The call comes in.  The strike is to occur that very evening, less than 5 hours time.  Still tired after the last mission, the Talons grab some rack time, go over their plans and prepare their gear.  True to their word, the Imperials deliver eight explosive charges, complete with radio detonators.

The transport arrives shortly after.  Without fanfare, the Talons are gestured on-board.  Along with them, another two dozen people get on board.  The majority are clearly Imperial Army from their uniforms and gear.  Four off to one side, whilst clearly Imperial look more like they are special forces.

The Talons are primarily ignored, though Flash gets a large number of hostile looks from the Imperials.  The army soldiers chat eagerly to each other and occasionally to one of the human Talons.  The Special Forces men silently check their gear and then spend the time studying their datapads.

After nearly two hours, the transport co-pilot comes into the rear.  He speaks to the team commanders before moving before the Talons.  Clearly unsure who is in command, he speaks to the entire group.

"You're the second drop.  You're being dropped approximately 10 klicks south of the target zone.  You'll have to hump it from there.  You have exactly five hours to make it there, complete your task and make it to the extraction point.  You're not there, you walk home.  Co-ordinates are being downloaded to your datapads.  Good luck gentlemen."  He moves on.

Five minutes later, the first team are dropped off at their location.  Approximately fifteen minutes later, the Talons get the green light.  They quickly hustle off the transport.  Moments later, the ship has taken off, leaving the team alone.

They had been dropped in a large field, that stretched as far as they could see.  According to their datapads the target zone was 11.3km SSE.  Programming in the co-ordinates for the petrochem plant they found it was just under 400km, to the west.




OOC:  Okay, the mission is starting.  Everyone needs to supply a gear list or I will assume you brought nothing but basic weaponry.  Jamie has 8 explosive charges.  His studying of the plans tells him he can likely do the job with 6 (if he does it right), sparing 2 charges for Zenna's team.

At present the teams consist of:

Team 1:  Exilim, Jamie, Mark, Devon, Flash
Team 2:  Zenna, Daron, Bishop

Zyra's slicer contact has yet to show.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:40, Wed 29 Oct 2008.

"Five hours! Mark growled.  "That's going to make things tough.  The petrochem plant is four hundred klicks.  A landspeeder is going to take nearly 3 hours to get there.  We may have to scrub the mission.  Of course, this slicer contact has yet to show."

"Looks like we're going to be humping it to the strike zone.  In full gear it's going to take at least an hour to get there.  I'm a pilot, not a grunt."

Mark stopped growling and began assessing his gear.  Blaster carbine, heavy pistol, extra power packs, electrobinoculars, glow rod, medpac and commlink.  He'd left his field kit and armour behind, he hoped that wouldn't prove a mistake.

He flicked on his commlink and quickly checked it was functioning and he'd set it up.  Channel one for the scout team, channel 2 for Zenna's team, Channel 3 for the Imperial pickup.  Whilst he wished he could hear Zyra's supporting voice he knew the range was far too great.

"Ready to go sir."  Zenna didn't check her gear, she'd already done that on the ride in.  "Jamie, have you prepared the explosives?  I can place them in a good spot, that's about all I know how to do."

The group was distracted by the sound of an approaching vehicle.  Mark immediately pulled out his electrobinoculars and scanned the horizon briefly before picking the source.

"Airspeeder.  Civilian model.  Looks like some sort of air taxi.  Whoever it is they're heading this way."

Everyone looked around for cover, but there was little to be found.  Flash, Xil and Zenna seemed to almost vanish, so quickly and skillfully they found cover.  The remainder of the team were left flatfooted as the speeder circled and then landed less than fifty metres away.

Slinging his carbine, Mark quickly made sure his blaster was loose in its shoulder harness and set to stun before he approached the speeder.  As he approached he noticed a woman climbing out of the driver's seat.

"Can I help you ma'am" Mark asked?

The woman steps toward the front of the air taxi and looks about, possibly slightly confused, then focuses on Mark, like he might look familiar.  "I'm supposed to pick up a tour group, to tour some local industry.  My name's Masters."

She has a blaster, but it is not in her hand.  She leans against the front of the speeder and relaxesa little.  "Course, if you're it, you're missing a couple people.  I'm looking for a man named Mark."

She's wearing a well used coverall, her blond hair in a ponytail. She's about 5 ft 6. midtwenties.

"Tour group huh?  I think you may have spoken to my business partner, Zyra.  I'm Mark Sheppard."

Mark gave up on the verbal code quickly, he was a plain speaking man.

"Well I must say I approve of your choice of transport.  I was worried my group wouldn't get their 'tour' done in time.  This baby looks like she could hit two hundred klicks.  More, if you can get past those speed limiters."

"What do you think Mr Kismet?" Mark called over his shoulder.

He then turned his attention back to his guest.  "Well lets introduce you to this motley bunch.  We need to make it quick as we have a long walk ahead of us."
This message was last edited by the player at 00:56, Wed 22 Oct 2008.

Seeing their new visitor was friendly, Zenna popped out of hiding and flicked the safety on her rifle.  Offering a simple "Hello" to their guest, she began loading all her gear into the landspeeder.  She quickly ordered Daron and Bishop to do the same.

"Greetings" Xil said as he stepped out from his hiding spot. Noting that Zenna was loading her gear, and had already instructed Daron and Bishop to do the same, addresses Sheila, "Names Xil, I run the ground based ops. The tourist are Daron, Bishop and Zenna, who as you've probably figured is the tour leader." he said as he pointed over to them. He quickly introduces the rest of the team, pointing them out as he goes along.

Addressing everyone he says "The plan is fairly simple at present. The 'Tour' group will check out the petrochem depot, see if they can get in, lay some charges and get out without anyone seeing them. Zenna will make the call to go in or not. They then need to get back here asap for the pick up." Pausing momentarily before continuing "The rest of us are going to do a quick hike to our main target and then follow the same basic plan. Get in, lay the charges, get out and back here. We'll adjust as needed. We've got just under five hours so the sooner we get moving the better. Any questions?"


OOC: Just so you know, Xil is carrying his blaster rifle and pistol, X3 spare power packs, vibroblade, macrobinoculars, secure commlink, a couple of concussion grenades from the previous mission and is wearing his light armour.

Flash emerged from cover slightly more reluctantly than the others, and only after he was sure this new person was friendly.  His skin seemed a slightly paler color, and judging by the speed with which he disappeared, you'd say getting jumped merely moments off the drop-ship isn't exactly his thing, to put it mildly.

He listened to the review of the plan, and shook his head slightly, indicating that he had none.

OOC: Flash is carrying his blaster pistol, and a rifle, 2 spare power packs, his vibrodagger, tool kit and datapad in case I need them, grappling spike launcher for much the same reason, secure comlink, and of course his all-temp cloak.

Ooc, sheila is carrying her blaster, 4 power pacs, toolkit, datapad, security kit, comlink, medipac, 4 energy cells, pretty much everything she owns except her flight suit. 

Sheila listened attentively, then commented "Zyra didn't tell me which group you wanted me with.  You want me to fly the taxi, or come with the factory group?"

Devon slunk out from where he had been lurking at the back of the group.   Finally, something he could get his teeth into and shake!  So far, his work with the group had been somewhat outside his normal areas of expertise - but this was right up his alley.

'Shouldn't be too hard - lets take a look'
Seating himself in the pilots seat of the speeder, Devon leaned sideways to peer under the dashboard and then popped a service panel open.

Within moments, Devon was stretched across the front seats on his side, working inside a service panel underneath the main controls.
'Thing is with these taxi's... he explained to anyone who was listening.  'Is they always have overly cautious safety limiters in the drive programs... more concerned with reliability than performance.  Easier to put inhibitors on the engine than design a new engine... meaning the engine is capable of more than the drive program will allow.  Someone pass me my datapad.'

Accepting the datapad, Devon plugged a thin data lead into it, the other end he connected somewhere in the guts of the controls.

'Thanks.  So what you do... is work out how to switch the inhibitors off.  He began tapping buttons on the datapad.  'Only you don't do that, cos turning them off can upset the drive program - it likes its safety limiters.  So instead, you leave the limiters on... and just reset them with a far higher allowed top speed.  In this case, 300 klicks per.'




OOC:  Devons equipment is a stun baton, blaster pistol, blaster carbine, 2 spare power packs, tool kit, secure commlink

Mark watched impatiently as Devon worked on the airspeeder.  He checked his chrono again.  Every moment wasted was a little less time on target.  After five minutes he could wait no longer.

"Mister Kismet.  Your time is up.  If you can't get pas the limiter than Zenna's team will have to make do.  We have a long hike ahead of us and we can't afford to delay any longer."

'But I just need a few more...'  Devon sighed and started to disconnect his equipment - Mark was right about time being against them...

A minute more and I'm sure I would have got it... he told himself.  Not for the first time, Devon wondered if he was failing to live up to the teams expectations of him...
This message was last edited by the player at 23:21, Wed 08 Oct 2008.

OOC: Modified Blaster Pistol, Blaster Rifle, Padded Flight Suit, Comlink, Grappling Spike Launcher, Power pack, explosive charges (6), Scratch-built explosives (2)

Jamie bowed politely to Ms. Masters when he was introduced by Xil.
A gentleman is merely a man who says one thing while thinking another.
"Pleased to meet you," he greeted her cooly.
Blondes have been the bane of my existence since I was 13...

After passing two of the Imperial-provided charges to Zenna, Jamie began walking towards his target.
"A little less talk, a little more walk, please.  We are on the clock and we're not being paid overtime."
This message was last edited by the player at 23:55, Wed 08 Oct 2008.

Xil nodded in agreement as Mark told Devon it was time to move on too little time for what we want to do he thought to himself.

"Zenna" he called out "Make the best time you can in getting to the depot, would hate for you guys to miss the ride back." Turning to Sheila again he said "You get to come on a walk with the rest of us, we don't need any more going to the depot." Besides he thought to himself as he turned and started to follow Jamie to their target I would rather have the unknown element where Mark and Jamie can help keep an on her, even if she is Zyra's contact.

Without looking back to see if the others where following he called out "Let's get a move on."

Sheila nodded to the various members as they were introduced, then when Xil answered her question, she said. "Just a moment."  She reached into the speeder and pulled out her pack.  "OK."  She fell in with the walking group.

Flash loosened his blaster pistol in it's holster, and fell in with his group.  It was going to be a long walk, but that was nothing new to him.  He was used to the hard life.  Still, he hadn't thought to be reminded of it like this.  He thought he'd gotten away from it when he joined up with this group, but apparently it was going to be almost as bad; jumping from place to place, constantly on the move.  At least he didn't have to make new friends each time.  At least he could make any friends at all.

Zenna, Daron and Bishop piled into the airspeeder and quickly vanished into the twilight.  Exilim quickly called for the group to move out.  Shouldering their gear the group fell into line.  Jamie took point, while Mark brought up the rear.  Flash, Sheila and Devon walked together in the middle.

Exilim meanwhile, roamed out well in front of the group, serving as a forward scout.  Everyone walked a little easier, knowing that sniper's skilled eyes were alert for danger.

Depsite the precautions, no dangers presented themselves and an hour and a half later the group approached the factory.  The lass few hundred metres proved to be the worst for the sun had fully set and the group could not afford to light any glow lamps so close to their target.  It took a good fifteen extra minutes to get into visual range.

The fence was only four hundred metres away.  They were facing the northwest corner of the fence.  The main gate was on the north side, where the road from the factory connected to the main road nearby.  In the southwest corner a landing area stood empty with no lights running to suggest inbound traffic.

There was some lights running in the main facility and the sound of machinery, suggesting the factory was operational, despite the late hour.  There was a guardpost near the main gate with lights running inside.




OOC: I'm gonna use the factory ground plan from Galactic Campaign guide for ease.  Only difference is, this building has a couple of upper floors as well.  Externally the place is as I described.  The whole this is surrounded by a 10m fence with barbed wire at the top.  There is a guard house near the main gate on the northern side and a landing strip on the sw side.  From the fence to the building is about 200m of open ground.  You can't see much of the grounds due to the lack of lighting.  All you can make out is vague outlines.  The building is fairly well lit as is the main guard post.  The rest is in darkness and shadows.

Oh, and you've got 3hr 15min until your scheduled pickup

Sheila followed allong with the others as they marched and when they got into range and stopped, she peered at the factory through the dark, trying to percieve any thing about the fence, if it was electrified, or what it would take to get through it.

Exilim signaled for everyone to come to a stop as they came up behind him. He crouched down and pulled out his macrobinouclars. Intently peering through the darkness, he tried to make out as much detail as possible. "This is where the fun starts" he murmured.

Xil will look from the main gate and guard house down to the landing area.

Sheilsa whispered  "Does the fence look powered or trapped beyond the barbed wire?"

Crouching nearby, Devon a last second check of his chosen gear, then turned his attention to the compound, regarding it with the eyes of a professional thief.  If that fence WAS electrified, then there would be a junction box connected to it somewhere - probably a whole bunch of them at regular intervals...

'Well' he said just loud enough for the others to hear 'That landing pad is nice and dark, hard to spot us there - but no cover and we have to go over the fence.  Or theres the front gate; If we can get the guard nice and quiet, then we eliminate the problem of the fence.'

OOC:  Two natural 1s in a row!  the RPOL dice roller hates me!

"Can't see anything." Mark commented after scanning the area with his electrobinoculars.  "Doesn't mean its not there of course.  Seven, you or Five carrying a sensor pack?  Would have thought 'em standard fare in your professions."



OOC:  Either a sensor pack or a security kit carries basic sensors designed to detect electric currents; the former to help detect things, the latter so you don't cut a live wire.  Anyone who has either would (with a successful roll) quickly determine if the fence was powered or not.  The sensor pack could also help determine any sensors on the fence (if any).
This message was last edited by the player at 22:58, Tue 14 Oct 2008.

"I'm a demolitions expert, not a slicer," Jamie said mournfully.  "Those things are too heavy; it's like carrying your house on your back.  Sometimes I have to move quickly.  I'm thinking we should just try to climb it.  I'll check it out.  Someone have a medical kit handy, please."
Jamie removed his gloves and stepped up to the fence, locking his jaw for what he was about to do.  He held out both hands and lightly touched the tips of his little fingers to the chain links.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:48, Wed 15 Oct 2008.

Nothing happened when Jamie touched the fence.  There was clearly no power running through the fence.

Sheila had been reaching for her kit, but jamie got there first.  "I have a security kit, but never mind. Shall we cut it? Or do you want to go tohrough the front gate?"

Flash muttered(he couldn't really grumble), and withdrew his tool kit.  "I'm for cutting our way in."  He rifled through the contents, for his heavy duty cutters.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:45, Thu 16 Oct 2008.

Sheila pulled her cutters out of her toolkit.  "Anyone else want to join the fun?" she whispered.

OOC. now I guess I have to start making strength rolls

Mark shrugged, looking over at Xil.  "Your call four."

While Xil was thinking he looked over at Sheila.  "Guess I'll call you ten.  While four ponders our tactical options can you just run your sensor kit over the fence?  Hate to avoid electrocution to find the place is rigged with sensors."

Thinking for a moment "If the fence is sensor free, I want to see how long it takes to get through a wire. If cutting through one bit of the fence is difficult then it will take too long to make a hole and we'll switch tatics."

While Sheila was checking the fence and they waited for a part of it to be cut, Xil ran through some of the other options in his head over the top, could be painful but we could do it quietly. Frontal approach, we have to be careful that the guards can't raise the alarm.... how many were there anyway

SHeila handgs the cutters on her belts, stuffs the toolkit back into it's place in her pak, pulls her security kit out, and checks over the tence.

"I'm not getting anything off the fence. How about everyone who's cutting take a wire and see  how we do,? for your test."  She tucks the kit back into it's spot in  the pack, lifts the cutters from her belt and takes a wire.

Flash settles his cutters onto a wire, and after a glance over at Sheila, sees how long it takes to get through.

Jamie stepped away from the fence as the handymen got to work.  After replacing his gloves, he made sure he had remembered to set all his weapons to lethal damage.
After what they did at the space port...I'm not going to great lengths to be nice.
Readying his rifle, he stood watch over the workers, scanning the compound and the terrain behind the team, looking for any changes in scenery.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:35, Fri 17 Oct 2008.

Sheila applies her wire cutters to the fence and pushes down.  While the cutters were designed for more delicate wires, they do manage to cut the fence when sufficient force is supplied.  Seeing her success, Flash tries his end and enjoys similar success.  It would be slow going and their cutters would likely be ruined by the end of it, but they would do the job.



OOC:  You estimate it will take about 5 minutes to make a sufficient hole in the fence.  Anyone cutting can make a strength check to reduce the time if you wish.  Failures will slow you down and potentially make more noise

SHeila will keep going until someone tells her to stop or she realised Flash has stopped.  Note to self, invest in better cutter's because this wasn't entirely unexpected.  Maybe she could access these folks cache of tools, or at least their source.

Flash mutters at the lack of better cutters, and plies his current pair continuously.  He'd be sure to get a better variety once he was through here.

Noting the time it was taking to cut through the wire nodded to himself, to Sheila and Flash he said "The hole only has to be just big enough for us to get through one at a time."

He turned and looked through the fence trying to make out any extra details as well as keeping an eye out to make sure that they hadn't been spotted.

After a moment he asked Jamie "You've worked out where the explosives need to go?"

In the dark, Xil missed the glares sent his way from the two cutters.  Sacrificing speed for stealth, Flash and Sheila continued to cut at the fence.  After five minutes had passed they had cut a whole wide enough for the team to get through.  it wrequired each team member to go one at a time and crawl through on their belly but it was enough.

