The shuttle pilot was already on the case.  The shuttle had fallen into a parallel route to the cruiser, matching speed, and flying about 500 metres from the port dicking hatch.

Devon comm'd the cruiser.  'Eleven here with a sit rep:  flying escort at the moment and keeping an eye on that shuttle - tell One that I think I've hit on a way to confirm the identity of Grey 6 before we dock with that shuttle.  Trying it now.'

Retuning his comms to send on the frequency that Grey 6 had been transmitting on, Devon spoke quickly.
'Grey 6, this is an unsecured frequency so don't use real names - but we do need to be sure of who you are...  If you are who I think you are, I was once your wingman.  Last time we flew together what was my call sign, and who got shot down first?'


Devon fidgeted as he waited for a response.  Hoping that what he was doing was unnecessary, Devon altered course slightly so that he had a clear shot at the shuttle if he needed it...

"Affirmative," Flash nods and bends over the controls yet again.  As the shuttle swung along side, he slowly but carefully brought the cruiser in closer, but left the fine work for the smaller ship, who probably had a pilot more familiar with their controls.

A reply comes over the comm almost immediately.

"This is Grey 6. I'm aboard the shuttle. There no reason to go over the details of the crew beyond the fact that we picked up your pilot who needs emergency medical assistance."

"Make sure that pilot in my six doesn't get an itchy finger!"

After Devon's comm, Grey six comes over the comm once more.

"As I recall, I was Grey 5's wingman until he got shot up pretty good. Then you allowed me to take the lead. Why is it you're not in a starfighter? Did you get shuttled over to a desk job?"

"Who got shot down first? Don't know if you're trying to trick me. Green 1 got blasted first, but Grey 4 if you're only referring to the squadron."
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:05, Thu 31 Jan 2008.

Devon grinned and clicked on his encryped commlink.

'One, this is Eleven.  I'm pretty damn certain that Grey 6 is Ze... no names:  uhh...  I think Grey 6 is on the level and is actually the Grey 6 from back when we were training - They have knowledge of the sims we flew.  Orders?'

Whilst he waited for the Commander to respond, Devon clicked his fighters comms back over to the frequency that Grey 6 was using.
'Grey 6, this is Grey 5.  Desk job?  hell no! My call sign now is Eleven and I'm the Z-95 to your aft.  Sorry for the interrogation, but as far as I know, we weren't expecting you here.'

Devon slewed his course a few degrees so he wasn't aimed at the shuttles rear and resumed his escort position; musing whilst he did so that although HE might not have been expecting Grey 6 to show up, that didn't mean that Nine hadn't been expecting her arrival; or maybe Nine had even arranged the whole thing...
This message was last edited by the player at 03:40, Thu 31 Jan 2008.

Jamie wondered at the arrival of his recently parted comrade, but made no comments.  The time for that would come later.
"Yes, sir!" Jamie saluted quickly, but neatly, like an Imperial, before limping off to find a few extra weapons and the passengers.
Having found Darak with the freed slaves, he requests a makeshift security force.
"The fight for your freedom is nearly over," he announced, "But we're not away yet!  One of our pilots has been injured and is being brought on board by a shuttle that we deem friendly.  We do not have any spare manpower, but we wish to be on guard, just in case.  I need two volunteers to come with me to keep the ship secure.  Darak, our man is injured.  We will need your services as well.  Who will help me?"
Jamie spoke the last question with poise, in an effort to prompt a quick response.

Accepting that the shuttle was going to dock Exilim dropped the port shields.

"Jek, let me know if you can finish plotting our jump course. I can manage sensors for now."

Knowing that they are under manned for the all the cruisers operations, Exilim will attempt to manage both shields and sensors for the moment.

Darak turns to Jamie.  "I'll come sir.  Sounds like you'll need a medic.  Let me just put a medkit together."

Darak grabs his medical kit, any available weapon Jamie offers him and then follows him to the docking bay.

"No worries boss." Jek says on comm in answer to Exilim.

Pushing his chair from sensors to navigation he begins punching up the jump course.

"Okay.  The plot is still here from before.  We just need to get out of the planet's gravity shadow and we're good.  I've sent the jump point to the pilot console.  Get us there and we're outta here."

"On my way."  As soon as the shuttle is docked, Flash swings about and pulls straight out to the jump point, checking to make sure he isn't missing anything.

Jamie and Darak quickly made their way to the port docking hatch, several of the armed civilians serving us their security force.  As they reached the hatch they felt a small bump as the shuttle docked and the clamps engaged.  The green light came on to indicate good seal.

