Returning to base gave Exilim the perfect opportunity to get some sleep, so that's what he did, at least for the first day at any rate.

From then on he divided his time between any on duty hours and activities, reading what he could about advanced tactics, and tinkering with his weapons.His tinkering took up the majority of his time. As he didn't currently have a "proper" sniper rifle, he wanted to get as much out of his blaster rifle as possible.

He spent mealtimes with any of the other Talons around, but kept his talking to a minimum as his mind was often occupied with tactics and tinkering.

Marks behaviour was understandable and Xil watched quietly and desperately wished that Zyra would turn up.

Next Day, 0800, Briefing Room


There was an expectation in the air as people went about their morning routine.  Nobody had heard from Mark about what was to be expected, but the unspoken consensus was that there would be a mission.  Who the mission was for was the question.  Various Talons had taken shifts in the communication centre and as far as anyone had heard there had been no major comm traffic.  It was possible that Mark had been making some private dealings, but it seemed unlikely.  Such subltlety was Zyra's speciality, not the commanders.

Still the signs were there.  The briefing room was set up and serving droids were placing out pots of caff and large plates of pastries and savouries.  Such occurances always conincided with a long planning session.

Despite some of the Talons arriving early, none of them beat Mark to the briefing.  He was intently studying a handful of datapads, cursing quietly to himself.  With Zyra missing, he'd taken on the financial aspects of running the business himself and clearly things weren't good.

Even after everyone had filed in, Mark still continued to keep to himself for another five minutes or so.  Finally, he called the meeting to order.

"Alright everyone, party's over.  It's time we got down to business.  First things first.  In Zyra's absence, I am taking over her duties.  If anyone feels up to assisting with the intelligence, financial or public relations side of things, I'd love to hear from you."

"Secondly let me remind you that Sheila has agreed to be our medical specialist.  I imagine she's had plenty of time to look around the sickbay while patching up Flash.  Sheila, and requisition orders you may have should be sent to our quartermaster."

"Which brings us to our other new employee, Mr Pertwee here has already shown his skills as a heavy gunner.  What you may not know is he is well connected in various underworld organisations and may have access to tech we couldn't normally acquire through legitimate means.  Rann, you may consider yourself our new quartermaster.  Anyone who needs things, talk to him.  Our budget is shoestring so don't expect much until we get some paying work.  One thing for you to look in to is a small transport craft of some sort.  We can't keep hitching rides or riding around in a Corellian Cruiser all the time.  We need a small transport or shuttle for small hops.  Perhaps you and Mr Kismet can work together on that."

"All other departments, I'll hear you're reports now.  How are we looking?"

---

OOC: Everyone here (except Flash whom we need to find one for or we'll dock his pay!) has a department they take care of for the business.  If you're not sure or need some clarification on something in relation to your department, please PM me
This message was last edited by the player at 23:01, Fri 23 Oct 2009.

"Sir, our supply of explosives is always lower than I'd like," Jamie put it, "But I think we'll be alright.  I can cook up a little as we go, too.  Our roster has undergone some significant changes since our early days; we need a reassessment of abilities.  I'll work with everyone to see what they can do, then assign them duties accordingly."
Jamie tapped a foot as he took a bite of a pastry.  Especially in deep space, such things were delicacies.  He savored the morsel for an extra-long moment before swallowing and continuing.
"I'm not an accountant, Sir, but I should be fairly capable help in the Intelligence and PR sectors."

"Very good Mr. Webb.  Make sure that everyone here is capable of flying both a Z-95 and the Nightshrike.  In an emergency, I want every person capable of taking the helm."

Sheila nodded when he spoke to her.  "I can handle a starfighter, I've no experience with anything bigger."  Although now  she knew who the quartermaster was.  THe sickbay could use some replacement stuff.

Flash put a word in.  "I've had experience with fighters and transports, but nothing as big as a cruiser."  He then returned to his caf, musing over what the heck it was he did around here anyway?