Xil went through first and took up watch whilst the others came through.  Once most of the team was in the gear was past through.  Bringing up the rear, Jamie was the last to enter the grounds.

Things remained quiet.  No action had been seen or heard from the guard post and nobody had entered or exited the main building.  If not for the lights and sounds of machinery, it would be easy to assume the place was deserted.



OOC:  Just to make people aware, the reason your wire cutters aren't suited is because its not what they are designed for.  Wire cutters are designed to cut electrical wire and thin cables.  A solid chain-link fence is a lot tougher.  Ideally you need a set of bolt cutters, a fusion cutter or a lightsaber, none of which comes standard in a security kit!

Having crawled through the fence Mark quickly followed Xil to whichever spot the sniper wanted the team to assemble.  Brushing the dirt of his carbine and himself, he pulled ut his electrobinoculars and continued to search the grounds for movement.

Once the team was assembled, he whispered.  "Well, we're in.  What's the plan?"

Skulking towards the rear of the group, and watching the guard post with a paranoid eye, Devon glanced round.

'Any warehouse or storage area is an obvious place to check for supplies' he whispered 'And if we get a choice aim for somewhere thats NOT well travelled or near a control room - less likely to run into patrols that way.'

Noting what Devon had said Xil pictured the plans in is mind. "There's two doors, the larger main door that goes into the warehouse and a smaller one to the south of it, a little closer to the control room. I'm figuring that the main door to the hanger will be more closely watched, so we are heading for the smaller door. Hopefully we can use the machinery to keep ourselves hidden. We'll make our way along the wall and see what's going on in the warehouse" he paused to let them orientate themselves before continuing "We have to assume that the doors are alarmed. I'm assuming that as Ten has a security kit she has some slicing skills and, will be able to bypass any security. If we find that it is a supply dump then Five will lay the charges as planned."

He paused briefly "One, you and Seven will stay out here to make sure we have a clear way to get out in a hurry and to maybe cause a little bit of a distraction if needed. The rest of us will be as stealthy as possible while inside. The less people we have moving around in there the better." Xil turned to Jamie "Can you give us a rough idea of where these charges need to be placed."

"I've got a pretty good idea of where they need to go, but to be sure I'll need to see the area for myself.  I'm looking for potential amplifiers...like fuel storage containers.  I'll probably have at least one in the power plant.  After we look around a bit, I'll know."
Jamie looked up at the second story and patted his ascension gun.
"Perhaps some of us could enter via the upper windows?  They are less likely to be guarded and secure."

Mark nods.  "Not a problem four.  I'll take up position here and keep an eye on the guard tower.  Seven, you take up a position further south where you can see the landing strip and the southern side of the building.  That way we can hopefully spot trouble before it spots us."

Spotting a good place to take cover, Mark begins to move, but says over his shoulder.  "Two, get your damn rifle fixed too.  Could have used it to blast womp rats, or whatever passes for them here."

Reaching his chosen spot, Mark takes up position and gets out his electrobinoculars to keep an eye on the guard tower.

Xil nods at Marks reply "Thanks One. Seven be ready in case we find transport for you to play with." he then turns to Jamie and Flash "Five, you and Two get to go climbing and check out the upper levels."

He looked back over to the building and the blazing floodlights that were going to make them very visible and said to the teams going into the building "Lets make our entrance very quick and silent, we have no cover near that thing."

Xil knew it was a risk going in where he had chosen, but they had spent more time hiking to their target than planned and it was a relatively large building to explore. The tight schedule they were on also wasn't going to make things any easier for them.

He looks at Sheila and then starts making his way towards their chosen entry point. AS they approach the floodlit area, he will sprint to the door and then crouch down trying to make himself as small as possible for all the good it will do he tought to himself as he did it.

Sheila followed to the door, sprinting then crouching, and go to work on the door.

Nodding his understanding, Devon sloped off towards the south to find somewhere he could lurk undetected whilst still being able to keep watch.

As he settled down to keep watch, he debated whether he was more disappointed about being left outside, or relieved that he was less likely to get shot at...

"Yes sir," Flash says rather emphatically, and repeats it with a little less enthusiasm to Xil.

Mark and Devon move off to their respective covering positions while Xil leads his team towards the warehouse's southern door.  As they came to the outskirts of the building's lighting radius, Xil dashed forwards, Sheila close behind.  The slicer immediately began examining the lock while Xil dropped to one knee and covered her.

The lock was not electronic, but rather was an old fashioned mechanical lock.  She was momentarily surprised by the unsophisticated technology, but not unprepared for the eventuality.  Digging into her kit, she pulled out some tools and began working on the lock.  In less than a minute the tumblers popped into place and the door was unlocked.

Further along the wall, Jamie and Flash chose the location of thier assent.  Picking a suitable spot, Jamie fired his grappling spike launcher, cringing at the noise made when he fired it and as it embedded in an overhang nearly six metres up, leaving the cable dangling within arms reach of a third story window.

After testing it was secure, Jamie climbed to the window and maneuvered onto the ledge.  As he began examining the window, which was latched from the inside, Flash began his ascent.  However the Duros proved less skilled in his climb.  Having made it almost to the window, his footing slipped on a slippery section of wall and he lost his grip on the rope, falling nearly five metres down.

Thinking quickly, the Duros managed to get his feet under him and go into a roll as he landed, causing him to suffer only from a few bruises to his body and his ego.  However, his landing was far from quiet as his gear smashed into the concrete causing a loud crash that was heard clearly by all the Talons.

OOC
Xil and Sheila are near the small door just west of the main entrance.  Sheila has successfully picked the lock.

Jamie is sitting on a 3rd floor window ledge.  The window is latched.  Flash has fallen unceremoniously to the ground.  He is largely unhurt but his fall was noisy.

Mark is in position near the fence on the NW side.  Devon is close to the fence to the south.

Jamie, after using the spike launcher on the fence (10m) and wall (~6m) you only have 4m of cable left and no refills.


Status
Mark (One): Uninjured
Flash (Two): 35/36 VP  10/10WP
Exilim (Four): Uninjured
Jamie (Five): Uninjured
Devon (Seven): Uninjured
Sheila (Ten): Uninjured

Jamie had cringed at the noises he had made, but he cursed the Duro's clumsiness.
"Blast," he muttered, glancing toward the guard station.
Surely someone heard that.  Keep your eyes open, Mark...
Turning on the ledge, Jamie began to examine the window, looking for cracks or gaps and judging the sturdiness of the materials.
Perhaps I should break it?  Doubtless that would make more noise.
He also looked up farther and around the ledge, perhaps for a way onto the roof or to another window.

The moment Flash determined that he wasn't seriously injured, he began cursing quite fluently in a number of languages.  Under his breath of course.  He checked to make sure his weapons were still in the same places, and not jammed or damaged in any way, then after a quick glance around, he grabbed onto the cable and tried again.  This time, the curses could be heard faintly by Jaime, coming up in sporadic grunts.

Mark jumped when he heard Flash crashed to the ground.  A quick glance in the Duros's direction to ensure he was okay and then he swept his carbine back to cover the guard post.  He silently cursed the shorter range of his carbine over a standard rifle.  It wasn't the first time he'd been in where a little more accuracy at range would help.  Still, he preferred the more compact nature of the carbine.  Easier to carry and conceal and it was a lot less clumsy in close quarters.

He pondered Xil's decision to send Jamie and Flash climbing the walls.  Neither had reported an aptitude for climbing.  Still, this was Xil's op and he had to trust his team to do their job.

Dusting himself off, Flash runs over to the rope once again and begins climbing.  Assisted by Jamie who is sitting on the ledge, Flash manages to successfully get to the same level as his companion.  THere is no room on the window ledge so the Duros manages to wedge himself into a position with one foot on a jutting edge and both hands gripping the rope.  He wasn't sure how long he could hold it.

On the ground, Mark watched the guard house door.  Tense moments pass as everyone waits for the inevitable arrival of suspicious guards.  A tense second turns into five, then ten, then thirty.  A full minute passes, though it fells like an hour to the team and still nobody comes to investigate the noise.


OOC:  One minute has passed and nobody has come to investigate the noise.  Its possible the sound didn't carry that far and was partially muffled by the sound of machinery inside the building.

Flash, your position is not very stable and I'll be making periodic balance/climb checks (whichever is higher) for you until you get to more stable ground.  Jamie is happily perched on the window sill but there's only room for one!


Status
Mark (One): Uninjured
Flash (Two): 35/36 VP  10/10WP
Exilim (Four): Uninjured
Jamie (Five): Uninjured
Devon (Seven): Uninjured
Sheila (Ten): Uninjured
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:00, Thu 30 Oct 2008.

Sheila glances at XIl and indicates the door.  "Shall we?" she whispers. She scans the door again, looking for alarms that she might have missed initially..
This message was last edited by the player at 01:01, Thu 30 Oct 2008.

"Just hang on there for a moment longer, Two..."
Jamie produced a small piece of wire.  After bending one end into a hook, he inserted it through a small crack and began working at the latch on the other side.
"I may be able to flip this open..."

Xil, who had been holding his breath slowly let it out as Sheila spoke quickly and quietly I said he thought to himself as he mentally cursed Flash.

He turns to Sheila and replies in a whisper "If you're sure it's not alarmed, let's get in there."

He waits for Sheila's confirmation before putting his ear up to the door trying to detect any sound of movement over the noise of the machinery. If it appears clear, he will push the door open slightly to confirm that it is clear before entering the building.

"Doesn't seem to be." Praying she hadn't missed anything.  She's acutely aware that if anything oes wrong, she can be blamed for it.  She hopes the other team in doing well.

Meanwhile, watching the fun from outside the fence, Devon winced in sympathy as Flash plummeted back to the ground...

ouch. thought Devon That must have hurt...

Reminding himself he was supposed to be keeping an eye out for trouble, Devon made a quick check oh his gear and settled down to keep watch.

Exilim and Sheila quickly but cautiously slip through the door, glad to be out of the spotlights and into the factory which conceivably would offer some cover.  Ducking behind a nearby conveyor, the pair quickly took in the scene, and realised why nobody had checked out Flash's rather abrupt meeting with the ground.

The machinery was running full pelt.  Converyor belts were sending bottles around the room, filling labelling and boxing something.  From their vantage spot Xil and Shiela could tell there were at least two distinct products being packaged here.  One was being bottled in very small square bottles, that couldn't possibly hold more then one hundred millilitres.  The others were large containers, approximately 10 litres in side.  The distance and the ambient lighting made it difficult to determine the labels being applied to the bottles.

One thing they couldn't miss was the half-dozen or so workers in the facility were all labourer droids.  ASP models most likely from the look of them, with at least one load-lifter.  They seemed absorbed in various forms of work.

Whatever was being produced seemed to be occuring in the southern end of the factory which had a plastic curtain as a divider running the length of the factory.  Over half the droids were working in that sections, their sillhouettes could be seen on the plastic.




OOC:  Exilim and Sheila are in the NW corner of the factory (near the door.  There are 3 droids working the main section.  You can see at least four droids working in the southern section.  There is a soft plastic 'curtain' covering the lower third of the southern section of the warehouse.  Its slightly opaque so you can make out little more than shadows on the opposite side.

There's one load lifter droid taking boxed of finished product from the conveyors to the warehouse section of the factory.

From your vantage point you have not seen a single person yet, just droids.  Of course you can't see the entire factory floor from your location (use the schematic for an idea) so that doesn't mean there aren't any.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:43, Wed 05 Nov 2008.

Sheila watched Exilim for directions on where to go, or if she should wait.

Exilim stared intently at the plastic curtain that was strung across the factory. Whatever was going on behind it would more than likely need investigating. Well lets see if we can get any idea about what's going on here he thought to himself.

He decided to first of all check out the warehouse section on their side of the curtain. He hoped that if they could get hold of a sample of whatever was being package they could work out what it was. If not they would have to venture past the curtain.

He turned to Sheila and signaled for her to follow him along the wall. He crept along using the machinery as cover until he got to within a couple of meters of the warehouse, remaining extremely alert for the possibility of discovery.

Sheila will follow Exilim carefully. trying to be inconspicous to the droids or anyone else in there.

Exilim and Sheila moved along the northern wall, creeping towards the warehouse.  If the droids spotted the pair, they made no indication of it.  The droid continued their work methodically.

Reaching the entrance to the warehouse, the pair knew they could go no further without being seen by droids.  A labourer droid stood at the end of the conveyor belt, rapidly loading the completed bottles into boxes.  As soon as each box was full, a load lifter moved them into the warehouse before coming back for more.  It was smooth methodical and much faster then any human could do.  However, it also meant Xil and Sheila had to break cover in order to move past them.  The area between the end of the conveyor and the warehouse was open space with no cover to hide behind.  The lighting was ambient at best, creating shadows but these droids clearly did not need much light to work.

<Meanwhile. . .>

On the roof, Jamie had managed to pry the latch using his switched-off vibrodagger.  After he was safely in the room, he helped Flash make his way across.  Then the pair examined their surroundings.  They found themselves in a bathroom, consisting of a pair of sinks, toilet and shower.  There was one door out of the room.  From behind the door, the sound of someone snoring could be heard.


<Furthermore. . .>

Devon, patiently sitting out near the southern wall of the warehouse, recieved a rude awakening as the area around him lit up.  Pulling up his weapon he prepared himself for attack before realising the lights weren't because of him.  Indeed, it seemed that the lights surrounding the landing area in the south west corner had been lit.  Straining his ears, Devon thought he could hear a vehicle in the distance approaching.  He knew that he was terribly exposed, the lights were illuminating most of the southern side of the warehouse.  His choices were few; move further east into the darkness, but that seperated him further from Mark; risk running towards Mark but he'd have to cover at least 100 metres of well lit ground.  Otherwise he could attempt to open one of the warehouse doors on the southern side.  He doubted he had time to cut another hole in the fence.



Status
Mark (One): Uninjured
Flash (Two): 35/36 VP  10/10WP
Exilim (Four): Uninjured
Jamie (Five): Uninjured
Devon (Seven): Uninjured
Sheila (Ten): Uninjured
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:06, Wed 12 Nov 2008.

When the lights suddenly came on, Devon flinched and nearly blasted the hell out of a perfectly innocent treestump.
'Sithspit!' cursed Devon as he looked hurridly around for cover, then he scuttled towards the warehouses south wall.

'Lead.' he hissed into his commlink.  'Seven here - my hideyhole just got lit up.  I think we can expect an incoming transport soon - the landing field is all lit up.  I've got to find cover fast - I'm headed for the south wall.  Any objections to me going inside?'

"Damn! Mark cursed as he backed a little further up the hill in response to the lights.  He could see how exposed Devon was and knew that if the shipjacker didn't move soon he'd likely be spotted.

"Four, this is One.  Seven needs to move NOW.  He's heading for the southern wall.  Can he enter safely.  Need a sitrep immediately."

It then occured to him that maybe there was another option.  "Seven, One.  If you think you can get there Five has obtained access to an upper level on the western side.  The rope is still there.  Any issues up there Five?"

Mark was beginning to wonder if he himself would need to move before long.  He could always back up to the fence and escape through the hole they made, but that would further seperate him from the team.  As it was the area was too well lit to stay hidden for long and the arrival of a transport would likely mean lots of people moving around.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:15, Wed 19 Nov 2008.

Can we never catch a break Xil thought to himself as information came over the groups comm.

Responding he said "Seven, One, negative on the southern wall, our view of that section is blocked and it appears that there's a heap of activity going on there. Seven your best bet is to head east around the building to location 68,56." he spoke quickly but calmly with an image of the factories layout in his head.

"One,Five how are your positions?" he asked.

OOC:Location 68,56 refers to the only door on the east side of the schematic.

'Ok, headed east now.'

head down and eyes openfor trouble, Devon changed direction and darted round the east side of the building.  As soon as he was out of the light, he proceded more cautiously and paused to listen at the door for a moment.

'I'm at the east door now - clear to come in?' he whispered into his commlink

Devon made a mad scramble for the eastern side, aware of how terrible exposed he was.  Lights were on around the eastern side of the building just as they were everywhere else.  Expecting a shout or worse, a blaster shot to ring out, the shipjacker moved without incident to the eastern door.

Hunkered down in their hidey-hole behind the machinery, Xil and Sheila both heard Devon's voice come over the comm.

"I'm at the east door now - clear to come in?"

Both could see the door easily from their vantage point.  The only problem was that so could one of the worker droids, additionally, the binary load lifter ran past the door approximately once every two minutes as it continued collecting boxes and moving them to the sotrage area to the north.  So far, none of the droids had reacted to Sheila or Xil's presence.  Still wether that was due to their programming or the simple fact they'd successfully remained hidden was anyone's guess.  Too bad the situation wasn't reversed, Xil mused.  Devon was the team's electronics expert and could make a better guess on the droids.

As he pondered this dilemna, Mark's voice came over the comm.

"One to all Talons.  We have some kind of small transport running without lights coming in.  Can't make her out clearly yet, but I'd wager Corellian make.  I'd put her ETA at under a minute.  Suggest. . .sithspit."

"All units.  Two guards have just appeared out of the guard house.  They are heading in my general direction.  Going silent.  Out."

Jamie and Flash looked at each other as Mark went offline.  They'd taken a moment to catch their breath after getting in the window.  They too could now hear the approaching ship.  However, that was not all they could here.  As Mark spoke, the sound of voices started coming from the next room.  Clearly the two guards were not the only ones on site.


OOC:  Okay.  Let me do my best to clarify everyone's position. I have marked people on the map as best I can (art is not my strength).

