It had been a long and dull eight days in hyperspace for Devon and Flash.  Apart from constantly cursing the Moonshadow for it's slow hyperdrive, there was nothing to do but accept they were stuck.  Being in hyperspace meant no chance to see if Cor or the others had responded to his message or if they were even on their way.  He could just hope they were and that this wasn't a dead end.

Devon pulled back on the hyperspace controls and they emerged into realspace not far outside the Telos sector.  The place was busy for an Outer Rim planet, though that still meant less than a tenth the traffic at Brentaal.  A navigation beacon advised them of the course to take and channels to switch over for instructions from Imperial Customs.

When they did an artificial voice, the same kind that had spoke at Brentaal said "Firespray FRX24143, please state your cargo and destination"  Clearly Imperial customs used the same droids far and wide.
This message was last updated by the GM at 05:23, Mon 02 Feb 2015.

Rubbing sleep from his eyes, Devon yawned and stretched before responding.
"Firespray FRX24143 to traffic control - no cargo and looking to refuel.  Possible layover of a few days - request docking permission at the nearest station, please."

Deven yawned again whilst the traffic control droid fed data into Moonshadows navicomp - directing them to some place called Midway Station.
They were carrying nothing illegal, and the IDs that Zyra had crafted for them should still be good.  Devons big worry was Moonshadow itself - the ship was a heavy fighter in all but name, and that tended to make some people twitchy... especially when the only documentationon the ship had came from Nar Shaddaa!  He'd decided even before they dropped out of hyperspace that they wouldnt be landing on Telos itself - too much chance of awkward questions - instead they were bound for one of the independent stations on the edge of the system.  Some place where no-one would ask too many questions if they kept their noses clean.  Midway fitted the bill nicely.

As Flash flew Moonshadow in towards Midway, Devon began working through the same routine they'd followed at Brental - downloading the local METOSP transmissions and patching into the ship-to-ship chatter to see what he could find out.  He also checked to see if there were any messages from the other Talons waiting for him.

As he had no intention to enter their area of jurisdiction, Devon was quickly cleared by Telos customs to go on his way.  Devon steered Moonshadow to Midway Station, a small waystation a few light years away from Telos space.  A quick negotiation with the docking crew and a payment of credits up front and the Moonshadow had a two day berth, fuel flowing into her tanks, foodstuffs to her galley and updated charts being downloaded to her astrogation computer.

Devon and Flash took the time to explore their hanger, finding a refresher station with full shower.  After more than a week in the confined spaces they both enjoyed the comforts of a full hot shower and a change into fresh clothes.  Even the ability to stretch their legs and walk around the hangar was a refreshing change.  Devon's ship was definitely not suited to long-distance travel.

By the time they had freshened up and felt more human (or Duros) the pair found their comms had received a message from Cor.  Not long after they started to read it, they received a signal from Cor, only this time it was from her ship.  It seemed the other Talons had arrived in the Telos sector and needed instructions.

Catch who was still on board Moonshadow quickly sent information to the three ships, organised them adjacent berthing for them, charging it all to Devon's account. 

OOC:  So Cor's team can now post here.  You've just arrived at Midway station, just outside the Telos system.  Moonshadow is in an adjacent bay.  You're all close enough together to use Talon comms.

After 8 days in hyperspace, Mark and Zyra have now been missing roughly 2 weeks.

This message was last edited by the GM at 05:25, Mon 02 Feb 2015.

Heigren was out the door of the Wayfarer the moment it was cleared and vanished into the station.  After being stuck eight days on a ship with a girl who cared more about engines than people and a doctor who was way to serious for his tastes, he needed to find some fun.

Fiarr powered down the Ghtroc systems on arrival and quickly prepared the ship for maintenance.  She then set up her datapad to access certain station data streams before slipping the pad in her pocket and heading to the hangar where the Moonshadow was parked.  She'd received no reports they were meeting elsewhere so she decided to find Devon herself.

Like Heigren, Kyvarr had a desire to explore the station.  Last space station they had attended she had been in no condition to do anything much besides float in a bacta tank.  However, unlike the Zeltron, she kept her discipline firmly in check and followed Fiarr to find Devon and report in.  There would be time for shore leave later.

If the station permitted it, she wore her modified heavy blaster on her hip but left Nijel securely stored in the armoury on the ship.

Devon was easily found - all you had to do was follow Catch.

As soon as Mika lowered the cargo ramp, the R2 unit trundled quickly down it and made a bee-line for the hanger exit.  The droid paused for a moment and chirped at the nearest Talons.
"[Language unknown: Manastsom Evat'dilota o oles is.  Minoai ssssol u p ome miiou ev pr nini.]"
This message was last edited by the player at 14:16, Thu 05 Feb 2015.

Devon was sat on the edge of Moonshadows cargo-ramp, swigging from a bottle and watching as his DUM droids carried a succession of various sized boxes up into the ships cargo bay.

When Catch arrived, Devon patted the R2 on top of its dome-shaped head.
"Good to see you, buddy.  Thanks for sorting the docking clearances.  Do me a favour and make sure the DUMs get this stuff set up properly - I want it in the cargo bay, port side rear corner. Make sure its anchored securely and wont come loose - everything you need should be in the boxes."
The R2 warbled a cheery affirmative and rolled up the ramp into Moonshadows hold.

Devon stood up and stretched, then ambled over to meet Kyvarr and Fiarr.  Behind him, Catch could be heard hooting orders at the DUM droids.
"Welcome to Midway.  I wasn't actually expecting you guys on the ground for a few hours, but it seems that Catch called ahead and paid your docking fees in advance."
Devon gave the pair a faintly embarrassed look.  Clearly he thought that Catchs actions were something he should have thought to do himself.
"If you guys had a flight in anything like mine, you're gonna want to stretch your legs... so unless you dug up something I need to know right now, we'll leave the planning sessions till everyone's had a few hours to unwind."

Devon fiddled with his datapad as he talked, sending the same message to all the other Talons:
Unless anyone has urgent news, we'll meet aboard the Wayfarer in three hours.  Until then, do what ever you want, but stay out of trouble.

Mika is a bit surprised.  She barely got the ship docked before the universal rush forne exits commenced.  She hadn't done that bad a job with the flying, certainly not deserving of such abandonment.  Even Devon's droid charged the cargo ramp.  Such thoughts dance in her head while she completes the docking procedures, shutting systems to standby and locking down the board.

"Token, keep your sensors on Catch.".   Getting everything ready, she heads out of the ship and locks it down.  Catching sight of her droid, she follows it until she spots Devon, talking to Fiarr and Kyvarr.  Moving on up, Mika gives Devon a nod.

"Hey boss, Looks like you got here in one piece.  How 'bout your buddy?". She looks about for Flash.

"Over here." comes a voice, Mika knows is Flash.  The Duros then appears from the other side of the Moonshadow.

"Just checking the hangar for any 'unwanted' security." he explained.

"How was your trip?  Nearly two weeks trapped in that sardine tin," he gestures at the Moonshadow, "with a bantha-paced hyperdrive and I'm ready to walk the rest of the way!

Fiarr smiled in greeting when Mika showed up.  "I must say it was quite relaxing.  With just two of us aboard the Ghtroc was fairly roomy.  What about your trip?  I can't imagine any ship is large enough with a bored Zeltron on board!"

"Hey, good seeing you.  Glad you made it.  The trip was okay, a bit shorter than yours though.  Of course, Heigren was  a bit of a pain.  You know how it is, you're trying to work on something and they want you to drop everything and give them your full attention.  Still, we got here in one piece, so no complaints.  So, give it up, what made you guys think it was worth coming to Telos?"

Flash shrugged. "The boss's idea. Thought a rumour we heard might pan out.  Can't talk though. I need to run security sweeps on the hangars before the meeting. See you in three hours."

He nods then walks off already on the comm. "Cor, can you send me CC9? He and I have work to do."

"By your command."

Having talked to Flash, Mika moves on over to Devon.  "Hey boss, Looks like you got here in one piece.  How 'bout your buddy?".

"I'll help Flash."  Kyvarr volunteered and moved off after him.  She had no real desire to share small talk, especially given Mika's apparent disinterest in Fiarr.  Besides, Kyvarr had done little of interest.  When she hadn't been flying or studying ship manuals she'd been working out and honing her fighting abilities in a cargo hold.  Nothing much to talk about.  Even Fiarr had avoided the cargo hold after been roped into a sparring match and physical training session.

Doh was the last to exit the Wayfarer. He spread his arms in apology to Mika who had to wait up for him before locking up. The doc was carrying his usual weapons, the flechette pistol and his cane. He’d left the N’Gant in his cabin as he felt he had no need for it on the station, not with his new team around. The Kel Dor followed the girl to the Moonshadow finding all but Heigren there. Giving his customary nods as greetings to everyone, Dohr settled in the background, clearly within the “ring” still, but more in the back. He was obviously planning to do more listening that talking.

Before any chitchat really got underway, Flash, CC9 and Kyvarr moved out to make sure the hangar was safe enough. Apparently the real meeting was to be held a few hours later. Dohr raised his eyes from the ground took a few steps closer to the remaining people. ”Ok. So the plan is to have a bite, maybe a drink or two and be back in here in three hours? Sounds good to me. I have not been on this particular station before, but I would imagine it will be just like the rest of them. There is bound to be a really nice restaurant we can all have something we like. Anyone want to join me and go looking for it?”

Fiarr nodded to Dohr.  "I'll go with you.  I could use a change from shipboard autochef options.  Though I'll bet if we comm Heigren he's probably found the best eatery on the station!"

Sheila loved computers.  Almost as much a flying, but by now, having spent all her waking moments with Zyra's files, not all that successfully, she might add, she was getting crosseyed.  "Nice to know we all made it safely.  but non autochef food sounds good."

Devon waved vaguely in the direction of the hanger entrance.
"You guys go get some food or whatever  - I gotta finish up here.  I'll see you onboard the Drifter in three hours, OK?"

Standing, Devon stretched and looked around the hanger.  A metallic crash and Catchs irate warble came drifting down from Moonshadows cargo bay.
"Maybe that'll gimmie enough time to stop the DUM-DUMs wrecking my ship..." he sighed and started up the ramp to find out exactly how much destruction his droid labour force had caused...

---

Three hours later

Devon sprawled bonelessly in one of the chairs that surrounded the table in Nebula Drifters lounge.  The table was loaded with the now traditional selection of snacks and drinks, and Devon was sipping at typical engineers caf - stong enough to burn through transparisteel - and flipping through notes on a datapad whilst he waited for the others to arrive.

Once everyone had arrived, Devon took his feet off the table and tried to look a bit more efficient.

"OK - its now been three weeks since we last heard from Mark or Zyra... we've cleared our trail as best we can for the moment, and started putting out feelers to see if we can work out what the frak happened.

So what have we got?  I may as well go first:  Me an' Flash have been trying to track down any link to the PHA - Permian-Hydian Alliance - they're a fairly large paramilitary group with anti-Imperial leanings.  The Talons got their start in life as part of the PHA, then the boss took us into the private sector.  We've been looking for the PHA because of that meeting the boss said he'd been recalled to attend - remember it?  The Talons are too small to warrant that sort of attention, but I figure the PHA isnt.  So if we can track down the PHA then maybe we can get a lead on the meeting itself...

We bought Moonshadow out this way because everything we know about the PHA indicates they've got a presence somewhere in this area.  Then we picked up that rumour about a pirate base near Telos getting taken out - no witnesses an' no-one claiming responsibility.

The PHA definitely have the muscle to do something like that... an' their MO was about taking out pirates an' keepin' space safe as much as it was anything else.  My money says the PHA nailed that pirate base.  So they're somewhere near here, an' they're active.  Now all we gotta do is track 'em down an' make contact."

Devon sipped at his caf again and looked around the others.
"OK, so whats been happening with you guys?  had any luck?"

After enjoying a relaxing meal with Sheila and the others, Fiarr had taken the time to shower and change into comfortable attire before attending the briefing.  She relaxed in a chair with a cold drink in one hand.

"Haven't heard of this PHA of yours but at least it explains why we're here.  None of us could figure out why you were out here.  Personally I thought our best bets had been in the Corellian Sector.  Had this wild theory that maybe your commander had been caught in whatever nastiness was brewing there.  I drew a link between your reports that Vader's flagship was involved in some sort of action there several few weeks back and reports I had received that Vader had captured high-level traitors important enough the Emperor himself had left Coruscant to personally oversee their interrogation and execution.  I knew it was a long shot but if a group of rebel factions were meeting perhaps it was big enough to catch the eye of the really big guns in the Imperial hierarchy."

She said back to let the others respond.  Nobody had bought into her outlandish theory back on Nar Shaddaa but it was her obligation to raise it with the boss so he could dismiss it too.

Kyvarr sat in a chair, her back ramrod straight.  Military discipline was hard to forget.

"Sir, we had a couple of strange rumours.  One about a terrorist attack on a TIE production facility orbitting Nar Shaddaa a couple of months ago.  Another crazy one about a bar fight on Bespin involving laser swords!  Mika might be able to clarify more sir.  To me it sounds like the rambling of some spice-addled attention seeker!"

Heigren thought back.  "I recall the boss saying he'd been recalled to active duty.  But you just said he quit this PHA didn't you.  How do you get recalled if you quit?"

Mika chimes up after the invite from Kyvarr.  "There's not much more to it.  The orbital TIE factory supposedly took a great fall, the interesting part is some said a guy jumped off the falling station, only to get picked up by a ship, mid-air.  About the sword fight on Bespin, the rumors said the fight took out the bar and a few city blocks.  Mercs and gangs where giving the area the pass.  Least that's what the swoopers were saying, so take the stories for what they're worth."

”Lightsabers, not swords. Lightsabers. Magnificent weapons only the Jedi are… were able to wield. Should any of us get our hands on one, we would probably cut off a leg or an ear, our own. Such beauty to behold, but such a terrible weapon of death in the hands of a knight of the order. With the power to cut through any armour, the only thing capable of stopping one is another lightsaber.”

Dohr’s voice was quiet and soft as he gazed into the distance, obviously seeing something no one else could see. ”That sound… There is nothing like it…” Shaking himself from a dream of a past long gone, the Doc looked at his companions, friends. ”As you all know, the Jedi are no more. Only one person in the galaxy has the power to master a lightsaber and used by him the weapon is far more terrible than it ever was when wielded by the defenders of the Light side… If the rumours are true... then” the Kel Dor’s voice suddenly became ice cold ”Vader was there, in the Cloud city.”

Sighing deep, Dohr shook his head. ”But I do not believe a lightsaber battle took place in Bespin. There is no one alive who could stand against the Emperor’s executioner. Not anymore.”

With that, the doctor fell deep into thought reliving a memory from decades ago. He had never met her, but when his mother told him of his sister for the first time and of how she had disappeared only months before he had been born, Dohr had felt the same terrible longing that now gripped his heart, tight.

Kyvarr frowned.  "Are we getting off track?  Jedi don't concern us unless we think they arose from the ashes and kidnapped or killed Mark and Zyra.  Are we entertaining the idea this Admiral Vader person might be involved?"  Having seen little of the galaxy she had never heard of the infamous Dark Lord.

She turned to Heigren.  "You said he was recalled to active duty?  That would suggest he was either an inactive soldier or a reservist.  Paramilitary and mercenary groups don't usually do such things.  You're in or you're out."

She looked at Devon and the others.  "Where are other of you with this PHA?  Did you go on some sort of inactive service when you left?  Or did you just walk away?"

Flash snorted.  "The small minded bastards.  We go on our first mission, rescue dozens of slaves, break up a major slavery ring, escape with a couple of Headhunters and the friggin Nightshrike!  You'd think they'd pin medals on us.  Instead they disbanded Black Talon Squadron and were going to rotate us back to other areas.  Me, they woulda booted right out of the Alliance!"

"The boss was pissed, real pissed.  He went to every bigwig he could find but they wouldn't listen.  He quit in disgust and we quit with him.  Wanted to leave it on the General's desk with a small explosive, just enough to take a fingertip or two but the boss wouldn't let me."

"We left the PHA and joined the boss's independant Black Talon team.  Now only the boss, Zyra, Devon and I are left.  The rest are dead, missing or left."  His thoughts drift to his friend Jamie Webb.  Where was he now?  What had changed that made him go off alone.  He didn't speak again as his mind wandered over those they had lost.  There had been so many, starting with Cyril who had died on that first mission, their only one for the PHA.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:47, Thu 12 Feb 2015.

Mika finds Flash's story rather interesting.  She'd been recruited later and hadn't heard about the past of the group before.  Odd, that.  If things went on long enough, you'd have a merc band with its roots in the PHA and not have any of the Mercs know a thing about it.

In reply to Allen 'Flash' (msg # 27):

Sheila had never really learned what had gone on before.  "So, Devon, anything to add to that?  Is there anything that could have induced Mark and Zyra to go back?  Could recalled to active duty be to the Chandrillan military, not the PHA?"

The Bothan's ears pricked up at Sheila's comment.  "Chandrila?  They served in the Chandrilan military?" she said leaning forward.

She noted people staring at her.  "There was an Imperial senator from Chandrila who was widely outspoken against the 'excesses' of the Galactic Empire.  Highly visible, used to try and help various sectors within the law.  She disappeared about a year ago.  Don't you remember, it was all over the holovids?  Claimed she'd turned traitor against the Empire.  Rumours were she'd been arrested and quietly executed but the word I heard was she'd gone underground and was stirring up a vast resistance movement.  Can't remember her name though."

Mika shrugs, "Sorry, I never was much into politics.  Too busy looking at the swoop stats and what was new in the world of engines and all that.  Those government types, always saying whatever they got to just to get air time.  That's why they call it air time, 'cause they're all full of hot air."

"Yeah, just us left." said Devon, somewhat subdued.  He raised his caf mug in a toast, then drank deeply.  "Here's to those who couldnt be here."

After a few moments of silence, Devon put his mug down. "Now lets make sure that Zyra an the boss dont permenantly join that list."

The shipjacker paused to page through the notes he had made on his datapad whilst the others were talking.
"That ruckus at Corellia sounds promising... I'm not so sure your theory is wild, Fiarr - look how it fits what we know.  Damnit, we all just got to Telos and now I think we need people out near Corellia!  Plus Chandrilla aint too far from Corellia, we'd be able to check into that too."

"OK, unless anyone has any better ideas, here's what we're gonna do:

Flash an' Cor, I want you guys to stay here an' chase down the PHA.  Take Moonshadow an' use her if you want.  If not, put her into storage with the other ships - maybe those Verpine will be able to do something with her hyperdrive.  Stay outta trouble and keep in touch.

The rest of us are going to head to Corellia an chase that lead down as fast as we can.  We'll take the Drifter and the Ghtroc.  Kyvarr, you're gonna be my second whilst the team is split."

Devon stood up.
"OK - unless anyones got any questions, we need to get moving.  I'm gonna transfer my crap aboard the Ghtroc, then we set out soon as everyones ready."

Even with Kyvarr's normal military discipline that kept her face unchanging, Devon's comment that she was to act as his second in charge made her jaw drop.

"Uh, yes sir.  I will serve to the best of my ability.  Do you want me to travel with you on the Ghtroc to discuss your plans or should I take command of the Nebula Drifter sir?"

Already her mind began running through various training drills she could run on either ship.  There wasn't a lot of room but she would make sure the team had a fighting edge when they arrived.


OOC:  I think Devon just signed his own death warrant!
This message was last edited by the player at 02:08, Sat 14 Feb 2015.

Fiarr nodded at Devon's plan.  Whilst she still said aloud it was crazy, more and more of the pieces had begun to fit together for her.  This new Chandrilan angle lent even more credence for if that Senator was involved she probably had the clout to create a headache for the Emperor.  She undoubtedly had both political and military connection across a large swath of the galaxy.  Could it be Chandrila itself could be preparing to revolt?  No, that would be suicide.  Still, it made her wonder if the ex-Senator was one of these 'high-level traitors' whom Vader had captured.  She fit the profile.  Was she already dead?  If she was then it was likely that any other prisoners were dead too.

She was broken from her thoughts by Devon's comment that Kyvarr would be his second.  If she had been drinking she would have choked.  It wasn't that she thought Kyvarr was incompetent, quite the opposite.  It was just she was still the sergeant.  'You can take the Cathar out of the military but you can't take the military out of the Cathar'

She groaned internally as she envisioned long training drills and 0500 inspection parades.  She'd left all that behind when she'd transferred out of Bothan starfighter command.  She mentally catalogued the various sedatives and anasthetics she'd learned about in intelligence training, trying to remember which ones worked on Cathar.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:53, Sat 14 Feb 2015.

Heigren quickly pulled out his datapad and began writing a shopping list.  He wasn't going to spend a week eating the crap that got loaded at spaceports.  He'd bring some real food and drink along to make the trip more bearable.

Mika looks at Devon with eyes wide.  "You been sniffing coolant vapors again, boss?  Chasing all over the galaxy after every rumor and story we hear about is just plain silly.  Besides, we got to get the ships serviced before we head off again.  Shouldn't we take a day or two, see what we can do around here?  After all, charging over here and all."

Dohr nodded. ”I agree with Mika. Three weeks is a long time and I understand you are worried and anxious to know what has happened to your friends. But you clearly had a clue or an idea or even a hunch good enough and worth everyone’s while for us all to come rushing to Telos. I would say we make use of the fact that we are here now before jumping off to follow another lead.””

The Doc took a breath and continued: ”As painful as it most certainly must feel to you, I too believe we should really spend a couple of days to investigate a bit further. If for no other reason then just to make sure we did not just waste a few days coming this way for nothing. Even if Mark and Zyra had nothing to with the destroyed pirate base, we might still find out new useful rumours about what is going on."
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:12, Sat 14 Feb 2015.

Fiarr considered Mika and Dohr's point and balanced it with Devon.  "I'm not sure I agree Mika.  While I agree that we've bounced from one area of the galaxy to the other and are talking about going back, that doesn't make Devon's plan a bad one.  Especially since Devon didn't know about the evidence that we had gathered until we arrived just now.  It suggests we need better communication protocols, something we should agree on before we go anywhere."

