"The 'situation' is simple.  You're an engineer, have a looksie."

He shows her into main engineering.  The room is a disaster, with smashed consoles, bent frames, and various other damage.

"One of your damn soldier boys threw a grenade in here.  I'm having to rip of the panels and try to bypass circuits, cobble something together.  I can't do it in seven minutes.  I need more time and more help, a LOT more help.  Switching the power back on would help too.  We can do that anytime, but your soldier boys wanted to wait until they cleared the rest of the Imperial vermin out."

"It depends on what shape prime is in.  But the idea is sound."  Sheila commented
This message was last edited by the player at 22:45, Wed 27 Mar 2013.

Mark considered.  He needed an engineering opinion.  "Ten, when you reach engineering and have consulted on engineering I need you and them to determine if the freighter can handle being towed by a tractor beam.  If Prime pulls you towards the jump point it will buy you more time.  Only another five to ten minutes but it's better than nothing."

Simplicity itself gorgeous lady.  Heigran replied to Mika's questions about the prisoners.  From a wrist sheath he pulled out a vibroblade and mimed pulling it across his neck.  Quick and painless.  Better then the bastards deserve.  Personally I'd rather stick 'em in the guts and let 'em die slow.  But we don't have time for that.

Satisfied that the engineers would now be able to quickly finish with or without him (in fact, the work was now at the stage that too many engineers would spoil the welding); Devon nodded to CC9 that it was time for them to get moving.

As he followed the battledroid he switched his Talon comm on.
"Talon group - this is Seven.  Someone wanted some engineers?  We can spare... three off the freighter I am currently aboard once we get the reactor back up.  Say, two minutes, tops.  Send the transport to pick them up."

He looked at CC9 again, wondering if the droid was about to over-rule him.
"Reactor room team - wait for your buddies up here to give you the go ahead, then restart the reactor.  Once you're done, head back to the boarding point for pickup - you're needed elsewhere."

Mika pulls out her Talon comlink, "Ten here.  The freighter has moderate hull damage and severe damage to the main engineering deck.  It can survive a tow, but it's unknown if power can be restore to initiate a jump soon enough to do us any good.  There are two captive Imps.  Engineers are safe, status of Four and Eight unknown."

Mika shakes her head at Heigren, "They're fine for now.  Xil and Grayrhynn are the priorities."

To the engineers, she says, "Help's on the way, keep at it while we go see what's up with the others.  These Imps give you any grief, blast 'em."

Motioning to Heigren and the droid to follow, Mika starts following the trail that she assumes will lead her to Xil and Gray.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:54, Thu 28 Mar 2013.

Arin listened to the transmissions on the Talon comms and wondered if he should try and figure some kind of a plan, but he wasn't the strike team commander and didn't really want to step on anyone's toes - he had enough trouble with a couple of the Talons already and he didn't really need new enemities. Besides, he didn't have boots on the ground, so to speak, so he could not offer direct support.

"Ten, this is five. I suggest you locate the Beta-team and if they are having comm troubles, you help them either take out the resistance or evacuate and we'll blow the ship. If we can't capture it, we don't want to leave it for the Imps either. If the Beta-team is down, assess whether they are still salvageable and whether you can evacuate them safely. If under enemy fire, try to produce some sort of visual cover, by shooting something flammable so it produces smoke. Don't go in to the open without cover. If you have grenades, be careful with them - Stormtroopers are pretty resistant to non-lethal munitions. Five out."

CC9 makes a note of the advice people are throwing around but doesn't seem inclined to counter anyone's input.  Whether he approves of it or not is, perhaps, a little irrelevant; Mika is the lead of the Beta support team so whether she accepts said advice or not is, as far as he's concerned, entirely up to her.  Likewise he doesn't countermand Devon's order to start the reactor.  If he's cut the bridge out of the power grid successfully then there should be no issue, and if he hasn't then they won't know until they try.

