Heigren followed Flash's instructions and circulated around the sub-basement where everyone had taken shelter.  He talked to anyone who was willing finding out anything he could about this raid, be it fact, fiction or rumour.  He dutifully copied it all down like he was a reporter for a major holovid network.

The whole time he carefully monitored Talon comms.  He knew an evacuation might be ordered any second.



Bluff: 23
Gather Information: 33

The guard looks as if he's about to argue but then shakes his head and heads over to a supervisor.  The two of them talk while the Talons and their new allies do the same.

Vehicles come and go.  About half of them have some sort of damage - mostly from detonations, collisions and debris, though the tell-tale carbon scoring of a blaster bolt here and there can be seen - and eventually the guard and supervisor both come over.  The supervisor is a tough-looking Togruta, stepping up to address Devon (whom, it seems, the guard has identified as the leader of their group).

"You.  Human.  Get your crew out of this area."  He jerks his thumb toward the turbolifts.  "You've already been told - there's a waiting area downstairs.  You've got five minutes to get your damn hides off my landing bay or I'll come back with armed guards to 'escort' you out and no, I don't care if you'll 'only be a little while' or whatever the hell you've told my staff.  Go downstairs or get out of the hospital, I don't care which.  You leave now or things get ugly."

Without giving Devon - or anyone else - a chance to respond he turns on his heel and stalks away.  Even the least perceptive amongst them can see a military bearing to the Togruta; it seems that this matter isn't up for debate.

They have five minutes.

---

Fiarr heads into the turbolift but with no idea which floor her friend has been taken to she swiftly becomes lost - or rather, not 'lost' per se, but clueless as to where she should be headed.  A passing nurse directs her to the right floor ("Minor injuries?  Yes, it's just up there...") but once more, through the noise and bustle of the emergency staff and patients she has no idea which room her Cathar friend might have been taken to.

As a result it's Kyvarr, not Fiarr, that reunites the two.  Having had her leg seen to, splinted and bacta-casted, she is given a crutch to help her walk and sent on her way.  Kyvarr finds Fiarr on her way back to the turbolifts.

Flash sighed.  He pulled out the commlink he'd borrowed from Dohr.  He contacted Fiarr then Heigren.

"We're pulling out.  You have five minutes to get to the truck."

He looked to Dohr and Devon.  "Guess that means you have five minutes to decide where we're heading."

Fiarr moved to greet her friend but then received Flash's comm message.

"Good to see you up and around my friend.  Hope that leg is fixed because we have less than five minutes to get back to the truck."

She didn't offer the Cathar a hand.  She knew Kyvarr would rebuff any such help.  Instead she called up a turbolift to take them back to the main entrance.

"Well then get that damn turbolift up here so we can get out of here.  I thought I was the one with a broken leg."  Kyvarr growled in mock seriousness.  She made an effort to keep up with Fiarr.  She didn't want to be left behind.

Dohr accepted Flash's comm unit with a nod, sent a few contact details from his own to his datapad and then and handed the link to the Duros. Before he had the chance to inquire about Flash's call sign, the man seemed to read his mind and gave Dohr his and Rian's. Two and seven. He'd seen number in use before and knew them to be a very effective way to handle identities. They revealed very little about the rank and the specialization of the person in question, but were easy to remember.

"Thank you. Doc will do fine for now." He nodded his acknowledgement to the five minute call, hit the start button of the truck and had a quick look around to familiarize himself the controls. He wasn't planning on doing any stunt driving, so he felt he should be no problems in moving the vehicle. Then again Kyvarr was hopefully going to be back in a few minutes and might be able to handle the wheel again. Going through the options, Dohr considered calling Don Bad or Alaina first, but quickly decided now was not the time and tried to contact this "Eleven" instead.