"Now Dohr, Devon is not suggesting we all rush off without investigating the pirate base and PHA.  As far as I understand, he's suggesting we follow two leads with two teams. One team explores the pirate base and PHA, the other Corellia and Chandrila.  I must concur that the Corerllian lead seems a strong possibility to me.  Too many random events seem linked."

She looked at Devon.  "You seem to have put most of the team on a path for Corellia.  Do you think we need more investigative power there or do you fear trouble?  Is the PHA team small because you don't expect trouble or because you fear a large team will be counterproductive?  I'm assuming you've split the groups the way you have for a reason.  Can you clear that up?  Perhaps it will better let us understand why you want to rush most of us back across the galaxy."

Devon blinked in surprise and turned back to the table.
"I never thought for a second that Mark and Zyra had anything to do with that dead pirate base - I'm hopin the PHA did that.  And Mark and Zyra have links to the PHA.  We find the PHA, maybe they can tell us something that helps us track down our missing."

The shipjacker spread his hands.
"Fiarr is right - if I had known then what I know now, I probably wouldnt have called you all here - you'd have gone straight to Corellia.  Lesson learned.  And we DO need better lines of communication.  Fiarr, consider that your project."

"We're sendin' the bigger team to Corellia because I think thats where we'll need the manpower most.  The PHA angle is gonna take time.  They wont be easy to find, and it wont be easy to get them to trust us enough to help.  The Corellia thing is probably the hottest trail we have, and we cant hang around and let it go cold - so we need as many as we can manage working on that - and I'm hoping we can dodge trouble, but if we can't or if we need to MAKE some trouble, I want as much of the team available as possible."

Devon turned towards Cors hologram.  "Which reminds me - can you loan us CC9?  If we have to get our hands dirty, having the Doombot along can only help our chances."

Turning back to the group again, Devon sounded slightly bemused as he continued:
"And your ships need servicing??  they've only been in flight for a week!  What were you doing with them?  Was heigren throwin' wild parties every night?  If they need servicing after just a week of non-combat operations, then we have a problem."

Devon turned to look at Mika, seeming genuinely puzzled.
"So what needs doing?  Are you tellin' me we can't be ready to fly in two hours?"

Mika rolls her eyes.  "You want the 'Drifter up and out in two hours, then I'll make it happen.  Ready for me to get to work?"

Mika gets to her feet, thinking that the main thing to check is the fresh water levels and make sure the sanit tanks are flushed. Devon could chide her all he wants, but Mika didn't like taking any ship out that wasn't topped off.

Cor's holographic form continually diverged between working on an unseen computer and stopping for sips from an extra-large caf mug.  When Mika spoke of the maintenance she checked something then spoke.

"According to R2-B7, he arranged for refuel and resupply of all vessels before we landed.  My ship has already been attended, as has the Ghtroc.  I imagine the Nebula Drifter will be next.  There should be little external maintenance you need to do but I can assign R2-A9 to lead a repair crew."

"Devon, I need CC9 with me.  I believe you have more than enough people who can 'dirty their hands'."



**NPC'd by GM**
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:19, Sun 15 Feb 2015.

Heigren shrugged.  "Doesn't matter to me where we go, just send me with the team that needs to deal with people.  I can't sift through a whole heap of data like Sheila or bury myself in engines like Mika.  I need to talk to people, hear their speech, see their mannerisms.  That's where I can help best.  And cooking, I like cooking."

Dohr was deep in thought and missed some of the conversation going on.

"Mon Mothma. That was her name, the Chandrilan senator." He looked at Devon and nodded. "I see what you mean. I do not know if your... our commander is big enough a name to attract Vader's attention, but senator Mothma certainly is. And if our leaders as former Chandrilan military still loyal to her have been called to a rebel meeting by the senator in the Corellian sector..."

The Kel Dor nodded again. "I am ready to leave at any time."

Seeing the conversation had died off, Kyvarr stood.  "Alright everyone, you heard the commander.  We leave in two hours.  Fiarr, have your comms proposal to me within the hour.  Mika, let me know if you have any maintenance problems.  Dismissed."

Doh couldn’t help the smile behind his mask as Kyvarr started barking her orders. Once a soldier, always a soldier, eh? It was quite funny to see professional soldiers were the same no matter what the species. It was nothing new to him of course. The Kel Dorian had travelled far and wide and had met warriors of multitude of species, the Cathar included. And in his mind it was a good thing that paramilitary rebel groups like the Talons behaved as army units; in an organised manner. But still the sudden adaptation of her old role was so fast that it took him, another military officer, by surprise.

The former Major of DAF gave the Cathar a polite bow. ”As you say, Sergeant.”

Mika gives a smirk at Kyvarr's orders.  "Sure, I'll let you know."

She waites a couple of minutes to see if there's anything else before heading off to the 'Drifter's control room to start her pre-flight.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:02, Wed 18 Feb 2015.

Fiarr nodded.  She had no problem when Kyvarr went all 'military', she always meant well and it had admittedly saved her more than once.  She looked at Devon.  "Don't need an hour boss.  Far as I can see the only way to keep in contact would be to periodically drop out of hyperspace and pick up messages.  Problem with that is we burn a day's fuel everytime we go back into hyperspace.  So is contact worth the extra cost?  That's up to you."

"Only other choice would be to get a proper Holonet array but the cost and difficulty of setting that up is impractical."

"See you on the ship Commander.  Lieutenant."

Sheila chuckled when Heigren mentioned he liked cooking. "I'm going on his ship."  then to Devon and Fiarr.  "I'll keep looking through things.  See what I can find anythign else targeting Chandrilla and the PHA."
This message was last edited by the player at 06:59, Fri 20 Feb 2015.

Eight Days Later - Corellia - Corellian Sector

The crew had travelled uneventfully through hyperspace, both ships responding well.  After a little over a week, the team found themselves in the spacelanes around the Corellian system, capital world of the Corellian sector.  The area was awash with traffic, though thankfully no Imperials.  The Emperor allowed the Corellians to effectively govern themselves, a rarity in modern times.



OOC:  If you got up to anything during your downtime let me know.  Otherwise here you are!  Here's hoping you don't need to turn around and fly back to Telos!
This message was last updated by the GM at 21:50, Sat 21 Feb 2015.

Kyvarr had not been idle during the eight days in hyperspace but had set up a rigorous training program.  Physical training at daybreak and evening.  A morning training program in weaponry, everything from hand-to hand combat, melee weaponry, blasters, heavy weapons even improvised weaponry and explosives.  Afternoons she devoted to her own training program, learning about the ship, the Talons and reviewing intelligence on the mission.

The Cathar had taken over the starboard cargo bay and turned it into her training centre.  Her M4 droid dutifully reported each training session to all members on board fifteen minutes before they were to start.  To surprise Kyvarr did not make any session mandatory and said nothing if people did not show.  Many a time she could be seen training alone, running shuttle runs, lifting weights or practising martial arts or stripping and assembling rifles.  Whilst Kyvarr still held to military precision, the voluntary nature of the training was her nod to the Talons that this was not regular military.

Fiarr had spent her time constructively, though she seemed to avoid the starboard cargo bay for much of the trip.  Not that she'd shirked physical activity.  She'd made an effort to go at least once a day to one of Kyvarr's sessions.  She tried twice once but the gruelling sessions left her muscles in agony.  She attended a few of the weapons classes but not many.  She was confident in her own skills and she'd worked with Kyvarr enough to know most of her tricks.

As the Ghtroc approached Corellia, she made a point of not being in the pilot seat.  As soon as they were in range she began monopolising the communications equipment.  She had programs on her datapad automatically begin connecting to various networks while she began putting out feelers for various contacts of hers.  She knew quite a few people in the Core worlds and the Corellian system attracted a lot of people escaping Imperials.

Kyvarr had taken the helm as Fiarr wanted comms and Devon was busy in his cabin.  She drew the Ghtroc close enough to the Drifter to use the encrypted comms.

"Team, this is Five.  Seven has asked me to brief you.  We know why we're here.  To chase down leads on why that ship was here, what it was doing and hopefully find out if One and Nine were somehow mixed up in it.  Seven has no further instructions and leaves you to your own initiative to pursue leads."  Kyvarr's tone betrays she is a little uncomfortable with her last statement, it's not the way she's used to doing things.

"We're heading for the main spaceport.  Seven assures me our ID is good enough.  Anyone who wants to come with us should transfer aboard now before we go insystem.  Then those on the Drifter can go where they think best."

"We'll dock ships in five minutes.  Be ready to transfer then if you want to come with us.  Drifter, we'll need to know where you're going too."




OOC: Master Servious asked me to 'take over' as Devon's player is not able to post right now and gave me a quick rundown on things.

If everyone wants to head down to the main spaceport then obviously we don't need to 'link up'.  Wasn't sure what everyone would want to do.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:58, Sun 22 Feb 2015.

Heigren activated his comm.  "I need to be on the surface and the capital seems a good place to start.  The more people there are, the more I can learn without drawing attention.  I'll swap ships unless we all want to head down there."

Heigren rushed out without a response and headed for his cabin.  With only five minutes to prepare he'd only be able to take the essentials - two, maybe three trunks at most.

As he stuffed things in he wondered how he'd managed all those years on Phindar Prime.  Often he'd had one set of clothes, often stolen and he'd wear them for months on end.  Now he had at least five sets of socks for each outfit!
This message was last edited by the player at 01:24, Mon 23 Feb 2015.

Mika had enjoyed the trip in from Telos.  It gave her a good chance to really focus on the 'Drifter.  With the ship in hyperspace, she hadn't really needed ot do much at the pilot's station, so she'd been free to focuso n maintenance work.  She'd probably crawled through every maintenance access and service coridor.

But when the time came, she pulls the ship ot of hypespace ot sync up comms with the Ghtroc.  "It doesn't make much sense to have the 'Drifter had anywhere but the main space port.  I wish we'd taken the time to put on some cargo, just for appearences."

OOC:  I'm fine with docking, just not sure what other options are available for docing the 'Drifter.

There are loads of places to go.  The Corellian system alone has five habitable worlds and each world has dozens of spaceports.  In space their are space stations as well.  The Ghtroc is going to Coronet City, the capital city of the capital world (i.e. Corellia).  Up to you if you want to all land in one spot and then see where things take you or split your resources and land on another world or just another continent.

With no specific plans it is decided to land both ships at Coronet City's main spaceport.  From there the Talons could spread out as they wished.  There was regular commuter services across the planet and across the entire system so there was no need to take the ships unless numerous people wanted to go.

Devon quickly arranged a hangar for both ships.  It was not difficult as large bulk freighters often berthed there and the Talons were allocated a hangar big enough to fit both ships and enough space they could have probably squeezed in Moonshadow and the L-4000 to boot.

Customs was quick and efficient.  Whilst having the appearance of following Imperial standards, this was just a façade, quickly wiped away to reveal the grimier truth beneath.  Crime was rampant, graft was part of everyday transactions.  Still the hangar was spacious, refuelling and resupply was in the cost as were various navigation and software upgrades.  Maintenance services were available for various prices.

The Talons were soon free to go about their business as they saw fit.


OOC:  Since there were no specific plans I thought it easier to have a central 'base' and let people go as they would.  Your comms will work anywhere on planet (they can tap the local comm networks for signal boosting) but not if you travel to other planets.

As with previous landings, Heigren was first out of the hangar when customs had finished their inspections.  With a wave he vanished into the crowds.

Another week or so in hyperspace. Not the place Dohr Veen liked the most, but it did give him a lot of time to reflect on what had happened and what might happen in the near future. It was after all only a few weeks ago when he had found his assistant Majara brutally murdered in his surgery back on Det Akari.

When looking for him, the others on board the Wayfarer were likely to find the Kel Dorian sitting cross-legged on the floor of his cabin or the Medbay deep in meditation. Though he had been taught by his mother, a retired knight of the jedi order, Dohr wasn’t able to fall into a trance like he had seen her do. But it did help him clear his mind, relax and concentrate. And it was a good way to make the time pass faster.

The rest of the Doc’s time had passed in physical exercise, close combat training and planning the setup of the Medical Bay. He hadn’t been able to do much with the stuff he and Sheila had gathered from the Nest earlier on. There hadn’t been a proper operating theatre to be dismantled, more like a stockpile of medical supplies. The room aboard the Nebula Drifter now hosted a diagnostic bed, but it was nowhere enough for a surgery should need for such things appear. Dohr had no idea how the Talons had survived without proper facilities so far, but he was going to make sure they wouldn’t have to anymore.

The list was long, but Coronet City was the place to find everything on it. And it wouldn’t even be difficult or too time consuming either. What the doctor needed though, was money. It probably wasn’t something he couldn’t cover personally, but that was not the way organisations worked. Therefore he made sure Devon got the shopping list well before they landed.

”Devon. I just sent you a list of things we need for Drifter’s MedBay. I can handle the procurement of the items, although knowing the Corellian bazaars, I would not mind the help or someone with more charms than myself, someone like Heigren. But I would need some credits to complete the deal.”

Seeing the Zeltron disappear as he made the call, Dohr grinned. The man was true to his habits. Finishing up with Devon, the picked up the comms unit again and gave the group’s party animal a ring. ”You are slippery as a Rylothian fire-eel, Heigren... Do whatever you have planned to do, but when you have a few hours of free time, give me a call. I am in need of your special skills.”

---

OOC: Master Servious can probably give an estimate for the amount of creds Dohr would need.

Heigren's answer was almost immediate.  "Special skills?  Which special skills would those be?  You finally ready to have some fun?"

Kyvarr brought everyone together before they all rushed off to their various endeavours.  She was unhappy she'd missed Heigren, whose skills would be of great importance but she accepted she could contact him by comm.

"Okay, we all know why we're here.  We need to chase down leads on the incident that occurred here with the Devastator.  Where was it, what did they do, any rumours about why.  I'm sure an event like that caught a lot of attention.  The problem may be it's not the kind of attention people might be willing to admit too."

"Any plans on how we should proceed?  Heigren seems quite skilled at getting people to open their mouths" 'and their legs she mused but didn't add this.  "Assumedly he's doing that right now.  What other avenues should we explore people?"

Kyvarr will step aside if/when Devon tells her to.  Until then she does her best to

With the two trips, Mika had found ample time tinker with the 'Drifter's systems, tweak her own toys, and whatever else struck her fancy.

"I don't know my way round here abouts, but I'll do what I did on Nar Shaddaa, try to find the swoop gang and spacer hang outs and seeing what the scuttle butt is.  Unless you've got something better for me to try."

Kyvarr considered.  "I recall Sheila saying she spent most of her trip that had been downloaded from a navigation satellite.  Would it be possible to access some sort of information like that here?  Surely if a fleet of Star Destroyers came through they must have been caught on sensors?"

Fiarr nodded.  "Could be done I suppose.  We'd need to break or bribe our way into a relay station or something.  Data from weeks ago wouldn't still be on the satellite.  I volunteer for a little breaking and entering if needed.  I'm sure I could get us in.  Just need to steal or copy uniforms and access cards.  Getting the data is the trick.  Might need Mika or Sheila's help to download the information though."

"Of course being Corellia we could just bribe someone for the data.  Or have Heigren sleep his way in!"
This message was last edited by the player at 02:16, Sat 28 Feb 2015.

"Well I'm going to make that your assignment Fiarr.  Work out the best way to get that data without drawing attention.  Recruit whomever you think can help.  I doubt you'll need me unless you need doors busted down or heads smacked together."

"What about the rest of you?  Any other avenues to pursue?"

Fiarr looked to Mika.  "What do you think?  If I can arrange entry feel like coming along to steal some data?  Or do you think you'll pursue the swoop gangers in which case I could always take Sheila or Devon."

Kyvarr looked to Mika.  "Mika, do whatever you think is the best use of your skills.  Talk to swoop gangers, help Fiarr with her larceny, both, neither."

She turned to Sheila and Dohr.  "That just leaves you two.  Any thoughts?"

Apologies for my absence - been VERY ill.  Still recovering.  Thanks to Kyvarr for picking up the slack whilst I was gone.


Devon finally came wandering down the Ghtrocs ramp - the shipjacker was ushaven and looked like he hadnt slept properly in some time.  Kyvarr knew that the acting-commander had spent most the journey trawling through the files they had recovered from the Nest - those that been decrypted anyhow - searching for some clue that would give them a lead.

"Couple of minor alterations." he said quietly as he got to the bottom of the ramp.
"I dont think the gangers are gonna know squat 'bout the kinda thing we're after: we're tracking a frakin' Imp-Star here, not a glitter-stim shipment - so Mika I got a couple of things I want you workin' on.  We didnt have time to run maintenance back on Telos, but we do now - so you  an' me are gonna make sure these crates are ready for action if we have to leave in a hurry.  Then we'll be assistin' whoever needs the help most."

Turning to their two medics, Devon stifled a yawn.
"Dohr, you're nice an' polite.  You can cozy up to the political an' official types us soldiers an' street toughs cant go near without gettin' arrested.  See what you can chase down on that front.  Someone must know somethin'.  I'll look over your medical bay list when I get chance, but we aint on an unlimited budget here.  Sheila, can you assist Dohr?  Maybe he needs someone to run background searches from him, maybe he just wants someone to unpack boxes of medgear.  Whatever, thats you."

Devon activated his commlink and switched over to Heigrens personal channel.
"Four - this is Lead.  You know why we're here an' what needs to be done.  Do what you gotta do, OK?"

Getting back off his commlink, Devon looked round the hanger and then glanced down at his datapad again.
"OK, an' remember - everyone - like I said, our funds aint gonna last forever.  Anyone spots a way for us to make some creds... I wanna hear about it."

Watching as the Talons started to disperse, Devon muttered "Anyone ever asked me for reasons I would come back to Corellia.... 'leading a merc group an' chasing a Star Destroyer' wouldnt have been on the list..."

Fiarr listened as Devon updated Kyvarr's instructions.  "Understood.  I'll get started.  Sheila, could you look up the location or locations in this system where navigational data is stored?  While you do that I'm going to acquire some transportation and check a few things.  Call me when you have something."

She heads off into the spaceport.

Sheila gets into the internetz, and starts hunting up the requested information.  Where the imperial navigation was, where they might store the recent info, and where they sent the not quite so recent info.  Also where the planetary governments did the same.

"assure thing, boss.  Fiarr, when we get done with the ships, I'll link in and we'll work something up."

In fact, you couldn't expect a bunch of hangers to know much of anything about Imperial forces, like Devon said, but they might know a few leads on how to make a few creds, but it probably wouldn't lead to big scores and almost certainly nothing all that legal.

"Where you want we should start, Devon?"

Over the course of the next few hours, people kept busy.  While Kyvarr acted as security for the hangar, Mika, Devon and Catch efficiently assessed all the ships, finding only minor routine maintenance needing to be done.  They didn't bother with the two fighters as Mika had spent plenty of time on those during her long time in hyperspace.

Sheila worked on her computer in frustration.  Whilst she could build a computer from scratch with little more than a battery and wire, for some reason she was struggling to make much headway on Fiarr's request.  Whilst she found the locations of several relay stations she had not been able to narrow down which station would likely store the data they needed, especially since she didn't know where in the Corellian system the fleet had been.  She narrowed it down to three probables.

She had better luck with Dohr's request.  Notable military and political figures were much easier to find information on.  Quickly she narrowed the search down to a senior government official who was in charge of public affairs.  Such an operation would have needed serious cover-up not to be advertised widely.  The other was a General in the Corellian Space Force who oversaw communications and defence.  Either would be in a position to know the information Dohr needed and neither seemed outwardly xenophobic.  It was impossible to know if they held anti-alien bias but neither was on public record for such.  Sheila had managed to secure information on their routines, including places they liked to eat or have a drink, making an approach by Dohr easier.  She also suspected she could slice him an 'official' appointment if need be.

Heigren had spent his hours moving through the spaceport bars.  His idea that talking to ship crews was the place to start was paying off.  He'd already learned quite a bit about the ships.  There had been many Star Destroyers involved and landing parties.  He also knew that it had involved one of the southernmost continents, an area mostly abandoned due to the cold winters.  He hadn't been able to narrow it down any further as no merchant crew dare get close enough.

Fiarr had spent her time also gathering what information she could.  She hadn't had much success either in gathering information on the relay node.  However the information she gathered combined with Heigren's information and Sheila's data narrowed it down to a probable target, a large relay station and repository approximately 500km south of Coronet City.

Dohr had spent his time looking at major medical supply companies and had easily found all the equipment he needed/wanted and more.  He could stock a small hospital quite easily.  It was now a question of how extravagant he wanted to go and how much he could convince Devon to pay.

The Talons all regrouped in the hangar to plan their next move.

---

OOC:  Well you have a few leads:

* There was a space battle and troop landing on a southern continent of Corellia
* You suspect you know which station is most likely to hold satellite data
* You have 2 prominent people (a senior politician and a general) who likely know much
* You can (legally) buy medical equipment

Up to you which lead/s you follow or ignore.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:02, Thu 05 Mar 2015.

When the group was gathered (? on one of the ships) she spoke to Devon.  "I've rented an airspeeder and could be onsite of the relay station in two hours.  Just need to know if you have any paremeters, timeframes and what personnel I get.  We can do this noisy or quiet.  Personally if we have time, give me a day, either Mika, Sheila or yourself and I can probably slip one person in and out to download that data without issue.  If we have less time, I'll have to cut some corners.  Riskier but more expedient."

"If time is a factor I might be able to fast talk us in.  Unannounced inspection or maintenance.   I'm sure I could come up with something."

"If I'm not needed there I'm sure I could help Dohr get close to the people he wants.  Or I could ask around more.  Maybe I can narrow down our search area more."

Kyvarr looked towards Devon expectantly.  She'd taken charge in running their briefing before but that had been when Devon was still poring over info in his cabin.  Now he was here she stood quietly, waiting for his instructions.

Mika, marked with a bit more engine grease and soot than usual, sits with the others on a burnt out power convert, a fizz pop in her hand.  She, Devon and Catch had put in some good work on the ships and Mika couldn't think of a more enjoyable way to pass a couple of hours, save maybe taking the swoop out for a few paces.  After her spill on Det Akari, she'd need some practice.

At Fiarr's comments, Mika chimes in.  "If you do it quiet, I'll be happy to go along.  I'm not the slicer that Sheila or Cor are, but I know my way around a data store and if I can toot my own horn a bit, I'm a bit better on the mechanical side of things."