Devon is at the door on the eastern side (just above where it says 'conveyors' on the map).  XIl and Sheila are on the northern wall of the converoy area.

Flash and Jamie are on the upper floor (The main floor roof is 6m up so that's why it appeared to be the 3rd floor from outside).

Mark is on the western side of the map.  The two guards are walking in his general direction at the moment.  A ship is approaching the landing field, and will be landing soon.

I have marked the location of the droids Xil and Sheila have spotted.  Red is for the worker droids.  Blue is the load lifter and I've mapped out as much of its route as you've spotted.  There could be more droids in areas you can't see (like warehouse, powerplant, material storage, etc)

I hope this helps.  Please ask any questions and I will do my best to answer them.




Status
Mark (One): Uninjured
Flash (Two): 35/36 VP  10/10WP
Exilim (Four): Uninjured
Jamie (Five): Uninjured
Devon (Seven): Uninjured
Sheila (Ten): Uninjured

Xil took a deep breath and then sighed as their situation got worse by the minute. typical he thought to himself. He was unsure of how Jamie and Flash were going as he had not heard back from them.

He quickly considered several options, was now the time to see if the droids reacted to people walking around. With guards on the move and an incoming transport, they couldn't really afford to wait much longer to find out. He made up his mind and acted "Seven, hold tight for a moment".

Signalling to Sheila to stay where she was for the moment, Xil started to move further along the wall towards the end of the conveyors. He prayed as he moved that the droids were not set up to detect intruders.

And if the droids did see them and react, there were probably too many of them for them to do more than get out alive before the pirates came in to finish the job.

She had her gun up and ready to shoot the droid she judged most likely to do ex harm.

As Xil slowly made his way out into the open, Sheila watched, ready to fire.  The need for action however seemed unnecessary.  The ASP droids did not seem to react to Xil's appearance though he was clearly out in the open.  Instead they continued to go about their tasks as if nothing was happpening.

Upstairs, Jamie silently gestured for Flash to take cover.  The noise in the room next to them with becoming louder.  At least 3 seperate voices could now be heard from the room, though it was impossible to catch more than the odd word.

Flash flattened himself against the wall, wishing there was something better he could do.  He readied his rifle, pointed at the doorway.

Breathing a quick sigh of relief that the droids didn't react to his presence he stood still for a moment and quickly surveyed the warehouse and the area near the door that Devon was at.

"Seven, you are clear to open the door, just make sure you do it carefully." he said quietly over the comm. He turned to Sheila and signalled for her to approach "See if you can appropriate one of those boxes for us to check out."

He then took a more thorough survey of the warehouse, looking for places to hide if needed or anything that would help them escape if that need eventuated.

"Five" he almost whispered in to comm "Sitrep"

Sheila will scoot along the wall until she is in the storage area.  She will look over the piles of boxes, pull one off the top of a pile (assuming it is small enough for her to carry. if not, she will cut open the side carefully and pull out some of the contents.) and go back to where she was against the wall.

Sheila quickly moves along the wall and ducks into the storage room.  The binary load lifter sweeps past her with a pile of boxes but takes no notice of her.  The storage room has boxes neatly stacked in piles around the walls of different sizes.  The load lifter is currently making a pile of boxes on top of cargo pallets up the northern end.  A single worker droid is securing the boxes to the pallet and then wrapping them with plastic.  It is likely the incoming ship is coming to pick up this load of goods.

The only way to obtain a box from the current load would be to either snatch one from the load lifter or steal one near where the worker droid was located.  There were other boxes along the walls but they were not the same size as the onces being prepared for transport.  Either they were packaged differently or they were an entirely different product.

Devon, receiving the all-clear from Xil, quickly set to work on the door.  A quick check for alarms came up clean.  Then a new problem presented itself.  Whilst an expert at beating hsipboard security and electrical locks, this one was a simple mechanical lock, something he had little skill with as ships never carried such simple technology.

Exilim stood near the door, waiting patiently for Devon to come in, for Sheila to return and Jamie to report him.  His mind was so engrossed in these matters that he nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard an unfamiliar voice call to him.

"Zeck, is that you?  Aren't you supposed to be meeting the ship?"

Silently cursing being caught in the open, his mind quickly slipped back into action.  His back was to whoever had challenged him and the lights were low so he'd obviously been mistaken for someone, presumedly one of the guards.  The voice was coming from behind him and slightly elevated.  It was likely whoever called him was at the top of the stairs leading to the upper levels.



OOC:  Sheila, you are currently in the 'warehouse' section of the map.  You heard the voice call out to Xil (successful listen check).  Xil, you are standing, facing the external door (the one Devon is working on).  Devon, you have heard nothing as you work out how to get the door open (may need to invest in some disable device in the future!).

Sheila, there are numerous boxes near you but they are different to the ones being prepped for transport.  Of course I imagine your mind is not on the boxes right at this moment!

The unknown assailant is likely at the top of the stairs which puts him about 5 metres up on the stairs which are near the control room.  This give him a great vantage point should shooting erupt (though an active factory offers no end of cover!).

Flash, I will deal with you and Jamie shortly.  This little 'tense moment' needs to be resolved first.

I will endeavour to update the map ASAP

'Hit a snag with the lock' whispered Devon into his commlink, unaware of the potential gunfight about to erupt inside.  'No electrical problems, no alarms.  Something mechanical - maybe bolted on the inside?'

For a moment, he considered simply blasting the lock, but wisely decided not to - they were trying to stay covert after all...

A quick mental inventory of his equipment drew a blank for Things That Will Open The Stupid Door Without Alerting Everyone In A 500 Meter Radius; so, silently muttering a curse, Devon hunkered down into the shadows as best he could to think up a plan... or wait for Xil to open the door.  Which ever came first.

Sheila hunkered behind the box and tried to peek around to see the unknown  while trying to guage what they are packing.

Cursing silently to himself Xil very quickly ran through his options.

Deciding that a gun fight would be counter productive at this stage he muttered "Yeah, just going there now." in response to the unknown guards question. He had deliberately muffled his voice a little. He turned to head back out the way he and Sheila had entered the factory turned assuming that it would be the quickest way out, trying to pinpoint the guards position as he did so.

He kept his finger on the trigger of his blaster in case a shoot out became inevitable.

Exilim's mumbling could was barely audible even to Sheila who was a lot closer than the guard.  Still, it seemed enough for the other guard.

"Damn it Zeck, you can't just come in, taking the merchandise.  One of these days the boss is gonna notice the bottles missing.  Now get out to that landing pad before the ship lands or there'll be hell to pay."

Taking the hint, Xil moved quickly towards the door.  The guard who spoke to him said nothing and began descending the stairs.  Just as Xil headed out the door he noticed another guard joining the first one at the top of the stairs.  Added to which, the sound of a starship engine could clearly be heard now.  The transport was moments from landing.

In the warehouse, Sheila carefully cut a small hole in one of the boxed with her vibrodagger and slipped out one of the vials.  The label on it read 'Stardust Supreme', and stated it was men's cologne.

Mark's voice came over the comm in a whisper.  "Sithspit, they must have practically stepped on me then.  Lucky these guys are blind as dozil rats.  We've got what looks like a YT-2000 about to land.  The guards are meeting it.  I'm guessing we're going to have a lot more company soon.  Get those charges planted and get out of there!"

Sheila will pocket the bottle and attempt to stay behind the boxes as not to be seen.

Xil whispered over his comm as he went out the door "Five, get those charges planted and ready to blow. Ten keep out of sight, try to give Five details on this level of the building. Then get out as soon as you can. Seven, make tour back around to the other side of the building, keep out of sight"

Xil continued his charade of leaving the building .... will try to double back as soon as I'm out od sight he thought to himself

Jamie mumbled under his breath as he heard Mark's orders.  'Easy for him to say, he's outside'  Not only had he not had time to properly assess the building, he knew his charges would need to be planted downstairs

He whispered to Flash.  "We need to move.  Let's see if we can either slip past these guys or take them down silently.  We don't know how many of them are around."

Flash nodded back with a monosyllabic response, and fingered his vibrodagger.  He quickly moved into position right next to the door, ready to either ambush them or slip out past them, at Jamie's signal.

Outside, Mark tried to flatten out so much he felt two-dimensional as the guards walked pass, less than twenty metres from his position.  If a sharp-eyed guard, noticed the strange shadow to their right. . .He fingered his carbine in apprehension, ensuring the safety was off and the power pack was charged.  Then he waited.

The guards did indeed pause a little further along the wall, but it was not Mark who'd got their attention.  In fact they were looking the opposite way.  Mark spotted one of the guards gesturing at the rope still hanging next to the window in which Jamie and Flash had entered.  Both gaurds had blasters drawn and Mark could hear one talking into his comm.

"Sithspit!" Mark muttered under his breath.  Pulling out his own comm, he whispered as loud as he dared, "Alert, they've spotted the rope.  Take cover if you can."

Unaware of the drama below, Jamie gestured for Flash to go through the door when he opened it.  Fingering his vibroblade, he stood ready.  He was surprised to hear Mark whispering something over the comm, but he missed the words.  He thought he heard something about an alert, but he couldn't be sure.

Next to him, Jamie, missed the entire message as it was completely dissolved in static.  Unaware of any problems, he swung the door open quietly. . .

Flash was ready to go, dagger in hand.  Unfortunately, instead of the men leaving the room, they had all turned to face the door.  Seeing Flash's head the trio of men in the room drew blasters.  One got off a snapshot that hit the door and sent Flash ducking for cover.

Downstairs, Sheila, having hear the message in its entirety had already ducked behind cover.  Outside, Exilim had also heard the message though his position by the door offered cover, it was well lit.

Exilim meanwhile, had also missed the message, but like everyone else, the shot of a blaster going off was unmistakable.

To make matters worse, the YT-2000 transport had just swooped down and landed suddenly.  The pilot was clearly skilled or a hotdog, possibly both.



OOC:  Sorry about the delay over Christmas (always seems to happen doesn't it?)  So I thought I'd get the game off and running again with a little combat.  Please, note that I made a listen check to see how much of Mark's message you got.  Only Xil and Sheila heard it all.  Flash heard something, but couldn't make it out and Devon missed it completely.  Jamie critically failed so maybe he's tuned into the local music station or something!

I will update the map ASAP, but for now the situation is such.

Jamie and Flash are in a small 2m x 2m room, on either side of the door (which is the only door).  On the other side of the door is a larger room which is some sort of dormitary.  In the room are 3 men, all armed with blaster pistols pointed at the door.

Sheila is behind a large stack of boxes in the southwest corner of the 'Warehouse' section of the factory.

Exilim is outside the building, next to the north facing door on the NW corner of the main section of the factory.  The area is well lit.

Devon is still outside the eastern door.  He has heard a shot but has no idea what is happening otherwise.

Mark is still in the same position he was, he has not yet been seen.

The two guards are standing next to the rope that leads upstairs.

The YT-2000 has just landed on the landing platform.

the guys who were originally telling Xil to go meet the ship, did they come down the stairs into the ware house, or leave or pass on through?  What does it sound like?

Jace frowned darkly as he sat in the cockpit of the YT.  "Control tower, Silver Stallion, is that blaster fire my sensors are picking up, over?" he asked over the comm.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:15, Wed 31 Dec 2008.

"Four in position at north-west door.  Need a sitrep."

Now the two guards were further off and jabbering into commlinks, Mark felt safe in speaking louder into his commlink.

"Four, one.  Hold position and watch door.  I'll inform you if guards head back."

Seven, if you're clear, make a move for the ship.  Get onboard if you can.  We may need to hijack or disable her, out."

"All Talons, setrep when able."
This message was last edited by the player at 02:54, Wed 31 Dec 2008.

'You make it sound so simple...' muttered Devon under his breath as he studied the situation and tried to decide how to complete his objective.
OK, if I stay out of direct line of sight of the cockpit, and no one else spots me... I can probably walk straight up to her.  But that assumes the pilot thinks nothing is wrong  and that theres not more people about...

SHeila answers nto the miks, quietly,  "Ten, stuck behind some pallets in the north warehouse area.  I think there's someone coming down, but they haven;t seen me yet."
This message was last edited by the player at 23:29, Fri 02 Jan 2009.

The loading ramp was lowered, probably awaiting whatever the ship has arrived here for.  Jace's frown darkened as he brought up the internal sensors for the ship.

If that was blasterfire I picked up, chances are something's gone wrong, and if that's the case, whoever's causing trouble might well be looking for a way out...

Mark listened as everyone reported in.  Only Jamie and Flash were silent and they were the ones he suspected were in trouble.  Still, only the one shot had fired so things perhaps weren't out of hand.

"Alright Talons, stay frosty.  Seven, confirmed comm silence.  Ten, keep your head down but see what you can learn.  Four, be ready to back up either ten or myself.  Two and five, report when able."

As he watched, the two guards at the rope seemed to agree on something.  One of the guards remained at the rope while the second headed towards the YT-2000.  Using his electrobinoculars Mark could see the cargo ramp was down and a lone figure was in the cockpit.  As the guard approached the ship, four men came down the ramp to join him.  They spoke for a few moments with the guard pointing back at the rope and laughing.  The five then began making their way back towards the remaining guard.



"Talons, one.  We have four, repeat four new gatecrashers.  Heading our way. Four so get out of sight."

Down in the cargo area, Sheila listens intently for the guard who was on the stairs.  She doesn't have to listen too hard as he calls up.  "You guys right up there?  I'm gotta get the doors open so we can load the damn ship?"  Sheila misses the reply but the sound of the man commencing his way down the stairs suggests he is coming to open the doors as stated.

Upstairs, Jamie remained behind the door while Flash took cover against the wall next to the door.  From the next room laughing could be heard.

"Hey Grey.  I'm gonna give you ten seconds to come out here and give yourself up.  If you don't we're gonna have to get you.  I promise if that happens it will be REALLY messy.  You understand me?"





OOC:  Since nobody is shooting we've jumped out of combat for now.

Additional.  So to update there are now at least:

3 guards in the room near Flash/Jamie
1 guard on the stairs
1 guard near the rope
5 guards near the ship walking back
1 pilot on the YT-2000
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:20, Mon 05 Jan 2009.

Jace nodded to himself at the reply, but decided to keep an eye on the sensors anyway.  Where there's one, there could always be more.  "Understood, out." he replied.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:21, Mon 05 Jan 2009.

Mark began to start edging backwards as quickly as he could before the guards got close.  Getting seen by 5 armed guards was sure to ruin his day.

Flash heard the challenge, and glanced at his dagger.  Switching it off, he shoved it into his belt, and reached onto his back, drawing out his blaster rifle.  He took a couple steps back from the door, so he was still against the wall, but could cover the door when they came through.  Pointing his weapon at the door, he looked over at Jaime, signing a question at him.  'Stun?'
This message was last edited by the player at 20:41, Mon 05 Jan 2009.

Jamie remained as silent as he could.  He fingered the safety of his rifle and looked to Flash as he determined the Duros' intent.  Signalling back that he could not see the situation, he carefully and silently mouthed two words. . .'Your call'

Xil began moving quickly and quietly to the northernmost wall.

"Four is repositioning to north wall.  Ten sit tight and call if you need an assist."

Flash shook his head.  'No stun.'  If they were to get into a firefight, stun wouldn't do much good, and there were multiple targets.  Better to take them out for good, rather than risk having them come around behind you later.

Outside
The five guards from the ship laugh and shout encouragement to the guard at the rope and continue past him.  They move along the wall, missing Mark deep in the shadows and make their way to the large double-doors at the warehouse entrance.  Seemingly surprised they are shut they bang on them loudly.

Sheila, who had been trying to cram herself into a corner nearly jumped out of her skin at the banging.  However she kept her cool and stayed in the shadows, which was fortunate as the guard from the stairs entered the area at that point, mumbling about impatient people.  He moved past Sheila without spotting her and headed to the double-doors.  He flicked a switch near the doors which started them automatically opening, then he flicked a series of switches nearby which turned on the warehouse lights, flooding the room with light.  Sheila felt terrible exposed.  Whilst she was crouched behind the a stack of crates, if someone came to close they would undoubtedly spot her!

Outside, Xil was not doing much better.  His back to the north wall, he was so close to the guards he could hear all their conversations.  With nowhere to go and no shadows to hide in, all it would take is one guard to walk around the corner and he'd be seen.


Upstairs
The guards laughed and joked as they counted down from 10 to 1.  When Flash didn't come out they started to laugh more.

"Probably using the facilities." one joked.  "He's so scared he probably wet himself."

As time progressed at Flash didn't move, the joking turned to threats.  After nearly a minute the one who'd done most of the talking growled.

"We warned you to come out peaceably Grey.  Now we do this the hard way.  Lets get 'im"

Another voice spoke.  "What if he's hiding behind the door, waiting to stick us?  I'm sure I saw a blade. Heh, let's just shoot the walls.  They're not thick and we can patch'em up later."

"Good idea." said the first voice.  "Everyone take aim.  We'll plug him and then have the ship dump his body in space.  Nobody will miss him.  Shoot on three. . .two. . ."


OOC:  Well the guards have gotten a little impatient.  There are 3 guards in the next room about to open fire.  The walls are made of a thin form of corrugted iron (or SW equivalent).  Shooting through it is possible though it wont be accurate or powerful.  Still 3 guys emptying their pistols into the wall wont be good for your health.

Sheila, you are undercover for now.  If someone was to walk to where the factory meets the warehouse and look in your direction it wouldn't take much of a spot check to see you.  The warehouse is brightly lit.

Xil is against the northenmost wall.

