we stay secure until we are off this station for good.  Six, lets go talk to our new friend, an' tell him he's got a deal."

Fiarr follows after Devon.  Once out of the room she says, "Didn't say I trusted the guy boss.  Just said I think he's probably genuine about his deal.  I wouldn't be surprised if he tries to sell us out first chance he gets.  Just don't think he'll make a move until we get to a safe port."