Darvin suddenly had a flash of an a devilish plan, "You know what? It occurs to me that these miniature convoy runs might be the ideal way to get us into the refinery. If we could disable the TIE fighters on a small escort mission, as well as capture the tanker, we can easily swap the crew with Talons... Finish the escort to avoid suspicion and use the hauler to smuggle our refinery hit equipment on the escort bacl and perhaps keep under the imperial radar at the same time. Both ways, we should do some leg work first, sir," he said turning to Sheppard.

Flash, who has been sitting slouched in his chair, has been silent for most of the meeting. The mention of TIE fighters gets his attention, though, and he nods at Darvin's suggestion. "Wouldn't that be a prize," he grins at Shipjacker Devon, "dropping in and grabbing a freighter before those TIEs can undock, securing the armed freighter and all four TIEs! Those'd be useful for heaps of covert stuff, the refinery hit would just be the start of it..."

"So basically, we need to go to phindar prime to get more information.  IF we want anything more specific than we have, like when the convoys leave and so on, I need to actually get into their computers."
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:12, Fri 08 July 2011.

Devon returned Flash's grin.
'it WOULD be nice, tricky though...' he thought for a few seconds.  'Ok.  Thirty seconds to undock.  Assume the pilots are already aboard their fighters and ready to launch, so we wont get MORE than thirty seconds whilst they hop into the cockpit.  Hmmm'

Devon scratched at his chin, deep in thought.  'If we can jump in right on top of them, I mean already close enough to go to guns on them... then the R-41 and jump capable Z-95 will hopefully have time to make a couple of strafing runs along the convoy each.  Plus the Shrike herself can be getting creative with her ion cannons.  If we can undock our second Z-95 and get that into the fight fast too, might get another attack run there...  If we can plan this properly and pull it off right... I dont see why we can't disable or destroy all four TIEs before they launch.'

Devon grinned round the table, the predatory grin of a shipjacker looking forward to a big payoff.
'And with their escorts taken down in half a minute by our display of terrifingly accurate shooting, I'll bet the crews are more likely to consider our demands.'

"Mmm, Imperials are tough, though. If they're in control of the freighter's weapons they might prove a hard nut to crack." The Duros taps his fingers rhythmically on the arm of his chair. "Ion cannons on all of our starfighters would be a huge boost to the number of ships we could jack. Disabling the TIEs before they can even undock would be favourite."

Then he looks over at Sheila. "Three, you were a TIE pilot, right? Anything you can tell us about combat training, TIE fighter tactics, craft capability, anything that could be useful like that? Could mean th'difference between a successful hit and an embarrassing loss."

In reply to Allen 'Flash' (msg #216):

"Don't let em get off the docking clamp might be the start."  (as a player I am unable to actually answer those questions in an actual post, xince I don't really know anything about fighter tactics, ets.  What I think his plan requires is knowing the timing and path of the convoy so we can literally jump in on top of them as they jump in, since I expect the tie fighters would launch immediately upon jumping into real space, so there really isn't any time.)_

"Merreck is right.  Fuel is the lifeblood of any military operation.  Well fuel and pay. . .oh, and food of course!" The final statement is accompanied by the Zabrak reaching for another slice of toast which she liberally smears in tlyoberry jam.

"Typhon controls most of the fuel in this sector.  We already hurt them by blowing up a refinery of theirs.  Shipping in fuel from other sectors is costly and shows that the local Moff can't keep order, something he wont want to demonstrate to the Emperor.  A military escort makes sense."
This message was last edited by the player at 22:35, Fri 08 July 2011.

Mark listened to the conversation for some time before speaking.

"Mr Sloan.  It sounds like a more detailed recon mission to Phindar Prime is needed, by many members of the team.  Please put a team together and have a mission proposal for me on this by the end of the day."


"Now the idea of taking the entire convoy without a shot fired by them is very wishful thinking.  If Mr Toluga is correct and they can launch within thirty seconds of reversion to realspace that means at worst we have thirty seconds to overwhelm them.  So either we have to predict within five to ten kilometres where they will revert at a jump point.  Either that or we have to jump in on top of them with the same degree of accuracy.  Mr Toluga, I have heard you are a gifted navigator but are you that good?"


"Then we need to effectively comm jam them.  We were planning to do that already but it is still a critical point."

"Next, if we achieve this we have thirty seconds to disable the TIE's.  That would require some pinpoint accuracy from the only two gunners who have access to ion weapons.  Don't forget the freighters are shielded so it is possible this will also protect the TIEs clamped to their hull."

