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11:57, 29th March 2024 (GMT+0)

Act  7.3: Epilogue.

Posted by Master ServiousFor group 0
Master Servious
GM, 2179 posts
The ultimate power
in the universe!
Sat 18 Nov 2017
at 06:41
  • msg #1

Act  7.3: Epilogue

Devon decides to cut his personal margin of safety to a bare minimum of five jumps.  This has the shuttle emerging from hyperspace at the arranged rendezvous four hours later.  The fleet is on high alert and dozens of turbolasers target them and fighters swing towards them before Devon can announce who they are.  There is some surprise as the team is not expected back for days but a quick explanation from Devon has the shuttle landing on the medical frigate where Mark and the other wounded are whisked off by the medical teams.

With the wounded of their hands, the Talons are assigned to an area on one of the transport ships.  While not technically prisoners, they were confined to an area of the ship with a mess hall, a recreation area and several cabins.  Their needs were all attended to and when Kota returned several days later, Devon was taken away for debriefing and each of the team were debriefed.  The ex-prisoners were also debriefed about their time on the prison world.  Arcas received the most 'rigourous' interrogation though he was in no way threatened or molested.  Other than that the Talons were left to read, exercise, practice in the flight simulators, watch holovids or whatever else they wanted to do.  Devon was stuck with the joys of preparing the post-mission report though Zyra helped him through the tedium.

It was nearly a week before the container returned with Sivren and the rest of the team aboard.  Their end had gone off without a hitch and despite the medical team being kept busy and dealing with a few small incidents, their trip had been uneventful.  Despite the cramped accommodations the prisoners had enjoyed the benefits of food, warmth and medical care.  For them it was a big step up.  They flooded in to the medical frigate and suddenly the Talons were the heroes of the hour as many of the prisoners came to thank them, embrace them, promised to name future children after them and the like.

Overall it turned out they had rescued ninety-seven prisoners.  Of those three had died in transit and two were still critical.  Mark was responding well to treatment and was expected to make a full recovery (minus a leg).  Zyra had spent most of her time in medical with the Admiral and had only been seen by the Talons sporadically.

It was on day ten they finally received note that they were to meet with Kota.  They had yet to hear about the Nightshrike or any of their fighters.  The general was due to meet with them at their current location in less than an hour.




OOC: Well done.  You survived!  You have a week of downtime so everyone has time to heal up, and work on anything you like (that can be done in what is almost house arrest).  Aderek you have a new (standard) cybernetic arm.  Aderek, Lin and Arcas you now have your startup gear or credits equal to the maximum for level 1, whichever you prefer.

I'll be calculating XP and letting you know if anyone levelled soon.

You'll be meeting with Kota soon.  No need to debrief him (you were all debriefed and both Devon and Sivren gave detailed reports).  This is more to discuss where your ships are and 'what now?'.

Note you don't have access to your ships at the moments but your droids have been brought to you if you requested it.  You also have your weapons and gear.

This message was last edited by the GM at 06:42, Sat 18 Nov 2017.
Lin Daochi
player, 29 posts
Sat 18 Nov 2017
at 13:04
  • msg #2

Act  7.3: Epilogue

Within less than a few hours from their arrival to the medical frigate, after which Lin had disappeared amongst the crew, she returned to the others with a new set of clothing, a heavy blaster on her hip and a hand-held computer in tow. If asked, she grinned slightly and said, she had been playing Sabacc - for all anyone knew, she had left the others carrying nothing but the Stormtrooper Bodyglove she was wearing, which suggested she either knew how to play or the opponents were completely inept. Now she was wearing a dark blue pair of cargo pants, black boots, white shirt and a black vest on top of it, her bubblegum pink hair on a braid.

"So, what do you plan to do next, Seven", she asked Devon. Without the grime and properly dressed, she was pretty enough to turn heads. "The unfortunate events have left me in a bit of a spot, since I lost almost everything I had. I could use some work, if you know anyone in the need of a slicer."
Mika Trake
player, 879 posts
Talon 10
Shore leave Kimy Stell
Sat 18 Nov 2017
at 18:44
  • msg #3

Act  7.3: Epilogue

As soon as the get back, Mika has a long session with a fresher, followed by a large meal of fried gorrick tubers and spicy saffric sauce, bantha cheese poppers and of course a plate full of setish sliders.  Oh, and what must have been five jazgrape fizz pops to wash it down.  Still, within hours after eating, her face and coveralls are again marked with grease, dust and soot.