Moments later, Exilim came over the comm.  "Seal engaged, go when ready."

Opening the hatch, Jamie moved into the airlock, weapon in hand.  Nobody had made an effort from the other side to open the shuttle door.  Reaching the far side, Jamie opened the latch to an open airlock.

Moving through he found Captain Zyra Jax, wearning a zero-g spacesuit, minus helmet.  She was using a vibrodagger to cut the flight suit of a man on the ground.  As she worked she was applying a stim patch and an artifical respirator.

As Jamie moved closer, he recognised that it was Nirro that Jax was working on.  It did not look like he was breathing.

Daron was behind the controls of the lambda-shuttle, powering down engines, shields and weapons. He turned his head back, trying to get a look at who was boarding the shuttle as his fingers continued to work on the console in front of him.

"Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes."

Zenna stated as she rounded the corner of one of the passageways of the shuttle. The young woman was wearing a long-sleeve grey shirt and dark pants. A 3/4 length short-sleeve jacket of dark blue is cinched at her waist. Her hands are covered by matching gloves. A Blastech DL-22 is partial visible as it is holster under her left arm. A small utility belt circled her waist.

Seeing the condition of Nirro on the floor of the shuttle, Zenna asked. "Where's the medic? I stated that this was a medical emergency."

Not bothering himself with pleasentries, Darak immediately moved over to the patient and began a medical assessment.  At the same time he pulled gear out of his medkit and began to treat the patient.  If the women with the patient seemed competent with her ventilation, he left her whilst he completed his initial assessment & treatment.



OOC:  Medical assessment check please!
This message was last edited by the player at 05:49, Sun 03 Feb 2008.

"Jek, make sure you also send the jump data to Eleven out in the fighter." Exilim commented over the ship's comm.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:34, Tue 05 Feb 2008.

Assessing the severity of the patient, Darak turns to Jamie.  "I need to operate, now.  We need to move this guy to medical fast.  Find me a stretcher.  Also I'm gonna need Jek to work with me.  This guy is in a coma and I think he's bleeding internally.  Looks like his suit was ruptured too.  This man is lucky to be a live.  Tell one I'm gonna need to dunk him in bacta after I operate.    He needs to get us somewhere with real medical facilities fast."

Darak turns back to his patient.  Rather than use any equipment, he just places his hands on various parts of Nirro's body.  If questioned he explains he's assessing for internal damage.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:45, Sun 03 Feb 2008.

Zenna wasn't satisfied with Darak's explaination when she asked what he was doing to the pilot. She knelt by the pilot with a medical kit in hand. "I don't know what sort of training you received. I've some medical training so let me help."

The young woman looked at Darak sharply. "Just what are you doing?"

"Bloated, stiff spots could mean internal bleeding," Jamie informed Zenna.
"Nine can help him; you come with me.  Let's find a stretcher.  The Medical Bay is just over there."
To the ex-slaves Jamie brought with him, he turned and said, "Don't let them out of sight.  I'll be back."
Jamie led the way to the Med facilities to search for a stretcher, and on the way called over his comm, "Five to Bridge; Eight's gonna need surgery.  Darak will need Jek's help; send him down to the Med Bay right away.  Tell One if he's there, Eight will need a bacta treatment soon after surgery.  Darak says we need a real med facility."

Darak ignored the woman as he worked, trusting five to give him the space he needs.  Finishing his hands-on assessment, Darak quickly inserted an intravenous line, gave the patient a combination of drugs then looked up.

"He's stable enough to move now.  He's breathing on his own now, but I need to get him to theatre stat."

He looked to Zenna.  "Sorry, wasn't trying to be rude there but I needed to focus on what I was doing.  I think Jek and I can handle the surgery but you're top of my list if we need reinforcements.  I get the feeling they'll need your help operating the ship.  When they stick me on a gun turret, you know you're desperate.  I'm a medic, not a gunner."

Mark sighed.  "Five, this is one.  We're running on backup hyperdrive only and I will not make a straight run to our destinations.  Too many lives are at stake.  Even shaving off as much time as I dare, the trip is going to take. . ."  Mark pauses as he pulls up navigation on his console.

". . .three days" he says with a sigh.

He switches over his comm.  "One to navigation.  Jek, Darak says he needs you to prep the med bay.  He's bringing in one of my pilots.  I'll plot the jump."

He turns to Flash and Exilim.  "Two, get us to the jump co-ordinates as fast as you can.  As soon as the patient is in surgery, I want to be in hyperspace.  Four, stay on sensors, but also I want you to divert all reserve power to the engines.  I want us out of this gravity shadow yesterday."