Devon sat forward and tapped at his datapad.
'Well from my side of things, if your going to want to start running training flights then fuel is very quickly going to be a problem.  We've got enough for maybe a week of operations... less if heavy combat happens.  We need to secure a supply soon.'
He paused to take a bite out of a pastry and wash it down with some caf.
'On a similar note, munitions:  we're even worse off here than the fuel situation... we've got four concussion missiles and that's it.  On top of that I've got a massive 'wants' list of spare parts, replacements, tools and equipment... and that's just to run our fleet in its current configuration.'

Devon sighed.  'As to the big refit you wanted, Boss?  Ripping out Nightshrikes diplomatic deck and refitting it as a hanger?  Sorry to say that plain and simple I haven't had the time and we don't have the parts.  I'll put a list together of what we need... once we get all that stuff, its going to take about a week.  About the best I can do in the meantime is mount some docking rails on the Shrikes upper hull.  That would let us carry the Z-95s through hyperspace, but the pilots would have to spend the entire time in their cockpits. '

Devon brightened up a bit.  'The good news is that within the fuel and munition limitations... our little fleet is basically operational, and barring a major disaster I can keep it that way so long as my supply of spare parts hold out.  Primary systems on all ships are up and running - we even got Shrike's primary hyperdrive motivator working again.'  The shipjacker held up a warning finger.
'Nightshrikes primary systems are all up and running, and in theory she's ready for action... but I better warn you that some of the non-essentials are still down and a couple of the primaries are still a bit glitchy...'

Devon plonked his datapad on the table and slumped back in his chair.
'In summary, our fleet is as operational as I can get it in the time I've had and with the gear I've got.  What I really need is more time and an awful lot more equipment...'

Flash offered something quite unusual: His assistance.  "Actually, I might be able to help you get that done faster.  I wouldn't know what needs to be done, but at least I can do it."  He sat back in his chair.  He had certainly been a lot more conversational since he first met the Talons, though he still kept mostly to himself.

"Well train people on the ground as much as you can.  Let's not waste what fuel we have.  Send your list of needs to Mister Pertwee."

Turning to Rann, "As my new quartermaster, you have the most diffucult job of all.  Going through everyone elses wish lists and seperating what they actually need from all the things they want.  It's not Life Day.  Then I need you to start working out where we can steal, buy or trade for the goods we need."

"Now, if Mr Nallis would give us his report, we can move on."

Xil listened patiently as the others reported what they needed. He looked from Mark to the rest of the Talons and started.

"Let me start by saying that in terms of ground based ops, we are a little better equipped. We have done well so far, but it hasn't been without loss or severe injury." He looked around, letting his eyes fall on Rann for a moment A special order for you coming up he thought to himself before continuing.

"As it seems that a lot of the missions we be undertaking are going to be ground based, there are some area's the we need to do some work on." he didn't pause or look at anyone in particular as he kept speaking "Firstly, we need to be a little better prepared in terms of the equipment that we carry with us, besides our weapons that is. As an example, we can assume that there will be a degree of breaking into places, therefore, I think it would be prudent to have most of us carry a compact 'break in' kit and be somewhat proficient in the use of it. What we are doing at any given time will dictate what we need, but we need to be thinking more laterally." he took a brief drink and the kept going "Secondly, as we will be operating on the ground a bit, I think that we could all do with some training exercises involving a range of ground combat tactics. Close quarter combat, entering buildings by stealth or with all guns blazing are two of the things high on my agenda." He looked around the gathered Talons knowing what he was going to say next would be even less popular "And yes, there will be an obstacle course involved." he picked up the pastry in front of him and started eating it, after all what he had in mind would require that he had energy to burn.

"We all need practice in those areas Mister Nallis.  We've hardly been the most effective team on the ground so far.  We've seen numerous mistakes we can't afford.  Most of us are too used to being pilots.  Work us hard Mister Nallis, and make sure Flash gets extra times on rope climbing."

"Other information that you're not going to like.  We acquired no new merchandise on this run so there is no prize money to distribute.  So we're going to be tightening our belts. . .again.  In fact we're worse off then we were before.  We need to make credits, lots of them and quickly.  As such I've already begun planning our next group of sorties."