After that, she sits down in a corner of the mess and she field strips her blaster pistol.  The speed and surity of touch advertises an impressive skill.  After that, she starts on her buzzbot, making sure it's in tip top shape.
Kyvarr 'Hammer' Dulvan
player, 430 posts
Cathar Female
Talon 5
Sat 18 Nov 2017
at 21:34
  • msg #4

Act  7.3: Epilogue

Kyvarr maintained a regular schedule to keep the team focused.  She ran twice daily exercise programs and martial arts and weapons sessions during the day.  She left it to Devon to decide wether people needed to attend any of these sessions.  She devoted some of her spare time to the simulators, working on her skills with ships.
Devon Kismet
player, 1104 posts
Talon 7
ID: Rian Cloudrider
Mon 20 Nov 2017
at 00:13
  • msg #5

Re: Act  7.3: Epilogue

On returning to the fleet, the other Talons barely saw Devon for almost two days after they got back.  The first day was mainly taken up with a long hot shower, followed by good food and nearly twelve hours of uninterrupted sleep.

The second day, Devon mostly spent growing increasingly frustrated with the post mission report that Kotas people clearly expected of him.  He and Zyra sat on opposite sides of a table in the mess hall, talking and passing data-pads back and forth.  Devon frequently looked alternately baffled or irritated, and there was some swearing from the Corellian, but eventually they got it done - Zyra translating Devons extremely conversational in tone account of events into something more formal.

On the third day, the Talons were informed that Mark had regained consciousness, and Devon immediately raced to visit his former commander, arriving shortly behind Jax.  Devons visit was brief, but he came out of the room almost smiling, and looking a little more relaxed.  On his return, he announced to the Talons that Mark was recovering, although he needed a lot more time.

Banished from medical - as Sheppard still needed a lot of rest - Devon spent the next few days attempting to unwind, but it seemed that without something to keep him occupied the engineer was struggling to stop himself from fretting about what was coming next.  He frequently moaned about the continued absence of the Talons ships, and his own ship Moonshadow


Lin Daochi:
"So, what do you plan to do next, Seven", she asked Devon. Without the grime and properly dressed, she was pretty enough to turn heads. "The unfortunate events have left me in a bit of a spot, since I lost almost everything I had. I could use some work, if you know anyone in the need of a slicer."

When Lin tracked him down, Devon was pacing back and forth in the mess, gesturing with a mug of caf and talking ship modifications with his R2 unit, Catch.

Devon lowered his mug and turned to regard the woman.
"Our next move?  Honestly, I dont know.  We - I gambled a hell of a lot on this mission.  An' we're waitin' for our allies to come through on their half of things...  till that happens, an' we know what we've got to move forward with, its kinda hard to make plans."

The shipjacker sighed and sat down, one hand resting on the R2 units dome head.
"Work?  well, given where an' how we met you... an that you didnt get chucked into another cell after you were debriefed... I'm inclined to trust you.  But final say belongs to Zyra Jax.  If she says you're on the level, then there's a place for you on our team if you want it.  We can always find use a good slicer.  They pays bad an' the hours are lousy.. but if you got a hate on for the Empire, you'll get satisfaction outta it."

Devon regarded the R2 for a few moments.
"In the mean time, you wanna do me a favour? I bought Catch here on Nar Shaddaa from a guy who didnt really wanna go into what he'd been usin' the droid for before... anyhow, long story short - Catch has got a bunch of skill programming I think I wanna change.  That somethin' we can get done?"
Lin Daochi
player, 30 posts
Mon 20 Nov 2017
at 05:40
  • msg #6

Re: Act  7.3: Epilogue

"Well, if your team is okay with me, I wouldn't really mind running with a crew for a change. I've been working solo for long enough, though even a team would not have gotten me out of trouble that landed me in that prison camp, Lin said. "But you lot seem to know what you are doing, at least most of the time, and that is refreshing. At times, some more premeditation might be in order but you got us out of that jam back there, so no hard feelings. I'm sorry if I was a bit snappy back there at times - you try going for three months without a fresh pair of underwear and you'll know."