"Time to move."  CC9 makes sure the doors leading from the turbolift room are sealed (so the engineering room and store rooms don't lose atmosphere) and then opens the lift, heading up one level and through the conference room with Devon at his back and his blaster and shield at the ready.

Mark considered Mika's words.

"Alright plan is simple.  Prime, make preperations to tractor Freighter Four and tow it towards the jump point.  Beta Support, engineers are enroute.  Prime will engage tractor once they're aboard.  Three and I will stay and cover Freighter Three."

"Ten if you can capture the bridge we may find the navigation systems are still intact.  If you can accomplish safely then do so, but the safety of Beta team is paramount.  If you can't take the bridge the we'll evacuate the ship."

"Alpha, Beta.  You have seven minutes to get those crates moving."

*TWO MINUTES LATER - Five minutes to Mark's deadline*

Alpha Team - Freighter 3, Deck 8 - Amidships
Devon and B2-CC9 continued their move upwards.  True to the engineer's word, they found that none of the turbolift shafts above them had been sealed and the pair made deck 8 quickly and without incident.  B2-CC9 had not expected resistance as he'd got a basic idea of the Imperial's tactics while listening to Tac-Comm 4.  The Imperials were sealing every bulkhead from the cargo bay back to the bridge and were setting up a defensive position on Deck 8 aft.  They didn't seem to have realised engineering was taken yet and that the front section of the ship had not been sealed.

Travelling along Deck 8, CC9 and Devon traversed half the deck before finding their first sealed door.  Devon went to work on the door with his welding equipment.  As he worked the sound of power rengaging could be heard.  Soon overhead lights came on, as did gravity and according to Devon's, the atmosphere was improving, indicating life support was back online.  Devon quickly finished unsealing the doors.  With power online he didn't need to muscle them open, he just hit the open switch on the control panel.

A call came in on the Talon comm from one of the engineers.  "Power's coming online everywhere but Deck 9.  We haven't made a bypass for navigation but we have ion drives and basic helm."


OOC:  You're currently in the small square room halfway along deck 8.  You've just cut through the rightmost door, leaving a further two blast doors between you and deck 8 aft, where the Imps are fortifying their position.  Power is back online and the freighter is ready to move.


Freighter 4 - Deck 8 Aft (near aft turbolift)
As Mika and Heigran left engineering, they could hear the Engineer called Solwin barking instructions at his fellow engineer.  Clearly the man could handle things now he knew there was a plan.

The pair rushed about the stairs, PK-24 moving a lot more slowly on the stairwell.  Given power had been left offline they couldn't use turbolifts.  However they found that every bulkhead and blast door was open.  Some clearly had been open, others had been forced, assumedly by Gray and Xil.

They cautiously moved across Deck 8, alert for any ambush.  Their spacesuits made it hard to hear much and their glowlamps only lit so far.  However no ambush presented itself and the trio quickly made their way across deck 8 to the aft section. . .where they found the Talons.

Xil lay off to one side.  He had been critically wounded by blaster fire but Mika could feel a faint pulse.  There was a bacta patch on his worst wounds, clearly someone, assumedly Grayrrhyn had patched him up.

The wookie was a different matter.  He was lying directly in front of the open turbolift door.  He had several wounds, the worst was a large hole in his chest armour where a blaster had burned through.  Heigran could get no lifesigns, the wookie had died.

From above, a blaster bolt hit the ground near to Grayrrhyn and Heigran.  Clearly there were enemies still on the bridge.

OOC:  Xil is critically injured, unconscious but stable for now.  Grayrrhyn is dead.  The pairs' equipment is still on the ground near them.  There is at least one enemy still on the bridge and they're shooting at Heigran who is in the open.  Mika is off to the side and is not in line of sight.



Space
Flash and Arin escorted their freighter in silence.  It seemed to move at a snail's pace but slowly it closed on the jump point.  According to their nav computers they would be there in two minutes.