OOC: Well then, I'll just have to shoot first.

Flash gripped his rifle, to keep his palms from slipping.  He wavered slightly in indecision, wondering which way to turn.  They were right, the wall was thin, and he was sure he hadn't seen more than pistols on those guards.  If he shot first...  Finally deciding, at the last moment before they reached three, he swung to face the wall at an angle that should point at them, and fired rapidly several shots through the wall.  After a moment of firing, he paused and stepped to the side, so he wouldn't be in the same place when they shot back.

"This thief of yours seems to be causing a lot of trouble.  You sure everything's alright?" Jace asked on the comm.  Surely one thief shouldn't need more than one or two blaster shots to take down once caught.  Looks like the bossman was right...

Flash spins and opens up with his blaster rifle, spraying the wall with fire.  He can't see the results of his efforts but almost immediately hears someone shout, "Son of a. . .waste him!"

Return fire starts peppering the walls from the other side.  The pirates are also shooting blindly and wildly and their bolts hit walls, some penetrating, others not.  Some fly through the open door.

Jamie lets out a quick yelp as a blaster bolt narrowly misses his arm, burning the flesh slightly.  Spinning he begins firing as well.

A couple of yells reach the pairs ears, indicating at least a few of their shots were hitting people, though also had another near miss singe his face.

Down in the warehouse, Sheila watches as the guard is now joined by five others.  They all turn to look upstairs.

One yells.  "What the Sith is going on up there?  You two check it out."

Two of the guards nod and run off.  The one who spoke picks up his commlink and starts speaking into it.


Once off the comm, the other guard begins issuing orders to the load lifter.  The droid then obediantly moves over to the large stacks of boxes near the door and loads up the first stack.  It then rolls out the door, presumedly to the waiting ship.


OOC:  Well a firefight has erupted upstairs for all to hear.  You've hit at least one pirate but you don't think you've killed any.  You're welcome to stick your head around the door to find out!  ;)

At present:
3 guards are helping Jamie and Flash demolish an innocent wall.
2 guards are leaving the warehouse, heading for the factory section (to join the upstairs guys)
4 guards are in the warehouse section
1 guard is on 'rope guard' duty
The ship's pilot is still in the cockpit

Status
Mark (One): Uninjured
Flash (Two): 35/36 VP  10/10WP
Exilim (Four): Uninjured
Jamie (Five): 39/56 12/12
Devon (Seven): Uninjured
Sheila (Ten): Uninjured

"If it's all the same to you, I'd prefer to wait until the thief's been dealt with.  It's not that I doubt your ability to keep me or my boss's ship safe, it's just someone should stay here until the problem's dealt with," Jace replied. Hopefully these guys will be too afraid of the bossman to make an issue of it.  Still, that's quite a loud fire fight for just one thief...

OOC: By the way, how long is this ship supposed to take loading?

Trying to take a bead on where the shot that hit was fired, Flash tries sweeping the wall, while trying to see if there was any good cover around, or if he'd have to hang out the window.  For effect, a variety of colorful curses in a number of languages float across the wall at the guards.

Jamie grimaces at his wounds but keeps firing.  He kicks the door shut to provide some cover and then turns to Flash.

"Check the window, quick.  If its clear, get out.  We have no cover in here."

Jamie keeps firing at the walls to buy Flash time to move.

"Right." Flash ducked over to the window, and stuck his head out to see if it was clear.  Seeing the guard looking up, he ducked his head back in in time to avoid a few shots from his blaster, and shook his head at Jamie.  "Not that way."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:13, Mon 12 Jan 2009.

"If you've got a better plan." Jamie growled, while pumping more shots into the wall.  "Tell me now.  We've got few choices."
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:59, Thu 15 Jan 2009.

Sheila will at this point stay where she is, trying to be as flat and small as  possible.  And watching the four guards here.  Hopefullly at some point they will move outside, cause if she has to start shooting she's got nowhere to go.  She can't shoot fast enough to stun all of them.

Shots continued to be fired through walls.  Without being able to see the results of their work it was impossible for Jamie and Flash to determine if they were having any success.  The rate of fire had not slackened so it was logical to assume they hadn't killed anyone.  In response, it was only blind luck and the impossibility to shoot straight through a wall that had kept Jamie and Flash alive so far.  Both had caught the odd burn from a near-miss but the numbers seemed likely to catch up with them.

Since Flash had reported the rope a no go and running through the door would be suicide, Jamie was fast running out of options.

"Five to One.  Heavily engaged with no cover.  We need assistance fast."

Mark didn't hesitate.  "Roger Five.  Engaging."  His carbine had been trained on the guard near the rope for a while now and it took only a moment to adjust his aim again.  He let fly a pair of shots, one which caught the guard in the shoulder, the other flew wide.

Spinning in surprise the guard let off a hasty snap shot which went nowhere near Mark.  His return shot was neither hasty nor wide.  A direct shot to the upper torso dropped the guard to the ground like a sack of permacrete.

"One to Five.  Rope is clear.  Get out of there now."

Wasting no time, Jamie turned to Flash and mouthed 'Go'  As the Duros dived for the window, Jamie flicked his rifle to multifire to keep up the rate of fire.  Once Flash was out the window, Jamie dove for the window and slid down the rope.

The pair took a few moments to regain their breath as the guards continued to rain fire into the now-empty room.  They seemed not to have noticed that the return fire had stopped.

Jamie slapped a fresh power pack into his rifle and jumped on the comm.  "Five and two are down the rope.  Thanks for the save one."  He knew Mark was close by but couldn't make him out in the darkness.

"Understood.  Get to cover before they realise you've slipped the net.  We still have to destroy this place.  I'll cover you."

In the warehouse, Sheila held her breath as two guards walked past.  All they had to do was look right and she was busted.  Added to which she'd have no cover from that direction.  Fortunately for her, the two men were too focused on the fight upstairs to look in her direction.  They passed by without incident. 

Exhaling, Sheila turned her attention back to the remaining men.  She watched from her spot as the load lifter loaded up several pallets of the cargo and began rolling out the door.  Two of the guards followed it outside, leaving two remaining in the warehouse.

---

OOC:  Well Jamie and Flash have now returned to ground level.  The pirates have yet to notice your escape.   You are currently in an exposed and well-lit position so you need to move before the guards realise you've given them the slip.

The guards have now moved slightly.  Only particular people know this of course (i.e. Only Sheila knows about the guys in the warehouse splitting three ways)

The load lifter will only take a minute to reach the ship (which means it will pass the rope in 30 seconds or so).  Sheila knows this for now, Xil and Mark will spot it once it moves a little further).

3 guards are shooting a wall
2 guards are heading to join them
2 guards and the load lifter have just left the warehouse heading for the ship
2 guards are in the warehouse
1 guard is suffering an extreme case of death beneath the rope
1 pilot is sitting in the YT-2000 cockpit





Status
Mark (One): Uninjured
Flash (Two): 35/36 VP  10/10WP
Exilim (Four): Uninjured
Jamie (Five): 24/56 12/12
Devon (Seven): Uninjured
Sheila (Ten): Uninjured

Jace blinked as he watched the sensors, seeing blasterfire coming from outside of where the firefight had appeared to be taking place.  So much for just one intruder.  He pressed a few buttons on the control console the loading ramp began to close.  Time for plan B.

The two guards with the binary load lifter make their way towards the ship.  From his vantage point, Mark spots them coming almost immediately.  Hissing into his commlink for Jamie and Flash to find cover, he realises things will turn nasty when the other pirates the dead guard.

Jamie and Flash, hearing Mark's warning run quickly around the corner and flatten themselves against the wall.

After a moment Jamie mutters a simple "Uh oh." and point to the south-west.  Flash looks and realises their error.  About 25 metres away, the pilot of the YT-2000 could be clearly seen in his cockpit staring at them.  Moments later the ship's shields engaged and the craft lifted off, hovering about 5 metres off the ground.  Once the ship was in hover the pilot was seen to jump out of his seat and run out of the cockpit.

Down at ground level, Mark turned his attention away from the ship as the guards with the lifter passed in front of him.  He heard them shout out and then begin jabbering into their commlimks while they checked the guard for a pulse.  Moments later the shooting upstairs stopped.

---

OOC:  Jamie and Flash are against the southern wall of the 'raw materials storage' section of the map.  They have been spotted by the YT-2000 pilot who has hovered his ship off the ground and has now vanished from the cockpit.

The pirates upstairs who were shooting walls now clearly know their quarry has escaped as they have stopped shooting.


Status
Mark (One): Uninjured
Flash (Two): 35/36 VP  10/10WP
Exilim (Four): Uninjured
Jamie (Five): 24/56 12/12
Devon (Seven): Uninjured
Sheila (Ten): Uninjured

Jace moved quickly to the lower turret of his ship, then sent a reply.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:00, Sat 31 Jan 2009.

Hearing the chatter on the comm, Xil let out out a little sigh of relief. Unknown to him it was premature as he was unaware of their new predicament.

Xil swore as the blaster fire stopped from inside the building, the guards knew that Jamie and Flash were no longer inside. He tried to mentally picture where the rest of the team were located and prayed that Devon was on the YT-2000.

With his blaster rifle raised and ready to fire, he looked around the corner of the building (trusting that he was in a good position not to be seen from inside the building) to check the location of the guards outside. Knowing that they needed to get Jamie back inside to destroy the building Xil ran through limited options in his head.

Knowing that Sheila wouldn't be able to respond verbally he said over the comm "Ten, Four. Can you signal how many guards are near you?." His mind already working on a way to take out all the guards.

Jamie and Flash were still standing their ground, wondering what the YT-2000 pilot was doing when it became apparent.  The dorsal turret suddenly began to swing back and forth as someone powered it up.  The pair looked around desperately for cover but there little that would protect them from the twin laser cannons.  Strangely, the turret did not fire or even point fully in their direction.  It stopped, facing to their right and did not move.


Recovering slightly, Jamie and Flash heard a mechanical sound from their right.  As they stood there, a binary load lifter with two men standing next to it went passed and stopped near the edge of the landing platform.  Whilst Jamie and Flash would be clearly exposed if they turned towards their left flank, the pair were clearly focused on the hovering craft.  It seemed clear the cargo the lifter was carrying was meant for the ship.

Inside the warehouse, Sheila watched as the two guards received some sort of message on the comm.  Whatever it was, clearly was important as they went running out the door after the other two men.  From the main section of the warehouse she could hear several sets of footsteps on the stairs coming down from the upper level.

---

OOC:  Positions of the enemy is now:

5 guards were upstairs.  There at least 3 now coming down the stairs intot he warehouse (impossible to be sure without looking)
2 guards and the load lifter are at the edge of the landing strip (about 15 metres in front of Jamie and Flash)
2 guards have just run out of the warehouse, heading for the landing strip
The YT-2000 pilot is now in the dorsal turret, he has a clear line of fire on Jamie and Flash
1 guard is RIP

If youe require any clarification of where you are, what you know etc.

Status
Mark (One): Uninjured
Flash (Two): 35/36 VP  10/10WP
Exilim (Four): Uninjured
Jamie (Five): 24/56 12/12
Devon (Seven): Uninjured
Sheila (Ten): Uninjured

Flash stared down the barrel of the starship's turbolazers, and then looked around him.  He made a quick dash off to the left, trying to get away from the guards, and toward Mark(?).

SHeila peeks out from behind her cover to see the stairs and hisses into the comlink.  "The 2 left in the warehouse just went outside after the load lifter, but more are coming down the stairs."  Her gun is out.  Hoping she doesn't have to use it.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:15, Sun 08 Feb 2009.

Xil sees two guards leave the warehouse. When he hears Sheila's reply he quickly pictures the inside of the warehouse in his head.

"Ten, Four- now would be a good time to make a break for it out the main doors, I will cover you."

With his blaster still raised and ready to fire, Xil moves forward to the open door so that he can cover Sheila.

"One, this is Seven.  Have reached the cockpit.  One crewman trapped in de-powered belly turret, but I am NOT secure; Could do with at least one more warm body in here.  Turret-boy is shouting something about an ambush, so watch yourselves out there.  More info soon as I learn it."

Mark chuckled to himself.  'He actually took the ship!'  Mark mused.  He hadn't actually believed Devon could pull it off solo.  Perhaps he should send him to the local shipyard and have him life a few TIE fighters too!!!

"Seven, one.  Confirmed.  All Talons, weapons free, fire at will.  Let's secure this factory NOW.  Use your judgement, keep up the sitreps, out."

Not following his own order to open fire, Mark waited.  He could see four troops from his position.  Two near the YT-2000 and two who had just exitted the building and were heading that way.  He waited for his other teams to attack.  It should provide him with some nice shots from behind.

TACTICAL UPDATE

Away Team
Mark - is to the west of the building (his position is correct on map)
Jamie & Flash - outside, against south wall of 'raw materials storage' building
Sheila - in warehouse (position correct on map)
Exilim - outside, against north wall of warehouse
Devon - on the hovering YT-2000 (which is about 25m SW of Jamie and Flash)


Home Team
Two Guards have just exited the building and heading south quickly (near the 'Guards' mark on the map)
Two guards + 1 load lifter at the edge of the landing strip (~15m SW of Jamie & Flash)
Three guards on the stairwell (where the 'Guard 5m up') sign is on map.  Only Sheila knows the numbers
That leaves at least 2 guards unaccounted for (probably upstairs)

Guards are mostly armed with pistols some have heavy pistols and/or rifles.


The YT-2000 is hovering 5m off the ground with shields up and nobody in the cockpit.  It is facing towards Jamie and Flash (who are about 25m to the NE).  Devon reports he is onboard, but has not secured the ship and there is at least one crewman trapped in the underbelly turret (which is powered down apparently)


I will update the map ASAP.  If you have questions, please PM them.

"Yes, Sir!" Flash responded, perhaps a bit too enthusiastically.  'He may have taken the ship, but he won't hold it for long with those guards headed his direction.  Let's fix that, shall we?'  So thinking, he opened up fire on the two guards nearer to the ship, trying to take them out as quickly as possible.

Sheila ran for it and headed out the door the loadlifter went out of.  "I'm coming out the big doors.  She stops just inside to look outside of it and take a gander at the situation. (although as near as I can tell form the map and rxplanation, she can't see any thing.)  She will continue out, signal ex that she sees him  and follow his lead.  "There are three coming down the stairs that I could see'

Trotting back up to the cockpit, Devon spent a moment ensuring that no one had hidden themselves away there in the mean time.  Satisfied, he sat down and unlocked the controls.

Working at the controls, Devon glanced outside, then triggered his comlink.
'Hey Two, Five:  I've got two hostiles near me and I'm technically unarmed.  Whilst I stay airborne and shields up, they can't touch me unless they got anything heavier.  Hows about you deal with them for me, then I'll land and let you guys hitch a lift?'

Devon let the ship drift a little higher, and powered up his sensors.
Lets see what we can see... he thought Dont want to get caught out by incoming bogies...

Xil lowers his rifle a little as he thinks about what Sheila says when he meets her at the door and considers what he knows about the teams current situation.

He decides to let the others deal with the guards already outside the building.

Turning to Sheila he says quickly. "We take whoever is inside the building and we don't let anyone out."

Over the comm he says "Talons, Four. Ten and I are going into the building. Remember to keep an eye on the other doors near you in case we flush them towards you.

He signaled to Sheila, as he raised his blaster rifle ready to fire, that she should cover him as he started to make his way inside.

He will use whatever cover there is and fire on the first non Talon that he sees.

Hearing Mark's order and knowing that Flash will follow it eagerly, Jamie drops to one knee and takes aim with his rifle on the guard to the left.  He initially conserves his shots while the enemy is stationary and surprised but then goes to full multifire when spotted.  He will continue to shoot at one guard until he is down, then focus on the other.

Both Jamie and Flash open fire at the backs of the pirates before them.  Flash, going for quantity over quality, sprays the area with blaster fire while Jaime takes careful aim and lets off too careful shots.  The end result proves the same however as Jaime scores two direct hits into the back of one guard while Flash hits the other guard with one of his volley.  Both guards fall to the ground unmoving.

"Five, One.  You and two have three more incoming along west wall, they've just seen you toast thier friends so don't expect to surprise them.  I will open fire once you engage.  Out."

Xil meanwhile moves into the building with Sheila following.  They both duck behind boxes for cover as they hear voices approaching.  A pirate comes into view.  He can be seen on the far side of the nearest conveyor belt.  It looks like he's heading for the eastern door, the one Devon tried to open earlier.  A second guard is also seen to be following him.



OOC:  Poor buggers never had a chance!

Xil noted the comm chatter with a degree of satisfaction. He turned his attention back to what was going on in front of him.

Damn only two of them, Ten said there were at least three he thought to himself Could be they're setting up an unpleasant surprise for us the thought continued.

He considers his options for a minute and then makes up his mind that he relly doesn't want to let any of the guards out of the building, they could cause problems for the other Talons already engaged in combat.

He turns to Sheila and signals that she is to cover him, reminding her to keep her eyes open for the third guard. Holding his blaster rifle up ready to fire he moves forward, as quietly as he can, to try and position himself for a better shot at the visible guards.

Sheila covers XIl and tries to find the other guard and tries to make sure no one is sneaking up on her either.

Flash readied his rifle, still on multifire, and with his usual enthusiasm, spun around the corner firing off a spray in the direction the guards are coming from.

Flash jumped around the corner and loose a concentrated volley of fire at the pirates.  Whilst taking them off guard, most of his shots went wide.  Recovering quickly the pirates returned fire as Jamie came around the corner to assist.  A few seconds later, laserfire erupted from the west as Mark also opened up.