The blue woman studied the droid. "You mean a full wipe, or just tampering with some skills? The former is easier and I can do that in a minute, but the second one would take a while with proper equipment. I'd probably need a more advanced computer for it than the one I managed to win in Sabacc", she said patting a hand-held computer hanging on her side. "The natives are lousy Sabacc players. I literally won these clothes off a couple of them."

For second-hand clothes, the outfit she had seemed to fit rather nicely the slicer. From beneath the grime and underneath the bodyglove had spawned a rather good looking woman in her mid-twenties or so. Light blue skin, bubblegum pink hair and a pair of intelligent golden eyes, hence the temporary callsign. She did not, however, look like a party girl like most women her age. She seemed more a consummate professional with probably a couple more skills in her repertoire than just slicing.
Aderek Blaque
Player, 7 posts
Mon 20 Nov 2017
at 20:43
  • msg #7

Re: Act  7.3: Epilogue

Aderek was relived when they had met up with the fleet.  There was something refreshing to him about all the specks of presumably friendly specks of metal out there with allies.  He was happy to offer a helping hand to move any of the equipment.  In fact, as I'm sure there was plenty of room, he probably had been one of the last of the 'impromptu' crew of the shuttle to still be working as the helpers were trying to herd him in with the others, he had missed the first couple more polite calls for him to stop helping and follow them to his new quarters for the time being.

When it finally sunk in, he paused and nodded, saying "Sure, lead the way."  He followed, a little disappointed, but also becoming a bit tired as things were calming, it kind of lead him to a crash as far as energy came.  "There was a certain disappointment, in regards to the sense that they were being gently confined.  But compared to his recent treatment is was nothing, so he felt kind of foolish feeling that way.  Likely the others found him asleep on a chair that didn't actually look that comfortable, but had a view out into the darkness of space, and its specs of metal and light out there.

Waking up, he found his way to the refresher when it was freed.  He hadn't pushed to use it, so he was one of the later ones to avail himself of its services.  He was concerned about the status of the injured, the statistics on the losses and how it compared to the saved.  He didn't like the losses, but knew they had fared worse from whence they came.  He tried to periodically check with the Doc on the status of people including Mark, whom it had become obvious was important.  He also made an effort to acknowledge 10 whenever he saw her.

During the next couple days he was a little bit agitated, eventually spending a lot of time, staring out into space, or chatting with others to distract himself from not being able to do much.  He might have played some in the way of games of chance, but he certainly was not a big spender on such pursuits, and wasn't that hard to read.

When things started moving along a bit, and the various people were being interviewed, and their needs met.  He was surprised to learn that he was getting fitted for a new arm.  He was familiar with the model, though it wouldn't have been his first choice, it was none the less a fully functional option.

When he came back in the common area, some might have failed to recognize him.  Although the dull grey artificial hand revealed the artificial nature of the arm.  He seemed to control the arm quite proficiently.  Some noticed while controlling his thumb and index finger seemed completely natural, some of his other fingers on his hand seemed less prone to moving, and sometimes moved unexpectedly.  It apparently was taking some getting used to operate those other digits for some reason.  He was wearing a dark grey flight suit and looked far more distinguished than the rather worn clothing he had worn before.

He had some renewed energy at receiving his arm, and he began trying to volunteer to help out more.  However, it becomes clear that they aren't really ready to let them out yet.  This probably lead Aderek to chat with the Doc and eventually potentially Devon, letting them know he appreciates their help with his arm, and wondering what he can do to help, wondering if they needed any help designing a prosthetic for Mark, mentioning that with how invasive his infection had been, it was likely going to make his body potentially be more inclined to try to reject the mount implants, and he was familiar with something similar in the past.  If talking to the Doc when mentioning that, he suddenly realizes that the Doc may also be familiar with something similar, but he might sense that Aderek feels a bit uneasy being unable to work towards anything.