"Then if we did capture the convoy intact, it is unlikely the deception would last any longer then it would take for one person to step off the ramp at the refinery.  The maintenance crew are bound to notice the change in ship personnel, ships don't just change crew mid-flight."

"It's an ambitious plan people, probably too ambitious, but one that we can certainly use components of.  I have a few ideas for the refinery hit but I'd like to see what intelligence you gather first."



OOC:  Remember that 30 seconds = 5 combat rounds.  Given you only have 2 ion weapons available, you need to get an (as of yet) unknown number of TIE's disabled in 5 rounds.  That's assuming you're close enough to them in the first round to shoot!  Not impossible, but certainly difficult.  Plus it means you can't use those shiny new concussion missiles you're getting (maybe that is the plan all along, a cunning scheme to save money!) :P
This message was last edited by the player at 22:37, Fri 08 July 2011.

"The pilots will be in the TIe's the whole trip, so there will be no loading time, pilots are a pain to load onto TIE"s, and a free tie is a match or better for our ships, speed and agilitywise.  And to put it blunty, intimidation won't work, getting into a TIE fighter is in and of itself more intimidating than pretty much anything,  We'll need to get as many as possible in that 30 seconds."

A9's head turns to watch Zyra and then swings to look at Mark.  Cor sounds unsettled as she speaks through the droid.

"So we have very little chance of immobilising the fighters before they undock, and if they do undock they out-run and out-manoeuvre us?  And even if we do not end up as salvage the freighters have shields and weapons?"

Flash grins at the droid. "Well that's just pessimistic."

Merreck frown when he hear the plan the shipjacker came up with.

His confidence isn´t at its highest when he answer the commander. "It can be done, sir, but it´s a very hard stunt. Flying through hyperspace is never an easy matter. I´ve heard too many stories of convoys arriving a ship short. It´s the reckless pilot who doesn´t arrive with the others. They are lucky if they arrive at all."

Merreck thinks for a moment, looking at an empty point in space, then again catches Marks eye and continue, somewhat downcast. "Maybe, with an accurate enough estimates of where the convoy will exit hyperspace, but if anything goes wrong, then we loose the element of surprise, or worse. If the numbers are just a little bit off, then we won´t arrive alongside the freighters, we will crash right into them."
This message was last edited by the player at 23:59, Fri 08 July 2011.

Mark chuckles.  "Trust a navigator to suggest it's the 'reckless pilot' who causes ships to be lost.  As a pilot myself I would have said the same thing, except I'd mention 'reckless navigators'!"

"The other thing you have to factor in is the skill of the convoy navigators.  Unless we know EXACTLY where they plan to jump in, we can't base our jumps with any precision.  Long range sensors are only so accurate so even a microjump would lack pinpoint data.  Some kind of homing beacon on a freighter would give you the data but that would take a mission in itself just to plant one in a way to ensure it wasn't found."

Merrecks mouth crease in the hint of a smile at the mention of reckless navigators.

He nods as Mark continues. "We could wait for them to jump in before plotting the jump, but the calculations take time. We don´t have to know exactly where they arrive, but during the minutes it takes to plot the jump, the TIE are free to detatch, and the real problem still remain, that making a precise microjump is very, very hard." He shakes his head.

"I think we need to come up with something else in order to approach the convoy." Merreck looks around with a slightly disappointed face. He didn´t enjoy dashing their hopes.

Darvin just blinked at this, slightly surprised. "About this team I'm to put together... I'm not clear on what everyone's hidden talents are, exactly? The way I see it, I need a very good slicer, I believe that Ms. Masters is the actual expert," he said as he turned to her, wondering if she'd accept to go. "Merreck has a way with the locals, and he can look into who usually does business at the refinery and whatever auxiliary services / maintenances they might require on a regular basis. I can get us fake documents... I'd like at least one structural engineer and tech specialist with me to look at the Refinery's layout. That person can probably assist with bypassing security as well," Darvin thought out loud. He didn't want to speak for Cor or Mika, but he was certain that Cor would never want out of her chamber.

He looked at the others, pretty certain that they had other qualities he wasn't aware of. "Do we have an infiltrator type among us? A little bit of muscle would be nice too," Darvin said finally. "I'd be open to suggestions, and perhaps we should discuss more in detail once we finish the briefing. Some of them might have other things that would need to be done on Phindar, it would be the perfect time to pipe up about it... then we can hash out a plan to get all that stuff done," he suggested.