Multitudes of laserfire burned in all directions.  Flash downed one pirate only to take a direct hit to the chest that left a smoking crater.  The Duros fell to the ground wordlessly.

Grunting in frustration, Jaime picked up the rate of his fire.  Seeing Flash fall, Mark jumped out of his cover and began running across the field, carbine firing.  Jamie took a hit to the shoulder but kept up his fire until the last two pirates fell.  As soon as the last enemy was down Jaime immediately moved over to Flash.  His chest was still smoking from the wound he'd taken.

"He's alive." confirmed Jaime, checking a pulse.  "But he needs medical attention."

Mark nodded.  "One to ten.  Two is down, repeat two is down.  Require medical assistance.  Seven, we need that junker on the ground.  We'll have to evac two ASAP."

Before anyone could answer the sound of blasterfire emerged from inside. . .

Xil and Sheila had been watching as the pirates walked past.  Unfortunately one of the pirates caught sight of one of them and shouted a warning.  As Xil and Sheila dived for a cover a volley of blasterfire erupted in the warehouse.  The pair returned fire but the pirates had good cover behind the converyor belts and were hard to spot.

---

OOC:  Well we have a Duros down, hope he's insured!  Too bad our medic has just gotten into a firefight of her own.  There are 3 pirates shooting at them from behind the conveyor belts allowing them 75% cover.  Xil and Sheila have boxes to hide behing affording them good cover too.  This could be a long fight, too bad Flash doesn't have a long time to wait!!!


Status
Mark (One): Uninjured
Flash (Two): -6/10WP bleeding to death
Exilim (Four): Uninjured
Jamie (Five): 0/56 8/12
Devon (Seven): Uninjured
Sheila (Ten): Uninjured

'Understood'

Mumbling curses and keeping one eye on the sensors, Devon brought the ship back down and edged it as close as he dared to his injured comrade. 

As the ship set down, Devon shutdown the shields and opened the main hatch.
'Seven here:  I'm on the ground now.  Hurry it up!  Be warned that I still have one captive on board - you see anyone who's not me running around in here, feel free to shoot at them.'

Locking the controls again, Devon scrambled out of his seat, grabbed his blaster carbine and darted back towards the main hatch.

Knowing that they now had limited time and that Flash was in serious trouble Xil didn't bother to weigh up his options. He pulled out one of his concussion grenades, glanced up to where the pirates were while Sheila returned fire, pulled the pin, aimed to where he hoped it would give them the best result and threw the grenade.

As he threw it he said to Sheila "Get ready to run, I'll provide cover fire"

Xil will wait for the grenade to go off before opening fire at whoever he can see while moving back out towards the door. If there is no movement he will run out taking up position at the door behind whatever cover he can find.

Sheila  hunched up so she could run once the grenade went off, while continuing to shoot at the pirates to hopefully keep them down.

Xil quickly primed his grenade and hurled it through the door.  It landed to the right of the centremost guard who had time to only gasp before the grenade detonated.  Seizing the moment, Xil and Sheila dashed from the warehouse.  A small volley of blasterfire followed them, indicating at least one pirate had not been affected by the blast.  One bolt shot so close to the side of Sheila's head she could smell burned hair.  Still, the pair made it out unscathed.

Running full pelt, the pair made it to Flash quickly.  Jamie was supporting the Duros' head while Mark was probing around in his chest wound, applying pressure internally as best he could.  Seeing Sheila coming he sighed in relief.

"I think I've stopped the bleeding.  He's alive, but he's in bad shape."

Keeping his hands in position until Sheila was ready, he looked over at Xil.  "Report four.  What's our status."

At this point, Devon and an unfamiliar human came running down the cargo ramp.  Devon held a blaster pistol while the stranger had a medkit.

---

OOC:  Flash will live!  Though there is time to loot his pockets!  Somebody better bring his toys or I'm sure he'll get angry.

Finally Jace can message to the entire group!  Welcome.

Current situation.  The entire team (plus Jace) is now gathered near the SW corner of the complex.  The ship is on the edge of the landing pad just south of you.  There is also a binary load lifter a few metres away.  It is loaded with a pallet loaded with a dozen large boxes.  This is the part of the 'gift' they were preparing (only Jace know this of course).

There are now 6 dead/dying pirates lying in the immediate vicinity.  If anyone feels the need to acquire an extra pistol or rifle, there are plenty about.

Xil and Sheila know there are still at least 3 pirates left inside.

Combat has been sporadically occuring for several minutes now.  It is entirely possible someone has called it in by now and local authorities are enroute (then again you're technically working for the authorities so maybe they aren't).





Status
Mark (One): Uninjured
Flash (Two): -6/10WP stable (losing 1 wp/hour) unconscious
Exilim (Four): Uninjured
Jamie (Five): 0/56 8/12
Devon (Seven): Uninjured
Sheila (Ten): 6/18 10/10
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:54, Wed 11 Mar 2009.

This message was deleted by the player at 01:13, Wed 11 Mar 2009.

"I hope one of you is a medic, because I'm not," Jace calls over dryly, rushing towards the wounded man and offering the medkit to anyone liable to take it.  "There's a small infirmary on board that hasn't been used since the last time it was restocked, so whenever you're ready to get him aboard we can get moving."

Sheila will take the medkit from the unknown guy just standing there.  "There's three more guys in there." to the group in general as she gets to work on the poor injured Duros.  As she works, she looks at Mark and at the unknown guy.  "Introductions, you had a ship?." then  "I hate to move him, but we probably should."

OOC, this made more sense after Jace's post than before.,

Mark looked to Devon, wondering about this newcomer.  Still this wasn't the time to ask and the shipjacker did not look overly concerned.

"Alright.  Ten, do what you have to.  Seven, help her get him on board and keep the ship prepped.  We're going to 'borrow it'  Four, five and I need to complete our primary objective.  Four, lead the way."
This message was last edited by the player at 10:37, Wed 11 Mar 2009.

"And there was I going to offer you a free ride anyway.  By all means, take the ship to wherever you're going; I just ask that you let me stay on the ship until you get there so I can get back to Nar Shadaa within two weeks," Jace says dryly.

"Help us move him inside, I need your infirmary.  And don't forget his toys."  Sheila looked up at the new guy,  "Thought the ship was working for the other side? I guess never look a gift horse in the mouth, just scan him good for boobytraps."

(OOC, do we need to roll to move him, or can the three of us get him there without killing him. and get his toys?)

"My boss was having dealings with this people.  He gave me orders that if they appeared to be a liability, I should shut them down.  You both showed me that they were a likely liability and did my job for me.  Besides, your friend can tell you that I had no reason to booby trap the ship," Jace adds dryly, picking up some of the fallen weaponry and lending a hand in lifting the injured Duro.

Devon hurried forward to help get Flash on board and into the infirmary. Whilst he helped lift and support his injured comrade, he called his report outbover his shoulder  'One, ship is prepped and good to go - once we get our casualty to medbay, I'm going to go to the cockpit and prep for lift off.  Belly turret has no power, but we can correct that quickly.  My friend here is the old pilot - so far he's co-operated.'



'It was working for the other side,' Grinned Devon 'now it works for me.  Your a medic, right?  well, I know a little, so if you want I can assist.  If not, I'll head up to the cockpit.'

ew SHeila

"Yeah, I'm a medic, but he's pretty bad, so any help would be appreciated.  Unless you need to keep an eye on things out there."  She glanced at the pilot.

(OOC, I will roll later today when my diceroller gets home from school.)

Xil looked away from Flash and was glad that he and Sheila hadn't wasted time getting to him. They really needed to get him some serious help and as it was they would probably make a pretty big dent into whatever medical supplies they had available.

With his blaster rifle raised and ready to fire he began to quickly lead Mark and Jamie back towards the building. Over his shoulder he said to them "There were at least three more of them inside, wouldn't be surprised if there's not more." Thinking briefly about the layout inside he leads them back to the door that he first used to enter the building. It should still be unlocked and he hoped that they could use the machinery as cover while Jamie started to place the charges.

Sheila is getting rather frustrated.  She searches the small infirmary quickly and pulls out another medpac.

"OK, let;s try this again.  You hook these up."

Devon winced as their first attempt did nothing at all to help Flash.
May as well just shoot him myself and not waste time waiting for him to bleed to death...

Devon snatched the medical gear from Sheila and hurridly went back to work.
'Come on... don't die, you -'  Devon finished the sentence with a long stream of words in the Duros language.

"While you two are doing that, someone should get this bird in the air," Jace points out quickly, leaving Flash's gear in a neat stack outside of the medbay and walking in a cockpit-ward direction.  "One of you might want to get into the belly turret once it's powered up, and someone else should probably see about removing my carbine from the cockpit.  I wasn't planning on using it, but in your shoes I probably wouldn't trust me in the same room as a blaster."

Finally, Sheila (and Devon) got the duros stabilized.   She nodded at Devon.  "GO deal with him and the turret or what ever.  I'll stay here unless you need me."

Devon nods and leaves Sheila to her patient without another word.  He had too much to do and wasnt happy about the former pilot of this ship wandering around freely.  He resolved that next time he locked someone up, he'd make very sure they couldnt get out... or just shoot them.  One or the other.

Catching up with Jace, he calls to the pilot 'Hey, where you think your goin'?  I code-locked the controls, remember?'  Devon was apparantly friendly and smiling as he talked to the other human, but the blaster pistol in his hand and the wary glint in his eyes showed that he still didnt trust the person he was talking to.
'Lets find a way to keep you outta trouble...  I seem to remember you saying the Hutts paid you to ship something here - I figure since we're stealing or blowing up everything else, we may as well help ourself to that cargo too.. and since the main cargo ramp is already open... lets go get it, you first.'

When they reached the cargoramp, Devon holstered his pistol and readied his blaster-carbine. 'Since I got a gun and you don't; you go grab that thing and I'll cover you from here.'

<In the warehouse>

Reaching the door and forgoing sublety, Xil kicked the door open and ran inside, Mark and Jamie following close.  The area where Xil had thrown his grenade was a mess of warped conveyor belts, fallen droids and smashed vials.  The guards had clearly moved on after recovering from the blast.

Jamie quickly sized up the situation.  "Four, why don't you take position outside the control room?  It's elevated and lets you see the entire ground floor.  That way you can cover me as I set my charges.  Oh. . .speaking of which."

He reached into his pouch and pulls out a detonite charge with a radio detonator.  "While you're up there stick this somewhere that looks important or flammable.  I've already prepared it so just stick it somewhere important-looking then watch our backs.  One, keep me covered."

Jamie and Mark move off, the former stopping now and again to plant charges while the latter watches for the guards.


<On the YT-2000>

Sheila, having stabilised Flash, takes a moment to admire her work before grabbing her medkit again.  Applying a bacta bandage to the wound, she shot up the Duros with a stimulant.  Whilst not exactly the wisest move, she figured they needed all hands on deck.

Almost immediately Flash began coming around.  He muttered incoherently as he regained his senses.

---

OOC:  I'm decided to allow Flash to regain consciousness because otherwise it could be weeks/months before he gets his next chance (joys of Play by Forum).  He is conscious but disabled (as per RCRB) so can talk, move, perform basic actions, etc.

Jace and Devon, based on your posts I'm assuming you're both in or near the cockpit.  Since Devon locked the controls the ship wont be hovering yet (as you would need a computer use check to bypass him).

Xil, the control room is up the stairs.  It's about 5m up which allows a view of the entire work area (which control rooms are meant to).  The stairs do continue past the control room to a door that leads (assumedly) to the accommodation area.  The control room has a walkway outside it which would make a great sniping position for you.



Status
Mark (One): Uninjured
Flash (Two): Disabled
Exilim (Four): Uninjured
Jamie (Five): 0/56 8/12
Devon (Seven): Uninjured
Sheila (Ten): 6/18 10/10
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:28, Thu 19 Mar 2009.

Xil nodded his understanding to Jamie and set off up the stairs to the control room. He moved quickly and with his blaster rifle up, ready to fire.

As he approached the control room he looked around for signs of the guards and a place to put the explosive charge he was given. Having placed the charge (in the most appropriate place he can find)he positions himself on the walkway in front of the control room to give himself the best view of the area below, but also in a position to avoid surprises if anyone comes down the stairs from the accommodation area.

With his blaster rifle ready he scans the area for potential threats to Mark or Jamie. He will fire if he sees anyone that he doesn't recognise.

As Xil positions his charge in the control room, he hears a banging noise coming from a small door near the back of the room.  Finishing his placing of the charge, he cautiously approached the door, blaster in hand.

Cautiously pulling the door open, the sniper was greeted by an unexpected sight.  A human male was sitting in a chair that he was firmly bound to.  His arms were secured with cable to the chair arms and his legs were similarly secured.  A large piece of tape had been secured across his mouth.  The man had been rocking his chair in order to make the noise Xil had heard.
This message was last edited by the GM at 09:47, Fri 20 Mar 2009.

Pausing momentarily at something he didn't expect, Xil quickly looks around the rest of the room to make sure no one was hiding in there. Over the comm he says "One, Four here. there appears to be a hostage bound to a chair in here." He turns to the bound person and says, "Stay put for a bit, I know you're here now" in such a way as to try and offer reassurance to them.

Mark looked up reflexively to the control room but quickly turned his attention back to Jamie who was busy attaching an explosive charge to a fuel tank.

"Four, one.  Our enemy's enemy is not necessarily our friend.  Still, he doesn't deserve to be vapourised.  Take him with us.  Whatever you do, I want you back covering us ASAP.  We still have enemies about and I don't want them getting the drop on us."

"Understood One" Xil replied. "I'll be back for you" he said to the unknown prisoner. He quickly makes sure the prisoner is secure and then heads out to landing to take up his position as he originally planned.

The wide eyed human in the chair starts screaming through his gag as well as rocking the chair he is tied to.

"Actually, I said I was sent to pick something up from them for the Hutts," Jack corrects.  "I've no idea what's inside, though as it's a gift it's probably fairly valuable," he adds, walking down the ramp to start up the loading droid again.

Sheila pokes her head out of the sickbay.  "I'll be in here, call me if you need me."

<Inside>

Jamie stopped momentarily to wipe his brow.  Three charges laid, three to go.  He'd placed onr in the power plant, one in raw materials storage and a third he'd given to Xil for the control room.  He was currently securing a forth one to the underside of a conveyor.  The worker droids continued to do their job, seemingly oblivious to the sabotage being enacted around them.

"Probably overkill, using all six." Jamie said to Mark.  "Whatever this stuff is its flammable, so this place is going to go up with a huge bang.  Still, the Imperials were nice enough to supply us with the explosives so its not like we're paying for them."

Above them, Xil continued his vigil for the remaining guards.  Wherever they were, they were keeping quiet.  Not that he would have heard them.  Firstly, the machinery was quite noisy but even worse, the prisoner bound to the chair was making so much noise, a herd of stampeding banthas could have rolled by and Xil felt like he'd miss them.

Distracted by the noise behind him, Xil almost missed the pirate who was creeping into the main section from the warehouse.  Keeping low, Xil only caught fleeting glances at him as he moved behind conveyor belts and droids.  However it was clear he was maneuvering to take a shot at Jamie and Mark.  It was also likely that the pair wouldn't see him in time due to all the obstructions and moving items in the way.

'Either way, load it up.'  said Devon, scanning the area for hostiles, blaster ready.  Though if its something someone is shipping TOO a Hutt, it might be something you would send to a Hutt you dont like or want rid of.  he made a mental note to have Jamie help him go over the thing carefully before they opened it.

Xil cursed silently as he almost missed the pirate moving about. Damn people are annoying he thought to himself as he glanced back to the control room where the prisoner was adding to the general noise.

"One, Five. Heads up, inbound shooter coming from the warehouse section" he said over the comm. Trying to make sure he was heard, he spoke a little louder than he normally would have.

What I would give for a proper sniper rifle he thought as he focused his attention and tried to get the pirate in his sights. He will take a shot at the first opportunity he gets. He will also keep Mark and Jamie in the loop of where the pirate is.

<Warehouse>
Receiving Xil's call, Mark took up a defensive position in order to protect Jamie as best he could.  Jamie finished setting his charge and then looked over to Mark.

"One more in here then one in the warehouse and we can go."

Mark nodded and whispered.  "Stay alert, there's still at least three more bad guys in here."

A single rifle blast from above shot down into the warehouse ahead of them.  There was the unmistakable sound of a energy bolt hitting someone, followed by a gasp and a body falling to the floor.

"Make that two!" Mark whispered with a grin.

Up on the walkway outside the control room Xil allowed himself a moment of satisfaction for a well aimed shot but was aware the bolt had given away his position.  The annoying part about being a sniper is you always betrayed your position when using an energy weapon.

His attention was drawn to two guards who suddenly jumped up and ran for the warehouse shooting wildly at Xil's position.  Xil was forced to pull back as the sheer volume of fire guaranteed eventually one would hit him.

Mark used the guard's distraction to take aim on one of the guards.  A pair of well aimed bolts dropped the man in his tracks.  The last guard, seeing his friend fall, gave up firing and ran off through the warehouse.  A snap shot from Jamie flew past his ears but caused no damage.  He was quickly lost from sight.

As Mark moved to the warehouse entrance to ensure the man kept running, Jamie set to work on his last two charges.

<YT-2000>
With Devon watching on, Jace moved down the cargo ramp and began fiddling with the binary load lifter.  Unable to get it to obey him he checked the bodies of the dead pirates and found a remote operator on one of them.  Switching on the device he soon had the load lifter travelling up the ramp and into the cargo hold.