At some point he begins working on plans on potential modifications to his arm to re-integrate the tools he was accustomed to having access from it.  It was going to be harder using this arm as a base, but it provided some other options, now that the situation arose.  To begin with, not having tools he'd mentioned being useful, he had to content himself with working on the plans.  Tools and raw materials would come with time.
Devon Kismet
player, 1105 posts
Talon 7
ID: Rian Cloudrider
Tue 21 Nov 2017
at 23:55
  • msg #8

Re: Act  7.3: Epilogue

Lin Daochi:
The blue woman studied the droid. "You mean a full wipe, or just tampering with some skills? The former is easier and I can do that in a minute, but the second one would take a while with proper equipment. I'd probably need a more advanced computer for it than the one I managed to win in Sabacc", she said patting a hand-held computer hanging on her side. "The natives are lousy Sabacc players. I literally won these clothes off a couple of them."



Devon regards the woman speculatively for a moment, then shrugs.
"Lemme think on it for a bit.  Catch is just startin' to show some personality an I ain't sure I wanna get rid of that."

He stood up and stretched.
"An' about the team?  yeah, we wing it an awful lot.  Its good to have a plan, but we stay flexible and improvise when the crap hits the fan.  You talk to any of the team, they're all good at more than one thing.  Take me for instance:  mechanic, fighter an' transport pilot, get-away driver, ship-jacker, an' a half decent shot with everythin' up to an' includin' heavy weapons.

Our bothan?  demolitions, infiltration, fighter pilot, interrogation, damn near any covert work you can name.  Point I'm tryin' to make here is that everyone on the team does more than one thing that's useful... so what else do you bring to the table?"


Devon grinned a challenging grin at Lin.
"Tell you what, theres some Sim pods down on deck 2 - I think at least one of the team is down there right now.  You any good as a pilot?   How about we go find out?"
He headed for the door with Catch rolling along behind him and beckoned for Lin to follow.


As they walked, Devon muttered into into his earpiece commlink.  Lin could only hear his side of the conversation, but that was probably enough.
"Four?  Gotta task for you. Y'know that lounge we got given the run of?  Can you get that ready for a social?  Munchies.  Drinks.  You know what to do.
What? No, you don't gotta top the Party Of the Century.  Fun though that might be, I for one wanna wake up tomorrow in a bed that's not in danger of catchin' on fire.
How long you need?  Two hours?  Great.  Comm me when you're ready."


When they arrived at the sim pods, Devon glanced at the one one occupied pod and checked the control screen to see who was in there.  Kyvarr.
"Looks like I was right, Five is already here.  Why don't you hop into one of the spares an' we'll have some fun."

Devon used the command console to quickly set up the scenario he wanted - a quick little two VS one dogfight in an asteroid field, with everyone in identical ships - and seated himself in his own pod.
"Catch?  gimmie a moment to get comfy, then get things started."  he told the droid, which warbled obligingly and plugged itself into the command console.

The two of them trying to take Devon down - maybe he was setting himself up for a nasty surprise?  After all, he had no idea how good or bad a pilot Lin was, and Kyvarr was bound to have improved since last time - given how much time she spent practicing.
Time to find out.
If nothing else, it would kill time whilst he waited for Heigren to get things ready...
This message was last edited by the player at 23:58, Tue 21 Nov 2017.
Heigren
player, 546 posts
Zeltron Male
Talon 4
Wed 22 Nov 2017
at 02:05
  • msg #9

Re: Act  7.3: Epilogue

Heigren nodded.  "Can't do much in two hours but I'll do my best.  You want a proper shindig I'll need at least a day and a little help."

Seeing Devon was taking Lin with him he sidled up and gave her his best rakish grin.  "Come see me when you have some time.  I've got an offer you might be interested in."  With another grin and a wink at Devon he wandered off to the galley to work his magic on the catering staff.  He wondered where he was going to find alcohol on a medical frigate.  Flagship was usually the best place for quality booze but given the boss around here was a Jedi, who weren't renowned for anything within a million light-years of 'fun' he didn't think that was the case here.
Fiarr Melan'nel
player, 434 posts
Bothan Female
Talon 6
Wed 22 Nov 2017
at 02:12
  • msg #10

Re: Act  7.3: Epilogue

Fiarr snorted at Devon's description of her.  "You forgot my best qualities.  Namely saboteur, assassin and thief, especially of colleague's credsticks at racous parties!"  She threw a wink at Mika at the last comment.

