Four weeks had passed since the resignation of Commander Sheppard and the majority of his squadron from the Permedian Hydian Alliance Starfighter command in order to keep the Black Talons active as a rogue palamilitary organisation.  It had only taken a few weeks to bow out of their roles as they were members of a now defunct unit.  Rather then have to wait for replacement pilots, transfer of responsibilities and the like, the group needed to merely return all their equipment and perform all the administrative requirements.

Mark and Zyra had made no effort to contact anyone during this time.  In fact it was rumoured that neither was aboard Indeftaigable as neither had been seen for some time.

Some of the Black Talons wished they could have joined them.  Whilst some crew sympathised with their decision to go out on their own, most saw the group as being mercenary or worse yet traitors to the Alliance.  Many said they were worse than the Empire as they were only going to fight a war for profit.

Finally all the crew received an electronic memo that simply read "Hanger Bay 4, tomorrow 0500, ZJ."

All the Talons gathered in the hanger bay at the allotted time.  At this time of the morning only a few technicians and the duty officer was about.  At a few minutes after five, a YT-1300 transport landed in the bay.  A Sullustan on the boarding ramp waved at the group to come aboard.  They were taken to the lounge area and gestured to seat.  No words were spoken.  Either the Sullustan did not speak Basic, or he chose not to.

Once everyone was strapped in, the Sullustan left and moved up into the cockpit.  The door was shut and locked.  Almost immediately the craft took off and within 5 minutes made the jump to hyperspace.

Four long hours passed.  Nobody made any move to speak to them and there was no way to determine where they were going.  It was only when the Talons felt the transports repulsors kick in, shortly before it landed did they realise they had arrived.

The Sullustan appeared from the cockpit and hurried them all to the boarding ramp and then off the ship.  Once they passengers were disembarked he moved back up the ramp and even before the ramp was up the ship was taking off once more.  It flew out the mag field and into space, showing the Talons they were on some sort of orbital station.  The fact the walls were made of rock made it quickly clear this was an old asteroid mining facility.

The Black Talons found themselves alone in a large hanger bay.  The bay could have held several medium sized transports, but looked barren with only the Sarratoga and two Z-95 Headhunters off to one side.  Otherwise the place was barren.



OOC:  Welcome to your first day as a palamilitary group.  It's going to be 'interesting' to say the least.

Please make sure your char sheets are up to date.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:23, Tue 19 Feb 2008.

After the transport had left, Zyra was quick to enter the hanger bay.  "Ah, you made it.  Faster then I expected too.  I'm sure Rek'thall was his usual antisocial self.  Probably made his co-pilot do the meet and greet for him too.  Still he's efficient and discrete.  Can't ask for more."

"Welcome to our new home.  I've taken to calling it Talon Nest but that's not chiselled into the rock anywhere.  This asteroid was heavily mind for dueterium and other metals about 75 years ago.  Once they had got all they could they packed up their gear and moved on.  Fortunately I have access to their mining records and was able to 'erase' the existance of this one.  That should keep us secure for a while I hope."

"So let me give you the grand tour.  How was the trip?"

'Yeah,' Grumbled Devon, 'He was real sociable.'
Devons normal god cheer reasserted itself and he grinned as he looked round the hanger.  He, for one, seemed happier with the new non-military, less official structure for the squadron - probably reminded him of more carefree days when all he had to worry about was who's speeder to steal next...

'On the basis that I'll probably get roped into repairing those -' the shipjacker gestured across the hanger at where the battered fighters and Sarratoga sat '-I spent most the journey reading up on their designs.  Not the most entertaining stuff I ever read... but useful.'

Shouldering his backpack, Devon started ambling through the hanger, his head turning like a tourist; the only thing missing was the tri-d camera on a strap around his neck.
'So we got us a base now?  How well shielded is it?  Not deflectors - I mean how much radiation are we leaking?  The less the better - make us harder to detect.'