"Eleven? Doc here on behalf of Two. We will bug out in five. Any new intel on your lost companions?" Dohr hadn't of course received the data sent by Cor and didn't know they already had more information available about the location of the lost trio. "The insurgents have so far ignored our truck, but looking at the other vehicles coming in, that may not be the case as we move out. We have also pretty much ran out of medical gear and resupplying will probably not be possible right now. But unless your colleagues are able to move fast on their own, I consider the truck our best option to get them to safety. Flying in an unarmed transport is not an option right now."

Dohr knew it would not be easy getting to the three mercs in one piece. Perhaps if one of the bikes took the lead as a scout and the other one watched their rear, they might be able to navigate through the smaller streets and allies relatively well out of the open and away from the most dangerous roads. However that would mean losing valuable time - a luxury they did not have. If they took too long, they might lose the window to get off the planet...

Devon watched the Togruta leave with a wounded expression.
"_{Actually, we were going to wait over there... never mind."} he muttered.

Still casting resentful glances in the Togruta direction, Devon started his bikes engine and looked around, trying to plan what needed to be done.  Devon didnt particularly like being in charge of more than himself - he didnt like the responsibility.  If anything went wrong, if anyone got left behind; it would be on his shoulders.  But Flash was making it equally clear that he wasnt going to take over...

"Hey Doc - if Kyvarr doesn't make it back in time, can you handle the truck?  Forim - can you do a headcount and make sure we get everyone we're supposed to?"
Not really wait for an answer from either of them, Devon got onto his commlink.

"Acknowledged, Eleven. During my stay on Det Akari I have had numerous dealings with many if not all of the gangs. They know me and respect my status in their… society. In normal situations they would not touch me or those with me, but this of course is quite far from being a normal situation. As for us getting to the spaceport, I would not worry overly much about the security as long as we can get past the gangers. Naturally we will need to approach their defense line very carefully and preferably without the vehicle, but if we manage to talk ourselves past the insurgents then I believe we will be fine. Perhaps if we could try to pass our truck as an emergency vehicle, we might have a chance to get through more easily."

Dohr took breath and considered the second option, which in his mind was not very wise given the equipment and manpower they had at hand. "If we had enough firepower to force the attackers to take cover for long enough for us to slip through, then attacking the gangs might be an option. But right now, I do not see any way of pulling it off without proper weapons. And I agree with seven. Our chances of getting through the security would increase significantly should you let them know we are coming."

The doctor turned to Rian and shook his head slightly. "I am afraid my truck piloting skills are not up to the task. I can drive the thing safely enough through regular traffic, but we could be in big trouble should I need to drive very fast or take evasive actions to keep us alive. Of course if that is our only option, then I will do my best not to crash the speeder."

After another pause, Dohr called Cor again making sure the others heard him as well. "I am sure you are all well aware of what happens if the insurgents take over the spaceport… or when they will. Getting off the planet on your shuttle would probably be very, very difficult, if not impossible. And all hell will break loose once the gangers get their hands on the ships. But I agree on what you said. The lapse in the attacks seems to indicate the leaders of the gangs are planning a more massive strike to punch a hole in the Sec's defense. That will give us some time to save your friends. But how long exactly, that would be very hard to estimate."

Heigren ceased his intelligence gathering and rushed back to the vehicles.  Last thing he wanted was to be left behind.

As he moved, he listened in on the conversation on comms.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:08, Mon 10 Feb 2014.

Kyvarr set as fast a pace as her cast would allow and soon she and Fiarr made it back to the vehicles.

"Good to go.  What did we miss?"

Fiarr looked around expectantly.  "You said we had to go.  Where are we heading?  The spaceport?"

Heigren clicked on his comm.  "Eleven, I believe you said you're in contact with Five.  Is he aware of the trouble at the spaceport.  We really need him and Ten to regroup with us as soon as possible.  Can you advise them?"

By the time the Talons finally make a move the parking bay has filled up to almost nine tenths of its capacity - no wonder the supervisor was sending them on.  Quite aside from being a 'brasshole' the Togruta was quite aware that there's not enough 'just over there' on the parking level to wait.

With no other goal determined yet, despite a great deal of trying to get each other to make a decision, the speeder and swoops sort of... hang in mid-air above the St Denao grounds, still within the safe zone.