She looks over at Devon.  "Without any real leads, I say we give Fiarr that day to get things set right.  Better to take a little extra time then to go borrowing more trouble than we need to."

Fiarr nodded.  "Well I'm going to get started.  I'll call when I know more."

The Bothan moved off.

"This is your op, Fiarr." Devon told the Bothan. "I dont tell you who you get - _{wouldnt know where to start, I'm a damn thief, not a spy} - you tell me who you WANT.  Plan the op, tell me who and what you need."
He grinned.  "Then I'll tell you how much of it we cant afford."
Turning to Dohr, Devon continued.
"Same goes to you, Doc.  You plan your little meet an' greet then tell me how its gonna work.  Not saying we have the resources to do everything we want to do, but we gotta start somewhere."

Turning to the group as a whole, Devon said
"We got two ops on the table right now, Dohr and Fiarr are planning them.  So the rest of us fit in where we can and make ourselves useful - remember... we're only interested in those Star Destroyers if it turns out that prisoners were shipped out on them.  We want the people, not the ship.

Also bear in mind that our funds are not unlimited - right now I am paying for all this out of my own pocket, and that money aint gonna last forever.  Either people make with the donations to the group fund or we find some paying work fast."




OOC:  Still waiting to actually see Dohrs shopping list for medical gear?  Cant tell him 'no' until I've seen what I am saying 'no' to can I?  :)

"I can try to see if I can find out more about those destroyers before we go after them, adding in the new info."  not sure if it will actually work, but using what the barhoppers found out, cn sheila find more on those destroyers, ie if there were prisoners?  or has that been played out?

Mika shrugs.  "i got some creds if we need them.  Best haul we got was going after that convoy.  We don't want to hit the Imps direct, but if we can find out who's helping the Imps around here, we know who we should hit."

"From what I heard, the entire sector is technically under Imperial control  But for some reason they let the Corellians self-govern.  Guess the Empire thinks it's better to be paid a lot of credits and look the other way then try to maintain order.  I hear Corellians are a stubbornly independent bunch."

OOC:

* Fiarr I'll keep handling your 'adventures' in a PM

* Sheila, you've known the name of the lead destroyer (i.e Devastator - Vader's flagship) and that it led an attack in Corellia for 2 weeks.  All Heigren has done is reduce the search from a whole system to one continent.  If you can think of a way to put that to use, let me know.

* Dohr you believe you can set up a reasonable surgical station on the Wayfarer for 15000 credits

* So far only Fiarr is doing anything.  If nobody else plans to do anything I'll fast forward a day or so.  Let me know.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:38, Sun 08 Mar 2015.

Heigren shrugged.  "I could go and hang out at some of the soldier's drinking holes if you like.  Not going to get any more from the civvies.  Not sure how well I'll do as I'm no soldier and I'm definitely no Imp.  Happy to go if that's where you need me."

Kyvarr was surprised that Heigren was offering to go to the military bars.  She'd thought the Zeltron would be looking for an excuse to have fun.

"Tell you what Heigren.  If that ends up being the plan I'll go with you.  You'll do the talking and I'll make sure nobody makes you regret what you say.  If I get to deck a few Imps or Imp supporters in the process, all the better."

"Still, I imagine Dohr or Devon can find another use for you before you see how soldiers like to relax."

The information Sheila managed to dig out from the Corellian holonet was good. The government official in charge of public affairs would most certainly be in the know of anything the size of an Imperial star destroyer happening in the sector. But he might be difficult for Dohr to approach. The Doc knew he could easily talk with the official for hours, but he was no con artist. It would be seriously difficult for him to get anything out of the man. Unless Sheila would be able to dig out something he could use as a leverage… something the man would not wish to see get out in the open.

For some unknown reason Emperor Palpatine had decided to leave the ruling of the Corellian worlds to the locals. CorSec, or the Corellian Security Force was in charge of maintaining the law and order. But from what Dohr had learned during his previous visits to Corellia, the locals weren’t much better than the imperials would have been or were on other worlds. CorSe hunted the rebellious parts of the population with the same zeal Vader had tracked down the Jedi.

Fortunately the General Sheila had found was working for CorSec, but CSF instead. The Corellian Space Force was a part of the Defence Force, much like the DAF was… or had been… part of the Dorin Defence Group before the imperial incasion; a proper military organisation. Dohr himself had served in a ground unit, not the space forces, but he knew he could relate to a fellow officer nevertheless. It seemed like the General might be his best chance to get the data they needed. Then again, a soldier was trained to be suspicious. Dohr would have to give it his best… and more.

”Thank you for the intel Sheila. Both targets sound promising. But do you think it would be possible to dig in deep into both men and find something I might be able use to approach them? If not, that is just fine. I think it would still be worth the while to try and get close to one or both. The only thing I am worried about is time. There might not be enough of it…”

The Kel For turned to Devon and stood quiet for half a minute or so. ”Unless Sheila can find something sensitive about the targets, then I will simply approach them at a restaurant or bar, a place where they are most relaxed and confident in. It is where they would least expect a social engineering attempt, but at the same time most vulnerable for one.”

”Oh and the MedBay on the Nebula Drifter… Having had a good look at what Corellia can offer, and that is pretty much everything I could thinkg of, I have calculated the costs for a proper surgical station to be around 15000 credits. I can cover the costs, if need be.”

Lastly, Dohr nodded to Heigren. ”Yes, you have heard right. The Empire does indeed control the Corellian sector, but not directly. They have left it in the hands of the locals. To my knowledge neither party has revealed any reasons behind the decision. Perhaps Palpatine thinks he can get the best out of the Corellian shipyards and pilot academies that way. Who knows.”

The Kel Dorian turned to face the Sergeant. ”Actually, Kyvarr, I was planning to go such a place myself.” If she couldn’t see him smiling, she certainly could hear it in his voice. ”Then again, I have a fairly strong feeling that the General in question might not be hanging out in a place where jarheads like to unwind. Or would you have more details, Sheila?”

(OOC Misunderstood what I know, can I do that?  if not).

"I can try with the two.  And I agree that the general is probably not hanging out with the Jarheads.  I ought to be able to find that out, at least.  But that doesn't bode well for those that like barfights." She smiles at Kyvarr.

"Yeah, we're awkward like that."  Devon answered without even looking up from his datapad.

"Dohr - get your medbay stuff ordered, but your priority is still the mission.  The longer we take to track our people down, the worse for them.  Any of use can take delivery of a pile of damn boxes an' get 'em loaded - dont need you for that, need you to go talk to the brass."

Devon looked up from his datapad and glanced round.
"Catch?  Catch?  wheres that droid got to?" The R2 rolled into the room warbling a cheery greeting.  "Shopping list for you, buddy.  Can I leave you with that?  Thanks."  Tapping a button, Devon sent a file across to the R2 unit, which whistled its understanding and trundled back out the room.
"Well, thats one of the little things taken care of at least." he mumbled as the droid disappeared from sight.

Shoving the datapad into a pocket, Devon looked round at the assembled Talons and made a shooing motion with his hands.
"Ok people, keep busy.  Assist Fiarr and Dohr if they need it, and make yourselves useful if they dont.  "

OOC:



Sheila has made her Computer Use check already and you can't redo the same roll.  What Sheila learned is based on that roll.  She already gathered a lot of sensitive info (Generals don't exactly post their professional and social itineraries on Spacebook!

Sheila you've got all you're going to get on the two targets.  You could ask Heigren to do a search (as he uses a different skill (i.e. Gather Information or ask another slicer to do a computer search (though you're the best at it) but either option would take time.

And in response to Sheila's comment, no Generals do not hangout with the enlisted personnel.  The 'bar' Sheila found the General likes to frequent is quite an exclusive club.  Dohr, with his diplomatic flair wouldn't look out of place (one hopes), provided he can score a temporary membership and can look the part.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:52, Wed 11 Mar 2015.

"I guess I can stick around and accept shipment, at least while Fiarr is doing her figuring.  Both of 'em will need a bit of time, so I'll go check out some of the local bars, see if I can find any jobs needing done."

Mika moves off to collect her swoop.

Dohr’s mind was working furiously. There was a lot that needed to be done and he wouldn’t be able to do it all himself. First things first. The Doc gave the medical gear vendor he had earlier chosen, TransMed, a call. He offered the salesman’s name as a code word and magically got past the droid who answered in a few seconds. Dohr knew his order would not be especially large, but the dealer certainly seemed to appreciate the provision he would get once the credits changed hands. It didn't take the doctor more than seven minutes to complete the deal and have the seller agree on a delivery of the crates on the following morning.

For the next part he needed Sheila’s help. Dohr sought her out after the call. ”Sheila, listen. You mentioned earlier that you might be able to arrange a meeting with the General for me? Am I right, if I guess it would be no big feat for you to get me a valid membership to his club or if not a full membership, then perhaps an invite? Actually since it’s not an open club, my sudden appearance would no doubt be noted by most if not all. So a temporary membership might be better. The story needs to be good and I need to be able to… well… not lie about it. Unless...”

The Kel Dorian turned to Heigren (or gave the Zeltron a call, if he was not present). ”Heigren, I was wondering… Since you obviously are a skilled speaker and I believe you are not a bad actor either, would you care to join me at the General's club? You could take the role of my aide or assistant. That would not technically even be a lie, since you would indeed be helping me out.” It was a dry joke, but Dohr grinned at it nevertheless. ”I am a former Dorin Armed Forces Major and chief medical instructor looking for work and perhaps a suitable enterprise to invest some money in. That much is pretty much true. And while it does not automatically make me someone a General would be looking forward to talk to, it should be enough for them to accept me. But as it is no big secret that Lord Vader personally oversaw the invasion of my home world, a fellow soldier might be interested in hearing how the operation was executed. Or something... We will see what happens once we get there… Should you decide to join me, that is.”

Dohr carried on more to himself than anyone else... ”I would need to have a DAF uniform made though, but that can easily be arranged.”

---

OOC: Btw. What are the rules considering carried weapons on Corellia? Would Dohr be able to carry his flechette pistol in an officer's holster?

Heigren considers.  "I could certainly play the role of your business manager.  Certainly a lot more believable than me playing some military aide!"

"Dorin Armed Forces uniform huh?  Could you get me the specs on that and send then to my datapad?  I'll have something arranged."

Heigren heads out into the spaceport to find a taxi.  He had some clothes shopping to do.  Military uniform for the Kel Dor, something 'corporate' for himself.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:32, Thu 12 Mar 2015.

Kyvarr watched Heigren go, a frown on her face as she considered.  She turned to Dohr.

"Why would an ex-officer wear the uniform he is no longer entitled to wear?  Retired soldiers can wear the uniform but you're too young to have retired so you must of discharged.  Would it not be better to be in civilian attire or perhaps be 'considering' leaving the armed forces or perhaps on leave?  The General might take offense to an ex-soldier still wearing a uniform"

She certainly would.  But then this was officer country Dohr was working in and perhaps officers didn't have the same regard for the uniform.  Still she felt it was a valid point to make.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:51, Fri 13 Mar 2015.

Dohr nodded to Kyvarr. ”I see your point, but do not agree completely. In my mind I am still more than entitled to wear my uniform and I would, were it still in one piece. When the imperials took over, they pretty much dismantled the DAF staff. It is no secret. Most of the commanding officers who had any sense of honour or self-esteem left the army behind immediately. We did not wish to be underlings of the oppressors and turn against our own people. The ones that stayed behind, the social climbers, got easy and quick promotions… and did some unthinkable things. But despite of all that, I do still consider myself a proud member of DAF, the DAF that is long gone.”

The former Major went silent for a few seconds before continuing. ”It may be a risk to openly wear the colours of an army that no longer exists in its original form on a planet where rebellious groups are hunted by the local law enforcement. But I am hoping to touch the true Corellian inside the General as I am sure he as a soldier with a long career is at least a little bit nationalistic still.”

With a bow to the Cathar, Dohr turned to Heigren. "I am sure you can find pictures of Brigadier General Dhaan wearing his uniform on the net as he was one of our most decorated soldiers; a hero of sorts. But I will gladly give you the exact description of a medical officer's outfit as well."

Kyvarr listens to Dohr's rationales with interest.  "I hadn't considered that.  So your wearing of the uniform is a gesture of defiance against the Empire whilst showing your loyalty to your former command?  A bold gesture."

The Cathar considered how Dohr's explanation of the Dorin Armed Forces was very similar to hers with the Praxian Defence Force.  She had not thought about her uniform in such a way.  As she recalled she'd torn off both sleeves to use as tourniquets and a leg to pad a gaping chest trauma.  She had always associated her uniform with that last battle, the one where the Empire had wiped out most of the military in less then an hour.  Fiarr always tried to tell her, the final battle had been a victory for her but she never saw it.  But still. . .maybe she could still honour her old unit.

"You speak wisely Dohr.  Perhaps one day I should acquire a uniform for myself."

**THE NEXT DAY**

Time elapses as various duties are performed.  Heigren spends time with various tailors arranging for a rush job on Dohr's military uniform.  Fiarr spends her time in reconnaissance of the relay station while Mika asks around the spaceport about cargo jobs.

It's around midday the next day when the team regroups in the galley on the Nebula Drifter.  Fiarr had arrived back in the early hours of the morning and had only arisen from sleep.  The others had busied themselves accordingly.

They now had time to prepare.  The General rarely attended the club before evening so they had a good six hours.  Fiarr had yet to lay out her plan but it would take two hours to get back to the station.


OOC: Okay, everyone is back.  Dohr, Fiarr, I guess it's your show!  Devon I imagine will have some things to say as well!

Mika, as well styled as ever in her rumpled and soot-stained coveralls, looks around as the others show up.  She looks a bit blurry-eyed.  She'd spent a few hours looking for work at the swoop bars.  She got a few offers too, but that was for her as a mechanic, not Talon work.  "Good to we every one survived the night.". She had a local fruit version of a fizz pop in hand and had popped a few oxy pills, trying to get the rattles in her head to settle down.

"Well I'm going with a simple plan.  I've got three main issues.  Get inside, avoid security, get the data.  With more time I could come up with something elaborate, but we're already weeks behind.  So I propose I take Mika and Kyvarr.  I'll 'acquire' some ID's quietly if I can else I may need Kyvarr to use a more 'direct' approach.  I think I can get Mika and I past security.  Then Mika downloads the data and I get us out.  If something goes wrong then Kyvarr extracts us using her 'skills'.  The place only has a few guards and I have no doubt Kyvarr could take them without any serious injuries to either side."

"If everyone is happy I want to go in early evening.  After the majority of employees have left, but not so late to cause suspicion.  We'll just be people working a little overtime."

Kyvarr nodded at Fiarr's plan then turned to Devon.  "What are the Rules of Engagement sir?"

"When I wasn't arranging uniforms I took some time to speak with some medical equipment suppliers, learning to 'talk the talk' as it were.  I know Dohr here is a skilled doctor but that means he knows how to use the equipment, not sell it.  I'm assuming he's more the 'figurehead', the hardened battle doctor whilst his trusty Zeltron does the real selling!"

He adds an elegant flourish to his description of Dohr, his tone suggesting the Kel Dor had held of brigades of enemy while performing two critical operations simultaneously!

"There better not be any engagements!" Devon said without even looking up from the datapad he seemed to be permanently attached to these days.
"Seriously though - as little noise and mess as possible, as much as neccesary.  You'll be the ones on the ground, that'll be your call to make."

Tossing the datapad onto the table, Devon looked up at the Fiarr.
"This is your op, and your plan.  We do it the way you want.  Are you going to want someone stationed nearby with transport, in case you need extraction or back up?"

"That's what Kyvarr is for.  I hope to do this silently with nobody knowing we were even there.  But if things go wrong, I think Kyvarr should be more than sufficient to handle a few security guards.  Only Mika and I will go in.  The smaller the crew the better.  I'd go in alone but need someone who can download the data in a hurry and beat any encryption."

That was fast!

Devon nodded.  "Makes sense.  My big worry is that some how you end up in a situation where you need more sets of hands than you got... meanwhile there's a bunch of us sat back on the ship scratchin' our asses.

It's your call, Fiarr; but I dont wanna loose anyone because we didnt have the manpower we needed."

Pretty quick yourself

Kyvarr shrugged.  "If you want to send more then by all means.  But my plan was to abort if we trigger any alarms or someone calls the cops.  The data is not worth getting into a firefight with the police.  Plan to be long gone before they could arrive.  If we do it right, they won't even know we were there.  Wasn't planning to go armed, well except for Kyvarr.  Talking your way past a security guard can be difficult if you're packing a blaster."

"Understood sir.  I have no desire to gun down innocents or security, even on a world controlled by Imperials but if there is a difference between a teammate being captured or killed I needed to know I had the authority to use deadly force."

The Cathar didn't believe it should be necessary but it paid to be prepared.

Mika gives a snort.  "So, we're going in and we're going I unarmed?  Guess that means we leave the swoop here too, its armed up a bit heavy."

To be honest, she wasn't exactly a crack shot anyway.  She could probably cause a bit more havoc on site, jimmy their vehicles and that sort of thing, if they get in trouble that is.

Fiarr nodded.  "Blasters are too hard to explain in a pinch.  You could always take something small and light but I'm relying on stealth and guile to get us through.  Kyvarr can pack a blaster but she's probably the person who least needs one.  I've seen her deliver kicks that probably make a blaster shot feel like a scratch."

"Okay guys, let's gear up and get moving.  Grab what you need and meet me outside in ten minutes.  Mika, there was no uniforms I saw for standard staff so just look like a maintenance person."

Kyvarr already had her planned disguise in a bag.  An off-the-rack, not too expensive blouse and skirt.  She planned to play the part of an administration person roped into showing a maintenance person around after hours.  For now she was dressed in non-descript long-sleeved jacket and pants with gloves.    To this she added a retractable but sturdy stun baton and despite her words to Mika, a blaster went in as well.  She didn't plan to take it into the data center, but that was only part of the overall plan.

She wasn't sure if Devon or anyone else was coming but figured if they wanted to come they'd be outside within the next ten minutes.  Devon had said this was her op so that was her plan.

Kyvarr collected her gear with a minimum of fuss.  Her modified heavy blaster and a smaller blaster went into a bag with some smoke grenades, stun grenades and some explosives.  Fiarr may plan to do things quietly but Kyvarr would be ready if things needed to go loud.

She was at the designated meeting point in well under the allotted timeframe.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:00, Wed 18 Mar 2015.

"Doc, I got you in, for tonight, at the club.  You can take a guest with you.  You just need to give your name at the door."

All the other girls were going undercover.

Dohr nodded at Heigren. “I like your version of.. well, you.. better. So shall it be. Fortunately my mask will hide most of my facial features when your extravagant sales pitch goes way over the top. The General will probably not take me seriously if I am grinning like a fool.”

The suit the Zeltron had gotten him was a bit too much, but considering the situation they were heading into, it might be just perfect. Chances of anyone present at club recognising the outfit as a Kel Dorian General’s dress uniform were very nonexistent at best. Too flashy for his liking, but perfect for making a first impression amongst the high level officers who had rarely seen real action themselves. ”And thank you for acquiring me the uniform. It should do the trick nicely.”

Turning to Sheila, Dohr gave the woman a bow. ”Thanks to you as well, Sheila, for your work, it makes our entrance a lot easier.”

Dohr picked up the bag with the uniform and headed off to a refresher to change. When he returned a moment later, it seemed like he’d grown a few centimetres. It was clear he was used to wearing a uniform and knew how to carry it well.

”I am not taking any weapons with me unless you count my cane as one. But I am sure they would not deny a battle-hardened, limping doc his support. Ready when you are, Heigren. All we need is a proper ride to carry us to the scene.”

Dohr asked Sheila to order a limousine over the net, something not too fancy, but nice enough to stand out from regular speeders. Once Heigren was ready and the taxi arrived, the doc started feeling the excitement of a mission building up. The dynamic doctoral duo was on the move.”</b>

OOC:  crap!   Life gets on top of me for 24 hours and everyone charges off to do stuff before Devon says anything!  Thats some good leadership right there... :)

"Fiarr, why dont you take Catch with you?  An R2 fits right in with a maintenance crew and he might be useful.  We've also got the M4 droids if you want any of them - it also gives you a way to smuggle more weapons in should you need them - they're all armed."

Turning to Dohr, Devon said:
"You look pretty sharp in a uniform, Doc - lets just hope no-one gets pissed off when you turn up wearing the uniform of a military that opposed the Empire." 

Devon sighed and continued more slowly. "You musnt think Corellia aint an Imperial world...  We dont like talkin about it, but here's the truth of it:  Corellia is a subjugated system, just like anywhere else.

Only reason there aint Destroyers in orbit an' Stormies on the street is because we didnt fight -  we smiled very widely and promised to behave ourselves.  But that dont mean the Empire just leaves us alone.  There WILL be spies and there WILL be sympathisers.  Not to mention ordinary folk who plain don't want to give the Empire an excuse to roll the troops in for real.  You might run into any or all of these people.  Hell, your general might be one himself.  Be very careful."

Mika heads off to prepare, finding Fiarr's comment about the way she should dress funny, most of her clothes were maintenance worker type clothes.

She puts on a, well if not clean then perhaps somewhat less stained, pair of light gray coveralls and she scoops up her datapad and tool kit.  The glow rod is slipped into a thigh pocket and the comlink on her belt.  The rest...  Well, the rest doesn't seem in keeping with the look.

She shows back up, looking not all that different than she did before.  "If we're not going to brief on layout and all of that, then I guess I'm ready to go."

Mika didn't know the place, but surely they'd made it droid-accessable, damn few places weren't.  "Might as well."  She says about Catch, "It can always hang back with Kyvarr if we think that's best when we get on site."  Which reminds here, "Buzzy, you stay here." she says to her babysitter
'bot.

OOC:  Fiarr has been extensively using her M4 droid but I didn't think they were armed.  Could I get some clarification on that?  If it was Fiarr will ask Mika to remove said weapon.  A messenger droid is a useful asset, equipping it with a weapon is not something Fiarr would do routinely (though there would be occasions).

**FOUR HOURS LATER - ~1700 local time**

Alert: Fiarr, Kyvarr, Mika, Catch

The airspeeder covered the distance to the relay station in just over two hours.  Fiarr parked a few blocks away from the building and then the four spent the next few hours familiarising themselves with the building.