Daron walked down the ramp of the yt-1300, carrying his bag with all of his worldly belongings packed inside. It contained everything he'd brought with him when he left his home world.

He looked over the area surrounding their transport here to the new secret base of the Black Talons. There was definately a lot of room here for the Talons to grow. Perhaps eventually they will get to the point where they were as powerful and well connected as they had been when they were with the PHA.

Daron was a military man. His family had been in the military for several generations, and Daron had been trained his whole life to join the military of his home world. This was definately a new path in his life. He was turning his back on the military-blood that ran through his veins and was venturing into unknown territory. Daron felt he had made the right decision though.

"I had a four-hour nap on the way," Jamie offered as he set down the duffel he was carrying.  Other than a comlink and the pistol at his side, he'd managed to fit everything in that bag.
"Excellent work, Captain!  Err...are we still using our former ranks?  Or are you Miss Jax now?  Anyway, we'll have plenty of space to work."
Jamie eyed the duffel on the ground and picked it up again.  If they stopped at his new quarters, he'd hate to have to make a special trip back here for his effects.
"How much more is there to see?"

Exilim followed the others off the transport looking around their new base as he went. While he carried everthing he owned with him, he still felt a little naked. The sniper rifle that should have been with him was now back with the PHA.

"Nice rock" he said. "After our recent escapades the flight was......very uneventful" he added.

Looking around the largely empty space he though to himself ....we should have acquired more ships.

Allen slowly ambled down the ramp near the back, carrying a half-empty duffel bag which still contained all his worldly possessions, minus the blaster on his belt.

He motioned at the headhunters.  "How well do those things fly right now?  They look a bit beat up."

Jax smiles at Jamie.  "I believe the Commander intends to retain a degree of military discipline but until he enlightens us, Zyra is fine."

"As to your question Mister Kismet I am unsure.  The asteroid acts as a natural shield to sensors.  It would take a capital class ship doing a detailed scan to locate life signs.  However, that (gestures to the magnetic field) is a giveaway.  We can't exactly turn off the force field or we'd all be sucked into space and at present we have no way to hide it.


Seeing the interest in the fighters Zyra walks towards them.  "Unfortunately we ended up selling the Cloakshape as we needed the credits more than a fighter that would take too much time and effort to repair.  The first Headhunter is actually the Commander's as is fully serviceable.  The other one is the fighter Devon flew at Hydia IV.  I'm assured that her systems are fully operational and just needs some work on her hull."

"The cruiser needs quite another few weeks of work, not just on her hull but her systems too.  I've had some slicer friends erase all traces of her former identity, but we have yet to program a new one.  We need to choose what we will call her.  We also invested in a few droids to help automate her a little more.  A few droids have also been purchased to keep the base running, reducing our personnel needs."

"In short we have a fledging force.  We are short on supplies, credits and nearly everything else.  We don't even have a transport vessel, hence the need for your transportation with a third party.  We will need to procure all these things quickly to ensure our continuing effectiveness."

Zyra continues the tour of the base, which is largely spartan.  A few of the former slaves can be seen working on various maintenance tasks.  After showing the Talons the main areas she leads them into a medium sized room that looks like it used to be a storage area, now converted to a briefing room.  It was now equipped with a dozen chairs around a large table.  A data projector was hung on a wall.  On the table was a pot of caf and a pile of cups.

At the head of the table Mark sat, sipping caf and flicking through a pile of datapads.  Seeing Zyra arrive he put down the pads.  "About time Jax.  I need you to look at these.  I'm a soldier, not a damn accountant.  I'm making you my official bookkeeper.  Keep the money rolling in, and not too much skimming unless I'm getting half alright?"  Mark laughs at his own poor attempt at humour.

He looked to the arrivals.  "Well sit, sit.  There's no general to impress here.  Whilst we're still going to have a hierarchy, things are going to be a little more democratic than you're used to so I want you to come armed with your opinions.  You've all got an equal share in this."