"Sir, about that tracking device you spoke of," he said hesitantly, "would a sniper be able to peg a device on a few of their ships? Would could map their jumps, and probably anticipate where they'd be in advance that way... otherwise, perhaps slicing through one of their nav droids would do."

"You'll have many tasks you'll need performed on such a mission and as such you will need a wide array of skills.  Since little is happening here until we gather more convoy I suggest you take the majority of the team.  Four is a keen observant, skilled in stealth and camoflague. He is also ground force commander.  Why I'm giving you leave to run this mission Mr Sloan, he has my authority to take command in an emergency."

"You'll obviously need three for her slicing skills.  Five and Six will make a strong espionage team.  Seven, ten and eleven will provide valuable technical skills, of course Seven will undoubtedly spend his time trying to ply his 'other trade'.  Please ensure he doesn't become too eager.  Eleven can also provide support with some of her droids, R2 units are so commonplace that A9 should hardly rouse attention.  I think CC9 may be a little too conspicuous for a recon mission."

"Finally you said you'll need muscle.  Eight and two serve that role, though I will probably keep Two here.  His pilotting skills would serve better leading our convoys.  Covert operations are not his specialty."

"As to your question about tracking devices, how are you proposing Mister Nallis attaches a device to their ships?  His skills in stealth are formidable but I doubt he'll be able to get that close to the ships to attach anything."

In reply to Mark Sheppard (msg #227):

"Well, just as there are taggers for people that you can tag at long range, I figure a similar method might be used to achieve something similar with a vessel. Of course, I don't know if such a thing is feasible, but I gather one of the techs could work on something that Mr. Nallis could use without even setting foot in the refinery," Darvin suggested. "It would be a quick way to tag several vessels and start mapping their jump points. With enough data of the sort, we could anticipate where their convoys will go and simply wait for 'em to appear."
This message was last edited by the player at 23:51, Sat 09 July 2011.

"Some kind of magnetic heat-proofed beacon shot from a long-range tagging gun," Cor's voice muses. "Depending on how efficient their pre-flight checks are that may work. If infiltrating the workforce or bribing a worker is not viable."

Merreck warmed to the idea of putting tracking devices on freighters.

"Could work, if they don´t watch the grounds too well, or if we can give another reason to allow Four to be nearby. It will have to be at the right time. When taking off, their particle shields are down, allowing a tracking device to be attached. Depending on their schedule, however, this could be a long and ardous task, but once done, it will be very usefull for obstructing Typhon. Once we are done with attacking freighters, we can give the codes to the pirates, and have them do our work for us."

"You would have to get Xil awfully close." Zyra interjected.  "I've never heard of a tagger with a range greater then seventy-five metres.  Surely if we could get him that close we could actually get someone on the ship itself to plant a tracker on the hull?"
This message was last edited by the player at 22:33, Sun 10 July 2011.

Not knowing much about taggers Xil let the others carry this part of the discussion.  He nodded briefly to Mark when he told him he would still be team leader in an emergency.  The commander always had a contingency

He listened to the options presented, having no real opinion.  When Darvin suggested he shoot a tracer from outside the refinery he considered "If the weapon is accurate I can hit a transport from a great distance.  But wouldn't the tracer just be destroyed on impact?  Something that travels that distance has to be fired at supersonic speeds"
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:44, Sun 10 July 2011.

R2-A9 whistles and beeps a little.  It sounds vaguely excited. 

There is a slight pause and Cor's voice comes forth a few moments later.  "That is a good question, actually.  Do we have intel on the procedures of flight?  Are the coordinates sent to each freighter from a central location or are they plotted on-board?  In either case would they have an organic plotting the courses or an astromech... or similar?  Either way if those coordinates can be intercepted then we have precisely the information required."

Merreck helpfully answer Cors question through the R2-unit. "We don´t know any details. Getting accurate information about their routines at the refinery is what we are going to Phindar Prime to find out. As for coordinates, if we can´t intercept transmissions or predict their course of action, then perhaps we can find out through other means."
This message was last edited by the player at 01:20, Mon 11 July 2011.

Cor isn't present personally and her R2 unit turns to look back at the Human.  Cor's voice can be heard to respond, after a moment's hesitation, "Oh.  I see, yes."

Mark listens, realising the briefing session was quickly changing into a planning session.  "Well Mister Sloan, it seems the floor is yours.  A recon mission to Phindar Prime for several reasons seems apparent.  Please outline your plan so we can discuss it."