"Are we seriously still stuck with numbers here?  I'm usually the paranoid one but even I think it's time we were a little more friendly with the new guys.  Wether they stay or go I think they've earned a little trust."
This message was last edited by the player at 02:12, Wed 22 Nov 2017.
Mika Trake
player, 880 posts
Talon 10
Shore leave Kimy Stell
Wed 22 Nov 2017
at 02:15
  • msg #11

Re: Act  7.3: Epilogue

Looking into the guts of the buzzbot, Mika takes the probes and starts testing the circuits.  That damn prison planet had stressed every bit of machinery they'd taken down there.  Anything that looked even a little suspicious was removed, cleaned, tested, inserted, retested and then activated.  She'd like to replace some of them, but she didn't have any spares or materials to make her own.

She was back to considering possible upgrades.  An integrated blaster maybe, or a self-destruct system, or maybe amp up its sensor resolution....  So many options, so little time and materials.

Finishing with her efforts, she closes it up and reactivates it.  "okay, wake up.  You fully functional?"
Aderek Blaque
Player, 8 posts
Wed 22 Nov 2017
at 03:34
  • msg #12

Re: Act  7.3: Epilogue

When 'lefty' saw ten working on a droid, he had taken a break from pacing or peeking out at the stars out in space.  "If you need a spare hand, let me know." spoken in a friendly tone, but was still polite and not invading her privacy if her work on the droid was private.
Kira
NPC, 161 posts
Human Female
Talon 2
Wed 22 Nov 2017
at 11:06
  • msg #13

Re: Act  7.3: Epilogue

Since her return from the planet and onto the medical ship, Kira had spent some of her time deep in thought on the first day debating her path. Growing up she had always had a plan, a vision of where her life led, and though some had not come to pass, since her training with her former mentor, she had grown in many ways.

But since her recruitment with the talons, her skill set had been questioned by herself.

Since childhood Kira had nothing but hatred for the whole bothan race (for good reason too), but since introduction to the group, one of the team, the one she felt most akin to was indeed a bothan. In fact, many of her skills she also saw in herself and where the bothan was a lethal soldier and infiltrator, Kira was trained as a bounty hunter....learning how to track and hunt.

Hear physical skills as a tracker were honed to a sharp edge....she had keen eyes and and could move like a shadow if needed, but some of her other skills that were taught earlier were put on the back burner.  She knew this, preferring the isolation to urban setting.  She also was ill used to teamwork until this group.

....but she was willing to rectify that.

On the second day she approached Fiarr on her own.

"Fiarr....i was wondering if you could help me with something when you have a minute." At the time, a few days ago, she realised the bothan had her own things to attend to, and didn't expect her time straight away.

So in the days following Kira trained.

She exercised every day, spent at least an hour cleaning her blasters and another hour familiarising herself and cleaning the sniper rifle she had come to be acostomed with on this trip

She approached Kyvarr asking her help with some hand to hand combat exercises.

But her mind raced on her path ahead.  She knew the group all had their own dynamics....and she was sure she'd find her place in them.
Arcas Endeel
player, 44 posts
Human Male
Aristocratic Officer
Wed 22 Nov 2017
at 12:18
  • msg #14

Re: Act  7.3: Epilogue

After several hours in debriefing, Arcas arrived. Still in his Imperial officer uniform, haggard and blood-stained from all the events in the station, the man seemed exhausted but less tense. To any curious Talons he merely replied "I suppose I'm your problem for now".

For his first action Arcas sought out the other defectors, making sure they were all right. Now that the situation was clear, he wanted to address them all. "I apologise for disrupting your lives," he began, "When I parleyed for your freedom, I did so sincerely believing that remaining on the station would have been a death sentence, even if the prisoners would have shown you the same grace as the Rebel operatives. My last interaction with Commander Stennings leaves me with no doubt that the inevitable Security Bureau investigation would have resulted in severe purges."