In the medbay, Sheila continued to monitor Flash.  While the Duros was now conscious he had yet to speak a word.  All readouts showed he would need bacta therapy to recover fully but there was no reason he shouldn't be able to move about and perform basic tasks.

All aboard stopped in their tracks however as the unmistakable sound of a TIE ship of some sort flew over the warehouse at a low altitude.

---

OOC:  The warehouse team have at least one more pirate to deal with (though he was last seen running for the door), oh and the guy trussed up in the chair.  The warehouse team did not hear the TIE (combination of machinery, gunfire, etc masked it).

The YT-2000 now has several pallets of 'merchandise' aboard (type unknown) and has just been buzzed by a TIE of some sort.  Everyone on the ship heard it but none of you were in a position to see it.

I apologise for delays in posting.


Status
Mark (One): Uninjured
Flash (Two): Disabled (Conscious)
Exilim (Four): Uninjured
Jamie (Five): 0/56 8/12
Devon (Seven): Uninjured
Sheila (Ten): 6/18 10/10

Noting that Mark and Jamie had chased off the last of the guards for the moment, Xil decided that it was safe enough to go back and get the prisoner at the rear of the control room. Over the comm he said "One, Four. Moving to pick up the lost soul we have up here. Will meet you at the main warehouse door ASAP."

With that he made his way back to the prisoner saying as he approached "Time to go, behave and we'll do this the easy way, don't behave and well, I'm sure you get the idea."

With that, he first of all released the prisoners arms before re-securing them behind his back. He then released his legs, stood behind the prisoner with his blaster rifle held pointing down but ready to raise and fire if needed and said "Let's move, down the stairs to the main warehouse doors.

'Sithspit!' snarled Devon as the TIE roared overhead, and scrambled for engineering, talking rapidly into his commlink as he did.
'Seven to group:  we just got buzzed by a TIE.  we need to leave right NOW.  Everyone who's headed my way, call in with your ETA.'

Once in engineering, Devon hurridly set about re-enabling the belly turret, then hot-footed it for the cockpit.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:46, Sun 19 Apr 2009.

The prisoner nods silently as he starts to walk nervously towards the main warehouse doors. Slightly scared as he remembers what happened to the last prisoner who walked out with the pirates. All he heard was a  blaster shot and the sound of a body hitting the floor outside. Its at that memory that causes him to stumble halfway down the stairs.

Flash just stared into space, conscious, but not noticing anything.  Then he blinked, and tried to move, and immediately let forth a string of curses in...at least five different languages.  His cursing prevented him from hearing the TIE, but he heard Devon, and that just added something new for him to curse about, though he didn't let up cursing about almost dying, either.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:14, Tue 14 Apr 2009.

Jace legs it into the transport.  "Need a co-pilot?" he yells over to Devon as heads in the direction of the cockpit.

Xil reaches out to grab the prisoner "Steady...." he starts to say when he was interrupted by Devon's urgent call over the comm.

"Damn" he says aloud. "We need to move fast" he continues to the prisoner. Saying that,he cuts the bindings on the prisoners arms to allow him to move a bit quicker "Get to the main warehouse doors, now" he says rather forcefully.

"One, Four. We are on our way to the doors in double quick time."

Xil will make sure that the prisoner stays in front of him but moving quickly to the main warehouse doors.

Mark lets out a quick curse.  "Seven, one.  Roger that.  We'll be done in. . ."  quickly looks over at Jamie before answering "less than two minutes.  Four is heading out with a guest.  Until he gets there, you're in charge.  Out."

Receiving no word from Devon, Jace drops into the co-pilot seats and begins powering up systems.  Devon was already getting the engines warmed up so Jace began working on secondary systems.  According to his consoles power had been restored to the turrets but there was no way to operate them from here.  Nav was still coming up but was less important.  Sensors and shields were starting to come online.

"He's coming back." Devon said.  Jace momentarily wondered how Devon knew that when sensors were down, but it became apparent when he looked out the cockpit and saw the TIE, now clearly identifiable as a TIE fighter buzz the ship at less than 100 metres.  If he wasn't interested in the ship before, he clearly was now.

Still looking out the cockpit Jace could see a human, leading another human at gunpoint.  They were heading for the ship but were still a good hundred metres away.  Seeing them reminded Jace that the cargo ramp was still down.

Inside the building, Jamie and Mark moved quickly to the warehouse where Jamie began planting the last of the explosives.

---

OOC:  Update.

Firstly Allen, you are capable of doing more than curse if you wish.  You can move, talk, walk and perform light duties without a problem.  It's more strenuous things (like combat) that you can't.

Devon/Jace - Systems are as follows:

Engines - Warming up; can take off in 30 seconds tops
Shields - Online in under 1 minute
Weapons - Online, just need someone in the turrets to man them
Navigation - Need at least 2 minutes to power up

Jace, with a successful computer use check you can speed up the activation of a system of your choice.  Powering up 3 systems by yourself when the engines were powered down takes time.  Someone working from engineering could assist with this process (diverting power, bypassing systems, etc) with successful repair checks.

'I want shields and sensors.  Fast as you can.  If that TIE starts shooting I want to be tough and able to aim when we shoot back.' said Devon quietly without looking round from what he was doing.  He wanted to shout, but shouting wouldnt help them at the moment, so he forced himself to stay calm and quiet...

Flicking on his commlink, Devon spoke quickly in the same (forced) calm voice.
'Seven here:  Prepping for launch.  That TIE just buzzed us again - took a good, long look at us; I imagine he will be back in a moment.  Engines coming up, we can lift in 30 seconds.'  Whilst he talked, Devon worked on warming the engines to flight readiness as fast as he was able.
'Four, I can see you from here.  You might want to consider running.'

"Copy that Seven" Xil replied to Devon. He gave the prisoner a little push towards the ship "Run, we have to be on board before they take off"

As they run towards the ship Exilim called back over the comm to Devon "Seven, Four. Will be there shortly. Get someone on the weapons of that thing. We need to be able to shoot, especially if it has friends nearby."

The prisoner starts running for the main door, on the way he grabs a box form a pile to his left. He looks behind him at the man escorting him. “hu comhum phum atioum” he said through his gag  before continuing to the door.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:40, Thu 23 Apr 2009.

Flash rolled up into a standing position, groaning the while, and hobbled forward until he found the cockpit.  "Move," he called to Jace, indicating that he would take the co-pilot's seat.  Once seated, he would call up information on the shields, get them running, then go for the sensors to see how many TIEs were actually in the area.

Once flash gets back up, Sheila will follow him out of the little sickbay and wait by the ramp for all those coming up.  He blaster is out if she needs to shoot something.

Devon grins over his shoulder at Flash as the Duros limps into the cockpit; and rattles off a rapid sentence in the Duros language.

Pointing to Jace he says 'Top turret - fast.  I want us ready to engage that TIE!'

Devon hunched back over his controls...

Flash responded with a tense nod of his head, and a few words in his native tongue as he glanced back over his shoulder.

Sheila can see a man carrying a box, a gagged man, which was strange in and of itself, heading toward the ship.  SHe glanced anxiously skyward.  Then she could see Exilim following, but it didn't look like he was hunting the man, so she waved at them in a hurry up wave.  "Come on."  over the intercom.  Then she peered beyond them looking for Mark and Jamie.

Then she will head down to the sensors seat to get those up and working.  (
This message was last edited by the player at 21:23, Sun 26 Apr 2009.

The prisoner arrives at the main doors looking out he sees the ship in front of him, turning back to his escort he points outside and to his gap while mumbles though the gap “whahum nohum”

Guessing what the prisoner means through the gag, but removing the gag to make things easier, Xil says "We get on board, that's our ride out of here so lets get a move on."

With that he will escort the prisoner onto the ship and head towards Devon.

The prisoner nods in agreement and starts jogging towards the ship, when he arrives he  climbs up into the ship, then he leans against a wall and takes the gap off
occ: sorry but the muffling stops here.

In the cockpit, Devon could only watch as the TIE fighter slowed and came to a hover in front of him.  Behind him, Jace relinquished his seat to Flash before running for the turret.  Slipping into the seat, Flash noticed that the ship was being hailed on an emergency frequency.  Switching on the comm, the pair in the cockpit heard:

"I repeat, unidentified YT-2000, you will power down your engines and all other systems immediately.  Failure to comply will result in your destruction.  Respond unidentified YT-2000."

On the cargo ramp, Sheila watched as Exilim and his 'guest' ran full pelt for the cargo ramp.  Reaching it they fell to the ground and quickly caught their breath.  Sheila looked out the doors but could see no sign of Mark and Jamie.  Instead she headed for the door.  Once there she moved quickly to sensors and began to power up systems.

Catching his breath, Xil looked at his prisoner and then to the ramp.  Jamie and Mark were still in the building planting explosives.  However he could still hear the TIE hovering very close by.

---

OOC:  Okay, paused for a chance to let people determine what they do since we've played some musical chairs.  Here is where people are:

Devon:  Cockpit - Pilot's Chair
Flash:  Cockpit - Co-Pilot's Chair
Sheila: Sensors Station (just arrived)
Jace:  Dorsal (Top) Weapon Turret (just arrived)
Jamie: Cargo Bay
Rann: Cargo Bay
Mark & Jamie - Warehouse


Devon, engines are now powered up.

Sheila, no need to reroll your sensors roll.  I will use it next round as you just arrived.  Since the comms station is behind you, you can also hear the comm message.

Flash, I'm assuming that since Sheila has gone to sensor control you're gonna focus solely on shields.  Roll a computer use check to speed up their activation.

Jace, the turret is already powered so next round you can immediately act.

Jamie & Rann:  The cargo ramp is still down and can only be opened/closed from the cargo bay.

I should point out that anyone at a station of some sort has access to internal comms.  There is no comms station in the cargo bay (but there is a speaker if needed).  All Talons also have their encrypted commlinks.

This message was last edited by the GM at 00:49, Thu 07 May 2009.

The prisoner looks over at his escort and said “my name is Rann - Thanks for saving me, now what?” as he stared at his escort waiting for an answer.

Flash worked away at the console.

Comp use: 27 [1d20+7] (Nat 20!  I think I succeeded.)

Even as Devon ponders his options he hears a small cry of triumph from behind him as the shields power up.  He also notes that sensors are also coming online thanks to Sheila's technical expertise.

Catching his breath a little still Xil replies "For the moment you can call me Four. Lets make our way to the cockpit and while we're doing that you can tell me about the stuff you grabbed on the way out of that building back there."

With that he will motion for Rann to precede him as they make their way to the cockpit.

Devon gave Flash a thumbs up over his shoulder as the shields came online, and breathed a little easier.  As Exilim and his unannounced guest crowded into the cockpit Devon glanced around, gave the stranger an enquiring look and spoke quickly to Xil:

'We've got shields and can lift anytime.  Top turret is manned.  Bad news is that TIE is demanding we power down... he hasn't identified himself.  No idea if he's freelance or Imperial... want I should find out before we start taking potshots at him?'
This message was last edited by the player at 21:54, Fri 08 May 2009.

Before Xil can answer there is the unmistakable whine of laser cannon fire and a flash of green directly outside the cockpit.  Devon spun around to his controls in surprise but the ship had not been hit.  Clearly it was a warning shot.

As if to confirm the point, the comm crackled to life once more.  "This is your final warning.  Lower your shields and power down or I'll turn that junker into scrap metal.  You have five seconds."


OOC:  All systems are powered up and at 100% except for the navicomputer that needs another minute to power up.

If the TIE does shoot he can hardly miss the ship as you are stationary and he is hovering. 

On the way to the bridge Rann talks to the man next to him “ well the box is compensation -
they inconvenienced me, so I should be entitled to something and this box is it.” Rann opens the box and looks inside to find...

"I'll jam his comms."  Sheila will scoot over to the comms station, unless someone tells her not to.

Devons face twisted into a scowl.  'I stole this ship fair and square.' he growled.  'No-one calls her a junker.'  He considered for a moment.  'Plus he IS in our way...  Idiot should have done the math - both of us are stationary and its point blank range.  We got shields, he don't.  He looses.'

Taking a moment to compose himself, Devon transmitted a response to the TIE pilot, injecting a nervous quaver into his voice:
'W- We hear you, TIE - powering down now; hold your fire!'  he stammerd before switching the external comms back off.

'Right,' he said to no-one in particular 'That should buy us a few moments.'  He clicked the internal comms on:

'Dorsal Turret:  Kill that TIE.'

Without responding, Jace spun the dorsal turret towards the TIE and fired.  The starfighter, seeing the guns turn engaged his engines but the turret followed him.  Jace let off a volley of bolts.  One missed the diminuitive craft while the second hit the port wing but failed to penetrate the ship's armour.  The fighter quickly began clawing for altitude.  Wether to run or turn and strafe was anyone's guess.

In the computer room, Sheila began blanketting every frequency she could with white noise.  It wasn't true jamming but as long as they stayed close to the TIE he wouldn't be able to call for help.


OOC:  We're into combat so plan accordingly.  The TIE is moving away from you but he could be gaining distance for a strafing run.  He could also be trying to clear the area so he can call for help.  Either is bad for you!

YT-2000:  Hull 100% Shields 100%
TIE: Hull 100%

As the TIE dodged their volley, Devon said a bad word.  Then his hands were flying over the controls.
'We've GOT to bring him down.  If he gets clear of our jamming, we're screwed.'

The engines howled as Devon boosted the ship into the sky.  Without looking over his shoulder, he shouted to Flash:
'Two, your crew chief now.  Get someone into our ventral turret - the more guns we can point, the better.  And get someone on a secure commlink talking to One - let him know whats going on.'

Outside the cockpit, the horizon blurred past as Devon sent their ship in pursuit of the fleeing TIE.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:40, Thu 14 May 2009.

Devon quickly lifted the craft off the ground and turned the ship towards the TIE.  The small fighter was rapidly gaining distance on the much slower transport.  As he flew Jace opened fire with the turret once more, but was unable to hit the agile fighter.

Devon pushed the engines to their limits but it was still not enough.  If he had someone in the engine room maybe they could speed it up but for now he used what he had.

As he pursued, Devon noticed on his screen that he was starting to close the range with the TIE.  With a mix of joy and dread he realised what had happened.  The TIE had turned and was coming at them head-to-head.


OOC:  Both vessels can shoot at each other in round 3

So at present we have:

Pilot: Devon
Co-Pilot: Flash (can perform shields/sensors/comms/commander or nav each round)
Computer room: Sheila (Can perform comms or sensors each round)
Dorsal Turret: Jace
Ventral Turret: Nobody
Engineer: Nobody
Commander: Nobody

Unassigned: Xil and Reece

Snapping the box closed again -  to be opened when its safe - Rann ran out the cockpit, shouting over his shoulder “<b> I'm going to man the Ventral Turret - don't worry, I use to be a gunner on a transport</b >'

well, the good news with the tie turning back is that he wasnt going to get out of jamming range.  Sheila worke dthe sensors to see if there was anything else that they didn't know yet, most importnat, was help coming for the TIe, they didn't tend to work alone, backup was usually never far away.

OOC: Sorry all, have a new baby boy who has only been home a couple of days. Life's a little busy.

Looking at the disappearing form of Rann, Xil issued a couple of quick instructions "Two keep our shields up. Sheila, sensors to help out the gunners as best you can. I'll be at engineering. Will contact One on my way."

He turned and ran to engineering attempting to contact Mark as he did so, "One, Four. Sitrep: Transport under fire by a TIE fighter. Take cover as best you can."

When he gets to engineering he will attempt to give the transport as much of a speed boost as possible.

Devon sends the YT-2000 into a defensive roll as he closes with the TIE.  Flash puts his shields to double front as Rann and Xil run for their respective stations.

Pushing hard Devon charges straight at the TIE.  Green laserfire erupts from the smaller craft, narrowly missing the transport.  The Dorsal turret fires, missing by a wide mark.  The TIE overshoots and Devon prepares to throw the ship into a turn to chase.

Rann, reaching the turret, dives in and doesn't even to strap in but swings the turret aft.  His first volley is a testament to eithet luck or skil as it hits the TIE dead aft.  While not enough to destroy the craft, it can be seen to be leaking coolant and smoking.  The pilot also seems to be struggling to gain altitutde.

Sheila, scans the sensors for any squadmates of the TIE.  So far none have shown themselves.



OOC:  After all that talk of the difficulty in hitting a TIE, Rann caps it on the first pass!  Guess those gunnery skills are gonna pay off!  I guess its also a great way to get in the good books with the Talons!

The TIE is still flying but has taken significant damage.

TIE:  Hull 26%
YT-2000:  Shields 100% Hull 100%

"We have to make sure that the TIE can't a message out to anyone ever" Exilim said over the internal comm trusting that the others knew what he meant. "Then we can pick up One and Five and get out of here"

Sheila will try to keep the while noise going so the TIE can;'t call out, while keeping the sensors out for other things, like more Ties, other ships, etc.  IF possible, she will use the sensors to figure out what's broke on the TIE, just in case some of this is an act.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:09, Sun 17 May 2009.

Flash doesn't have much to do, but keeps an eye on the shields, and looks for anything else that may need his attention.

Devon kept the ship level.  Rather then dive at the TIE he knew by flying level the smaller craft would have to gain altitude and cross his flight path, buying the gunners extra seconds.  It seems they would need all the time they could get.  Neither gunner could seem to replicate Rann initial shot as the TIE juked nimbly making it difficult for the gunners to lock on.

Devon growled as he watched the TIE starting to gain momentum.  Even when the engines cranked up to nearly 120% did the shipjacker feel happy.  Even with the speed boost, the TIE was slowly gaining ground and would soon be out of targetting range.