Back at the convoy, Zyra watched on the bridge as the maintenance craft picked up the the extra engineers and flew to Freighter 4.  The procedure was completed with a minimum of fuss and the freighter was ready to go.  Already Rann had moved from the ion turret to the tractor turret.  It was a risk but she needed her best gunner on this.


OOC:  Nightshrike is ready to tractor Freighter 4.  Freighter 3 is active and awaiting orders.  Freighter 2 in two minutes from jump.


Battle status
Nightshrike - 180/180SP 220/220HP
Arin (R41) - 30/30SP 87/100HP (missiles depleted)
Sheila (Z95) - 30/30SP 115/120HP (1 missile remaining)
Mark (Z95) - 30/30SP 120/120HP (1 missile remaining)
Flash (C/S)- 83/140HP
Freighter Alpha 1 - 40/40SP 60/60HP

Freighter 1 - Destroyed
Freighter 3 - 0/40SP 60/60HP <Comms & Weapons destroyed>
Freighter 4 - Reactor Offline Critical Hull Damage <Comms & Weapons destroyed>
System Patrol Craft: *UNKNOWN - Not on sensors*


TIE Escort x 4 - All destroyed

B2-CC9 - Uninjured
Devon - Uninjured

Mika - Uninjured
Heigran - Uninjured
PK-24 - Undamaged

Xil - Stabilised
Grayrhynn - Dead
B1-AE3 - Destroyed
B1-AE5 - Destroyed
This message was last edited by the GM at 09:03, Fri 29 Mar 2013.

Sheila continues to follow Mark's lead.  She will offer no more answers unless he asks her a direct question.

"Prime, please transmit jump point coordinates to Alpha Tech Team.  Alpha Tech, continue working on navigation.  Begin moving this freighter toward the jump point in..."  He makes a quick calculation.  "Ninety seconds."  With the doors being opened relatively quickly CC9 figures a minute and a half will be more than enough time to get the last two doors open and possibly engage the Imps at the end of the walkway (if that's where they are), but doesn't want to alert the Imperials to the fact that the Talons have taken Engineering.

He then waits for Devon to get through the next door.

The PK droid follows the others when they leave engineering.  Cor's only comment is, "Well, that will not make repairs easy."

Once they find Xil and Grayrhynn and their states are confirmed Cor speaks again.  "I will have PK-24 take Four and Eight back to the transport.  I suggest we have Prime move the freighter with its tractor beam and wait for Alpha Team before assaulting the Imperials further."  She orders PK-24 to carry Xil back to the transport.  The droid lifts the human easily and carefully, plodding resolutely back the way it came.

Heigren silently touches the wounds that had killed his Wookie friend.  For a few moments he had no words, just tears that rolled down his cheeks.  Then a word escaped his lips.

"Bastards."

He said it again, a little louder and stronger, then again and again.

"Bastards.  Bastards!  Bastards!  BASTARDS!"

Seeming to gain strength from this he shouted.

"Die you kriffin Imperial bastards!"

He grabbed the grenade launcher and began firing it up at the bridge, firing again and again until the weapon was empty.  Then he threw it away and rushed for the ladder, climbing to the bridge, screaming profanity the whole time.  He'd kill every last kriffin Imperial on this ship or he'd die trying.

Back on the Nightshrike Cor listens to Heigren's tirade, her eyes widening.  "Well.  That seems... unwise."

"Damn it!" Mika says as Heigren seems to go nuts.  "Get back and get into some damn cover."  Didn't she have enough to juggle without him going into a berserk rage?

She clicks on the comms, "Ten here.  Talon 8's dead, Four's in critical condition and needs immediate medical attention.  Bridge is under enemy control and being assaulted by my team."  Mika realizes that she's not sure what Heigren's Talon designation is, or even if he has one.

Alpha Team - Freighter 3, Deck 8 - Amidships

Devon cut through the second last barrier with a minimum of fuss.  Having power on meant that CC9 could force the doors to try and open which weakened the seals and meant Devon had to do less cutting to break through.

They approached the door that led to the aft section of Deck 8.  CC9 could hear the sound of people behind the door.  The Imperials knew they were coming.  But since CC9 knew they knew, he could prepare.