The facility had a ten story building next to several hectares of transmission and receiving equipment.  The whole facility was surrounded by a fence with one entrance, with a guard station and two guards.  The building itself had two employee entrances and one service entrance.  Whilst the security was modest to moderate, it would only take one alarm for a heavily armed police force to be enroute.


OOC:  Fiarr, think it's time you laid out a plan.


Alert: Heigren, Dohr (?Sheila/Devon)

When the hoverlimo arrived at the spaceport exactly at 1700, Heigren and Dohr were resplendant.  The Zeltron in his tailored business suit and briefcase, the Kel Dor in full dress uniform of a DAF senior officer, complete with cane.

The limo driver, a human in a chaffeur's uniform parked and stepped out of the limo and moved over to the two men.  He didn't bother to ask if they were the ones he was here to pick up, the pair looked like they rode in limos all the time.  He gave a half salute and smoothly opened the door for the two to enter.

"Where to sirs?  And is there any more of your party to come?"


OOC:  Not sure if Devon and Sheila are coming with you or not and if so where you drop them off.  Either way it's time to get moving!
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:40, Thu 19 Mar 2015.

Fiarr watched the building for a while then turned to her team.  "Okay guys, my plan is simple.  Majority of staff will be knocking off for the day soon.  I noted yesterday there is a bar a few blocks away they tend to congregate at.  One such group had a Bothan woman in it.  My hope is to tail that group to the bar once more.  Once there we shall 'borrow' her ID along with another one for you Mika.  We shall use these to gain access."

"If they don't stop there I will have to do a little breaking and entering at the Bothan's home.  I followed her home from the bar in case she doesn't engage in revelry with friends every night."

"With luck and a little planning we should be able to use these ID's to get in, get our data and get out.  If these people don't dutifully check their bags I might even be able to return their ID's afterwards without their noticing.  Better to leave few loose ends."

"Kyvarr, you'll remain with the speeder.  I hope we have no use of you.  I have two jobs you may need to perform and both mean things have already gone wrong."

She looked to the team.  "Any questions or comments?  Need to be quick as they'll knock off anytime now."

Mika nods.  "So, you want me following you to the bar or what?"

If the bar is mostly maintenance sorts, Mika could probably move in and blend well enough.  It'd probably be best though if she keeps to the jizz-pops, but she wasn't much of a hard drinker anyway.

OOC:  Did we get clarification on if the M4 droids have built-in weapons?  Looking at the description in the Arms and Equipment guide, it does list that they have a sporting blaster pistol as part of their default configuration.

Heigren flashed his best grin at the chauffeur.  "Perfect timing my good man.  How delightful.  No its just us, just us."

"Now, the good Major has expressed a desire for a spot of fun.  I have heard there is a lovely club where people of his claibre attend.  I believe General Weisman himself left a personal invitation for us.  Let us go there."

Heigren gave the name of the club but not the address.  Any professional limousine driver should know how to find such an exclusive club.

After standing aside so Dohr could enter, Heigren slid into the back and luxuriated in the opulence of the vehicle.  He'd only been in the occasional limo before back on Phindar that belonged to a wealthy businessman or politician and each of those times he'd been too busy 'entertaining' a bored wife or mistress of said owner to enjoy the other creature comforts.  Despite Dohr's insistence on a basic limousine, Heigren had changed that.  It didn't pay to turn up to an exclusive club in base level equipment.


OOC:  The General was a made up name.  Not the one we're meeting. 

"It depends on if my target goes to the bar or not and how many people are there.  I can't determine what I need both of you to do until I get there.  I may need you in the bar or possibly rigging her vehicle to break down.  It all depends on what she does."

She sent M4-6 out to a hidden vantage point to watch for the speeder.  It had already been programmed with make, model and registration details.  She wished it had facial recognition too but she couldn't have everything!

She waited with the others at another location, near the connection to the main road.  This way they would be able to follow when M4-6 alerted them as well as serve as backup surveillance in case the droid missed the speeder.

OOC:  Wether the M4's carry a weapon or not, Fiarr's would have had hers removed and replaced with a small explosive package, powerful enough to obliterate the droid if needed.  If there was room left over she'd enhance the sensors and/or increase memory space.  The explosive she'd make herself and she'd ask Mika or Cor to do the modifications.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:11, Fri 20 Mar 2015.

OOC: The M4 droids do indeed come with a small blaster as standard and Cor bought a whole heap of these as standard so we'll assume they're armed.

Fiarr, I'm happy for you to have had M4-6's weapon removed and an explosive package installed (I'll roll to determine it's effectiveness).  But if you want further upgrades you'll have to arrange for Mika or Cor to do them at a later date.

Kyvarr sat in the driver's seat of the speeder and waited.  She'd parked their airspeeder somewhere close enough to watch for the speeder in question but far enough away to not arouse any suspicion.  She was used to Fiarr making plans 'on the go' as it were so was comfortable with it.  While she liked to develop a plan herself, she'd seen Fiarr in action enough to have faith in the Bothan's ability.

Mika lounges back in the seat and props her feet up on the side of the speeder.  "Guess we're in a holding pattern then, 'til we find out what's what.  Anything I can be doing to get ready while we're stuck waiting?"  She pulls out her datapad, starts flitting through the available options to see if she can get an overview of the place, at least see what it looks like.

"Work out what you need equipment wise and time wise to get the data.  I have to prepare a cover story for the guards.  I don't want to say we're performing maintenance.  Such jobs have to be logged and would be found by the maintenance people tomorrow.  I'd prefer just to be two workers who forgot their keys or to mail an important document.  All that is logged then is our attendance which is less likely to alert anyone.  But that relies on minimal gear and a short time frame."

Mika chuckles, "You want me to tell you what I need in tools and time to slice data on a system without knowing anything about the type of system, the security they got or even the layout of he building where it the system is?  I'll need the pad, my toolkit and Catch, the rest I'll tell you once I know what we're dealing with."

"Touché!" she replied to Mika.  After all Fiarr herself had been continually asked for a plan when she didn't have all the details.  She pondered Mika's new revelations.  She hadn't banked on Mika needing so much equipment.

"Take as little as possible.  I don't have the glib tongue our Zeltron does and trying to explain why we're bringing a R2 unit with us might raise too many red flags.  Is Catch essential?  Even a toolkit might be too much.  Can you make one small enough to conceal on your person?  At the least pop it in a bag or the briefcase in the back."
This message was last edited by the player at 22:20, Sat 21 Mar 2015.

"The way it works, the full equipment load will ensure the best chance of success.  The more I leave behind, the more likely we'll fail.  I'll take the data pad, maybe a couple of probes, that's about the minimum I can take and even bother to go on in.  Maybe they'll have some tools in house we can borrow once we're inside."

Dohr was surprised how easily and quickly the professional soldier mode switched on again. It had been more than a decade since he’d worn a DAF uniform last. How good it now felt to carry one after all those years even when it wasn’t the genuine thing. It was as if the time gone by was suddenly washed away and he was back at the barracks getting ready for a parade or something. Then again, walking around without his customary side arm made Dohr feel somewhat naked, but at least he had his trustworthy cane at his side.

As he had expected, Heigren took care of the small talk with the limo driver and Dohr let him. He enjoyed watching the Zeltron at “work.” The man was good, almost frighteningly good. It would’ve made little sense for the Doc to try and talk the way Heigren was able to and it would’ve fit his role poorly too. Therefore as the driver got out of his vehicle and moved to open the door, the Major simply nodded to him as a greeting and entered the back of the limo. The fact that their ride was far more luxurious than he had asked Heigren to get did not really surprise him. He knew very well how the other man’s species really took pleasure in such things. Instead of making him disappointed or angry, the upgrade in quality only made Dohr smile. He was in good hands.

Dohr and Heigrens ride was not only far more luxurious than the Kel Dor had asked for, it was far far more luxurious - and cleaner - than the taxi that arrived that Devon called for himself and Sheila.

"Come on."  he told the Slicer.  "Those two have got their comms and we're gonna be hangin' out in a tapcaf just up the road.  They can always yell for help if they need us."

Once the taxi had dropped them off, Devon quickly secured the two of them a table  from which they could peer out through the cafes open door and down the street at the club Dohr and Heigren had headed to.

Leaving Sheila to hold down their table, Devon ambled over to bar to order caf and some munchies to help the two of them pass the time.  Whilst he waited to be served he discreetly slipped his Talon commlink into his ear and subvocalized:

"Four, Eight - this is Seven.  Me an' three are in a caf about 400 meters west of your position.  Yell if you need help.  An' good luck."

OOC:  I'm sure it was said we could subvocalize with the Talon commlinks at some point?  If not, Devon wouldnt have used his commlink whilst stood at the bar :)

"I appreciate the less gear you take, the harder your job.  The counterbalance is the more you take the harder mine is.  Now I think you're better with computers and machines then I am at fast talk so take the least you feel you can get away with and hopefully do your job.  I doubt it's high security once we're in.  But tell me what you think you have to take and I'll try to think of something."
This message was last edited by the player at 04:51, Mon 23 Mar 2015.

Alert: Fiarr, Kyvarr, Mika, Catch

Fiarr's team did not have long to wait.  The Bothan was still discussing equipment with Mika when her M4 warbled an alarm.  Thirty seconds later the target speeder shot past.  Without waiting for instructions Kyvarr discretely began tailing the speeder.

The occupants of the speeder didn't seem to notice they were being tailed which wasn't suprising.  Even if Kyvarr hadn't been quite efficient at the job, they were simple technicians with no secrets worth stealing, or so they thought.

The speeder did indeed go to the bar Fiarr had saw it go to the night before.  Kyvarr pulled into a parking space nearby and they all watched as three women got out, one Bothan, two human.  They took a table inside and were soon joined by two human men from another speeder.  The group ordered drinks and began to talk.


Alert: Devon, Sheila

While their taxi smelled worse than a Hutt sewer in the middle of a gastro epidemic, fortunately the trip was mercifully short.  Devon and Sheila quickly exited, paid their fare and took their seats near the window.  They watched as Dohr's limo drove up to the main doors and Dohr and Heigren emerged and were quickly admitted.

OOC:  Need to know what gear (weapons/equipment) you have on you.


Alert: Dohr, Heigren

At Heigren request, the driver took the 'scenic route' giving the pair a first-hand view of the city and allowed them to enjoy the creature comforts the limo had to offer.  With the touring it took nearly twenty minutes to make the trip.  Devon's message came in while they were still admiring Coronet City from the air.

Admission tot he club was simplicity itself.  Heigren gave their names, they were checked on the register, found to have temporary guest access (courtesy of Sheila's techno wizardry) and were allowed in.

The main bar only held about a dozen people as it was still early evening.  The room boasted comfortable leather backed chairs grouped in various numbers.  Servers moved discretely taking drink orders, lighting cigars and arranging anything the guests wished.  Different people, all male, mostly human and all impeccably dressed in civilian dress, a few in uniforms, stood or sat and spoke to their companions.

Nearly everyone turned to appraise Dohr and Heigren as they entered.  Aliens were clearly rare enough to warrant a look, though most then went back to their conversations.  One group however seemed to stare at them.  Three men watched the pair closely.  One of the three had the uniform of an Imperial Army Major and he stared at Dohr with undisguised contempt.

They couldn't see anyone who matched the General's description as of yet.


OOC:  Well Dohr's getting noticed, though not by the people you'd hope!  Your General probably hasn't arrived yet.  Everything is free so enjoy yourselves, mingle or do whatever!

Fiarr observes from outside then looks to the others.

"Mika, I might need a distraction.  Could you look at the cars around.  How hard would it be to 'borrow' one or at the least set of an alarm?  Kyvarr, find yourself a seat at the bar and order a drink.  I'll let you know by comm.  I'm going to check out our targets.  If you have any ideas, please share."

For now Fiarr stayed in the speeder if she could observe the group from there.  If not she took a position as far away as possible that offered line of sight.  She needed to gather some information.


OOC:  What sort of ID's do they have (pictures on them or just cards)?  Do they have them attached to their clothes or hanging around their necks?  What are they drinking (i.e. alcoholic, non-alcoholic, etc).  How busy is the bar?

Heigren smiled.  "Looks like we've made some friends.  I'd suggest not talking to them!  I'm going to get a drink and then see what I can find out about our friend."

The Zeltron moved over to the bar.  He chose the bartender who looked the most experienced, ordered a glass of the best whiskey he had and began talking to him about various topics, steering the conversation as best he could to ask about the General, when he came, what his favourite drink was, as well as other noteworthy patrons.  Heigren let it subtlely slip he was looking for contracts for medical supplies, especially military ones.  Hopefully this cover story would help cover his questions.


Bluff: 38

Mika gives a chuckle.  "I've got a bit of background in hot wiring cars.  Call it a hobby from my youth. Depending on the car, maybe put in some basic instructions to get it to moving along a bit.."

OOC: Fiarr, the ID's are indeed cards that employees wear on lanyards around their necks.  One of the men and one of the (human) women has their ID on.  The other four don't have them visible.  So they've taken them off and placed them somewhere.  The group in question have ordered various drinks, two are having beer, two coktails, one wine, one looks like soft drink.  The bar is still fairly quiet.  People are drifting in after work but you don't expect it to get really busy for another hour or so.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:30, Wed 25 Mar 2015.

"Okay, here's the plan.  Mika, I can't see an ID on the Bothan.  She must have it in her bag or in her car.  Mika, Kyvarr, I have a little job for you.  At my signal, Kyvarr I want you to take your drink and begin walking past the target group's table.  Mika, you rush past her and bump her as if you're in a hurry to go home.  Kyvarr, you will fall into their table and spill all their drinks.  Try not to get the mess on anyone but yourself.  You'll apologise and offer to replace them all.  Mika you just keep heading out like you didn't notice or didn't care.  Any questions?  If not you two get in position and go when you're ready."

In the meantime, Fiarr moved and took a position at the bar.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:14, Thu 26 Mar 2015.

Kyvarr who was already sitting at the bar, raised her drink to cover her talking.  "Ten, Five.  Ready when you are.  Don't be gentle when you bump into me.  Make it look good."

As soon as Mika gave her the go ahead, Kyvarr will walk near the table and stop to look around as if hunting for friends she was meeting.

Mika hears the comments.  As soon as she gets the drift, she is a bit obvious with the comlink, making sure the volume is low enough not to be overheard.  Suddenly, she looks angry.  "You want me to do what?  I just got off work,can't it wait until tomorrow?". She pauses, "Damn it, why can't...  what?  Fine, I'll be there in five, but I better get overtime for it."

She turns and starts heading hurriedly towards the door, making sure her route takes her near the table in question, and near Kyvarrr.  She jostles a person or two on her way before she gets near Kyvarr.  She stumbles and falls into Kyvarr.  Mika's slight build almost requires a pretty solid contact to believably cause Kyvarr to fall on the table.  After the impact, she regains her balance, not wasting a glance at the Cathar or the table, muttering something profane and anatomically impossible about someone named Braxton.

Attention: Fiarr, Kyvarr, Mika

The little drama unfolds mostly according to Fiarr's script.  Mika lunges into the Cathar and feels like she's bounced off a brick wall.  For while both Mika and Kyvarr were of a similar height and build, Mika was slim and lean, Kyvarr was pure muscle.  The engineer bounced off Kyvarr and nearly stumbled into another table before moving on.

Despite the impact barely shaking her, Kyvarr immediately sprang into motion.  She went into a controlled lunge/fall, a familiar technique to her and crashed into the table, spilling drinks and snacks.  She did her best to not spill drinks on the occupants, but that was easier said than done and a few of the patrons scored slightly wet shirts and pants.  The Bothan woman was untouched though her drink was spread across the table.

Fiarr at the bar heard and saw it all.  She didn't think anyone but her had noticed that Mika's bump hadn't affected Kyvarr at all.  People turned and looked with distaste and amusement.  The barman yelled at the departing form of Mika but nobody gave chase.  Cleaning droids quickly came out and begin cleaning up the mess.


OOC:  Totally believable you could knock Kyvarr over Mika.  You're 'a bit over 1.5m' and Kyvarr is 152cm!  Difference is Kyvarr is stronger than you so has a more muscular physique but this wouldn't be obvious from your clothing
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:47, Thu 26 Mar 2015.

Fiarr cringed slightly as she watched Mika bounce off the Cathar.  She'd forgotten how tough Kyvarr was, something she thought she'd never do from the few sparring sessions she'd agreed to have with her.  Still Mika and Kyvarr seemed to have pulled off the charade.  She spoke into her comms, her voice covered by the commotion.

"Great work.  Kyvarr, quickly offer to buy them replacement drinks, if they accept come order at the bar, immediately to my right.  Mika, keep a low profile.  Don't need someone seeing you and causing trouble for you."

Kyvarr mumbles obscenities and curses as she pulls herself off the table.  "why that stupid little scrag.  If I catch that bitch I'll. . ."

"Sorry guys.  I'll replace your drinks, tell me what you want."

Once she gets the orders she'll go and stand by Fiarr at the bar as instructed.

"Very good.  Now when the bartender brings the drinks, touch the Bothan's drink with your left thumb.  Then when you pay, drop your credit chip behind the bar."

Fiarr got ready to work her magic.

Sheila has her datapad, stun baton, credits, a medipac (just in case) and id for Janine.

She ordered a beer.  "And now we wait."  She was dressed appropriately for the bar, not too slummy, but just plain clothes, hair in a plain ponytail.

If Dohr was one bit surprised to see the Imperial at the club, he certainly didn't show it. The place was still quiet and the General was not to be seen. Just as the doctor had hoped. He would be able to familiarize with the surroundings, make note of locations of the exists and the people present in order to be prepared for anything unexpected that might occur later on.

Not giving the Imp a second look or even a slightest bit of his attention, the Kel Dorian nodded to Heigren and looked around for a table suiting his purposes best. Normally Dohr would've wanted to sit with his back against the wall and one of the exists nearby. But tonight it would have looked strange and like he wanted to avoid attention. Therefore he made up his mind quickly and settled for a table with a good view at the stage, the rest of the room and the exit.

The Major made no move to go to the table alone, but patiently waited for a waiter to rush to his aid. It was clear that he was accustomed to good service and expected to see no less now. As the human attempted to lead him to a table close to another patron on the other side of the room, Dohr sternly said 'No.' and pointed towards the one he'd selected with his cane. With a bow, the waiter politely asked the doctor to follow him.

When the man left with his order Dohr sat straight-backed and observed the room. He returned the greeting of another human guest with a nod and quietly spoke on his comms unit: "Seven. This is Eight. We are in position. No sign of the target yet." Fortunately he did not have to worry about someone noticing the movement of his lips as he had none. The breathing apparatus nicely covered his whole mouth and didn't move as he spoke. It was good to be Kel Dorian... Except he was not sure it was. The DAF uniform had already attracted some unwanted attention...

---

OOC: Assuming Sheila also dug the blueprint of the club from the depths of the holonet and that Dohr and Heigren know the locations of the exits.

Mika heads off to the side, hoping to get out of sight, maybe near the lavatory or said booth or something.  Keeping a low profile was something of a challenge, but out sight, out of mind.  Since she feels the need to stay out of the main part of the bar, she starts looking for something else to amuse her.

**FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER**

Attention:  Fiarr, Kyvarr, Mika, Catch

Kyvarr followed Fiarr's instructions to the letter.  When the bartender brought the drinks Kyvarr stumbled and dropped her credit chip over the bar.  She then touched a particular drink with her left thumb.  It was all a bit over-exaggerated and would hardly score the Cathar a leading place in a theatre production but nobody was really paying attention to her.  The bartender was leaning down to pick up the chip and the other patrons were absorbed in their drinks or talk.

While Kyvarr's moves were a little wooden, Fiarr's were as smooth as silk.  So smooth in fact that Kyvarr missed Fiarr's slight of hand with the drinks and she was right in front of them!  In fact she was looking a little confused when the barman gave her her chip back.  But Fiarr gave her a reassuring grin and the Cathar took the drinks to the table.

Time passed quietly for about ten minutes then quite abruptly, the Bothan technician at the table stood up and rushed for the toilets.  Two of her friends rushed to join her.

---

Attention: Heigren, Dohr

While Dohr suffered glares from the Imperial and waited patiently for a drink, Heigren beguiled the bartender with his stories of the medical supply business.  The bartender was hooked, completely under the Zeltron's verbal spell.  Soon the bartender was treating Heigren like a long lost friend and sharing all kinds of information about the various patrons of the club.

When Heigren returned to Dohr's table ten minutes later, the Zeltron had learned all the bartender knew about the General.  Apparently he liked his scotch neat, a particular brand, his uniform tidy and loved nothing more than wiling away the time talking about his various campaigns.  Heigren had made a list of these to share with Dohr.  All this information would certainly improve the Kel Dor's chances.

Almost as if on queue, the General entered the club, took a table with two other men, an Army General and a Navy Captain.


OOC: Nothing like rolling a natural 20 is there Heigren?

---

Attention: Sheila, Devon

Time moved slowly for Sheila and Devon.  They nursed their beers and spoke quietly.  The bar they were in was starting to fill as more workers came in now their shifts were finished.  The odd hoverlimo or expensive speeder pulled up to the club across the road but otherwise all was quiet.


OOC: You've been nursing your drinks for 15 minutes.  The barkeep keeps looking at you two and the serving droid has asked twice if you'd like something.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:56, Mon 30 Mar 2015.

"Oh dear."  Fiarr mumbled to herself.  "I hope it wasn't something she drank."

She switched on her comm.  "She'll be busy for a while.  Mika, if you think you can do it quietly, now would be a great time to search the target's speeder for any ID's.  I'm going to check her bag.  Kyvarr, come up on the other side of the table and speak to them again.  Apologise for your clumsiness, complain about inconsiderate people, whatever."

Once Kyvarr was in position, Fiarr made her move.


OOC:  Do I make the rolls GM?
This message was last edited by the player at 23:15, Sun 29 Mar 2015.

Mika gives a quick, "Sure thing.". Mika heads out to the parking lot, grabs her gear from the speeder and moves over to the vehicle in question.  She gives it. Quick look to see what she'd need to start bypassing the lock and security alarm, if any.