"Firstly I've prepared an organisational structure for the Talons.  This will be your chance to agree or disagree. We're trying to distance ourselves from the Alliance so they are not held accountable for our actions."

"I will retain operational command.  Zyra will remain my XO and will be responsible for our finances and intelligence.  Jamie and Exilim.  You will be my flight leaders.  In my absence, Jamie, you will be in command for space-based operations, Exilim will command on the ground.  Devon will serve as our chief mechanic.  Devon, Darron, Zenna amd Allen; I have yet to determine any specific responsibilities for you.  If you have an idea, let me know.  We have a lot of work that needs doing and not a lot of people to handle it."

"Anyway, our main points of business today are simple.  I need your thoughts, opinions and comments on our courses of action.  We need to rename our cruiser.  Additionally, as we are a smaller group we should consider reallocating our designation numbers."

Devon gravitated toward the caf as soon as he entered the room.  Cup in hand, he listened in silence to Marks little speech and then frowned in thought.

'Back when I used to steal stuff for a living, first thing you always did was set up a secure bolt hole...'  Devon gestured around the room, to indicate the base in general.  'we got a good one of those already.  The NEXT thing you did was work out what to do when the law found out where your safe house was and decided to come visit...  I know we're not stealing speeders or running a chopshop here, but some of the principles are the same:  Sooner or later, someone WILL come after us.  Might be local law enforcement or pirates with a bone to pick... might be Empire if we're really lucky.  It wouldn't hurt to have a plan in place for when that happens.'

back when I used to steal things?? Devon thought to himself  hang on, I still do. Only difference is these days its starfighters, not speeders

Bishop wandered into the conference room, apparently unconcerned he was late.  Scratching at his beard he stepped in and to the side as to not disturb the Commander as he spoke.  He let a bit of a laugh escape as Devon spoke, more of a huff of air than a laugh, but he said nothing as he leaned up against the wall.  Taking stock of those in the room he sighed, some thoughts milling about in his mind.

Allen heard the laugh, and turned toward the source.  Seeing the newcomer, he rose with an exclamation of surprise.  "Loka!  Bishop, wasn't it?  What are you doing here?"

Mark nodded to Bishop and indicated he take a seat.  For those of you who have yet to meet Bishop, he is the latest addition to our little group.  His skills make him a perfect addition to our little band.  He also has a particular dislike for slaving bands.  It was our little 'encounter' recently that caught his attention."

"As to your comments Devon, we shall see little in local law enforcement as we are in a sector not commonly traversed.  It is several hours to the nearest major space lane.  We will not likely see people here unless it is a co-ordinated assault.  If that happens our choices are limited.  We can run or we can fight in here.  It would take incredible sustained firepower to damage this rock.  Only the empire is likely to be able to spare that kind of power for a pirate force.  I can tell you right now that if a Star Destroyer parks itself anywhere in the system, we bug out.

One advantage we have, something you wont have seen on your way in is that we are located within an asteroid field.  As such any ships much larger then a starfighter will have great difficulty getting here without a massive asteroid sweep first.  It took us some time to land our cruiser here and she lost half her shield power in the process."</b>

He looks to Bishop.  "Since you missed the initial briefing let me bring you up to speed on the main points.  I'm looking for a name for our cruiser, we need to reallocate designations.  Additionally I am deciding wether we need to retain a more formal military posture, in which I designate ranks for all of you.  As it is we have a chain of command;  I am in overall command with Zyra as my adjutant.  Jamie and Xil have command of my space and ground forces respectively.  Would people feel more comfortable with a rank structure?"

Daron came into the room and grabbed himself a cup of caf as well. He hadn't been able to catch any sort of rest on the trip here, anxious as he was to find out the direction they would be going now. He took his new drink and found himself a seat and listened as the others talked. Daron thought for a moment about what specific responsibilities he felt he could take care of for the Talons.