OOC:  The TIE will be out of range in a few rounds.

For anyone not familiar with the 'Heroes as Crew' section of the rulebook I strongly suggest you read it.  There are numerous things team members could be doing to help.  Flash could be working in the commander role, assisting a number of stations.  Sensors could be sending targetting data to one of the turrets giving them a boost to hit.  Engineering needs to take a system offline in order to provide the speed boost so I chose the hyperdrive.  At present Devon hasn't had much to pick (speed has to be max as the TIE is a lot faster and maneuvering is minimal at this point as the TIE is fleeing).

Sheila will be using the sensors to feed information to the gunners, right now, that would be Jace, he appears to need more help, at least for the next couple rounds.

"Let's get this guy and go back and pick up the others." muttering, probably loud enough to be picked up by the comm.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:38, Tue 19 May 2009.

The TIE slowly began to open the distance from the YT-2000 but it wasn't quick enough.  Another well-aimed shot from Rann sheared off the port wing sending the TIE into a spin.  Moments later the ship crashed into the ground.  No ejection pod had fired.

Devon slowed as he crossed over the TIE wreckage, examining the kill they had all just made.

In the co-pilot's chair Flash was trying his best to contact Mark and Jamie through the static made by Sheila's improvised jamming.  The Duros cringed as Mark could be heard shouting something in the comm but it was masked by the static.  Whatever he was saying it was loud and insistant.


OOC:  Excellent work on downing a TIE with a space transport.  Special points to Rann on his first gunnery kill.  Bet you're all glad Xil didn't leave him tied up somewhere!!!  So far sensors are clear.  You're about 6kms south of the warehouse now (as your chase was very short!

Sheila will take down the improvised jamming.

As the jamming was dropped, Mark's yells came blaring over the Talon's comms.

"Emergency Evacuation, emergency evacuation.  We have thirty-five seconds to get clear.  Forget the TIE.  I repeat emergency evac. . ."
This message was last edited by the player at 03:21, Wed 20 May 2009.

"Get us over there now Seven" Xil said loudly over the internal comm "Shields down Two, be ready to put them up as soon as they are on board, it could get a little rough I'm guessing. Jace get down to the ramp, help them on and then close it up."

Switching over to the Talons secure comm he said "We hear you One, we are inbound for emergency evac."

Xil will keep the hyperdrive offline for the moment as he is guessing that getting away from the building is more important and wants to keep the speed boost.

Flash immediately dropped the shields, and as they got closer, he would lower the ramp.  "Jace, watch your footing," he called over the internal comm.  Best not to lose this guy, whoever he was.

As Mark ran with Jamie for the launch pad he kept calling into the comm.

"Four, pick us up on pad.  Need full shields and engine the second we're aboard.  Get us out of her FAST."
This message was last edited by the player at 00:47, Thu 21 May 2009.

<NPC'd by GM>

"Understood"

Leaving his turret, Jace moved quickly to the cargo bay.  Responding to Flash's advice he found some rope and tied it around his waist, the other end to a support strut.  He then lowered the ramp, holding on to the wall so as not to get blown out the hatch by the rush of air.  He then waited for the ship to land.

"You heard him Seven and Two" Xil said to Devon and Flash on the Talons comm "Let's get this right" he continued.

Exilim will continue working at the engineering station to give the transport as much speed as possible.

Sheila will ise the sensors to benefit the pilot
This message was last edited by the player at 20:48, Thu 21 May 2009.

'On it.' shouted Devon and sent the freighter streaking back to the landing field.
He activated his Talons comlink.
'One, this is Seven, I'm coming in hot so make sure you give me room to land - don't wanna park on your foot after all.'

Devon swoops in with the YT-2000, attempting a rapid landing.  He misjudges the height of the warehouse slightly and has to slow at the last minute to avoid clipping the roof and costing him precious seconds.

Mark and Jamie run for the ramp even before the ship touches down.  The landing struts have barely made contact with the durocrete when the pair rushed up the ramp.

"Go, go, go." yelled Mark into his comm.

As Jace closed the cargo ramp, Devon was already airborne.  He wasn't sure where to go, he just knew to go away.

Mark came over the internal comms.  "All power to shields and engines.  Sound collision, everyone strap in. . ."

He's silenced by the sound of an enormous explosion to aft.  Sitting in the ventral turret, Rann had an unobstructed view as the warehouse went up in an enormous fireball that peaked hundreds of metres up.  From his viewport he could see the shockwave come flying at them and slam into the back of the ship.

Conduits blew over various areas of the ship.  The rear shields blew out and the ship slewed sharply.  Through sheer brute force, Devon managed to pull the ship back on track and keep her from smashing into the ground.

All over the ship, people who had not been strapped into a seat pulled themselves back to their feet.  Apart from some bumps and bruises the crew had come through it unscathed.



OOC:  When Jamie blows things up, he sure does it properly.  Couldn't have made much more of a bang with a nuke!

The ship is flying but you've taken damage.  Relevant stations can assess damage with a repair check.  Make rolls for your systems and I'll let you know what you find.

Would everyone please welcome Jamie back into the game!

Mark pulled himself off of the cargo bay floor and after seeing that both Jamie and Rann were uninjured he made his way to the bridge.

"Nice flying seven, now set a course for the petrochem plant where we sent the other team and get us there as fast as you can.  Two, I need communications with that team as soon as we can."

He flicked on the comm.  "All stations damage report.  Sensors, anyone in the vicinity?"

'Damage reports - someone tell me what we've lost!' bellowed Devon at the top of his lungs as he fought the ship back onto an even keel.
'Two - I want those shields back up NOW, One - where we going?'

When he finally managed to stop the ship bouncing around, Devon ran a quick check over his controls.

Repair check:  23

"WOW!  Let's not do that again," Jamie said as he rolled over onto his back after hitting the floor.  He grunted as he stood slowly, then dusted off his pants and ran a hand through his hair.
"One, two, three...", he counted his fingers and toes before continuing.
"Alright gentlemen, where do you want me?  Do we have anyone on sensors?  In the turrets?  In engineering?  Who's flying this boat, anyway?"

SHeila works th esensors agian, to see what damage to them, and what's out there.

After shooting the tie down Rann then straps himself in. after Rann's head stops spinning after the base goes up he starts checking damage reports.
Rann rolles a 23 on a repair check

Flash shook himself, but waited to check his bruises until he was done.  For now, best get those shields up.  Once that was done, he would try to get the comms up with the other team.

OOC: In a hurry, but this should suffice.

Jace wished people would show his ship a little more respect.  So far he'd been shipjacked, shot at and nearly blown up.

"There's nobody in the ventral turret as I came down to let you and your friend on my ship.  I think most of the other stations are manned.  I'd find out but I think I'm meant to be a prisoner or something.  Not sure I should help the people who stole my ride."


***NPC'd by GM***
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:23, Mon 25 May 2009.

Everyone began assessing their stations for damage.  Quickly the reports came up and were routed to the bridge.  Mark stood behind Flash and watched as the data trickled in.  The shields had been stripped away and the aft hull plating had taken some singing but they were intact.  The engines had taken some minor damage and speed was impaired.  The hull wasn't holed and the shield generators intact.  Devon was having no trouble maneuvering the ship suggesting the flight controls were intact.

A thorough report came scrolling the screen:

Primary Systems
Life Support: Online
Hull Integrity: 97%
Shields: 2% (and climbing)
Sensors: Operational
Navigation: Operational
Hyperdrive: Offline
Engines: Operating at 95% efficiency (Receiving 110% power)
Turrets: Operational
Communications: Operational

There was reports of some power conduits ruptured in the upper storage bay and one of the toilets on the lower deck was stuck on resulting in minor flooding.  Otherwise the ship seemed intact.

"Seven, keep us as low as you can.  That little explosion is going to generate a lot of attention we don't need.  Once we get the others we'll need to lay low for a little while and plan our next move so keep your eyes open."

On the internal comm.  "Sensors, keep sharp.  Watch for anything flying that isn't us.  We also need any suitable terrain to hide this crate, out."

Flicking off the ship's comm he pulled out his Talons commlink.  "Six, this is one, respond over."  Receiving no response he repeated the hail.  Either Zenna's team was running silent or something was interfering with the comms.  It's possible their low altitude was affecting line of sight but he couldn't risk popping up on an Imperial radar.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:10, Mon 25 May 2009.

"Many thanks for letting us in.  I'll buy you a drink sometime...later.  So this is your baby?  She's pretty sturdy to have withstood that blast.
I'm sure you realize the Imperials mean for us to be dead?  If they get to us here, you and your ride are going down with us.  That's a pretty good reason to be as helpful as possible."
Jamie discreetly flicked his pistol to stun, then not-so-discreetly drew it, aiming for Jace's chest.  Surely, that would convey his meaning well enough.
"Or you can do the prisoner thing.  Decide now if you're going to help us or not.  I'd prefer if you are still warm and breathing and not all corpsified when I buy you that drink, but be warned...if you try anything stupid, I will shoot you.  I'm not in a very trusting mood right now.
What's it going to be?  You've got about ten seconds."

_{'MY baby, damnit!  MY baby!  I stole her, she's mine!!!'} echoed a voice from the cockpit, accompanied but what sounded distinctly like a fist thumping a console in frustration.


  Sorry, couldn't resist.  :) Real post coming in a bit.

Jace sighed and raised his hands.  "I guess you didn't see it from the ground, but I was the one in the top turret shooting at the TIE so we could save your butt.  Oh, and this ship doesn't belong to me.  It belongs to a Hutt crime lord and they tend to get a little. . .testy when they don't get their property back."

"I'll help you all get out of here because I'm in as deep as you with the Imperials.  Doesn't mean I have to like it.  Jowchadda will hunt me down.  He's expecting his ship, his tribute (gestures at the cargo in the bay) and a new business partnership.  You've already taken care of the third one so I have to hope he'll accept two out of three.  I'd rather not make it worse."

He sighs and puts his hands down.  "What do you want me to do?  I can fly, I can shoot and I can fix things.  I can even do a passable braised nerf."



***NPC'd by GM*** while completely ignoring Devon's post!  Unless you've got bionic ears I don't know about!

In the cockpit, Devon dropped the ship down as low as he dared, skimming a few meters above the treetops and began looking for a suitable landing spot.  He triggered the internal comm:
'Engineering: drop engine power back to normal and switch the boost to shields.  And someone ask Five if he thinks he should maybe use a bigger bomb and blow us up properly next time?  I mean, we're not on fire or anything...'

Mark growled incoherently, then flicked his comm on and spoke three simple words in a quiet but very authoriative tone.  "Five.  Bridge.  Now!"

He then moved over to Flash's station.  "Leave the shields for a moment and flick over to the nav screen."  The screen showed their current course and distance to target.  Mark followed the track and pointed at a large town.  "Plot a course around that.  I need us to the petrochem plant as quickly as possible, but without alerting half the planet we're here when we fly over at rooftop level."

When he heard Jamie coming to the bridge he turned to face him.  "Well demolition expert.  Please tell me why we just surfed the tail end of armageddon.  Those explosives were meant to be detonated remotely once we were clear."



OOC:  Flash, since this is navigation not astrogation, please make a computer use check to plot the course.  The better your score, the tighter the plotted course.

Flash brought up the screen, and began plotting a course to get them to their destination.  He left it a little loose, just to be on the safe side,  but he did try to get them there as fast as possible.

Comp use for navigation: 14

"Excellent.  I'm glad you're in the helping mood."
Jamie spun his pistol a few times and holstered it, showing a winning smile to the man who just helped to save his life.
"Back to the turret would be nice.  Keep the skies clear, and don't get shot.  There's a good chance you'll get your ship back later.  I don't think we want trouble with the Hutts."
Jamie glanced at the comm speaker as Mark called him.  He sprung to the central ladder and took it two rungs at a time to the main deck.
Stopping just inside the door of the tiny bridge, he nodded to Mark and scowled.
"Sir.  The Imps set us up.  They rigged the explosives to blow sixty seconds after they were activated.  They didn't want us coming back from this job.  The good news is we're still alive.  The bad news is we gave some of the charges to the other team, and they may not be so lucky.  I'm sure those charges are rigged just the same.  If we don't warn them, they'll be blown to smithereens.  If we can get there, we may be able to finish the job.  There's a chance I could fix the charges.  Otherwise...I have a few other devices on hand.  They're smaller, but I'd bet my bottom credit they'll blow properly; I built them myself."
This message was last edited by the player at 03:56, Tue 26 May 2009.

Mark muttered a few curses about Imperials.  "How did you miss that?  Surely you checked over the Imperial explosives before you used them?"

"Roger Seven, diverting power as requested" Xil replied to Devon from the engineering station as he began taking power away from the the engines and routed them to the shields.

Jamie closed his eyes, remembering back to the beginning of the mission.
I know I checked over every inch of those things...
"I did check them, Sir, as time and resources allowed.  I would have had to perform a detailed scan or actually physically dismantle the charges to find anything more.  They must have hardwired the alterations.  I even went through some extra precautions, like detaching their detonators and using ours.  I only discovered the countdown because I used my own timer and was monitoring the devices as I activated them.  The Imps outsmarted me, Sir; that's how I missed it.  We're very, very lucky to be here."

"No wonder they gave us the equipment at the last minute."  Mark agreed.  "Wanted to make sure you didn't look too closely.  These Imps are sneakier then I gave them credit for.  For a handful of rigged explosives they get their mission completed and can pass it off as a bungled terrorist attack.  Leaves the governor's lilly white gloves clean."

Mark turned to watch the terrain as he continues.  "Well we're going to make the Imps pay for this treachery.  Once we pick up Zenna and the others we'll. . .by the Force."

The sheer shock in Mark's voice had the rest of the bridge crew also looking out the cockpit to spot the source of Mark's shock.  It wasn't hard to see.

A massive explosion, larger then the one they'd just escaped was erupting ahead, so bright it lit up the ground for tens of kilometres.

"Damn the evasion course seven, get us there now.  Five, keep hailing three."  Switching on the comm, "Sensors, I need a scan of the petrochem plant.  Look for survivors, but keep your eye on the sky.  Turrets, use your eyes."

As the ship flew closer, the devastation was obvious.  The petrochem plant was sheathed in flame.  Even at several kilometres the crew could feel the intense heat.  Burning fuel had spilled into the surrounding areas and was burning various industrial buildings.

Mark was not worried about the devastation.  The plan had been to destroy this plant.  The timing would mean that the casualties were minimal.  Losing his entire strike team to rigged explosives was not in the plan.

Mark looked over to Jamie who shook his head.  He'd been trying to raise Zenna's team ever since the explosion and had only been greeted with silence.  Mark sighed.

"Seven, get us out of here.  Sensors, find us a suitable place to put down well away from here and feed it to nav.  Two plot a course.  Evade all the Imperials but find us a place to hide."

He turns to Jamie.  "Five, the bridge is yours.  Once we're safely hidden, gather the crew in the Lounge.  We need to talk."







YT-2000
Hull: 97%
Shields: 23% (and climbing)
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:30, Wed 27 May 2009.

Sheila's hands moved quickly over the sensors.  She was cussing under her breath.. Probably means they weren't going to get paid either. No, actually, she wanted to cry.  She was jsut gratefull she hadn't actually carried any imp provided equipment with her, otherwise these guys might just be stuffing her out the airlock for being in on it.

Devons mouth hung open and for a moment he didnt respond, leaving the ship meading toward the destruction...  then he shook himself and turned the ship away, leaving the destruction behind.

'Sensors;' he mumbled 'lets find somewhere to land.'

For a few moments, Devon stared out at the terrain racing past below them, then spoke without looking round; his voice a dull monotone.
'Five, did anyone bring any Imp gear aboard?'

Sheila, with her inherent knowledge of the area and skillful use of the sensors found a suitable spot over 100km from either explosion site.  It was a wooded area with a dense canopy but minimal undergrowth.  Zigzagging through quieter areas it took nearly 15 minutes to get there.  On arrival, Devon had to gently nudge the ship through on her side to not damage the canopy and thus give away their position, but he did it with skill and soon the ship was comfortably settling down on her struts.  Sheila had reported numerous craft in the air, no doubt military and rescue ships rushing to the two explosion sites but she believed they'd escaped detection for now.



Status
Mark (One): Uninjured
Flash (Two): Disabled (Conscious)
Exilim (Four): Uninjured
Jamie (Five): 0/56 8/12
Devon (Seven): Uninjured
Sheila (Ten): 6/18 10/10

Jace: Uninjured
Rann: Uninjured
This message was last edited by the GM at 08:29, Thu 28 May 2009.

Jamie shook his head as he felt a shockwave after the blast.  The loss of several team members at once was staggering.  This was the largest loss since he had joined the Talons!  Familiar feelings rose...the same desire for revenge that had controlled him after he watched Cyril die...but he calmed them this time and took control of the bridge.
"Shut down all unnecessary systems.  We want to lay low and keep quiet while we get our heads together.  Leave the sensors in a passive mode; we want to know if anyone's coming, but we don't want to give away our position."
Jamie activated the shipboard comm and announced "All hands, report to the lounge."
With that, he walked back there himself and found a seat.  Taking a moment for himself while crew trickled in, he peeled aside his gear carefully to inspect his injured shoulder.
"Commander," Jamie suggested, "It would be nice if we had a medic on the team.  I keep getting shot."
This message was last edited by the player at 23:16, Wed 27 May 2009.

Sheila put the sensors into passive mode, then stood up.  "Let me look at your shoulder."