OOC:  One door, then you get to see what the Imperials have prepared!


Freighter 4 - Deck 8 Aft (near aft turbolift)

Mika's protest was lost in the Zeltron's abuse.  She could only watch in amazement.  The first grenade he fired fell out and landed on the ground beside him, a dud.  Heigran seemed not to notice as he pulled the trigger again, and again.  The sound of concussive blasts was deafening to Mika, but somehow she could still hear Heigren's curses.

After four successive blasts, the weapon fell silent.  Mika saw Heigren pull the trigger a few more times, then he hurled away the weapon and began climbing the turbolift ladder, still shouting.

Amazingly to Mika there had been no return fire the whole time.  Were they too surprised by Heigren's crazy attack?  Perhaps one of the stun grenades had connected.  Or it was equally likely that the Imperials were waiting in a prepared ambush for the attacker to expose himself.

Heigren scrambled on to Deck 9 and was lost to sight.  Mika's ears were still ringing from the successive blasts at close range and she couldn't fully hear what was happening.

OOC:  Take a ship's bridge, a crazed Zeltron and an unknown number of Imperial defenders and what do you get?  I don't know either!  Mika can't see what's happening from her position.  She could climb up to Deck 9 to assist Heigren or just wait and see.

---

OOC: In combat rounds so primarily need Mika (and Alpha team to a lesser extent to post).  The situation with Beta will be over quickly one way or the other.


Battle status
Nightshrike - 180/180SP 220/220HP
Arin (R41) - 30/30SP 87/100HP (missiles depleted)
Sheila (Z95) - 30/30SP 115/120HP (1 missile remaining)
Mark (Z95) - 30/30SP 120/120HP (1 missile remaining)
Flash (C/S)- 83/140HP
Freighter Alpha 1 - 40/40SP 60/60HP

Freighter 1 - Destroyed
Freighter 3 - 0/40SP 60/60HP <Comms & Weapons destroyed>
Freighter 4 - Reactor Offline Critical Hull Damage <Comms & Weapons destroyed>
System Patrol Craft: *UNKNOWN - Not on sensors*


TIE Escort x 4 - All destroyed

B2-CC9 - Uninjured
Devon - Uninjured

Mika - Uninjured
Heigran - Uninjured
PK-24 - Undamaged

Xil - Stabilised
Grayrhynn - Dead
B1-AE3 - Destroyed
B1-AE5 - Destroyed

Cursing, Mika steps up to the ladder.  She didn't think it was a good idea, but it seems it's either that or it's abandon Heigrin and leaving the ship.  Looking up, she activates e comm again.  "Ten here, Thirteen has scouted ahead, the rest of us are following behind.  Update in two minutes or offload and blast us to bits.

With a resigned shake of her head, Mika climbs up.

Mark sighed.  It wasn't the first person he'd lost under his command, far from it.  Even since forming the Talons there'd been deaths.  They still hurt though.  Worse yet he could hear Thirteen's idea of 'scouting' down the comm.  Still that was Mika's problem to deal with.

"Acknowledged Ten.  Keep us posted."

Alpha Team - Freighter 3, Deck 8 - Amidships

Devon went to work on the final door.  Already B2-CC9 could hear voices on the far side.  Even if he hadn't, comm chatter had increased on the Imperial commlink CC9 had taken from engineering.  The Imperial ambush team was reporting that the enemy had arrived.

It took about half an minute before the weld broke and the blast doors began to open.  In a glance B2-CC9 could see that four men waited in ambush, two stormtroopers, two navy personnel.  They had erected themselves cover out of durasteel plates and were covering behind them, two each side of the turbolift shaft.



OOC:  Combat time!  4 enemies in partial cover, 1 stormtrooper & 1 naval personnel per team, one team on either side of the turbolift shaft, all about to open fire.