Mika casually makes her way to the speeder and waits until all looks quiet.  Then she pulls out her tools and begins working on the lock.  In less than half a minute she's popped the lock and bypassed the alarm.

Sliding into the driver's seat like she belonged there she rummaged through the various storage spaces and in a bag on the floor.  Took less than thirty seconds to find something, an ID card in the bag.

Mika puts things back the way they were, as quickly as possible, and makes a hasty exit from the car and, assuming she manages to put a little distance between her and it, she calls Fiarr on the comlink.  "I found an ID, not the Bothan's though, some human woman named Lori Skeela.  The Bothan must still have it on her."

Fiarr was already moving away from the table and towards the exit as Mika called.  "Great work, keep the ID.  You can be Lori, I've secured the Bothan's ID.  Now we just need to regroup and we can move on to our actual mission.  Kyvarr, time to go."

Kyvarr did not respond on the comm, just quickly made her way for the door and headed back to the speeder, slipped in the driver's seat and waited for the others to arrive.

Mika nods, not that there's anyone there to see it, "See you at the speeder."

Once they get back to the speeder Fiarr looks at the ID's.  "Bothan looks enough like me, at least to a human's eyes.  If we have a Bothan guard we'll have trouble.  Though that's unlikely.  Yours doesn't look much like you Mika.  Hopefully they won't look to closely.  If they do, be sure your thumb obscured the photo like this."

Fiarr spends the rest of the trip, teaching Mika how to casually show her ID while partially obscuring the photo.  Not enough to make it obvious, but sufficiently that it covered enough of the picture to make it hard to see.  She then made Mika repeat it over and over until it looked natural.

She instructs Kyvarr to park somewhere close to the complex they wanted then instructed Kyvarr and Catch to get out.

"Stay on watch.  We'll comm if we need.  Mika, leave anything you can't explain if a guard stops us."  Fiarr herself carried the ID and a small pouch containing some basic tools she'd probably have a hard time explaining if caught with them.  This pouch she slipped inside her boot.  She carried no weapons.

Then Fiarr took the driver's seat and waited for Mika to be ready.  Then it was time for action.

Mika very quickly finds the repeatedly showing most of the borrowed ID card boring, bordering on bothersome.  But she puts a fair face on it and continues until Fiarr finally tires of the game.  When they stop to drop off Kyvarr and Catch, she's a bit surprised.  "So, we need backup, they get to sprint right on over?"

Going through her tool kit, she palms a couple of probes and puts them in her thigh pouch, then collects a multi tool which goes into a belt pouch with her comlink.  She carries her data pad in hand.  "Guess I'm ready.". It hadn't taken Mika much more then a couple of moments.

Fiarr shrugs.  "We can't walk on to the site and stealing a speeder is risky.  We can't exactly hide them in the boot.  I have no real intention of getting into a firefight but if we do I'd be more concerned about reinforcements then security on site."

She looks at Mika appraisingly.  "Do you have an alternative plan to suggest?"

Kyvarr growled in her throat but did not speak.  While she did share Mika's reservation about her not having transport she did know Fiarr generally knew what she was doing.  Besides, as the Bothan had said, Kyvarr didn't have a better plan.  She could plan an assault on the building that would have them all in and out with a minimum of casualties but she didn't do covert.  That was Fiarr's specialty.

Mika shrugs and shakes her head.  "Nope, maybe if we planned this out a little more in advance, we'd have worked out these little snarls, but that's water through the processing plant now.  We're here and it's more work to back off then to press ahead.  Besides, it's your party and your the boss, I'm just here to help.  It just strikes me as a bit odd, that's all."

Fiarr smiled at Mika and spoke patiently. "We'll I think it's planned out just fine. I'd love more time to fine tune some of the details but I'm quite happy with what I've got planned."

"I'm equally happy to go in solo if my methods are too 'odd' for you. But remember covert infiltration is my speciality."
This message was last edited by the player at 22:30, Thu 02 Apr 2015.

Mika shakes her head.  "No, no worries.  I'm here to help, not bail out at the first little thing.  I'm just more used to aligning alluvial dampeners then I am bluffing my way into communication centers.  So, let's go get it over with."

Fiarr grinned.  "To be honest, bluffing my way into communications centres is something I have no real experience with either!  I believe that's what the Zeltron is best at.  My specialty is getting in and out of places unseen and unheard.  I've had to improvise today as I'm not going in alone and we apparently don't have more time for something elaborate."

With a wave to Kyvarr and Catch, she moved the speeder back towards the communications centre at a little over the speed limit.  She was going to play the 'forgot something' role as best she could.

When she got to the gate she did her best to look flustered as she handed over her ID.  "Forgot to send a report to the boss.  Deadline is today.  If I don't do it now I can kiss my promotion goodbye."

The pair

While Fiarr may have claimed bluffing wasn't her specialty, Mika thought the performance the Bothan was giving the guard would have given Heigren a run for his money.  Even knowing the truth, Mika was almost willing to believe Fiarr.

The guard meanwhile had no hesitation.  He half glanced at Fiarr's ID and didn't even bother with Mika's before nodding and opening the gate.  The other guard didn't even look at them.

The guard intoned in a bored fashion.  "If you're going to be more than fifteen minutes let central security know.  Fail to do that and a late report will be the least of your worries."

He waved them through.



OOC:  Way to roll a natural 20 Fiarr!

Mika struggles to stay in character and not grin at Fiarr's virtuoso presentation.  As the guard warns them about timing.  She hadn't expected to have such a tight window.  If they could find a terminal fast enough, they have a chance to be in and out in under 15 minutes.  It'd be best to leave no tracks, but if they had to call central security, they'd almost certainly be on the heavy side of the hammer.

She lets Fiarr take the lead and follows along.  As soon as the guards aren't looking, she starts scrutinizing the place, looking for signs of a terminal they might use.

Fiarr quickly parked the speeder in an employee bay as close to the entrance as she could.

"That went better than I thought."  Fiarr said with a grin.  "If I thought security was this lax we could have brought your tools, and Catch, and Nijel too!  Too bad about the fifteen minutes.  I hope it's enough.  I've never been in here so I'm working from plans I've studied."

Fiarr moved to the entrance, swiped in if needed then made her way for the section she'd memorised, hopefully not getting them both lost.  She needed to move fast get Mika the maximum time possible to download the data they needed.

Kyvarr breathed a sigh of relief as she watched Fiarr and Mika get past the gate, apparently without problem.  She put her electrobinoculars down for a second and dialled Devon on the comm.

"Seven, Five.  They're in.  Will report when they're heading out.  Out."

"Thanks Five, keep me informed."  Came the response almost immediately.

In the bar, Devon sat back and looked faintly relieved.
"Well, no problems so far." he told Sheila, then looked at their almost empty glasses.
"Lets get another round."

He raised a hand to attract a nearby serving droid.

Lurking behind Kyvarr, Catch watched Fiarr and Mika disappear inside and let out a low hoot, then focussed its optical sensors on Kyvarr and whistled rapidly.
[Language unknown: "Red el oul beil u ter tr.  N po as samema ck ngllisarwh?"]
This message was last edited by the player at 09:31, Sat 04 Apr 2015.

Kyvarr turned to stare at the astromech a second, wondering what all the beeping and whistling was about then turned her attention back to her recon.

"Keep it down droid.  Last thing we need is to draw attention to ourselves."

[Language unknown: "Na nc echois.  In ers ai inalec o unmoncil eiil urprei."]

The contrite sounding warble was - in all fairness - far far quieter than previously.
The droid fell silent for a couple of minutes. Then hooted, equally quietly:

[Language unknown: "Ma ilio yinca werocknc con sifihasail os ainamered."]

Edited to get Catch speaking the right language!
This message was last edited by the player at 21:07, Sat 04 Apr 2015.

Kyvarr glared at the droid, wondering what it was beeping about this time. She wondered if the droid had an off switch or at least a mute.

Sheila nods and orders the equivqlent of nachos to go with the second round.   That should keep the bartender happy.

Mika continues to look about, trying to find an appropriate terminal she can try slicing.

While contemplating on the options of how to approach the General and only the General best, Dohr asked Heigren to get a bottle of the best three whiskeys each from the bar. It probably wouldn’t make much of a difference, but at least it would show (if the man noticed) the General Dohr was a whisky enthusiast as well. Starting a conversation didn’t always require big things… Besides the Doc liked to compare different “waters of life” and find new favourites on the worlds he visited.

The bartender had told Heigren the General loved to talk about his campaigns, so unlike Dohr had expected, the man had actually seen some action during his career. That was good. Another thing both soldiers could relate to. It would not be easy to get the other two officers to leave or the General to leave them though. Perhaps Dohr should’ve gone for a General’s uniform instead…

Attention: Fiarr & Mika

Fiarr leads Mika through an array of rooms until they reach the area she was looking for, the area of the building where the Bothan worked.  At this time of night there was the odd person around, mostly staff working late and some cleaning droids.  None gave the pair a second look.

Mika saw two possible access points for herself.  Firstly was the Bothan's desk.  With Fiarr standing beside her it would not look strange if someone was working there.  That is unless they knew Bothan's well enough to recognise Fiarr as an imposter.  Problem was, without any access codes, Mika would have to slice the system before locating the files she needed.

The second option was a small server room she'd seen.  It was possible she could bypass security by splicing directly into the data lines there.  Problem was that wouldn't be something routine if she was spotted, plus the job would be harder.


OOC:  To access the system via the computer is a computer use check.  To splice in will be a repair, splicing the lines will carry a higher DC (though this is offset by being a better mechanic and your tool kit will help).  Splicing also runs the (small) risk of discovery but is faster than slicing.

Either way, once you're in it will be a computer use roll to find the data.

So choose your method then make your two rolls (or I can make them for you).  Good luck.





Attention: Heigren & Dohr

Heigren went to the bar as instructed but returned with only one bottle.  The Zeltron explained that this was a high quality whiskey and the best of the 'standard range'.  Apparently the bar also had a 'platinum range' but they were paid for seperately.  Some of the drinks in that range were so rare you'd need to sell the Nightshrike and all the fighters just for a glass!


The whiskey Heigren brought is a very good one and would cost you around a hundred credits on sale anywhere else so it's still very high quality.

As Heigren left the table to fulfil his request, the Kel Dorian took out his data pad and browsed the Net for the history of the sector. He didn’t really concentrate on the results of his query as he was roaming through his memory at the same time too.

This wasn’t the first or the second time he’d come to Corellia. Dohr’s first visit to the world had taken place nearly two decades ago, when he’d joined his parents on a trip to the Core Worlds. He found out a lot later that the two jedi had been on a mission from the Dorinian government to scout the advances of the Separatist forces. He had been 18 at the time and hadn’t questioned why he’d been allowed to wander about alone in Coronet city. He’d simply revelled in being his own master for the time being.

Although the young Kel Dor at that time hadn’t yet taken his first steps on the military career, he’d already spent part of the time he should’ve used for studying medicine for reading military histories and tactics. It just so happened that the timing of the trip to Corellia was perfect with military campaigns in mind. During the month Dohr spent with his parents on the planet, the Separatist Confederacy launched an offensive against the Core systems they doubtlessly had been planning for months if not years. Later on, on their way back home, Dohr overheard his father calling it The Operation Durge’s Lance. Though ignorant of the whole event at the time, the name of General Grievous’s campaign stuck in his mind.

In 17 BBY the Clone Wars were over and the Emperor ruled large parts of the Galaxy with a steely hand. Dohr’s parents had only recently been killed by Lord Vader on his quest to destroy all surviving jedi. The young man himself had graduated from the university and was working for the Dorinian Armed Forces. With the DAF hololibraries fully at his disposal, Lieutenant Veen spent many evenings and nights finding out everything he could about Operation Durge’s Lance. It was there that he first stumbled on the name of Colonel Rennek Horn.

A couple of months later there had been another incident in Corellia which had picked Dohr Veen’s interest. The affair had been named Centerpoint Conflict and the name was the sole reason for him to notice the whole thing taking place at all. Dohr had gotten to know about the Centerpoint Station during his weeks in Coronet four years earlier. The moon-sized space station was a bit of an anomaly in the middle of the Corellian system. It was far older than the first known habitation in the area and some scientists said it had been used for transporting whole planets or stars through hyperspace. No one knew how it had been operated in its time nearly 100000 years ago.

The military reports and stories about the Centerpoint Conflict told of a pirate syndicate ran by a local ex-navy called Mal Commons who had taken over the Hollowtown inside the Station and planned to terrorise travellers both in- and outside of the Corellian system. Kel Dorian military masterminds believed the piracy had only been a ruse and Commons’s real intention had been to use the Counterpoint Station as a devastating weapon. But in those same reports the name of Rennek Horn popped up again. The Colonel hadn’t been the hero of the operation during which Mal Commons and his private army had been defeated. But the man had come up with a brilliant manoeuvre nowadays known as the Corellian Horn, which had helped him take out two destroyers with his smaller cruiser. That had gained the Colonel points in Dohr’s book.

But going through what he knew about General Horn, Dohr felt it wouldn’t hurt to know more. And while he might be able to find out something interesting on the Net himself, it would certainly take far longer than it would Sheila. Therefore, while Heigren was trying to find out what were the best whiskies for the situation, Dohr, speaking quietly, contacted Sheila over the comms.

”Three. Eight here. Could you quickly try to find out as much as you can about General Horn’s career and his part in repelling a Separatist operation called Durge’s Lance and in another campaign called The Centerpoint Conflict? Please send whatever you can to my data pad.”

Mika nudges Fiarr and nods towards the small server room she'd spotted.  In a low, but not whispered, voice she points out, "I can cut a bypass there faster then I can slice the system, long as you handle anyone who notices me.  Want me to try that or you'd rather I try slicing?"

Fiarr shrugged.  "Do whatever you think you can do fastest and without leaving a trace.  This is your area of expertise.  Then I'll get us both out and cove our tracks."

With Fiarr taking up watch, Mika moves into the server room and begins her work.  Things are going smoothly at first, then suddenly disaster strikes.  A simple slip has Mika cutting a critical cable she was attempting to splice.  Amazingly alarms didn't immediately go off but it was still an error that was going to come up on a maintenance board somewhere and likely a priority repair.


OOC:  Eeek.  Dice roller doesn't like you.  Rolled a 2!  Mika you've managed to make a mistake  and it will cause enough of a system problem, someone is likely to investigate.  You could risk trying to make it look like a natural error but you have no idea how much time you have.

Since no alarms have been tripped and Fiarr is outside the room, the Bothan has no idea of what's happened.

Mika mutters, "Son of a...."  In a bit louder voice, hopefully such that only Fiarr can hear.  "Got a problem, give me a few moments..."

The wiring should've been done on a M4-87 base, not this archaic K3F infrastructure.  Damn, but this wiring must all be ancient.  She takes a quick look about, seeing what could be used to mask her botched handy work.

"Umhum." Sheila spoke over the com quietly.  She pulled out her padd and started typing.  General Horn's carreer.  Durge;s Lance, Centerpoint Conflict.   find out as much as possible without tripping any alarms.   Once she has anything, she'l send it to Dohr's padd.


(OOC, rolled a 21 on computer use (1+20) eek.)

Attention: Sheila & Devon
Devon sat quietly as Sheila worked on her datapad.  Turned out there was a lot of information on General Verakt Horrn.  Sheila didn't peruse the data much.  Just saw he was Corellian and there had been crosslinks to the search criteria.  She finished downloading the data and began reading the highlights to Dohr whi didn't have a datapad.

Attention: Heigren & Dohr
Inside, Heigren sat quietly, sampling the different whiskys he'd acquired while Dohr listened to Sheila's report.  Beneath his mask, his face took on a look of simple confusion which moved to outright bewilderment.  Half the battles being mentioned happened before General Rennek Horn had even been born.  After several minuted Dohr finally realised and had Sheila spell out the full name of the man she was reporting on and the confusion ended.  Sheila had researched the wrong man!  This one had lived several hundred years before and several of the tactics and innovations he had caused had been cited in the more current battles.  Even turned out that Verakt Horrn, despite the different spelling was a distant relation to Rennek Horn.


OOC:  Natural 1 means a failure so sadly Sheila gave Dohr bad intel.  Luckily Dohr passed his military history roll or things could have gone REALLY badly!

So in short Dohr, another 5-10 minutes has elapsed and you've gained nothing for it, except Heigren has chosen the whisky he thinks is best.


Attention: Fiarr & Mika

Fiarr stood watch while Mika made her second attempt.  Mika cursed under he breath.  Something was really wrong tonight.  She silently blamed Fiarr, her lack of tools, the wiring, that fizz pop she'd drunk before coming, the weather.  But something was off.  The wiring she was attempting to splice was slow and difficult.  She'd frayed and singed enough wiring to make it look like a drunken wookie electrical apprentice had been at work.  Finally after five minutes she got her splice in.  Then her next set of troubles hit.  The server did not run on any operating system she was familiar with.  It seemed some weird internal hybrid that made no sense to her.  Even running simple requests were proving difficult.

Outside in the hall Fiarr waited impatiently.  It seemed to be taking too long.  Still Fiarr had emphasised the need for stealth so she kept quiet.  Though now she had reason to worry.  A trio of humans were heading their way.  One was dressed like security, the other two carried tool kits.  They could have been going anywhere but Fiarr found it coincidental they were coming in their general direction.  None of the trio looked alarmed.  One of the maintenance men was reading off a datapad while the other two conversed.





OOC:  Dice roller doesn't like this group!  Natural 1 for Sheila and two rolls <4 for Mika!  Luckily Dohr's dice still like him.  Let's hope that holds when he actually speaks to the General!

Mika, Sheila, remember since we can't explain dice rolls in RP we need to make reasons why skilled people did so badly.  I've done a basic premise for both of you but it's really up to you to flesh out.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:59, Sun 12 Apr 2015.

Fiarr keyed on her comm and whispered into it.  "Heads up Ten.  Got what looks like a maintenance team and security guard heading our way.  Not sure where they're headed but you might want to make yourself scarce."

Aiming to buy time and find out their purpose, Fiarr did something unusual for herself, she made herself be noticed.  Walking over to the group she smiled cordially, casually blocking their path.

"You guys being forced into unpaid overtime too?"

Heigren watched Dohr with patience and interest.  He was more challenging than many to 'read' as his mask obscured his face, but there was more to just expressions to guage.  Problem was he had limited experience with Kel Dorian's so he was still learning.  He could tell Dohr was nervous.  That much was obvious.  Obsessing over little details at the last minute.  Sometimes you just had to play your cards and hope your hand was better.

He pushed one of the whisky glasses towards Dohr.  "This one's the best in my opinion.  But whisky is a personalised taste.  Maybe you should just go with the one the bartender said was his favourite.  I'll run interference with the other two if you can draw your man away."

He was more worried about that last comment then he let on.  He had to hope his product line was enough.  He'd found no other inroads.  Apparently the other two had no particular vices, no particular love of gambling or anything else he could target.  He'd have to wing it.  But that suited him just fine.  Roll the dice, play your hand.  Win or lose, didn't matter, it was how you played.

The three people stop in surprise as Fiarr steps in front of them.  They don't seem overly bothered by her.

"Nah, just some sort of glitch in the server room.  Have to go check it out." replied one of the maintenance men.  "Security has to come along in case we're under attack or something.  Protocol or some rubbish."  The guard nods, agreeing with the maintenance officer his presence was a joke.

Fiarr laughed.  "Suuure.  Probably under attack by droids or clones or something.  Perhaps you should get a riot team in!"

She shrugged.  "Well my bosses report is done.  I'm off home.  Be sure to tell me tomorrow if you capture any terrorists."  She chuckled again and casually walked off.

Once she was out of earshot she whispered in her comm.  "Ten, you're about to have company.  Get out, get out now.  I'll meet you at the stairs."

Mika couldn't believe what a dismal show she was putting on.  Even with the archaic wiring and an unfamiliar operating system, she'd have been willing to put some credits down that she'd be able to pull a patch without anyone being the wiser.  But by all that's holy, should couldn't even attach a probe without interrupting the security circuits.

Hearing Fiarr, it was time and maybe past for her to cut her losses.  She gathers up her data pad and the few probes she brought and makes for the door.  Fiarr had said it'd be her job to get them out.  Mika could only hope Fiarr was better at doing her job than Mika had been.

OOC:  I'll take the blame for the dice roller, any roll I make on any game I'm in, the scores have been nothing short of dismal lately.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:00, Mon 13 Apr 2015.

Alert: Fiarr & Mika


In this situation, Mika's lack of tools proved to be a godsend as she merely palmed her probes, and quickly slipped out the door.  She pulled the door shut none-too-gently and ducked around the next corner.

Her moves had hardly been what you'd call stealthy but the trio approaching weren't paying attention either as two continued their conversation over last nights laserball match and the other worked on a datapad.

Mika ducked around the corner, pocketing her probes as she walked.  In less than thirty seconds she was back with Fiarr near the stairwell.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:31, Mon 13 Apr 2015.

Fiarr was waiting at the stairwell, when she saw Mika she grabbed her arm and began walking down the stairs with her.

"Keep heading down.  Casually get into our speeder.  If you think there's trouble then go, don't wait for me.  If I'm more than five minutes behind, go.  Stay on comms."

Fiarr left Mika to keep walking down while she slipped out the stairwell on their current level, one below where they had tried to slice the information.  A few moments later her voice came through Mika's comm.  She keyed in Kyvarr as well as the Cathar should know there may be trouble.

"Ten.  Are we compromised?  Did you get the data?"

Mika nods and follows orders.  When the comlink chirps, she answers with a resigned, "Probably, but not certainly and no, I couldn't crack it.  Figured it was time to cut our losses."

"Understood Ten.  Five, keep an eye on the gate.  If there is any apparent increase in security or activity let us know."

"Six, Five.  Understood."

She turned to the droid.  "Catch, keep your scanners active.  If any vehicle or person approaches I want to know."  She thought for a moment, remembering their earlier issue.  "One long beep for a speeder, two for a person, three for imminent threat."

Kyvarr left Catch in his location and crept forward as close as she dared without risking her position.  She opened her bag and ensured her weapons were ready to go if needed.  Then she returned to watching the guards through her electrobinoculars for any sign of change.

What? Cannot be? Oh… Now I realise. She has got the wrong Horn. Damned. It seemed Dohr would have to do with what he knew already about the General. Sheila hadn’t been able to help and there was no more time to correct her and wait for more intel. If Dohr wanted to act, it would have to be now.