Exilim made sure that the power was still being fed to the shields before making his way to the the lounge. He had considered bringing the hyperdrive back online but decided that shields would be of more benefit in their current circumstances.

He greeted the gathering people by saying "Tell me that wasn't what I thought it was?"

"It was.  The petrochem plant.  Zenna's team, no doubt.  The explosives were rigged to - ow!  Gently, please...I was shot," Jamie said as Sheila examined his shoulder.  "The explosives were rigged to explode sixty seconds after they were set.  Mark and I would have been toast if you hadn't picked us up.  Nice timing, by the way!  There's no way...almost...Zenna's team could have found out before the blast.  That's why we wanted to get in touch with them as soon as possible.  We failed them."
Jamie closed his eyes and sighed.  Then he forced a smile for the lady.
"Thank you, ma'am.  You're a medic, I take it?  Are you with us with us, or just with us?  I'm Jamie, by the way."

She looked at Jamie, must have been hit on the head.  "That depends on what your boss there decides, if he wants to offer me a permanent job as compared to just  a temp who gets a ride off this rock when the job is done, which I believe was the original deal I made with Zyra.  I guess I won't be returning that speeder either.  Hold still.  And the other guy needs more medicine than I have available at the moment. When the powwow's done, we'll go get personal over this shoulder in the sickbay."
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:29, Thu 28 May 2009.

Xil sat and contemplated the loss of Zenna and her team at the petrochem plant. He had chosen who would go, their loss weighed heavily on him.

"Damn Imp's" he said aloud "We really need to show them what happens when they mess with us." he continued.

In his mind he pictured the image of the governors head exploding from a well placed sniper shot.

Jace quietly took a seat and looked around expectantly.  This was likely the point when he found out if he was getting his ship back or they were just planning to push him out the airlock when in low orbit.

"Commander," Jamie repeated, "It would be nice if we had a medic on the team.  I keep getting shot.
"We may have lost a few members, but we do have an advantage; we're all dead men.  If we run, they won't chase us.  If we retaliate, they won't see it coming.  We would need a clear plan of action and objective, though, or it would be straight-up suicide.  Anyone who wasn't with us at the garrison wouldn't be recognized.  That could be our ticket.  Once they see recognize one of us, the game's up and they know we survived.  We have to make our move before then.  But that's all up to the Commander."

Mark finally turned from the wall mounted viewscreen where he had been examining maps, both topographical and galactic.  Partly he'd been examining them but he also liked to hear what his team had to say.  Seeing everyone had arrived he laid out his plans.

"Well it's a little more complicated then that Five.  We need to look at this situation.  As I see it we have four things to deal with.  Firstly, is a question of recruitment.  Ten, if you wish to stay on you are most welcome.  As to the rest of you, I have only just met you, but you handle yourselves well in a fight.  I'm always on the lookout for new people.  If you're interested let me know."

"Problem two is this ship.  Seven has done an excellent job of acquiring it but I also now feel indebted to our guest.  Do we take his ship and what are the ramifications if we do?  That TIE pilot may have identified this ship.  Added to which I believe I heard mention that this is the property of a Hutt crime lord.  Whilst a YT-2000 would be a nice little addition to our fleet, is the cost worse the potential aggrevation?  I'm not sure."

"Number three, I want to know what was being manufactured down there.  Did anyone grab some samples?  Whatever it was, it was worth fighting for, worth the Imperials wasting our lives on and apparently, good enough to attract a Hutt's interest."

"Finally, there are the Imperials.  They thought they could deal with us by rigging the explosives they gave us.  That has potentially cost us three members of our team.  The only comfort is that in return we have destoyed one of their largest petrochem refineries.  That's million of credits of damage, not to mention possible fuel shortages in the short term.  Still I think they hurt us more then we hurt them."

"Now I see two immediate courses of action.  The first as Five suggested is that we pretend we are dead.  There are obvious benefits.  The Imps think they succeeded, we have some room to move.  The downside is they probably wont pay us and we wont still be working closely to the Imps, which provides certain advantages.  Finally there is Nine to consider.  She is still back at the base.  If she's alive the Imps still technically need to pay us for our work.  If the rest of us are dead will they pay her or merely eliminate her."

"The other choice is to go to the drop point as planned.  We could suggest the lost members of the team died when the warehouse exploded.  We can even pretend we think our own crew messed up the charges and appear oblivious to any treachery.  The advantage is that we can maintain our close proximity to the governor.  The closes we are the easier to find a way to hurt him.  The downside is that if they consider us expendable then they may merely try to quietly do away with us.  There's also the fact I'm not sure I could meet with the governor and not try to rip his throat out with my bare hands."

Mark checked his chrono.  "We have just under two hours until our scheduled rendezvous.  Given time to drop us off we have about one hour to determine our course of action.  I'm after opinions here.  I'm sure Nine could tell us the best way to go but she's not here.  I'm a tactician.  I deal with military warfare.  I normally leave the covert planning to her."

Seeing nobody had prepared any caf, Mark walked over to the dispensor and proceeded to make some.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:02, Sun 31 May 2009.

Jace could not believe this group were discussing stealing his ship and offering him a job in the same breath.  Who were these people?

"Look, if I don't return this ship it will cost me my head, literally.  Hutts don't tolerate the theft of one of their cargo ships well.  So if you're planning to steal this vessel kindly shoot me in the head.  It will be a lot less painful."


"I really don't want to hear what you guys talk about so I'll go check the hull for damage."  He stands and leaves the lounge.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:34, Fri 29 May 2009.

Mark watched Jace go.  He looked over at Devon expectantly.  The shipjacker seemed to trust this guy but he wasn't so sure himself.

Sheila points at Rann, "He grabbed a box..  And I have this."  She pulled out the bottle she had taken from a box while in the warehouse.

Xil looked over at Rann "You must have some idea of what they were up to, otherwise why pick up a box of that stuff while rushing out of the building. The other thing is why did they keep you alive, of what value were you to them?" he kept looking at Rann waiting for an answer.

While waiting for that answer he let his mind go over what Mark had said just before. There was a lot to consider and an hour really wasn't that much time.

“well the box is compensation -they inconvenienced me, so I should be entitled to something and this box is it” said Rann as he continued “I was with a friend acquiring new stock to sell when the pirates caught us; my friend was killed yesterday and if you lot hadn't turned up, I would have been killed to. As for what they are doing, I have no idea.” Rann now goes over to his box and opens it.

I'd better look over that before anyone opens it.  It could be rigged with any manner of trap.
Jamie was about to offer to inspect the box before it was opened, but rather than saying "Wait a moment; I'll inspect it," all he got out was a "Wah..."
Then, seeing Rann opening the box, he grabbed Sheila and hit the deck, intending to take her down with him and provide cover for her if anything unpleasant accompanied the box-opening.

Xil watched Jamie dive for the floor grabbing Sheila in the process. Not exactly sure what was going on he didn't react and watched the events unfold.

Rann finished opening his box and started rummaging through various items inside.  Nothing went boom.

Jamie stood up when nothing exploded, and reached down to help Sheila to her feet.
"Apologies, ma'am.  I thought the box might...well...explode."
I suppose I have every excuse to be paranoid right now...
Jamie sat down, slightly embarrassed.
"So what's in the box?"

Mark cursed loudly.  He'd just finished making the pot of caf when Jamie had dived to the floor.  Spinning around, Mark had ripped out his blaster and released the pot of caf which had spilled all over the floor.  Seeing there was no emergency, Mark holstered his blaster and retrieved the pot.  Sighing at the waste of good caf, he went to make more.  He spoke as he moved to the food station.

"If we have samples of what they were preparing and Rann doesn't know then lets shelve that conversation for now.  We'll need time to analyse the samples.  So lets focus on the issues of this ship and the Imperials."

"Actually, you all focus on that while I make the caf."

Xil let out a little laugh at Jamie's expense. He could understand why he reacted as he did but this seemed like a good time to break some of the tension around them.

Picking up from what Mark had said "Ten, sounds like you have a spot on the team if you want it. Hope you do take it up, Five has a habit of getting hurt and needing to be patched up. I don't really want to lose any more friends."

Looking at Devon he said "In regards to the ship, well, Seven as much as I guess you really would like to keep it, do we want to be at war with the Hutts and the Imps. Personally I think that we should probably give it up. One less complication for the moment, we have enough as it is. We can always find you another ship to steal"

He paused before continuing to the group "Not too sure on whether we should play dead or not at the moment. I'm worried about Nine and not sure how what we decide will affect her. If they were happy enough to kill us off then they might just do the same to her. Anyone have any thoughts?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:49, Sun 31 May 2009.

Flash stepped into the room(from wherever he was(in the refresher if this was taking place where he already was)), and paused.  What's all the ruckus?  What's in the box? he thought, but only asked, "We don't get to keep it?"

Flash.  Mark would not have delivered his plans with people missing(as he doesn't like to repeat himself.  So please assume you were there or it throws out the conversation significantly.

Jamie nodded in agreement with Xil.  "We really can't afford the wrath of the Hutts.  Wretched as they are, they are also some of the most powerful beings in the galaxy.  We would do well to keep ourselves in their good graces.
"Nine may already be dead.  We have to find out.  If she is alive we need to get her out of there.  If the Governor was trying to make this look like some pirate raid gone wrong to keep his hands clean from all involvement, he won't take kindly to us waltzing back in there like nothing is wrong.  I'd say there's a good chance we'd be shot on sight.  I'm more for using our 'deaths' as an advantage.  I'm not sure yet how we could do that...but I'm certain there is a way."

"You have a point there." Exilim replied to Jamie. Turning to Sheila he said "The Imps shouldn't know about your involvement hopefully. Nine had a way to get hold of you initially, if we play dead then you could be our way of finding out if Nine is still ok. How do you normally communicate with her?"

"Good thinking Four.  I have some code phrases I worked out with Nine for various situations but I knew I couldn't just call her.  As you suggested we could use Ten as a go-between.  Use her contact method to warn Nine to get out."

He turns to Sheila.  "I need you to contact Nine as fast as possible.  Tell me what you need to contact her and we'll make it happen"
This message was last edited by the player at 08:36, Sun 31 May 2009.

"She gave me a contact point.  Basically, I need to slice into a land line.  We need to get to one, you tell me what to say and how and where we're going to meet her, and I'll do it.  And yes, I am interested in a position, and you", speaking to jamie, "While I appreciate you trying to save my life there, quit hurting your arm worse. Sheila, name is sheila, and I think you hit your head too, somewhere in there."
This message was last edited by the player at 02:03, Mon 01 June 2009.

'Well, if we are going to hand over the transport; can I suggest we dont do it yet.  After all, we're gonna need a way off planet... and with the Imps having double crossed us, its not like we can just call our original ride to come pick us up from the spaceport... that'll prove to the Imps we're still alive.'

"Seems we need to find ourselves an available land line to borrow for a bit. And I agree Seven, we might need to hang onto the ship to get off planet. Of course, that also depends on Nine and what trickery she can come up with." Xil spoke about Zyra as if nothing was wrong trying to keep everyone positive about her predicament.

Mark brought his 'caf round two' to the table along with a handful of mugs which he dropped unceremoniously.

"Well the gist of the conversation so far seems to be that we should play dead.  We'll have to try and communicate with Nine as soon as possible.  We'll get Ten her comm access."

"We also seem agreed that we should use this ship to escape but then turn it over to the pilot.  We'll work out a suitable drop point.  It needs to be close enough to our base of operations for easy transit without giving away its location."

"If anyone has any objections or ideas, please speak them."

Turning to Rann.  "We have only just met but I hear you were very handy on those large guns.  We can use a good gunner.  Why were you there in the first place?"

Facing Mark, “ As I have already told your friends the box is compensation - they held me prisoner, so I should be entitled to something; and the box is it” said Rann as he continued “Me and a friend were acquiring new stock to sell when the pirates caught us; my friend was killed yesterday and if you lot hadn't turned up, I would have been killed to” Rann turned back to the box “the box contains by some miracle my stuff and some other bits including a droid CPU”

Mark shrugged.  He wasn't that interested in the box since Sheila had a sample.

"Well I'm glad you got something back.  I'm interested to know your intentions.  If you wish to stay onplanet then I'd ask you to stay here until we go.  Otherwise we can drop you off when we get off this rock.  But I'd like to take the opportunity to offer you and Ten a chance to join us.  You seem to have skills we can use.  If you're up for dangerous work and have a dislike of the Imperials then maybe you'd like to join our venture.  The financial rewards have been lean but you'll be cut in an equal share on any future takes."

“Sounds good" Rann pauses for a moment to think. “ yah why not you guys could do with a someone like me" he said smugly.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:13, Wed 03 June 2009.

Jace comes walking back into the room.

"Hate to bust up your meeting but there's a lot of air traffic all of a sudden.  Don't think they're looking for us but I figured you might want to help camoflague the ship."

"Well you'll have to explain these 'skills' to me at some point."

When Jace spoke Mark nodded.  "Four, you want to take a team and assist with that?  Five, I want you to assign roles for this bird.  If we have to fight our way out I want everyone in the best position for their skills.  Keep one person on sensors and comms at all times.    Seven, I need you to make sure you keep our energy signature low to avoid detection but as ready to fly as possible in case things get bad."

"Ten, any chance you can send that comm message without a landline?  We have all manner of gear on board.  Can you jury-rig something?"

"Let's get to work people."
This message was last edited by the player at 03:19, Tue 02 June 2009.

"Well, let me go look."  SHeila will spend some time checking things over to see what she can do with what. Eventually, she will start putting something together.  "Let me try this."
This message was last edited by the player at 04:03, Tue 02 June 2009.

Jamie stroked his stubble for a minute, looking about the room at the available crew.  "Alright...Seven and Two will be the pilot and co-pilot, respectively.  Two, no games; we don't need a bigger cruiser.  I need you to cover the navigation as well.  Four, you and this guy-" Jamie pointed at Rann, "-take the gunner stations.  That other guy...the one who works for the Hutts...he'll be on shields.  Sheila, you take sensors; I'll take comms.  One, you're the commanding officer.  Any questions?"
This message was last edited by the player at 04:08, Wed 03 June 2009.

Flash bowed his head slightly.  "I'll try not to get too excited."

"Commander?"  Mark grumbles, feigning despair.  "Sure, give me the job with nothing fun to do.  Hell, I don't even get a chair!"


This message was last edited by the player at 04:36, Wed 03 June 2009.

"Understood Five" Xil replied to Jamie "First of all I'll take them out with me to try and make us less obvious to those curious eyes out there"

With that he signals to Rann and Jace and leads them out to try and improve the cover over the ship. As they exit the ship he starts looking around for anything that may be of use. He quickly realises that there is nothing outside the ship that will help. There is a lack of undergrowth to use and while the canopy had some density to it there were still some gaps that could be problematic.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:46, Thu 04 June 2009.

As he exited towards the cockpit, Devon glanced over his shoulder.
'Want me to find you a box to sit on?' he asked

Rann looks of at Xil and says “ So do you want to be on the top gun or bottom one”

"Lets get back inside there's nothing we can do out here" he says to Rann and Jace.

"I'll take the top turret" he replies to Rann. After seeing that they weren't going to get extra cover he decides to take the turret that is likely to be needed first.

As they start heading back onto the ship Xil contacts Mark and Jamie over their secure comm "One, Five. No extra cover for the ship. There is nothing out here for us to use and there a few gaps in the canopy above us. We are coming back. I suggest everyone get on their stations and be ready. Also, the hyperdrive is still offline, we were using it to boost the shields."

Mark considered what he's being told and scrapped his old plans and decided on a new one.

"Well we need the damn hyperdrive online.  The cover probably wasn't necessary now I think about it.  We'll need to warm Nine to get out before the Imp's rendezvous to pick us up.  Anytime after that is when they might eliminate her.  I appreciate the effort though."

He gets on the comm.  "Five, this is One.  Who did you assign to engineering?  Tell them we need the hyperdrive online five minutes ago.  I'm heading there to assist.  Then get everyone to their stations and get this crate fired up.  Switch Ten on to comms and replace her at sensors.  She's going to have to work on her plan in flight.  We're leaving."
This message was last edited by the player at 06:43, Thu 04 June 2009.

Jace who was standing near Mark nods.  "I was told to handle shields.  I can do that from engineering.  I know this ship better then you guys anyway,"

He follows Mark to engineering and works to bring the hyperdrive back online.  After that he works on charging the shields.

Flash eased himself into the co-pilot's chair, sighing slightly in relief at the chance to rest for a moment.  An all too brief moment, however.  The adrenaline was running, and he couldn't sit still.  He had to do something, so something he did.  Firstly, he brought up the sensors to watch what results were coming in from the scans, and he kept one bulbous eye on that as he fixated the other on status reports of the ship.  It wasn't much, but at least he didn't feel helpless.  He couldn't stand that.

Having received new instructions Xil headed to the top turret. When he gets there he will bring all its systems online and make sure that it is ready to go should the need arise.

"Yes, Sir."
Jamie found the sensor station and rubbed his hands together.
"Alright everyone, slight change of plans.  Ten, you're on comms; do your thing in-flight, please.  I'm on sensors.  Two, be prepared to plan us an emergency hyperspace escape route.  It wouldn't have to be far, just enough to get us out of immediate danger.  Seven, fire up the converters and take us into orbit when you're ready.  If we pass any patrol craft, keep your distance...but don't look like you're keeping your distance.  I'll keep you posted on what they're doing."
Jamie kept the sensors in a passive mode for now to avoid detection; he would do a full sweep of the surrounding areas once the ship was airborne.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:06, Sat 06 June 2009.