Picking up a remote, he flicked on the viewscreen and brought up a nearby sector.

"You all remember the Phindar System, especially since we were only there a week ago.  Added to the fact they tried to kill us with rigged explosives also tends to make it stick in your mind.  Well we're going back there."

"I've chosen this system for a number of reasons.  Firstly, it's an outlying Imperial system with limited military resources.  The fact they employ mercenary forces shows they're less equipped then other sectors.  "

"Secondly, they clearly have internal strife at present.  We witnessed a terrorist bombing of one of their major spaceports.  While it may increase their alertness, they will likely be spreading their resources a lot further to protect civilian targets.  Since we don't bomb innocents, this should mean less Imperial presence when we do strike."

"Next is logistical.  It's a few days away in the Nightshrike, we have seen inside one of their bases and have scans of at least two of their planets as well as space traffic.  We have a reasonable picture of what they can throw at us.  We also know that they're going to be having petrochem shortages since we took out one of their major refineries.  This will mean shipments for the forseeable future which means tanker convoys.  If we could hijack even one tanker, we could fuel our craft for weeks."

"Finally, I'm pissed off.  The Imperials treated us as expendable assets and I do not consider any of you expendable.  We've lost three, maybe four valuable colleagues and I will not let that stand.  Added to which, when word gets around, it may make us appear weak which will cost us work.  I plan to show the Imps, just how big a mistake they made trying to kill us."

Mark stopped to allow the others to absorb this information.

"So we'll be returning to Phindar space to conduct a number of operations.  Our goals will be threefold.  One, acquire any and all assets we can.  We need creds, ships, supplies, fuel, whatever.  Second, we need to try and acquire any information on Zyra's wereabouts that we can.  Finally, I want to hurt the Imperials, a lot."

"I have no specific missions in mind at present, just a theatre of operation.  I need ideas on how we can best utilise our resources.  We'll take Nightshrike and both our Z-95's.  Jamie, organise a crew roster for our ships.  We need everyone assigned a role that best matches their skill.  Z-95 pilots will also needs jobs on the cruiser.  Xil, set up your training regime and get everyone a crash course on ground warfare.  Flash, transfer whatever weaponry you think will need from the armory to the Nightshrike."

"Remember people, we only have the fuel for one week of combat operations.  So we need to see results fast.  I want to ship out tomorrow morning, so we need to plan now.  So lets work out how best to hurt the Imps while filling our coffers."



OOC:  So in a way I'm creating a 'choose your own adventure' stub of sorts.  I've left the mission vague so you can decide what you want to do.  Want space combat?  Lets hijack some convoys?  Want land combat?  Let's raid some supply dumps or board a Imperial space station.  Want stealth?  Lets covertly slip a team into an Imperial base to slice their systems for info, creds, whatever.  Want a combination of four?  That's what combined ops is all about (i.e. We could have starfighters suppressing defenses while a ground team infiltrates a structure/ship/station).

I want you to help me plan the next adventure based on wether you wanna blow stuff up with the cruiser, get some dogfighting in, rip up some stormies with an e-web or go stealthy.  Thank about what you (your player) wants to do and we'll blend it all into a mission.  Please don't write 'I wanna blow things up' (well maybe Jamie can get away with that), blend it into a mission (i.e. 'Lets blow up some munitions dumps to prevent Imperials from resupplying').  That way if people wanna do covert, maybe we insert them first to steal stuff while the flyboys provide cover, etc.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:43, Wed 04 Nov 2009.