Kyvarr sat in the back of the truck, her cast not letting her drive.  She leaned into the driver's compartment.

"We have a plan yet?  I say we find out where their weapon emplacements are.  Surely they have some.  Then we take one over and blast the other emplacements into atoms!"

Heigren sat in the back of the truck.  He'd switched his comm to 'speaker' so everyone could talk to each other regardless of whether they had a Talon comm or not.

"Any word on Five and the others?  Has he found Three and CC9?  Perhaps we should be helping with the search."


OOC:  Checked with Master Raiwaw and he says it's okay to make my comm like a speakerphone so we can all talk with each other and Cor!  Party chat mode engaged!

Flash shook his head.  "The spaceport should be our priority.  If Five and Ten haven't found our missing crewman by now, they should focus on the bigger problem.  If we lose the spaceport we risk losing Eleven and our ship.  It could take days to find Three and CC9, the spaceport could be lost in hours, even minutes.  Five needs to stop playing hero and get back here to help co-ordinate our plans."

"For my part," Cor's voice comes in over the speakers, "I would rather like it if the spaceport were not taken.  I doubt very much if the lifestyle of a ganger's plaything would suit my complexion.  However unless you are about to be chased out of St Denao airspace I advise no course of action until M4-3 reports back."

The Duros considered this for a moment.  "Will do.  We're a lot closer to the spaceport then five was when we lost comms so we can wait a short while."

"M4-3 advises that CC9 has been found and repaired, while Three has been taken to an unidentified medical facility by an ambulance before Ten and Five could get there.  She is critically injured and will be at a very major medical installation.  Furthermore Five is dissatisfied that you went to the hospital and intends to order you to search it for Three, then bring her back in a heavier speeder.  His plan for the spaceport appears to be 'hoping' it stays out of the hands of the gangs long enough for us to get off-world."

She pauses and a few taps can be heard.  "CC9 will contest that as soon as he hears the ship is in danger.  Both his tactical programming and his loyalty programming will compel him to place the spaceport as a higher priority, particularly as there is no way of telling how long it would take to find Three."

More taps.  "I am sending M4-3 to St Denao's to ask permission to locate Three under her registered ID.  There is less chance of them turning away a hovering messenger drone who can float above their heads, out of their way, so if they allow it acess we can leave it searching the wards for Three.  Not an ideal solution but one most likely to be accepted by the hospital staff and it means we do not have to choose one objective at the complete expense of the other."

"Good plan Eleven.  I was going to go back in with a datapad picture and a comm code to leave at the main desk but your droid will work better.  Do you have other messenger droids to send to other hospitals in the area?  There's no telling where Three might end up."
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:06, Fri 14 Feb 2014.

"None that are prepped and ready, no.  My PKs are bringing in more of the crates but it will take time to unpack them, security code them and program them.  Still, if the hospital staff are unwilling to give M4-3 access to search it will be a moot point in any case."

"Well if they wont let an unobtrusive droid search the hospitals then we have no chance.  Besides such a search would take hours, even days.  We can't afford the time but a droid can.  We can even leave the droid behind and arrange it to have Holonet access when it finds Three.  Assuming the Holonet is active by then."

Dohr switched off from the Talons' encrypted channel for the duration of the calls he made. It didn't take too long, but was time wasted anyway. Perhaps he had overestimated his value for the gangs or his level of his relationship with the three he got in contact with. He should've known better of course. The whole state of affairs on Det Akari had taken a 180 turn with the gangs running wild wreaking havoc; raiding and killing. Why would they bother with a single doc if they could soon be in charge of the whole planet including its numerous hospitals…

It would never get into a point in which all of the gangs worked together in peace of course. This messy situation was different. They could all just do pretty much whatever they wanted. But the hatred between some of the groups was too strong for them to become friends or even associates. Dohr was certain some members of certain gangs concentrated more on killing each other than on the assigment they'd been given. But looking at the bigger picture it probably didn't matter. It didn't matter if they shot civilians or ACE officers directly or simply turned the streets into their personal combat zone. It would create chaos one way or the other. Perhaps at some point two or three of the strongest groups would ally to share the seats of power. Or perhaps the ones who really were behind the whole thing would come in and take over. It didn't really matter and there was nothing Dohr could do about it.