OOC: The jump (which Mark is insisting has multiple jumps) is gonna take 12 hours (with a good astrogate check).  Since the <i>Sarratoga is running off its backup hyperdrive (rating x6) its gonna take three days.</i>
This message was last edited by the player at 03:13, Tue 05 Feb 2008.

Zenna went with Jaime to the Medical bay. She helped out with the stretcher as needed while she listen in on the communcation between Jaime and the Commander. That was a voice she recognized. She called to Daron, "You're with me until the Captain transfers you to someone else."

Zenna gave the medic a short nod as Darak explained himself. For what it was worth, she had to trust that the Commander wouldn't put someone in charge of the Medical bay unless he was qualified. She just hoped that she didn't need to make a personal visit anytime soon.

Once Jaime and Zenna ferried the injured pilot into the Medical bay, she turned towards the exit. "Jaime, I should report to the Commander ASAP. Captain Jax brought Daron aboard."

"Please inform the Commander that both of us will be available to meet him whenever he is free."

When everything was powered down, he got up from the pilots seat and with no other orders, stood near the injured pilot should anything be required of him.

Officer Kern finally spoke with him and he nodded. "Yes, sir," moving to join her. He was glad that they had missed out on all of the combat between the two capital ships and their compliment of fighters. If it was all the same to him, he was just as happy to have been able to help pick up one of their hurt squad members.

"Yes Sir" he replied to Mark.

He focused on his growing workload. Unsure if Jek had been able to send the jump data to Devon, he made that his first action, reminding himself to send the updated jump data when it was ready. Once done he quickly began going through all the systems available to him. Drawing power from were he could, he directed it to the Sarratoga's engines.

He will periodically switch back to the sensors to make sure they don't get any further surprises coming thier way.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:23, Wed 06 Feb 2008.

"Already there," was Flash's reply a moment later.  Maneuvering the Sarratoga into position, he called back over the comm.  "Everyone ready?"  Hardly waiting for a response, he punched it into hyperspace.  Checking the display to make sure everything was okay(though he wouldn't be able to notice anything small), he sat back in his chair with a relieved sigh.

OOC: Assuming no-one calls on me to wait, and that everything else necessary gets accomplished before the jump.

And didn't I already plan the jump?  Originally, the first jump would be quick, a few minutes, the next one an hour or so, and the next several hours, intended to lose any pursuit.  Although One might want to change that to get us to our eventual destination sooner.

No further defence force craft moved to prevent the Sarratoga's departure.  Whether they were too slow or too hesitant to mount another attack force to challenge them remained unknown.  Needless to say, most of the crew were more then happy to have the break.  Approximately ten minutes later the ship jumped into hyperspace on the first leg of its journey.

Two hours, and three jumps later, the Sarratoga sat in an abandoned system.  Darak and Jek had been successful with their surgery, stabilising Nirro but the slicer still remained in critical condition, needing a bacta tank urgently to survive.

Depsite round the clock efforts by Slan and Mark, the primary hyperdrive could not be brought online.  Having no other choice, Mark had the pilot loaded aboard the lambda shuttle.  Zyra went as pilot while Darak remained with his patient.  Once secure the shuttle, which could travel much faster, jumped into hyperspace, enroute for the Indefatigable.

With the port docking hatch finally clear, an exhausted and very dishevelled Devon could finally dock his Headhunter and have a meal and a shower.  With the cruiser now making a direct run to its final destination, there was no need for a fighter escort.

Despite the relative quiet, everyone had plenty to keep them occupied.  A cruiser normally operated with a much larger crew that could rotate on and off shift.  With such a small group on board, people were in constant demand.  Mark ensured that everyone got at least eight hours rest and a hot meal, thanks to some of the rescued prisoners who fired up the galley.

Three days passed quickly and trhe exhausted crew all gathered in the cockpit as they returned to normalspace.  Mark had deliberately arranged the arrival point to be well away fom the Indy and her support craft.  Jumping an unfamiliar cruiser into the middle of a republic fleet was not a smart move.

It turned out the caution was unnecessary.  Having arrived a good two days before them, Jax had already briefed the Alliance on the pending arrival of the cruiser.

The Headhunter and Cloakshape were flown into the Indy's fighter bay while a skeleton crew arrived by shuttle to babysit the Sarratoga.  The shuttle then flew the Talons, their new allies and the former slaves back to the frigate.

---

OOC:  Congrats all.  The mission was a success!  Will be posting a new thread shortly