The Kel Dorian nodded to Heigren. ”Fair enough. I believe you are right. Personally I would certainly appreciate my own favourite over someone else’s.” The Doc wasn’t much of an actor… Actually he was probably one of the worst the galaxy had ever seen. But fortunately he didn’t really have to act when he glanced a few times at the General as if to try and recognise him and then started to explain to the Zeltron why the man was famous. Dohr nodded at the Corellian more than a few times and used his hands in an attempt to elaborate to Heigren the beauty of the Corellian Horn. In fact the doctor’s voice got more than a bit excited as he explained the events of the Centerstation Conflict and what might have happened if that pirate Commons had been able to harness the device’s power to be used as a weapon.

When he noticed a waiter passing buy, Dohr waved her to their table. ”My dear, could you please tell me if it really is the famous General Rennek Horn sitting over there with the other two gentlemen? I would really like to buy the man a double of the lovely 21 year old Coronet Black you have available here at your wonderful club. Please tell him it is from a ‘Fan’.”

Mika continues on towards the speeder and gets into the drivers seat.  She looks around, wishing that Fiarr would hurry up.  Now that she had down time while waiting, she has too much opportunity to think about not only how she failed in her job, but to the full extent of how miserable a failure she had been at trying to do her job.  Fiarr would've been better off taking Catch in with her.

Alert: Team Fiarr

Mika spent a nervous two minutes waiting, wondering when the alarms were going to go off.  She couldn't help but jump when Fiarr slid silently into the seat beside her.  She hadn't seen her approach despite looking around anxiously for guards and the Bothan.

Without a word, Mika slid the speeder out of it's stall and moved towards the gates calmly.  Fiarr waved to the guard who showed as little interest in their departure as he had their arrival.  Then they were out.

It took less than a minute to collect Kyvarr and Catch and the group was on it's way again.  It appeared they'd made it.


OOC: Well you don't have the info but you're out!

---

Alert: Team Dohr

The waiter took Dohr's order and moved off.  A minute or so later the waiter supplied the drink and Dohr could see the waiter point at him for the General's benefit.  Horn sipped the whisky thoughtfully for a moment then stood.

He walked with the precision of a career soldier.  His eyes moved neither right nor left as he honed in on the Kel Dor.  He stood near the table staring for a moment, examining the uniform.

"Do I know you. . . .Major?" he guessed correctly.


Showtime!  In diplomacy terms the man is 'indifferent' to you.  To get him to share confidential information you have to get him to 'helpful'.  A Diplomacy roll will determine it (DC25) but the way you manage things will determine if I add and bonuses or penalties.  Good luck!
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:32, Thu 16 Apr 2015.

It's a rather subdued Mika that drives along.  Finally though, she says, "think we should ditch the speeder?". She didn't bother to elaborate on her thoughts, figuring Fiarr would be thinking much the same, that if someone back at the comm station put two and two together, seeing evidence of the failed slice attempt in conjunction with the car leaving.

Fiarr shook her head.  "It's a rental and I switched the ID tags on it before the mission.  Even if someone magically found this car I paid in cash and used the fake ID Zyra gave me.  I think we're safe."

She looked at Mika.  "What exactly happened?  I need to know so I can determine if we need to cover our tracks further."

Before Dohr could respond, Heigren threw his hands in the air.  "Thank you." he said in apparent relief.

He stood and vigourously shook the General's hand.  "You must be the great General Horn.  I'm afraid I've never heard of you but the Major here won't stop talking about you.  It's all 'Durge's Lance this' and 'Centrepoint Conflict that'.  I think he's auditioning for president of your fan club."  Heigren was glad Dohr had called Sheila for help.  He wouldn't have had those key words otherwise!

"I swore if he didn't speak to you I was gonna challenge him to a duel.  Now I'm going to see if I can find a good game of cards, an aged scotch and some genial company.  Enjoy talking war gentlemen."

Heigren moved off towards the bar.  Whilst a card game was still on his mind, the stakes would no doubt be high, he needed to stay close in case he needed to run interference on the General's drinking buddies.


Bluff: 35! - I'm guessing he buys the story, now it's your turn to dazzle him boss!

Mika sighs.  "I don't what's wrong with me.  I tried to do a simple patch into cable, but I didn't catch that it was an ald K3F wire, so instead of cutting into the passive conductor line instead of the tertiary dateline.  So Ihad to assume it triggered an alarm on their grid.  Then after fraying the whole cable, I got the right conductor and got connected, but it was home grown system I've not seen before.  I started a debug routine, figure out it's architecture, but the I got a green screen, locked up completely.  Then you said it was time to bug out.  I didn't waste time trying to hide anything.  Even a labor droid could probably figure there was an attempt and narrow it don to the server room inside five minutes."

Fiarr chuckled good-naturedly.  "I can confidently say I understood about twenty percent of what you just said Trake.  Based on what I understood there was some wiring damage and maybe some computer compromise.  Will they definitely suspect sabotage or do you think it's possible they'll think it's accidental damage or the like?  Remember it's a civilian monitoring station we were in, hardly a military stronghold.  People will be slow to believe terrorists are trying to steal satellite sensor data."

Dohr was about to stand up when Heigren jumped up and beat him to it. The Kel Dorian waited until his friend had finished up his smooth talking and had to force himself to remain totally calm instead of laughing out loud. The Zeltron was good… Not good. The best. Dohr’s initial feeling had been a mix of surprise, frustration and anger as Heigren had interrupted his plan and thoughts, but it was immediately washed away by his amazement at the man’s skill.

As Heigren finished up his last sentence Dohr quickly stood up and spread his arms apolitically. ”Please accept my apologies for my associate’s impolite behaviour. I may indeed have bored Vyn with my fascination over military tactics as he is not a man of the military himself.” Bowing customarily to his species, the Major continued: ”Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Major Dohr Veen, of Dorinian Armed Forces. And I regrettably do have to admit that I have not had the pleasure of meeting you in person before, General Horn.”

Bowing again, the Kel Dor beckoned at an empty chair at the table. ”But I forget my manners. Please, have a seat. I would be an honour, if you could spare a moment of your time and share a drink with a… fan of your tactical and leadership skills.” It is clear that the Major doesn’t use the word fan lightly and feels somewhat uncomfortable about it. He is after all a professional soldier himself and not exactly a young man anymore. But given the circumstances, it is the only fitting word that he could think of. He does truly admire the brilliant mind behind the Corellian Horn.

---

OOC: Hopefully Heigren’s beautiful roll paves the road for Dohr’s attempt at diplomacy. But I could’ve done worse with the roll myself.
11:31, Today: Dohr Veen rolled 30 using 1d20+11. Diplomacy.
:)

Mika shrugs, "The smart money is on they'll figure out it's deliberate damage.  Still, maybe it's blatant enough that they'll assume it couldn't be on purpose or here would be some attempt to hide it.  Still, I'd guess they'll figure out it was deliberate."

"Well these things happen.  At least it's unlikely we'll be chased off planet by squads of stormtroopers and TIE fighters.  Hopefully Dohr and Heigren have more luck.  Else we'll just have to work out a new plan."

"Now head for the nearest spaceport and you guys can catch a suborbital back.  I've got to do a little final housecleaning before I return.  Need to put those ID's back where we found them.  I'll be back at the ship by morning.

After a few minutes of reading and Dohr's correction, Sheila realised she had really screwed up.  And in front of Devon too.  She turned bright red.  "Oh gods."  She slumped back in her seat.  "I think i'm just gonna go shoot myself."

Too late now.  She buries herslef back in the padd, looking for the actual information he wanted.  If she could find the battles, maybe it would be useful for later.  And it gave her something to do rather than look at Devon.

(OOC, I assume that she won't actually find the requested information until later, but it's something she would do.)

Dohr and General Horn quickly fall into conversation over battles past.  The General quickly warmed to Dohr's natural flair and military knowledge and soon one drink became several.

Dohr worked patiently, slipping in little hooks to the conversation to steer it the way he wanted it.  It was slow work as the Kel Dor didn't want to make the General suspicious, instead he had to settle for a comment here, an innuendo there and the occasional statement.

After nearly an hour or so the General looked at his chrono in suprise.

"My goodness, where has the time gone?  I have to go."  He stood and shook Dohr's hand vigorously.  "It's been a pleasure Major.  I could use a man like you on my staff.  Just say the word and I could arrange your commission."

He hands Dohr a business card, nods and leaves.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:51, Sat 18 Apr 2015.

Seeing that Dohr had everything under control Heigren moved off about ten minutes after the General sat down with him.  Instead he went hunting for a good card game, good gossip or if all else failed a cozy companion to while the time away with.  He primarily hunted for a card game.  His funds were almost gone and this was a place to win big sums fast.

A dejected Mika makes her way towards a space port.  Pulling up at a convenient place to get out and let Fiarr take the controls.  "C'mon Catch.  Kyvarr, you heading back with us or sticking with Fiarr?"

Mika will handle the tickets, for Kyvarr too, if the Cathar joins her and Catch.

In the bar, Devon sat there and tried not to fret.
He wanted to call both teams up and ask for status reports at about a thirty second interval, but he'd been around Mark long enough to know that was a bad idea.  He had to trust them, not let his worrying make him interfere and distract them.

Did Mark feel like this during every mission?

So instead of melting the comms with constant traffic, he let Sheila get on with her data-mining and munched his way through the nachos she had ordered.  It was going to be a long night...

Dohr was just as surprised as General Horn to notice they’d been chatting away for nearly an hour. In all honesty he had to admit to himself that it had been the most pleasant information gathering assignment he had been on for a long, very long time. In another time, in another place, Dohr could have imaged himself working with Rennek Horn... But even then the Corellian’s words did come as a surprise to the Major. ”I could use a man like you on my staff.” It made Dohr straighten his back in pride another couple of degrees. But being the soldier he was, Horn was also the Imperial he was expected to be. He clearly did not question the decisions made by the leaders of his people and did his work to the best of his abilities. Dohr wasn’t one to say never easily, so he could and would not rule out the possibility of them being on the same side one day. But that day was not today.

He’d stood up with the General. And after shaking the man’s hand and accepting his card,  gave him a courteous bow. ”The honor has been all mine, Sir. I have enjoyed immensely talking with a fellow officer and especially one I hold in great esteem. And I will certainly keep your offer in mind. It may well be that I will get weary of this role of a marketing mannequin very soon. Thank you.”

Dohr waited until the General had left before he sat down again and emptied his glass slowly. The operation had gone well, incredibly well. It had taken a lot of circling around and leading the conversation furtively to the right direction all the while making sure the General did not notice his ulterior motive. He was fairly certain Horn had not been suspicious of him. As a doctor he’d learned to read people and their feelings a long time ago and his guts said everything had really gone as well it had seemed. But just to be on the safe side, it would be best for him and Heigren to leave the club asap.

”Seven, Eight here. Mission complete. Heading back to BoO with Four now.” Dohr knew Heigren had heard him too. He looked around and noticed the Zeltron at a card table. He stood up and walked over. ”Well Vyn, cleaned up the house yet? I am getting tired and we have got a long day tomorrow.”

Dohr had found Heigren in another room of the club, deeply engrossed in a card game.  Dohr had been shocked at the amount of credits on the table.  It wasn't possible Heigren had this kind of cash.  The pot held enough credits to buy the limo outside that waited for them!  Heigren was either wealthier than he let on or was playing very high risk.

The Zeltron had refused to leave when Dohr urged him and the other players had offered to have their bodyguards 'escort' Dohr from the premises.  When an appeal to Devon had been answered with a 'let him play', the former Major had left alone and returned to the spaceport without incident.  Sheila and Devon, no longer needing to hide, met the limo outside their cafe and rode back to the spaceport in oppulent luxury, a reverse of their taxi trip in.

Once back at the ship, Dohr and Devon disappeared for a private chat where Dohr explained the basics of what he had learned.    Sheila headed for her cabin.  She sensed they would be moving early in the morning.

Mika, Kyvarr and Catch arrived a few hours later.  They'd received comms enroute advising them to grab what sleep they could as they'd be a briefing at dawn.  Catch was instructed to ensure the ships were all checked during the night.

Fiarr returned to the ships about two hours later and quickly retreated to bed.

Heigren was the last in.  He staggered into the spaceport about an hour before dawn.  For someone who had been up all night, he looked suprisingly alert.

---

Sunrise next day

As instructed, Catch moved around and woke all the Talons up at dawn, reminding them there would be a briefing in the dining room of the Nebula Drifter in thirty minutes.  Luckily there were two ships and 'freshers in the hangar to choose from as suddenly wash facilities were in high demand!



OOC:  Devon decided the news could wait until morning and that Heigren could have his night of gambling.  Thus I have fast forwarded to next day.  Time for one of those planning meetings!

Most of you would have had time for sufficient sleep unless you did something else the night before.  Only Fiarr and Heigren had shorter sleeps.  Fiarr would have got 4 hours tops and Heigren could barely have managed one!

Mika wakes up slow, but as soon as she realizes what's up, she moves quickly, wanting to get one of the on-board freshers.  It doesn't take her long to clean up and make herself marginally presentable.  She stops by the control room and does a quick systems check on the ship, make sure that Catch didn't have any issues she should review.  Then she grabs a few fizzpops, a bag of something crunchy, spicy and not particularly nutritious.

She's one of the first in the dining room, putting her back to a wall so she can watch the others coming in.  She fidgity, obviously anxious and ill at ease.

When Mika made her way through the kitchen she found Heigren already there.  He has several frypans going, something in the ovens, a brewmaster preparing caf and a juicer in action.  When he saw Mika come through he smiled but then frowned at her choice.

"Won't do, won't do.  You need a nutritious breakfast to start the day.  Give me ten minutes and I'll have a hearty breakfast, nutritious breakfast juice of my own recipe and lots of coffee.  You won't be disappointed!"

He busied himself, getting food ready for everyone for the briefing.

When Catch came to wake up Kyvarr he found her cabin empty, her bed neatly made.  Normally the Cathar woke at dawn for her morning workout but given Devon's wish for an early briefing she had risen an hour early.  Dressing quickly she'd headed out into the hangar where she had set up a workout station for herself.  Lacking gym equipment she'd used whatever heavy equipment and machinery she could find as well as making a jogging circuit around the hangar bay.

Lacking time she completed an intense thirty minute workout, committing to make the time up this evening.  Then showering and drying, she accepted one of Heigren's fruit drinks before heading to the dining room to ensure everything was set up in preparation of the Commander's briefing.

Sheila came sleepily through the corridors, following her nose.  "Oh my," was her response to Heigren and his pans and the smell coming from there.  "You'll make someone a wonderful wife. or heck, just open a restaurant. you'll be rich."  She halted a moment.  "You need any help?  Anyrhing I can do?"

Yawning and with his hair still damp from the shower, Devon arrived in time to hear Sheila's 'wife' comment.

"The hell with that - I'm appointin' Heigren our official Morale Officer.  Now gimmie some of that caf."

Once he was loaded down with a mug of caf and a suitably artery-clogging breakfast, Devon headed off for the dining area.  Briefing stuff to do.  Sometimes being in charge was too much like hard work....

Nodding a good morning to Kyvar, Devon dropped into a seat and yawned again, then busied himself with his breakfast whilst he waited for everyone else to arrive.

---

Once the whole merry band had gathered, Devon pushed aside his (now-empty) plate and sat forward.

"OK, we got through the night and no-ones gotten themselves shot or arrested.  So what have we got?  Fiarr, Dohr - you guys wanna tell us what you've learned?"

Fiarr had briefly considered attaching a small explosive device to Catch when he woke her up after so little sleep.  The thought of droid parts flying in every direction was a nice balm for her weary body for a second.  But the effort involved in doing so felt too much right now.

She stumbled out of bed, showered and pulled her clothes and fur into some semblence of order.  Wandering into the kitchen she mumbled "Caf.  Strong.  Lots.  Now!"  Once she had a 'Cor-sized' mug of strong caf she made her way to the briefing.  She was probably late but she didn't care.

She was half-dozing in her caf when Devon spoke.  She quickly took a big drink of her drink to vitalise her then looked at Devon.  "I'm afraid to say my mission yielded no information useful to our goals.  I have been considering alternate plans. . ."  She stopped to yawn and have another drink.  Caf now, plans later.  She'd wait until others spoke. . .and she'd woken up more.

Mika looks down at the table, not willing to meet anyone's eyes.  "My fault, seems I'm a better mechanic than a slicer."

Fiarr shook her head.  "My plan, my fault Mika.  You were unhappy from the start about going in without equipment or the astromech.  I forced you to improvise.  I focused on stealth at the cost of your needs.  The fault lies with me."

Heigren didn't sit with the team initially, he had nothing to really add.  Instead he busied himself with breakfast.  When Sheila offered to help he waved her out.  He'd tried to prepare food to each person's taste.  He'd enjoyed the challenge and even taken to giving them names.  Devon's breakfast was "Grease Pit", "Death by Protein" for Kyvarr, "Junk Food Overload" for Mika, "Assassin's Powershake" for Fiarr and so on.  He ensured there was plenty of caf and that the serving droid would keep it coming.

Then he dropped into his own seat.  Today he was enjoying "Tooth Decay Invasion" as he called it.  He'd need to stock up on the ship's supply of sweetener after this.  Waffles, pancakes, syrups, chocolate sauce, and various other delicacies were the order today.  He was wondering if he would have time to work off the excess fat later.  A workout with the Cathar would take care of that, but their ideas on what such a workout would entail would undoubtedly be different.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:47, Wed 22 Apr 2015.

Dohr was the last to arrive, not because had slept longer, but because he had taken his time to dry wash and fold away the Major outfit provided to him by Heigren. It had served him well, but there was no way he would be wearing it constantly. Perhaps he would need the uniform again one day, perhaps not. But until he did, he would be Dohr Veen, doctor of medicine. The Major had retired, again.

While the suit was in the washer, the Kel Dorian sat on floor of his cubicle in the mediation position his mother had taught him thirty years ago. Eyes closed, Dohr went through the events of the previous night in his mind. He knew he had done well himself, but at the same time he was well aware that he could not have accomplished much without the help of the rest of team. Sheila’s hacking and Heigren’s… personality, they were the perfect base he had been able to slowly build up his successful approach. But he still shook his head in disbelief as he thought about the coincidence of the General being the very same Rennek Horn he had studied as a young man a long time ago. There were other famous Corellian officers of course, but Horn had been a perfect target for their purposes. Unbelievable luck… Or as Mother would have said: The Force moves in mysterious ways.

Entering the kitchen just when Fiarr was giving her report, the Doc waited politely until she and Mika had finished before bowing customarily. ”Good morning everyone. Please forgive me for being late.” Dohr accepted a cup of caf suitable for his kind from Heigren, quietly took a sip and savoured the taste before sitting down. Before eating anything, the Kel Dor cleared his throat and spoke up. ”I am happy to see you three got out safely and no one got hurt. Do not blame yourselves for your lack of success, any of you. There was very little time to plan and complete the task and no time to do any research on the systems they are using.”

Dohr took another sip of the brew and nodded to himself. ”Fortunately, the gods of luck decided to smile upon us when we met General Horn. I had a longish talk with the General and managed to dig some information out of him without him realizing our true intentions…”

”As we already had guessed, it seems there really was a meeting between several "companies" specializing on our line of business here in Corellia approximately one month ago. Many important figures of the different groups were present, including the Imperial Senator, or formerly so, Garm Bel Ibis.”

Dohr stood up and grabbed something to eat from the table. ”Horn also said there had been a Jedi present in the meeting, but he knew nothing more about him or her. I find it hard to believe that a real Jedi would have survived Vader’s purge, but then again, the Galaxy is enormous. Who knows…” He could not help the thought of his sister rising to the surface of his mind from somewhere very far and deep. The sister he had never met…

”Vader… He was here. He brought a full attack fleet with him and caused severe damage to the resistance groups. Many people died in the attack and only a few got away. The leaders were in the middle of a meeting and were not able to avoid capture. Unfortunately for us and much to the disappointment of the good General Horn, the Imperials rounded up the captives and moved out of the system without informing the Corellians of their plans…”

There was an agonising silence of five or six seconds before Dohr’s voice was heard again through his vocalizer, this time with a hint of optimism in it. ”But luckily for us, the General has really talented and smart people working for him. One of his comms specialists had “caught” an Imperial transmission with their destination: the Atrivis Sector on the Outer Rim. Imperial.”

Kyvarr moved quickly and began typing away on a datapad before her.  Quickly a large screen she had set up in the dining room showed the ship's navigational data on the Atrivis Sector.

She peered at it wonderingly.  It was deep in the outer rim.  She knew nothing about the area but figured she would soon need to think about an assault.  If Mark and Zyra were alive, and she personally rated their chances slim, it was possible she'd need to lead a ground rescue team.  She'd never broken into a prison before.

Mika, feeling not so self-pitying with the news that it seems that Dohr got some useful information..... If it could be trusted.

"Sounds like some pretty detailed information for a dinner party.  You think we can trust it?  I'd hate to fall for a trap.  But who's this Vader guy you're talking about?  You say it like we should know who he I'd."

Fiarr looked surprised at Mika's ignorance of Vader.  The Bothan had far more access to intelligence than her, but Vader wasn't exactly low-profile.  "Seriously, you haven't heard of Vader?  Supreme Commander of Imperial Forces, Emperor's right hand man, 2 metre tall guy in full black body armour including helmet and cape?  Only person in the galaxy who openly wears a lightsaber?  Not sure if I should be surprised or envious.  Nobody who meets that guy enjoys the experience.  Rumour has it he's murdered more Imperial Admirals and Generals in the past 5 years than all assassins in the entirety of the Clone Wars!"

Dohr too was surprised. He would’ve thought everyone knew who Lord Vader was. Many of those murdered Generals had been Jedi... But not everyone cared about the core of the galaxy and what took place in the big world. Some people had more than enough to worry about in their own lives and rightly so. The galaxy was huge and the girl was young. She had not seen the Clone Wars or its aftermath. But Fiarr had said enough. There was not much else Dohr could tell about the man anyway.