Gehirr, a Farghul gambler and thief, was the first one Dohr called and his best hope. They'd always gotten along well from the moment he had saved Gehirr's life roughly 15 months ago and they'd even shared a few drinks at the bars on a couple of occasions. The rogue wasn't really a typical ganger, but on his line of business in the Claws it was wise to belong to one of the groups. But Gehirr hadn't been able to help him. He'd been kind enough to offer his help in any other way, but as he was preoccupied on the other side of the city, there was really nothing the Farghul could do to assist them getting through to the Spaceport . In Gehirr's mind Dohr's best option would've been to lie low and wait it out. He'd even gone far enough to offer the doctor his own home address for the purpose. Unfortunately that wouldn't have done much to help Dohr get off the planet, so he was forced to simply thank Gehirr and wish him all the best.

The other two were of even less use. A local human called Joonash stated the obvious: Head to St. Denao and stay in there until it's all over. Dohr knew the hospital staff would let him stay as long as he would agree to help them for free. But he'd already made up his mind. He would leave Det Akari behind with the band of mercs providing Vyn Teckla, Forim, Rian, Eleven and their leader would have him. Oh and the last call… It had been a desperate attempt to get in touch with someone who knew someone who was in charge of the attack against the Spaceport. It had been an utter failure. Kerrik the Rodian had simply laughed and then laughed a bit more before hanging up.

Dohr put down the communication link just in time to hear Forim speak into his. Apparently they'd found at least one of their team members already or at least believed him or her to be at St. Denao. He nodded at Vyn's commend in agreement. A droid would be a much better idea than a Duros who wasn't a part of the hospital staff - especially a droid that wouldn't cause distraction. The Kel Dor switched back to the Talons' channel and spoke briefly: "Eleven, my contacts were of no use. We will need to find someone on the ground or simply head up to the barricade… Or take some other course of action."

Closing the comms, the doctor continued: "I will move the truck now. I do not think we want Rian's new best friend to return with ten of his squaddie mates. He did not seem to have too good a sense of humor. And Vyn, I believe we should wait for the droid at the hospital. The guards will not let us back in just to pick a friend, if we leave."  Dohr picked a spot outside of the building, but still within the perimeter and yet far enough from the its guards. The security wouldn't risk leaving their post unguarded just to drive them away. He launched the speeder into a slow run and headed for the place he'd chosen.

"Actually Doctor, I think it would be quite the opposite."  Fiarr spoke from her place beside Kyvarr in the truck.  Up until now she had listened, not spoken.  It would be easy to forget she was there.

"The hospital staff are overloaded with patients.  If we were returning to take someone away, I'm sure they would gladly let us through a million times, if we took people away each time.  It's more patients arriving they don't want.  Oh, and loiterers like us."
This message was last edited by the player at 22:18, Fri 14 Feb 2014.

Dohr nodded to Fiarr. "May well be. Yet I would imagine the droid can go through St. Denao in a fairly short time, especially if it knows which ward to concentrate on." Dohr lifted his comms and called out to Flash. "Two, do we have any information about your friend's injuries?" After the Duros had replied, the doctor spoke on in the cabin: "I would still suggest we take our chances and stick around outside the arrival hall and out of anyone's way until we know for certainty whether "Three" is in there or not. I do not think the guards at the gate would risk reducing the security just to shoo us away. But both staying here or leaving will be fine by me."

Dohr turned to look at Kyvarr as he drove on very slowly. "It seems they did a good job with your leg. Would you feel strong enough to drive in case we need to leave the hospital area? I am afraid my skills are very poor compared to yours and I might not be able to pilot this thing fast enough if need arises."