"I hope you can lay no blame to the prisoner populace nor any individual who has taken part in the events that led to our current situation. I do not; poor management and politics way above our reach are the reasons why this mess happened in the first place. I will continue to work to improve the situation in any way I can, but I do not expect the same from you. For you are free."

"I will do my best to help you get on your feet, as a thank you for your courage to support me when I spoke against the cruelty and mismanagement in the prison. But for now, I suggest you rest and find your own spot in the galaxy."

After hearing what they had to say and offering his sympathy, Arcas headed to a free bunk somewhere. Without bothering to take off his uniform, he lay down, closed his eyes and surrendered to sleep.

On the next day the Talons could find a different-looking man. With dark stubble on his chin and wearing some overalls he found to fit properly, though still walking with the posture and stride of an officer, Arcas had shaken off the Imperial outlook, instead looking like an unconvincing undercover police officer. He was mostly idly investigating his new surroundings, deep in thought, ruminating on his new situation. Eventually he found the ship's modest library of nonfiction, checking out the contents and idly swiping the pages of the documents.

While the Zeltron was acquiring supplies for the social gathering, he could hear the precise steps of Arcas approaching. "Ah, 'four' was it? I'd like to thank you for your words back in the station. It was comforting to know that there was someone who saw beyond the uniform", he stated as he caught up with the Talon. "And now I find myself in need of rather urgent assistance that I must ask from your... group."
Lin Daochi
player, 31 posts
Wed 22 Nov 2017
at 16:03
  • msg #15

Re: Act  7.3: Epilogue

"Well, get me a proper mainframe and someone who understands about computers, and I can simply modify your droid's programming the way you want. It's not just simply 'push that button after this and it's sorted out'. I'll probably have to rewrite some of his original programming completely to fix him", she said. "But sure, with right gear it can be done."

She listened to the man list his own and the Bothan's specialties. "I'm not just another pretty face, you know. One might call me an operative - instead of sneaking around, I walk in and they are none the wiser. I am good enough forger to get by, know enough about thievery to swipe things off people or planting things on them without their knowing and reasonably good at disguising myself. And of course, I'm a pretty face to look when I win all your credits in Sabacc." With the last sentence, she grinned mischievously.

When Devon started talking about flying, Lin raised a brow. "You sure know how to proposition a lady", she said moving after him. "So you want to be chased? Fine. I'll do it this time, just nit to hurt your feelings by making you feel abandoned. But I'm not making any promises in the flying side of things." The golden eyes flickered with amusement. She climbed in to the pod and set herself up for the simulation. If they wanted her to fly, then fly she would.

Lin gave Heigren a cheeky grin. "I'll find you once I have handed our friend here his ass on a plate. Or at least his virtual one", she said with a wink.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:21, Thu 23 Nov 2017.
Fiarr Melan'nel
player, 435 posts
Bothan Female
Talon 6
Wed 22 Nov 2017
at 21:34
  • msg #16

Re: Act  7.3: Epilogue

Fiarr was amused by Kira's request.  She spread her arms to demonstrate their environment.  "Not much to do at the moment.  Anything that keeps me from one of Five's torture sessions is preferable.  What do you need?"
Heigren
player, 547 posts
Zeltron Male
Talon 4
Wed 22 Nov 2017
at 22:02
  • msg #17

Re: Act  7.3: Epilogue

Heigren turned and nodded when he heard Arcas approach.  He'd been halfway through cajoling a chef while tasting something in a spoon someone else had handed him.  He also seemed to be talking to someone on his earpiece comm.

"Yes, as many as you can get. . .mmm needs more salt don't you think?. . .Well tell her I can't get those until we hit a port, wait I have another call. . .Two boxes?  You're a gem, love you."

After winding up his comm calls, speaking to two more people while typing on a datapad, Heigren finally stepped away and listened to Arcas.  He shrugged.  "I always try to see the best in people.  That's what I do here.  I'm not much with a blaster and I can't fly a paper plane, let alone a real one.  But people I can handle.  I try to tell the boss who we can trust and who we can deal with.  I grew up an Imperial slave and while I hate the Empire and all it stands for, I know there are people, good people who serve not out of ideology, but because of fear or just because it's all they know."