"Sounds like half a plan, Sir.  We need fuel, credits, spacecraft, weapons and ammunition.  We don't need to get all of it at once, though.  Striking back at the Imperials is going to be extremely dangerous.  If we're going to survive, we'll need a clear and simple goal, a clear and simple plan, the advantage of surprise, and lots of focus.  If we go in all at once intending to exact revenge and collect as much in the way of goodies as we can, we'll be astronomically lucky to come out with even our lives.
"We should come up with a series of operations.  With each, we should accomplish one or two things and get out.  Only our first strike against the Imps will have the element of surprise.  After the second strike, they will know we mean business.  A third strike would be possible if we plan it properly.
"I propose we make our first move at a fuel shipment.  I'm thinking this may be better suited for subterfuge.  Rather than directly attacking a tanker, if we can get on board before the shipment is made, we can hijack it mid-flight and redirect it without even entering the Phindar system.  This would give us a very short window in which we could make a second strike and still catch them with their trousers down.
"Whatever our second strike is will have to be quick.  What would be nice is if we hit a supply depot and split up.  Flash and Sheila would gather weapons and munitions and medical supplies; Devon and Rann would steal and prep a ship or two; I would leave my little presents around the depot.  It is conceivable that we could get in, split up, do our jobs, meet up, and get out again within a few minutes.  Mark, you and Xil would fly cover for us on the way out.
"At that point we leave the system.  We could have the Nightshrike resting at a near-system staging area so we don't have to come all the way back here.  Then we prep for our next hit."
Jamie took a deep breath and drank the last of his caf.
"At this point the Imperials are on high alert systemwide; we'll have to be sneaky to get back into the system.  Once we're in, we find Zyra and just fly out again.  Our in and out will be the tanker we hijacked.  We will pose as the crew.  With a little creative slicing, we can pull it off."
This message was last edited by the player at 23:27, Thu 05 Nov 2009.

After scanning through the large list of stuff the group need, Rann put down his datapad and took a sip of his caf.  'Well, I hope you dont expect any records off me on the assault course.  Also, this is a big list and some of this stuff is going to be hard to come by...'  he grinned  'but I do like a challenge.'

"Jamie has a point about us having diminishing returns on the surprise part of whatever we do. I also agree that our first strike should be for fuel, better to get that early than try when the Imps are looking out for us." He looked up at Rann for a second, pulled up some information on his data pad and then passed it across to him "Something for you get your teeth into." he said.

"So its agreed our first target is to be fuel.  Wether it be a refining plan, storage depot or a convoy in transit will depend largely on intelligence.  And that's going to involve some work on Sheila and Rann's part.  We need to know the location of all possible targets, proximity to military bases, personal defences and so on.  We also need to keep careful track of wether each targets is military or civilian.  With the former I'm happy for Jaime to play with as much detonite as he pleases.  Civilian targets must be handled more carefully.  We're here to hurt the Imperial war machine, not innocent workers."

"The Nightshrike will leave in the morning to head back to the outskirts of the Phindar system.  Jamie, Xil, you're going to be leading the teams on the surface.  You need to find the most appropriate targets and then determine how to capture the fuel.  Remember it will be a lot easier if we can hijack a tanker somehow.  Otherwise we'd have to convert the Nightshrike to hold more fuel, and then get her in, fill her up and get out again which will take much longer.  I will remain on Nightshrike to co-ordinate and continue to try and contact Zyra."

"Jamie, please prepare a crew roster for our fleet.  You are free to use them as you see fit.  Just remember we're not in the PHA anymore.  We lose our ships there are no replacements."

"Xil, you have permission to torture us all your obstacle course.  The cargo hold on the Nightshrike is at your disposal.  Everyone is to complete whatever physical training you deem necessary, that includes myself."

"Everyone else, ensure all the gear you plan to take is stowed on the Nightshrike by zero four hundred.  We leave at zero four thirty hours."

"Any questions?"



OOC:  Could everyone please ensure they make a list of what they are taking with them (this will include Flash's list of weapons he's transferring from the armoury).  One good thing with the Nightshrike is she has a dozen staterooms so there's no 'bunking up' with other people!

"Understood Commander" Xil replied to Mark. Turning to Jamie he said "Can you make sure in your rostering to allocate time for my torture sessions, I wouldn't want anyone to miss out."

In his mind he was already picturing how the obstacle course would look First things first though... he thought to himself get my gear stowed away on the Nightshrike and then the course

If no one has any thing else to add Exilim will excuse himself and get to work.