”Can we trust the information? I see no reason why we couldn’t. We are little fish. There would be no need to arrange an ambush in a remote star system even if Horn was on to us. He could have had us followed and taken into custody or simply shot. Could it still be an ambush? Perhaps so. Perhaps the General is the best actor I have ever seen. However it may be, the Atrivis Sector seems to be the only lead we have right now…”

”But what seems strange to me is that the Empire knew exactly when and where to attack. It managed to take the resistance guards and scouts by surprise and the leaders had no chance of escape. Seems to me like there is a spy in their network.”
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:57, Fri 24 Apr 2015.

Devon nodded agreement with Dohrs comments regarding Fiarrs mission.  Sometimes you just didnt get lucky - didnt have the time you needed to do the job right.  But still, the lack of data was not encouraging.
"Good work, Doc.  And your team."
Devon paused long enough to drain his caf mug.
"Actually, good work all of you.  We may not have gotten as much information as we wanted, but it looks like we got away clean.  I'll call that a win."

In response to Fiarrs explanation of who Vader is, Devon added:
"Never met the guy, never even SEEN him except on the news.  Hell, dont think I ever been on the same planet as him.  But I've heard the rumours - he's one brother you dont wanna mess with.  Rumour says this guys got some kinda crazy magic going for him; spooky stuff.  Can read your mind, see the future.  Blasters dont hurt him.  Crazy things like that. 

Devon peered up at the screen Kyvarr had set up, trying to gather his thoughts, get the meeting back on track.
"Ok.  Lets assume they were at the meeting.  I figure there's three basic options to consider."

Devon started counting on his fingers
"Option one:  They were killed during the raid or captured and executed.  Would there be a way for us to confirm this?

Option two:  They were captured and are still alive.  So presumably they're where Vader is.  We'll need to track them more accurately and get on their trail fast.

Option three:  If they aint dead, and they aint in custody... they must have escaped some how.  Dohr said a few people made it out alive.  So they're on the run now.  And probably think they got Imperial Agents on their tail.  How do we track them better than the Empire can?

Did I miss anything?  And if not, tell me how we go about eliminating options and tracking down our people."

Mika shrugs.  "I'm a swoop jock, politics and wars and th news and all wasn't happening in my neighborhood, so I didn't pay it much mind.  But this Vader guy, he's one of the bad guys?  Got it."

She finds Devon's summation of the options pretty solid.  "Sounds like the Imps are our one stop shop then.  Killed, captured or on the run, the Imps would know, if we can find the right data stream to tap....."  She holds up a hand, palm outwards, to forestall objections, "I know, I know, I botched the slice, but I'm not the only person around.  We could hire a slicer, or..."

Her voice grows a little distant and her eyes seem to stare off into space.  "Or build one.  The right tools, materials, a bit of time....  I'm not the master of droids that Cor is, but maybe I could work something."

She looks at Devon, determination in her eyes.  "I think I could do."

Fiarr was unpreturbed by Dohr's suggestion of spies.  "Of course there are spies Dohr.  Every organisation of sufficient size has people who will share valuable information for money, for women, for revenge, for fun.  You don't even need special training for that.  Of course in this case it seems logical that Imperial Intelligence would track such a group of dissidents.  Imperial spies are no fools, though they're not as good as Bothan spies of course.  Bothan spies would never fall into a trap so completely."

"As for Devon's options, I believe we need to move with the belief they are captured.  If they're dead there is nothing we can do.  If they're on the run I believe they would find a way to contact us.  I believe we run with option two.  So if Vader has them and the General's information is correct, they are, or at least where in the Atrivis Sector somewhere.  That seems to be our logical next step.  Either we research the Sector or we go there.  Or both."

Kyvarr looked to Devon.  "So should we set a course for the Artivis sector Commander?  Surely an Imperial battle fleet won't be hard to track, even after a month.  They'll be seen, will have to refuel."

Dohr smiled behind his mask and bowed to Fiarr. She was right of course. Spies were everywhere, especially Imperial ones… and Bothans of course. But it could be worse. There might be a traitor in the midst of the leaders of the resistance forces.

Resistance forces…, the Doc considered his though.  Was it really something so big already? Were they planning to unite their powers to form an open rebellion against the Empire? Would it even be possible so soon after the disintegration of the Republic? It had been his dream for a decade now… That one day those under the oppression would rise up again and strike at the Empire to get back what was rightfully theirs. But twenty years… What was twenty years in the history of the Galaxy? Nothing changed so quickly. Or so it been for centuries, millennia even. And then, against all odds and practically in one day, the whole world had turned upside down. The Jedi were no more… or rather… there was only one Jedi left and he was the manifestation of evil itself.

”I agree with Fiarr. The second option is the only we can influence in any way. Atrivis Sector should be our next destination. But!” Dohr raised his hand to indicate he would continue after the sip of caf. ”But we should not simply jump into an Imperial sector even if it is on the Outer Rim. We need to have a legitimate reason for going there to avoid any unwanted attention from the border control.”

”We have two mid-sized ships one made for carrying a lot of cargo and the other suited perfectly for defending both. It would, I believe, be plausible for us to assume the roles of intergalactic vendors, would it not? We could try to find out what would be a good merchandise for us to carry; something that is not illegal or limited, but still needed in the sector. Medical supplies could be one now that Heigren has studied that line of business. But medical supplies are very, very expensive.”

"Border control is only a problem if we're approaching a heavily populated area.  A sector of space is too big to police.  I imagine there are plenty of stations where a pair of trading vessels could land and refuel no questions asked.  Whilst I'm sure finding a cargo to transport would be a better cover, and help offset our costs, I hardly think it's necessary unless we go to a system of high security."

Dohr nodded to Fiarr. "You are right of course. I have no idea whether Atrivis is a high security system or not. But I would hate to us see go there unprepared even if the Imperials have not placed a heavy guard on the borders. Should we decide to drop the cover, then let us at least find out as much as we can about the sector before we make the jump. I would prefer losing some time in overreacting and overpreparation than be caught pants down."

Fiarr smiled.  "Hey I'm all about getting in somewhere quietly.  I agree we need to be careful.  Maybe you and Heigren could hunt for a cargo job that heads in that direction while the slicers see what they can dig up and I tap my own sources."

Heigren looks up from his second mouthful of the triple chocolate caramel mudslide shake that was accompanying his breakfast.  "Cargo job to the Atrivis Sector?  I can find out where the local guys drum up business.  I assume it has to be legal cargo if we're planning to stay low profile?  Are we looking for enough cargo for both vessels or just one?"  He wasn't sure if the Nebula Drifter was to act as escort or wether they should try to fill her with cargo too around the fighters.

"As long as we're at it, we might as well try to earn a few creds, I'd say enough cargo to fill both, though we still need to be able to get the fighters launched if we need to.  And yeah, you're right, it should be legit cargo."

Kyvarr frowned.  "I'm no expert but I don't see how we could load much cargo on the Wayfarer and still be able to launch ships.  The cargo would have to be strapped down, able to withstand vacuum and stacked in a way it didn't get in the way of the ships launching.  If we wanted to fill it with cargo we'd be better to leave the fighters behind or perhaps have people fly them as they're both hyperspace capable."



OOC: I'm assuming here the cargo carrying is done in the 'pod'.  So that would mean cargo and fighters are loaded in the same area.   

"Considering how well I botched the last thing I did, maybe I shouldn't be saying anything, but maybe I should have gone, since slicing is one of the things I do.  I should have said something before you left on your adventure."  Her voice has an odd note in it and her face has colored in embarrassment.  "I can start the information hunt on Atrivis and the fleet."

(OOC, I know RL has been hitting, so the player screwed that up, not sheila, now I just have to play it.  )

"Enough!"  Heigren cried, banging the table and spilling the remnants of his shake on the table.  The Zeltron was distressed by the negative emotions.  First Mika was beating herself up about her supposed failures and now Sheila was seemingly caught up in what she could have done.

"We're alive, we're healthy and we're on track.  No Imperials are hunting us and you have a semi-eadible breakfast before you.  Let's not focus on what we could have done better.  Maybe a mission could have gone better, maybe you could have volunteered to go.  Maybe I should have drawn three cards instead of two and won the country estate with 500 acres adjoining or put more Corellian three-spice in Devon's eggs.  It's done, it's passed.  Let's look forward."

He stood.  "As morale officer I order everyone to think forwards and enjoy their breakfast. Seconds are permitted, even encouraged.  Anyone caught feeling sorry for themselves will be forced into a physical training session this morning.  It involves naked wrestling in chocolate source in front of the spaceport maintenance crew."

He sat down again.

Fiarr couldn't help but smile at Heigren's antics.  All his innuendos aside, the guy really did seem to care about people's feelings and moods.  She couldn't help but admire it.  It didn't hurt he was incredibly easy on the eye too.

"You know, you're right Heigren.  I'm soooo sick of Kyvarr's constant complaining and depressive behaviour.  I think she should put in a double session of your physical training today."

Kyvarr gave the Bothan a fixed stare.  "If you want to challenge me to a wrestling match, be my guest.  Clothed or naked, I promise you won't like the end result."  Her mouth took on a predatory grin.

She looked at her now-empty plate and looked to Heigren.  "Delicious.  You said something about seconds?"

Devon tried to cover his grin at Hrigrens proclamations and waited for everyone to get seconds of food or whatever and settle down again.

"OK, so if they're dead we cant do anything about it.  So assume they are not till we can prove otherwise.  If they are on the run, same problem.  So we keep working the 'prisoner' angle, yes?"

Devon looked at the sector map that Kyvarr had pulled up.
"So I guess we we are going to Artivis sector.  Right, we leave in 48 hours - Dohr, Heigren - find us a cargo that lets us go where we wanna go.  Dont get anything thats gonna draw unwanted attention an' dont get so much that we have to leave the fighters behind - check with me or Mika if you're not sure.  An' for the record, Dohr: neither of our freighters is really combat capable.  That's why we bought the fighters along.

Everyone else - learn what you can, we're chasing the scariest guy in the galaxy aboard his own personal Imperial Star Destroyer.  Lets not stumble into this blind - why has he gone to Artivis?  Why did he take our people there?  How do we get in and out without getting captured or killed?"

The shipjacker stood.
"Ok, everyone - lets get to it.  I'm gonna see if we cant squeeze a little more free space out of the Drifters hanger.  Maybe we can load more cargo if we rearrange some stuff..."

Devon paused in the galley to make himself a sandwich out of the remains of the 'Grease Pit' and grab himself another mug of caf, then he headed down to he hanger and got to work.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:02, Fri 01 May 2015.

Catch had clearly decided to include himself in the 'everyone else' part of the mission.

The droid warbled and quickly plugged into a wall mounted SCOMP socket, and data began flickering across the connected screen.

[Language unknown: "K o antandessresere t waheil me ma er unil inlaei ameorterepreive ie Tounto atiternce yin ich er erad anysheoverearea.  Haleerei heugh adilulli ivereslartio ichsomrom.  Werhasenc werereest.  Chposian neit:  conlarter, ereresatiear, oulpre'lathis, eveere'vermen, siules, Maecic, Ntout Thitinruthat, Ntewasnte, Maaradus, histracon, simahole.

Ri ousortthi undad blend estforthe ssanll avehernotwhe a whce sa lesreaughyin i camaomai."]
This message was last edited by the player at 10:57, Fri 01 May 2015.

"Hey Catch, if you can't patch through some proxies or something, maybe we should head over to a few bays or something.  If the dummy searches don't put the Imps off, they'll at least not trace it straight back to our own ship.  Sheila, what do you think?"

If it's decided to take Catch a ways away for its searches, she's fine tagging along.  Otherwise, she'll head up to the control room and start seeing what the navicomputer has on the Artrivis Sector, see what trade routes could be used, see if there were any listed "no go" areas, look for any interesting planets in the vicinity.

Heigren looked to Dohr.  "What say you?  Want to team up?  I'll ask around for work and you convince them to let us ship it with a health profit?  I've got plans this evening but got most of the day to work on it."

Wether Dohr agrees or not, Heigren will spend part of the day looking for legitimate cargo to the Atrivis sector.  He'll use some down time for sleep.  He'd been offered an invite for tonight and he intended to keep it now they weren't leaving.

Fiarr finished her breakfast and rose.  "If anyone needs me, I'm catching a few more hours sleep, then I'll be available.  Else I'll head out and see what I can learn before we go."

Kyvarr joined Mika in looking over the information the navicomputer held.  She imagined being an Imperial sector, security was tight everywhere but often the military gave things away by going crazy with security around sensitive projects.

After she'd done that she spent the rest of her time testing and cleaning their weapons and equipment, training and completing any tasks Devon should assign her.  All this planning and preparing was not her strength.  She couldn't wait to actually go toe to toe with some Imps.

Sheila almost snapped 'whatever' at Mika, but decided it wouldn't really be a good idea. She was going to chalk up the insulting suggestion that mika had made to hire or build a slicer as a function of Mika's frustration with her own failure at it.  If she didn't, there would be bad feelings on all sides instead of hurt feelings on just one.  Of course, the fact that no one had even given a reaction brought other questions.

"That makes sense.  I'll go with him, if you want.  Try some searches of my own."

Mika looks over at Sheila, not really picking up on her irritation.  "Probably a good idea, you're way better at figuring that sort of stuff out than I am.  I guess I'll stick around then and dig into the navicomp a bit, see what we can figure out about this Atrivis place."

After the data's been pulled up, she starts looking for whatever could make good cover, asteroids, rogue planets, comets, nebulae and so forth.

Several of the Talons made to move away while Mika, Sheila and Kyvarr prepared to commence searches on the navicomp when Catch beeped suddenly.

[Language unknown: Yinanyounandpro la Illois'itce anmaanei.  O sievof i iltint intkorwit ti wheestyinlin.]

Without waiting for a response, the main display screen flashed to life and began feeding information.


Atrivis Sector.  Small sized, sector, contains two primary Hyperspace trade lanes - Braxant and Relgim.

Hypothesis - Consider systems along two runs
Primary Rationale - Imperials likely to use well mapped lanes for fleet
Secondary Rationale - If off major lanes, chances to locate without further data statistically insignificant

Hypothesis - Relgim Run rejected
Rationale - Only one habitable planet - Fedje at joining of Braxant and Relgim

Braxant Run assessed.  Seven primary sectors selected based on habitable worlds.  Sectors listed in distance from current location.

Fedje - World that sits at junction of Braxant and Relgim runs.  Habitable world largely arborreal, some colonies.  Likely location of Imperial base - low.

Fest - Habitable planet highly urbanised.  High Imperial presence.  Several Imperial Industrial centres.  Several Imperial garrisons.  Likely location of Imperial base - confirmed.  Possibility of being destination of Vader's fleet - moderate to high.  Risk associated with approaching - high

Devon - Habitable planet home to religious sect, highly zealous.  Blockaded by Galactic Republic pre Clone Wars for refusal to pay taxes.  Much of population wiped out by plague during Republic interdiction of planet.  Likely location of Imperial Base - Moderate to Low.  Addendum: Word 'Devon' in many local systems means 'Thick headed or to follow idea no matter how stupid or risky'

Generis - Three habitable worlds.  Mostly rural or agricultural.  Popular holiday destination for survival or outdoor enthusiasts.  Likely location of Imperial base - Very Low.

Markbee's Star - One habitable world, water covers surface.  Likely location of Imperial base - Very Low.

Horuz - One habitable planet, no settlements.  High mineral wealth in asteroids.  No current mining claims.  Likely location of Imperial base - Low.

Mantooine - One habitable planet, mostly rural.  Occasional skirmishes with Fest sector.  Likely location of Imperial base - Low.



Based on available data, highest probability for location of Imperial Base is Fest System in Fest Sector.  Location with highest probability for Imperial fleet to have docked is Fest Sector.

Please advise on next requested search advising all search parameters.


Sheila, Mika and Devon sat quietly as they read.  They couldn't help but be impressed with the data this droid had put together so quickly.  Was it really a stock model?  Sheila, undoubtedly the best computer expert in the room would have needed time to gather all this.




OOC:  Anyone can be present for this.  Catch compiled the data only a minute or so after you planned to leave.  So up to each person if they saw this.  Mika, Sheila and Kyvarr were going to look through the navicomp anyway so were definitely here.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:05, Mon 04 May 2015.

"HAve any of the worlds had recent blackouts of communications/ information? This would be looking for differences between the time previous to that, and the probable time of the arrival of the fleet.  Any unusually large communication bursts from any of the planets around the probable time of fleet arrival?"

Catch beeped in response.

[Language unknown: Iouourtic-ardess reiverle has uten'seto saie ad leerng m lar eenromounconear loha usliuleesa houlinartect pang nc ETATAL hetisi.  Omeastyinhasyin nceatever ngiles illl mearmapoiono arsiho iv roal usasekis ieplanri le hiio omesantha.]

After a few moments the droid then scrolled text across the screen.  Perhaps it remembered that Kyvarr at least didn't speak binary.  "The navicomputer doesn't hold that type of information."

**NPC hijacked by GM**
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:26, Mon 04 May 2015.

"Sorry, Forgot which computer you were using. We can take a portable to another bay for Catch and I can use mine there." There has to be another padd around that no one else is using. Sheila pulled out her padd and started scrolling through the news, starting with the initial searches by dates and planets.  It may take a while to sort things.

Mika laughs as Catch defined the term "devon" for them.  She gives Devon a pat on the back, "I didn't know you were so famous, a planet named after you, your name being adopted into the language of the local systems...  Maybe if we fly in with the transponders shouting Here comes Captain Devon they'll all back down."

Mika nods at Sheila's perceptive query and remains undaunted by Catch's unimaginative response.  "Yeah, but maybe we can figure out a way to see if communications patterns have changed recently.  Not through the Navicomputer of course....  Me, I'm keen to look at that Fedje.  Both of the trade lanes intersect there.  I'd think free traders would draw less attention there than elsewhere."

Mika grabs another jizzpop and takes a pull on it.

Dohr nodded to Heigren. ”Absolutely. I believe we made a good team last night and this task can not be quite as demanding, can it? I am sure we can sort things out well before your date.” The Kel Dor smiled behind his mask as he said the last words. He had no idea where the Zeltron was going, but his guess couldn’t be too far from the truth.

”We still need to figure out what the suitable cargo could be. I believe we could use a hand of a more skilled person in searching for such information online. But should we fail to find out on the Net what the people in the Altaris sector require, I would say carrying on with the roles from last night can not go terribly wrong. Medical supplies are needed everywhere.”

Dohr stayed a little while longer to ponder about their options and was present when Catch gave its quick presentation of the possible routes. He was certainly surprised and impressed by the abilities of the little R2 -unit. Someone had invested a hefty sum of credits in the droid for sure. The Doc was about to comment the world named Devon when Mika beat him to it. The whole thing reminded him of an Alderaanian Nerf herder song: “The man they called Devon.” It was story of a foolish nerfboy gunslinger, who saved a small town by stealing a load of credits from the local tyrant and giving it all to the poor people of the place. The song didn’t fit Devon’s character at all, but Dohr wasn’t sure whether the human would act any differently in the same situation. The man did have a good heart, Dohr was sure.

Mika, Sheila and Catch too. While you are at it, would you be so kind and try to find out what would be good cargo to fill our ships with. Something that the Atrivis system does not produce, but would very much like to have. Thanks.”
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:11, Mon 04 May 2015.

Heigren shrugged.  "I think our story this time should be the simple truth.  We're independant contractors who are heading down the Braxant Run, or even to Fest, if that's where we plan to go, hoping to pick up a valuable package and want something to pay the bills on the way there.  I have no idea what is valuable out that way.  Good idea getting the others on it.  Was thinking we just ask other freighter captains and the supply companies if anyone has deliveries to be made out that way."

Devon blinked in surprise at the speed Catch had produced an answer for them.
He knew R2s were useful but surely it wasnt going to be this easy?
He started reading through the info Catch was displaying on screen, then slowed down and read it again when he got to the bit about planet Devon and alternate meanings.

"Great, my droids a frikkin comedian."

Cor had warned Devon that Catch would start developing more of a personality the more it learned and gathered experience - and it appeared that the impressionable young droid had possibly spent too much time hanging around with the jokers of the team.



The shipjacker chuckled - a sense of humour?  it could be worse.
"Perhaps we should add in some demands that they release our friends, or face my wrath."



Devon looked over the map again.  "Fedje.  Yeah.  At least it gets us into the sector in a believable fashion.  Maybe we can pick up a better lead there.
Keep searchin' the ideas comin', though.  Maybe we'll hit on somethin' even better." 

Sheila was getting more irritated by the moment.  She forcibly tamped the feelings down.  Mark and Zyra.  "Fine, you look at Fedje, I'll work on the communication thing. Catch can help either one."

On the other hand, if she did as well with that as she had on the general search the night before, maybe she should hand things over to Mika or Catch.  Maybe she should have taken up Heigren on his offer at the party.  Too late now.  Oh well.  Burnt that bridge.

"Did you want to move down the port to another bay?"
This message was last edited by the player at 21:29, Wed 06 May 2015.

In relation to cargo, Heigren and Dohr manage to find two offers.  A shipment of raw ore to Fest with a payment of 6000 credits or a shipment of electrical equipment to Mantooine for 4000 credits.  The Fest job has a time clause.  Shipment has to be there within 10 days or you lose 10% of the payment per day.  These values are based on filling the Ghtroc only (which carries 130 tonnes).  You could slightly more than double this if you filled the Nebula Drifter (which holds over 200 tonnes) if you offloaded the fighters and fighter maintenance gear.

Other option is to haul your own cargo.  Fest is interested in raw materials, specific ores  it's using in its refineries.  Suggestion is they're paying good money.  Common ore base cost (retail) is 200c/kg so you'd need 26 million credits to fill the Ghtroc - perhaps Heigren could get you a loan with one of his new 'friends'!  Or you could carry whatever you like (Dohr suggested medical supplies).  Risk of carrying your own cargo is you have to buy said cargo, there is no guarantee you can find a buyer and should anything happen to your cargo you'll lose a lot (lose someone else's cargo you just don't get paid).

Sheila and Mika find little of use.  Communications on most Imperial worlds and in Imperial Space in general is tightly controlled and censored.  Even their simple searches trigger several alert flags though Sheila places a false trail she is confident would stand up to standard scrutiny.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:47, Thu 07 May 2015.