"So what can I do for you Arcas?  Oh, and call me Heigren, at least in private.  I hate all this code number stuff.  Enough Imps know my name and none of them seem to care, not like you could sell it if you wanted.  Just don't tell the boss!  Best call me Four around him until he gives the all clear."

This message was last edited by the player at 22:03, Wed 22 Nov 2017.
Kira
NPC, 162 posts
Human Female
Talon 2
Thu 23 Nov 2017
at 00:39
  • msg #18

Re: Act  7.3: Epilogue

Kira took Fiarr to the side and spoke quietly to the woman. "I haven't been here long with the group, yet in the time i have seen that each person here has their own skills, their own place." The woman pauses, then looks at the bothan. "When we first met i had a conflict of emotions...not many people know but my father died at the hands of one of your kind."

She gave a slightly sheepish smile as she continued. "I think the only thing keeping myself from trying to kill you was absence of professionalism and the need to get off that planet. Then when things went bad, you helped me....something i hadn't had in a long time."

She was quiet for a moment, then snapped out of her memory to continue. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that in the short time I've known you i have grown to trust you...like you. Your skills and mine have some similarities." She shifts on her feet then continues. "There in lies the problem.  I was trained as a bounty hunter, but spent most of my recent years more as a tracker. Seeing you in action has shown that some of my other skills are a little lacking in areas."

She places her hands behind her back and looks at the ground. "Getting to the point, i can see areas that i can fill....sniper, infiltrator, and possibly more if trained up....demolitions maybe. But my problem is i don't know what to do...where my skills will be best suited."
Fiarr Melan'nel
player, 436 posts
Bothan Female
Talon 6
Thu 23 Nov 2017
at 04:52
  • msg #19

Re: Act  7.3: Epilogue

Fiarr shrugged.  "I suppose that depends.  I'd say the main difference between a bounty hunter and what I do is a question of a pulse.  Good bounty hunters tend to like their targets alive.  Tends to pay better.  I merely reduce their heart beat to a nice flat zero.  Is that who you want to be?  I'd suggest if you plan to say with this group that you be good at your own specialty, not try to be good at everyone else's.  Team could use a bounty hunter, someone who can track, identify and capture priority targets.  I'm no good at that.  Bit it's up to you of course.  I can teach you the anatomical position of the brain stem in thirty different species or the best place insert a vibroblade to minimise blood, prevent screaming or cause an agonisingly slow lingering death.  Let me know."

She started to walk away then turned.  "If you had genuinely thought about killing me I would have done away with you, long before you'd finally committed yourself to it.  I contemplated it when I could tell how much you hated Bothans.  Was toying up between poisoning your caf or garotting you with some monofilament wire I carry.  Even worked out where to dump your corpse.  Glad it all worked out though.  I don't think our resident Zeltron would have approved of your murder and I hate it when he gives me that sad puppy look he gets."

She wandered off, looking for said Zeltron.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:58, Thu 23 Nov 2017.
Kira
NPC, 163 posts
Human Female
Talon 2
Thu 23 Nov 2017
at 08:40
  • msg #20

Re: Act  7.3: Epilogue

Kira was taken aback slightly by Fiarr's comments, though not entirely suprised. When she first met then Kira was a little on the hostile side of her attitude, and given the things she had seen of the bothan's skills, she had no doubt that the woman's words were true.

As she finished speaking, Kira spoke up. "I'm glad you didn't kill me either....and for the record i thought of trying. I knew from the start i could never have pulled it off, even hurting you."

As the bothan left, she pondered the woman's first part of the conversation. Fiarr said the team needed someone to be a bounty hunter..track and identify targets. The fact Fiarr said that made the young human smile. She had skills in physically tracking people, in hiding and finding, but her urban skills were lacking, and she knew it.

....she knew the path she needed to take.

With Fiarr now gone, Kira looked after where the bothan went and spoke to the empty hallway.