Sheila nods to Rann.  She turns her thoughts to what she has, and what the base has.  A second blaster wouldn't be a bad idea. Taking the medical droid wouldn't be a bad idea either, as well as stocking the medical bay on the ship.  Cause when it comes down to it, if they lost the ship, they would probably lose the team.

Her gear won't take much to stow on the ship, she only had what she had carried to the pirate base.   A second change of clothes and some 'new' boots, now that would be good.

"Yes, Sir."
Jamie first packed his things.  This consisted of a duffel that was already prepped and half a dozen shiny new concussion grenades from the armory (which Jamie inspected carefully before packing).
Returning to his bunk, he began conjuring a crew roster for the mission, based on his knowledge of each team member's skills.  He would need to present this to Mark as soon as possible; after a few minutes of rearrangements, he came up with a good plan.

Devon nodded acknowledgements to the other Talons and slouched off down to the hanger, pouring over his datapad - he knew he was going to have a busy night ahead of him, and he didnt anticipate getting much sleep...

Accepting the offered datapad, Rann took his leave and headed down to the base stores to make a start on provisioning the cruiser.  Fairly high on his list of priorities was to learn what the cruiser had in the way of an armoury and storage space that he could use.

Location: Free Trading Station, Just outside the Phindir System
Time:  Three days later.


Finding a booth big enough to house the entire team had been problematic.  Fortunately Rann knew someone who knew someone and the group had a private room within the station's main tapcaf.  Nobody seemed to be taking much notice of the group.  They looked like one of many teams that were here to make deals.  Pirates, mercenaries and traders alike all came here.

Nor was anything said about their arrival.  A Consular Cruiser was nothing overly suspicious, even one that was modified.  Besides, it had only docked long enough for the teams to disembark.  Mark stayed aboard alone, relying on droids to assist him.  He'd promised to find a quiet spot for the ship and wait until contacted.  Xil and Jamie both had contact codes and times for the ship.

So now the Talons gathered together without their Commander or XO.  Mark's instructions had been simple.  Infiltrate the Phindir system, and determine targets of opportunity for sabotage and capture.  The primary goal was fuel and credits, with anything damaging the Imperial war machine as a secondary target.  How they were to do that was up to them.  The Phindir system had three populated worlds, two habitable moons and numerous stations.  There was plenty of places to go.



OOC:  Okay.  This is the first mission without Mark there to annoy you.  You've got no transport, but securing a berth on a freighter is no problem.  Various planets will have different possibilites/levels of security (but this is an Imperial system so expect reasonable security in most places, especially the main planet).

I need you to determine what gear you're actually carrying (vs. what you left on the Nightshrike).  Basic weaponry wont raise an eyebrow here (though it will on some Imperial worlds).  You wouldn't be walking around with heavy weaponry (that will attract too much attention).

"Well Exilim said and then paused briefly "Anyone have thoughts on where we should get started? he asked.

Even though he was the the ground force commander it was not a role he was entirely comfortable with, nor was he feeling all that confident in his ability to ferret out information. He was a sniper, liked the freedom of working alone to a degree and in general was a bit withdrawn. He had worked at improving himself, and while communicating with those he worked with was not an issue, the communication needed for gathering intel from complete strangers was a different story.


OOC: a few things;
1. Apologies about tardiness in posting, have a 6 month old who has decided that sleep in the evenings is apparently not necessary.
2. Xil is carrying/ wearing his usual array of gear: Blaster rifle, blaster pistol, vibroblade, knife, 2 concussion grenades All Temperature Cloak,Credit Chip, Macrobinoculars, Padded Flight Suit, Comlink, Secure Comlink, 3 Power Packs, 2 Energy packs
3. HE has left on the Nightshrike his flight suit

Sheila spends alot of time poring over maps and datasheets on her datapad and invites Rann in on the search.

Xil notices that Sheila and Rann are busy looking up information on her datapad. With no offers of information coming he asks them "How are you two doing? Any information on petrochem plant locations, how the fuel is transported at any stage would give us somewhere to start planning."