Heigren points out he might be able to obtain a loan if the Talons wanted to purchase their own cargo.  He'd made some contacts at the club and had already been invited to another gathering of the high rollers tonight.

Mika considers Sheila's query.  "I don't know, you think it's worth more searches?  If so, maybe moving around would be best.  But I think we've about exhausted this fuel cell."   She looks at Devon "What do you think?"

Kyvarr shrugged impatiently.  She cared little for cargo.  She was a soldier, not a merchant.  "Fest seems the best choice.  A strong Imperial presence would be the best place for an Imperial fleet to go, even if it was just refuelling.  I guess we could take the cargo that's destined for there if you want."

"I want to do some more looking. I'll try to stay out of the sensitive stuff."  Sheila is going to go through the sector world by world, what spacelanes are near them, as of planning to travel there, then the basics on each planet, what's there to see.  I figure this should take a while.  Read any news from the area.  See if there are any trader warnings about restricted areas, or official warnings about restricted areas, the navigational equivalent to a sign that says restricted, no trespassing.

"Maybe a mix of the two?"  Fiarr suggested, stifling a yawn.  "Fest does seem a strong possibility but Mika is right that Fedje can't be overlooked for an information source."

"Perhaps the two ships could travel together as far as the Atrivis sector, then while the Ghtroc heads to Fest, the Wayfarer goes to Fedje.  Personally I don't think we should go near a heavily populated Imperial world with a pocket carrier complete with two unregistered starfighters.  Tends to gain all the wrong attention."

Devon slowly turned to look at Heigren.
"Hang on - you could get us enough money to buy our own cargo???"  he asked in disbelief.
"We're talkin' millions of credits here - who the hell you been hangin' out with?"

Devon mulled the idea over for a moment.
"So we can either take the easy money and take that ore shipment to Fest... our ships can make it inside the 10 day window if nothing goes wrong, an' I figure we'd walk away with a few thousand profit once we've paid our expenses.  Or...."

Devon turned to look at the others and pointed to Heigren.
"Or we let lover boy here perform his weird black magic an' buy our own cargo.   We might walk away with a hell of a lot more.  Trouble is, this ways a gamble - we might walk away wealthy, an' we might end up lucky if we still own our own clothes."

Devon dug a  one credit coin from his pocket and balanced it on his thumb nail.  He grinned.
"Don't ask me the odds.  May as well flip this."
The coin span up into the air, then Devon snatched it out and returned it to his pocket without looking at it.
"Its a gamble.  But the money would be real handy right now."

He sat back and waited for the others opinions.  Not that he needed all of them - he knew exactly which way Heigren would vote...

"The odds may be greater then you think."  Fiarr interjected.  "You're not just talking about a risky trading deal, but a deal with Imperials.  Imperials have a habit of stacking the deck or loading the dice.  They may buy your cargo for an incredible sum or they may simply impound the whole cargo and your vessel claiming it's stolen."

"One thing I know about gambling is don't play with someone who cheats.  I'm not sure I recommend putting so much on the line to rely on Imperial honesty."

Heigren look amused by Fiarr's comments.  "Of course you gamble with someone who cheats.  Everybody cheats.  The trick is to be able to cheat better than the other guy."

He turned to Devon.  "I should be able to get the money on a short term loan.  We'll have to negotiate how much repayment he'll want.  He'll also likely want some sort of collateral or assurance.  Even I can't get someone to part with that many credits on trust."

"That's part of my point Heigren.  Can we cheat better than the Imperials in this case?  They can easily cause trouble for us and we lack the business acumen or fire power to prevent it.  If they up the stakes we'll be entirely at their mercy.  I think we'd be playing with a loaded deck."

She decided to appeal to Devon instead.  Heigren would likely bet his left arm on a pair of sixes.  "Boss, I don't this is the kind of deal that should be rushed.  If Heigren can secure a marker of this size in one night, imagine what he could do with a week to work his charms, time for us to find a commodity broker or something to help us and a buyer of our choosing who isn't Imperial.  I might even be able to work up some cladestine runs through my contacts given time.  I'm all for making money through cargo but lets not do it when we're trying to find your friends.  Speed and stealth are our allies here.  Flying into an Imperial world with million of credits of cargo and no buyer is sure to attract attention."

Mika decides to chime in.  "I'm not much of. gambler, but I'm throwing in with Fiarr.  The only thing we could put up as collateral would be  ship and then we don't have the resources we need when we get there.  I say we take a freight job, only load up the one ship so we've got the snubs."

"With all due respect sir, I joined this outfit to fight Imperials, not trade goods with them.  If we need to take a job to pay the bills or get us on planet I get that.  Otherwise if we need money, why don't we raid an Imperial storehouse or something?"

Dohr nodded to Kyvarr’s words. ”I agree with the ladies. The risks are too high. While I can appreciate the need for credits, a lot of credits, this is not the way to make them. Not now, not when your… our leaders are at stake. We will be of no help to them should we get caught with a hot cargo in our hands. Not unless you wish to infiltrate their prison system from the inside. But since we have no proof of them still being alive, I would advice against that option too.”

Dohr took another sip and continued: ”I have no idea what our monetary situation is, but if we need some credits immediately, I can offer my personal funds to be used for fuel or food. It is not as much as it may sound though, but there should be enough to refuel the ships for a trip to Altaris and back.”
This message was last edited by the player at 05:45, Wed 13 May 2015.

"As an ex-imp I will say don't try to out cheat them, this is not a healthy idea with the stakes so high.  We either bring the snubs with or park them somewhere if we don't want to take them with."

"Right."  Devon replied.  "An' thats what we'd normally do - last time we stole a whole damn convoy, transports an' all."  He grinned slightly at the memory.  "fun times..."

"I would say do the same now, but Doc's right - we don't got the time to set that up.  I wasnt sure what to go with, so I wanted to hear you guys talk it around a bit.  The massive money from selling our own cargo would be damn handy, but this whole thing comes crashin' down if we don't turn a profit."

The shipjacker fell silent, an expression of deep thought on his face.
"We can still finance this for a bit longer without needin' to stop an make money, so unless any of you have a compellin' reason why we shouldnt, I guess we take that fast-run-to-Fest and keep on movin."

Devon looked from one Talon to the next, eyebrows raised.

Still jacked into the SCOMP socket in the wall, Catch warbled.

[Language unknown: "Thuesteraith theineithsan.  Inilsiin ilard atiaveson semaca we enneek i Ing.  Ameandsetshetha er sinosiitwh evti ac NESI."]

Fiarr looked at Devon in suprise.  "If Fest is our destination then it's logical to take the Fest job.  Gives us a reason to go there and go there quickly.  Does this mean you're not considering Mika's suggestion we go to Fedje instead?  Or my suggestion we could split our forces?  You haven't given your thoughts on either."

Heigren sighed and mumbled something about people with no sense of adventure.

"If we want the Fest job we need to hurry. The time limit was from when I spoke to them, not from when we accept the job. The chrono is already running. Besides it's an open contract. If we don't accept it soon, somebody else will take it."

While a few questions were raised, nobody directly challenged the decision to take the cargo to Fest.  Heigren brokered the deal, Mika and Devon serviced the ships while Kyvarr handled work crews to prepare the Ghtroc for it's cargo.

The operation ran smoothly.  The Ghtroc's cargo hold was cleared then the ship transferred to an ore loading dock where load lifters quickly loaded the bins containing the ore on board.  By the end both cargo holds were about 80% full.  It was the first time the ship had truly been loaded with cargo so everyone had to get used to slipping by down narrow walkways and ensuring everything was strapped tight.

The Nebula Drifter was also prepared for takeoff, though the plan for that ship was at yet uncertain.

Less then three hours later both ships sat in the hangar bay once more.  One loaded with ore, the other with its fighters.  Catch had prepared astrogation data for Fest for both ships though it would be a simple calculation to adjust one for Fedje or anywhere else.  Now it was just a question of who was going on which ship and were both ships going to Fest.


OOC:  Pushed ahead as posting has quieted down.  A little over 100 tonnes of cargo now fills the Ghtroc's hold.  You have a little under 10 days to deliver it.

Despite the random jobs I attributed to people you all have the better part of 3 hours to do whatever you wanted while all this happened.
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:14, Sun 17 May 2015.

Now a decision had been made Kyvarr went to work to see it happened.  She organised and led a group to clear the Ghtroc's cargo hold of any items.  She went along to the ore loading dock and supervised loading.  She checked with the spaceport about outgoing procedures in case she needed to book in or leave a flight plan.  No need to hide their destination, at least for the Ghtroc.  She then ensured all her own gear was neatly packed and ready in case Devon wanted her to fly about the Nebula Drifter and not the Ghtroc.

With all this done she approached Devon.  "Cargo is loaded and departure is prepared.  We just need allocation of the troops and your final orders sir."

Fiarr watched with amusement as Kyvarr took charge.  That was her all aright.  Give her a set of orders and she'd make sure the work got done.

In the meantime Fiarr used the time to head out to chase a few contacts.  She desperately needed some sleep but she'd wait until they were in space.  She'd have plenty of time then.

Well at least she didnt salute me this time...  Devon thought.  Wonder how many push-ups I'd have to make her do before she would stop calling me 'sir'

The shipjacker nodded in response to Kyvarrs report and went over route plans with her whilst he waited for everyone else to gather.  When they did, Devon poked Catch with a toe and the R2 obligingly projected a star map.

"OK, listen up - Mika's right, we dont really want Drifter landin' on an heavily Imperial world, so she's gonna go to Fedje.  Both ships will travel together till we reach Fedje, then the Ghtroc - someone come up with a name for that thing - will continue on to Fest an deliver the cargo." 

"Mika, Kyvarr, Heigren.  I want you guys to take the Ghtroc.  Mika - you're the pilot.  Heigren, you arranged this deal so you're along to handle business.  Kyvarr, you're muscle if the crap hits the fan.  You guys can take Catch along if you want him.  Complete the contract, get paid, have a quick sniff around to see if you can pick up  any leads, then meet us in Fedje.  Stay out of trouble."

"The rest of us will be on the Drifter an' continue on to Fedje - a pocket carrier is less likely to draw attention there.  We'll have a scout round and see what we can learn whilst we wait for the Ghtroc to catch up.  Once everyones back together, we'll plan our next move."

Another toe poke and the projected map changed to a detailed view of Fedje system.
"Theres a freeport on the edge of the system here.  Mostly just used by people refueling on their way some place else.  Thats where we'll meet. Deadline for that meeting is three days after we split up on Fest system.  If someone hasnt arrived by then or at least got in touch, you assume trouble."


OOC:  making assumptions about travel times between Fedje and Fest - if that three day limit isnt reasonable, I'll adjust it.  :)

"How about the 'Blue Raven' or the 'Lunar Flare' for the ship. Unmemorable and forgettable for those with contact."  She just sort of threw the names out.

Then she will help move things between the two ships and batten things down, before she goes and packs her own things.  Clothes, padd, kit, teeny personal arsenal with extra power packs.

OOC:  making assumptions about travel times between Fedje and Fest - if that three day limit isnt reasonable, I'll adjust it.  :)
</quote>

Timing is fine, just the order is a problem.  You'll reach Fedje before Fest.

Fiarr seemed surprised at Devon's instructions.  "So we no longer consider Fest a likely candidate then?  Has there been some new intelligence?  I thought the whole point of taking the Fest job was so we could investigate for signs of Vader's fleet."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:48, Tue 19 May 2015.

Mika nods at the order.  She was more comfortable piloting the 'Drifter, but she'd manage.

She nods at Sheila as the slicer suggests some names for the ship.  "Sounds like a plan.  While we're in the jump, I'll see about programming the Ghtroc's transponders with whatever name."  She pauses and smiles, "I was going to suggest the Shackled Ram, but maybe that's not forgettable enough."  She gives Sheila a wink.

"Well our cargo and flight plan is logged under our current ship name so we should probably deliver it with that name before we change it."  Heigren suggests.

Kyvarr nodded and moved over to Mika.  "Ready to leave ma'am.  Ship is ready for departure on your command.  Do you have any other orders?"

"Good point to wait, Heigren."  She tried to visualize what Mika was thinking with the Shackled Ram and decided she wasn't quite up to that.  "Probably as forgetable or not as the nose art that goes with it."

7 days later - Outskirts of Fedje System, Atrivis Sector


With little more to add, the groups moved on to their respective transports and take off.  Mika finds that the route to Fedje has already been programmed by Catch .

The ships receive quick clearance and are soon blasting away from Corellia.  After a few hours they reach the system outskirts and after one final check, engage hyperdrives.

The week in hyperspace is long and there is little to do.  Communication is impossible between the two vessels so each ship only has it's fellow passengers as company.  Besides checking their course periodically, the crews were left to undertake whatever leisure activities they chose.

The ships revert out of hyperspace, a good 12 hours earlier than normally predicted.  Catch's numbers had been perfect!  They now floated on the outskirts of the Fedje system, a sparsely populated system with one inhabited world, also called Fedje which was heavily forested but lightly settled.  A trading station also operated in the system, a waypoint between the two major hyperspace lanes of the Sector.  It was a place to rest up, refuel, download fresh charts, maybe do a deal or two then move on.

The system, while under Imperial control was habited by inhabitants that tended to have a fierce independant streak.  The Imperials for the most part left the system alone as it held little value, focusing more on their operations on Fest and elsewhere.  Leaving a token garrison on station and planet, they took a percentage of all revenue from the system and looked the other way.

The planet Fest, the Ghtroc's final destination was still 1-2 days travel.  Thanks to Catch's navigation Devon breathed a little easier.  They had a good 12-24 hour safety margin up their sleeves now.

---

OOC:  The two ships are on the outskirts of Fedje, where the Nebula Drifter plans to wait.  Fest is still further away.  This is a chance to swap crew (the ships can connect in space so would only take a few minutes) if anyone deems it necessary.  Currently the plan is for Heigren, Mika and Kyvarr to go to Fest while the others go to Fedje (planet or station, whichever pleases).

Just a reminder Fedje is a fairly quiet, independant world with a token Imperial presence (similar to Corellia but waaaaay more rustic/agrarian).  Fest however is a heavily garrisoned Imperial world with a strong Imp presence and lots of security.

OOC:  You could spend 7 days on crafting or any other relevant activity you choose.  Good luck to the two girls stuck on the Ghtroc with Heigren!

Heigren slumped against the bulkhead, barely having the strength to stand.  This condition was worse than any disease, any toxin.  He'd survived starvation, beatings, the Loridian Death Plague but he wasn't sure he'd survive this.

He was borrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrred!

Seven days.  Seven whole days cramped on a tiny ship and nothing to do!  The cargo hold was filled with ore so he couldn't organise anything.  Worst of all he was stuck with two women who were more interested in tinkering with machines or working out to focus on other more diverting activities.  Sure watching the Cathar work out had been pleasurable, the girl was fit, but none of his flirtations seemed to have had effect.  Mika meanwhile seemed to be lost in a world of machines.  It was insufferable!

When the ships came out of hyperspace and he saw the trading station he stared at it longingly.  He was quickly on the commlink.

"Hey boss, you know I think I'm not really needed for the Fest run.  Contract is done and agreed.  All that needs to happen is to deliver the cargo and pick up the credits.  Surely I'd be better here. . .gathering intelligence?"

With the jump calculated, about all Mika had to do was pilot the ship out of the gravity well and engage the hyperdrive.  It really didn't take all that much of a pilot to accomplish that.

Once the ship was in hyperspace, she spent most of her time in programming a new name.  Per Heigren's comment, she holds off pushing the changes to the transponders, but gets it all set up and ready.  The new name per Sheila's suggestion, the Lunar Flare.  It struck her as quite boring, but then that was sort of the whole point.

Once she was done with that, she spent some serious time with Token, the droid that Cor had provided to her.  She needed some time with a droid and since Catch wasn't hers to play with.....

Once in a while, she noted Heigren or Kyvarr about, but nothing urgent, so her attention stuck with her work.  She'd have to buy a couple of droids, that's all there was to it.  She needed something she could practice on.  Maybe she could pick one up when they got Fest.

Seven days, was all she wrote. A kind of ultimatum note, she gave to me. She gave to me.

---

It was another long period of time to pass in hyperspace. And Dohr didn’t mind it at all. As an ex-army, he was accustomed to waiting and waiting some more for something to happen. The meditation training he’d learned as a kid helped pass time, but there was no way he would or even could sit cross-legged on his bunk for days and days.

Therefore the Doc spent most of his time in the brand new medbay of the Drifter. There were loads of boxes lying on the floor filled with the equipment he’d ordered earlier on from a vendor on Coruscant. He had a fairly big, but also interesting job setting up a proper surgical station on the Wayfarer and he was going to need a hand or three every now and then to get it all in place.

In order to keep focused, Dohr took breaks from his work every now and then and helped everyone out when needed. He also spent a fair deal of time in the Drifter’s cockpit asking low level questions about astrogation, piloting, using the shields and the weapons systems. It was clear to any- and everyone, that the Kel Dorian was not a pilot of any kind, but he really wanted to learn as much as possible nevertheless.

When he wasnt trying to think his way out of the hole he felt he was digging himself into, Devon spent a lot of time reading and rereading all the data they had gathered so far - not that there was a lot of it - and polishing up his lousy command of Binary language.
He was almost proficient now - although his mistakes along the way had probably provided a lot of free entertainment for everyone else aboard the Drifter.

Once they were out of hyperspace, Devon checked the flight data, then gave Catch a pat on the dome.
"Good job, buddy -  ok, lets try an' get organized."


He was reaching for the commlink when Heigren beat him to it.  The frustration in Heigrens voice was obvious and Devon realized he'd accidentally hit on the perfect way to punish Heigren, if the need should ever arise:  simply lock him in an empty room and wait for him to go mad with boredom...
He hit the reply button.  "Its your call Heigren - go wherever you think you can get us the best info - given what we are after, I think thats gonna be Fest, but its up to you."

Opening up the comms channel so that everyone on both ships could hear him:
"Ok, so that was a boring journey.  Now we got some work to be done - I want the Ghtroc on its way to Fest in an hour at most.  We'll dock to shift crew around - the more I looked at the data on Fest, the more I've wanted to change the crew around.  That world's so heavily Imp I'm now thinkin' its best if we send a mainly human crew, unless anyone has a better idea.  Catch is sending files to your datapads an' flight computers now."





Crew assignment
Ghtroc 720:
Mission:
Cargo delivery and intelligence gathering.
Crew:
Mika Trake
Sheila Masters
Heigren
R2-B7

Nebula Drifter:
Mission:
Intelligence gathering.
Crew:
Devon Kismet
Fiarr Melan'nel
Dohr Veen
Kyvarr Dulvan



"Anyone had any brainwaves in the last week, lets hear 'em."

Sheila spent the week either helping Dohr set up his surgery, also going through the info on the area with Devon, and doing some physical training.  Excitement galore.  On the other hand, excitement wasn;t the point of the whole endeavor.

Although she did have to control a laugh when Heigren asked to be off the cargo run.  There was a tone in there that suggested he was looking for an excuse to get off that ship.  Although she wasnt sure what to do when she found herself on the ship with him.  But devon did have a point, a mainly human crew was a good idea.  Although Devon could have come along.  Hmmm.

"Yes sir."  Sheila got her stuff together, leaving most of her arsenal on the drifter, taking only a blaster and pack that she expected to leave on the ship, couple changes of clothes, and her padd,

"I actually think I would be of more use going to Fest."  Fiarr said to Devon.  "My skills are more focused around getting into places unseen.  I imagine there would be more for me to do on an Imperial world then some trader station or backwater planet."

"I will go wherever you need me sir.  I have no love for Imperials but if you think you may need something blown up or some heads cracked together, that's the team I'd best suit sir."

Mika didn't have much to do, since she was staying on the Ghtroc.  First chance she got once they left, she'd deploy the name change to the transponders she'd prepared, using Sheila's suggestion of Lunar Flare.

"I'm good as is, ready to move ahead."

"Transfer if you you think you'd be better off on Fest, Fiarr."  Devon answered.

"I'm lookin' to you guys to go make best use of your skills - those assignments were just my best guess.  You think you're more use some place else - say so an' do it.  Now, lets get these barges docked  an' transfer."

In response to Devons comments, Catch uploaded an edit to the organizational chart, adding question marks next to Heigren and Fiarrs names.

OOC:  ever had a day when you just cant seem to get a good post together?  <sigh>

Heigren sighed.  "I brokered this deal, I guess the least I can do is see it through.  I'll go to Fest."

Sheila almost snorted at the tone of 'OMG, I'm sooo bored, but i got myself into this' tone in Heigrens voice, but she controlled herself.  "I'll be over shortly."  You would think Heigren would have enjoyed being the only male on a ship with 2 females.

The two ships connect up in space and the teams quickly reassign themselves.  It takes less than ten minutes before the necessary transfers are made and the Ghtroc takes off into hyperspace.


Alert: Nebula Drifter Team (Devon, Dohr, Kyvarr)

It takes less than a day for the Nebula Drifter to approach the Manticore Trading Station on the edge of the Fedje system.  The station is unremarkable as far as trading stations go.  As the divergent point between two hyperspace lanes it received a modest amount of traffic for merchants who needed to refuel, update charts or just get off their ships for a few hours.  Little actual trade was done here as the Fedje system was lightly populated and not heavily industrialised.

It didn't take long for Devon to receive landing permission for their ship and before long they were nestled in a small hangar, fees paid and customs cleared.  Since they weren't loading or offloading cargo, the inspectors never even bothered coming aboard.

OOC:  Well you're onboard.  It's a small space station with a few stores, a bar, a repair facility and such.


Alert: Ghtroc 720 Team (Mika, Sheila, Heigren, Fiarr, Catch)

While people sorted out which ship they were travelling on, Mika remained in the cockpit, setting up the run to Fest.  While further away than Fedje, Fest was a well travelled system due to it's strong Imperial presence.  This resulted in a route that only took a few hours longer than the other ship's trip to Fedje.

As soon as she pulled the ship out of hyperspace in the Fedje system, proximity beacons flashed and moments after a firm voice came over the speaker.

"Vessel GHT-72087654-Alpha, state your business."


OOC:  Up to you all where on the ship you are (as the trip took a few hours).  I assumed Mika was flying still but the rest of you can be on the bridge or elsewhere.