"Thanks."
Master Servious
GM, 2182 posts
The ultimate power
in the universe!
Thu 23 Nov 2017
at 10:50
  • msg #21

Re: Act  7.3: Epilogue

Devon, Lin and Kyvarr positioned themselves in their respective simulators and Catch quickly loaded the programs.  Two on one.  Kyvarr and Lin versus Devon, all in Z-95 Headhunters.  Given Catch's familiarity with the team, he also broadcast the fights to the main holovid display in the recreation area for anyone who wanted to watch.

For some the outcomes were a surprise.  Devon was clearly the best pilot, but this did not mean he wiped the floor with the others, far from it.  Lin showed great skill in the ships, showing a talent that surpassed many trained pilots.  How she had gain such mastery was a secret she had yet to divulge.

While clearly the weakest pilot, the surprise was actually Kyvarr.  She was incredibly gifted with the ships, though not to the other two's level and her command of tactics was impressive.  Her main downfall was her tendency to think in 'two dimensions', her ground warfare expertise becoming obvious.  Still Devon thought it wouldn't take much to train Cathar into one of the best pilots in the Talons.  She was no Flash, but then apart from Mark, none of them were!

Overall Devon found himself losing more than winning.  Occasionally he took out both fighters but more often he was destroyed though he usually got at least one fighter.  Kyvarr often fell to his guns as he recognised her tendency to ignore the third dimension.  Still the shipjacker couldn't help but be impressed.

When they were done Devon led the pair back to the rec area where he found the others and led them into the lounge.  Whatever they were expecting to find, all were disappointed.  Those who did know Heigren expected little more than caf and nibbles.  Those who did know him expected something extravagent.  The Zeltron had pulled off an impressive but tasteful balance.

All the chairs had been moved out, bar a few intimate cluster of 3-4 chairs in small group in the corners.  Long buffet tables, covered in tablecloths were spread with an array of food, some sweet, some savoury, all designed to be eaten by hand or from small plates.  Along wall a makeshift bar had been set up with Heigren and a human female in the uniform of a steward were setting up glasses and drinks.  One couldn't help but wonder which liquor stash they had raided as the selection of beverages was impressive.

The lighting has been dimmed a little to create atmosphere and a classical instrumental symphony was playing quietly in the background.  All in all the room had the feel of a semi-formal and fairly high class mixer.
M4 Messenger Droid
Thu 23 Nov 2017
at 11:37
  • msg #22

Re: Act  7.3: Epilogue

A messenger droid of the M4 series floated with purpose through the corridors of the frigate, seeking out its recipient in the utterly single-minded manner that such droids have been known to possess.  With cheery blue strip-lighting that was certainly not standard on the model, the messenger zipped hither and yon, scanning nearby life forms for identification purposes.

Finally, after who knows how long, it found its target.

The round shiny optical sensor was already scanning Devon even as he got out of the flight simulator.  Its blue lights shifted to green and it emitted a soft 'ping!'

'Attention, operative designated... Talon 7.  You have received... two... new messages.  Would you like to play the first message?'
Arcas Endeel
player, 45 posts
Human Male
Aristocratic Officer
Thu 23 Nov 2017
at 11:40
  • msg #23

Re: Act  7.3: Epilogue

Arcas nodded to Heigeren's tale.

"Good to meet you, Heigeren", he stated, smiling, after finally learning a name he could address, "I'll make sure to be discrete." But then his smile died down.

"After our prison escape the Imperial Security Bureau will launch an investigation on what happened. They have records of my voice from Vendetta's comms and have grounds to accuse me of treason. And the next step would be to question my family."

Arcas turned towards the nearest viewport, showing the stars outside and a flash of a patrolling starfighter. "The Endeel are an old and prestigious family of academics. We have done centuries worth of all kinds of research. Politics. Social sciences. Philosophy. But after the rise of the Empire and its... limited views on government and education, we have fallen into disfavor and scrutiny."

The ex-Imperial turned back towards Heigeren. "Now I fear my defection might be cause for a full investigation. I have to warn my home so that they can prepare, get rid of any incriminating evidence, create statements, play me as the black sheep."

As the catering arrangement demanded Heigeren's attention more and more, Arcas gave a bow. "I see you are busy, so I won't take more of your time. But if you can render assistance, I would appreciate it."
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