Freighter 4 - Deck 9 - Bridge

Mika cautiously climbed up the ladder to the bridge, blaster pistol in one hand.  There were shouts coming from above but they were muffled by her space suit's helmet.  There was definitely a lot of cursing, mostly from Heigren and the odd blaster shot.  The last seemed odd.  Surely the Imperials would put up a stronger defence than the occasional shot?

She had to grab the rails suddenly as the whole freighter rocked and creaked, then slowly began to move. 'Tractor beam' Mika thought to herself before continuing her ascent.

She approached the top and was greeted by bodies.  Two stormtroopers lay dead, as did a man dressed as a naval officer.  Mika wondered how Heigren could have killed them so fast.  A closer inspection showed one stormtrooper had been shot neatly through the eye hole.  Mika suspected this was Xil's work, the shot was so precise.  Another stormtrooper had been hit in the helmet by a weapon with such power it had blown half of the back of his helmet away, along with the back half of his skull.  Mika had to suspect Grayrrhyn's bowcaster of causing such damage.

"No, no.  I yield, I yield, PLEASE!"  The pitiful pleas came from the front of the bridge, which she couldn't see from the turbolift shaft.  Climbing up, Mika peered cautiously around the corner.

Heigren's suit was covered in blood all along the left side.  His helmet was off.  The blood was courtesy of a fallen stormtrooper, recently killed, as evidenced by blood still spraying out from his neck.  A vibroblade hummed in Heigren's left hand, the weapon practically invisible due to the blood that soaked it and all of Heigren's arm.  The Zeltron's approach was predatory, deliberate.

The Imperial gave one last cry for mercy before Heigren drove the blade deep into the man's abdomen.  The officer screamed loud.  Heigren made no move to twist the blade or remove it, just staring into the man's face.  Finally he drove the blade upwards and the man's screams became a gurgle and he slumped to the floor.  Heigren just stood there.  His body now covered in gore as well as blood.  Finally he seemed to notice Mika and turned.  It seemed to take a few moments for him to recognise her.  Then he fell to his knees, curling up in a ball as if in great pain.


OOC:  The bridge is a slaughterhouse, but it's yours.  All the Imperials are dead (in all cases but one you can tell just by looking at their injuries.  Heigren is conscious but you suspect he's badly hurt (though he's got so much blood and other body parts on him it's hard to tell.


Space

It was finally starting to feel like things were moving, Zyra thought.  The first freighter was only a minute from the jump point.  They'd already inputted R2-A9's jump information and were just waiting to clear the gravity well.

Further back Freighter 3 had started it's move towards the jump point, even though CC9 and Devon were still fighting to clear her of Imperial presence.  Mark and Sheila had taken up escort on that ship.  According to the sensor boards they should reach the jump point in about six minutes.

The Nightshrike came last.  Rann had locked on to Freighter 4 with the tractor beam and they had acheived a good lock.  Now they were ponderously moving towards the jump point.  The going was slow, the Nightshrike was not really designed to tow a fully laden freighter over long distances.  They were making about half the freighter's top speed.  She estimated they'd reach the jump point in about ten minutes.  Hopefully the team would make the most of it.

The transport vessel had been busy too.  On Cor's instructions, the second Xil had been loaded aboard, the vessel had flown over and docked with the Nightshrike.  Even now, PK-24 was moving the sniper to medical while 2-1B-D3 began a preliminary assessment.  The moment Xil was secure, PK-24 and the transport were to rejoin Freighter 4.

---

Battle status
Nightshrike - 180/180SP 220/220HP
Arin (R41) - 30/30SP 87/100HP (missiles depleted)
Sheila (Z95) - 30/30SP 115/120HP (1 missile remaining)
Mark (Z95) - 30/30SP 120/120HP (1 missile remaining)
Flash (C/S)- 83/140HP
Freighter Alpha 1 - 40/40SP 60/60HP

Freighter 1 - Destroyed
Freighter 3 - 0/40SP 60/60HP <Comms & Weapons destroyed>
Freighter 4 - Reactor Offline Critical Hull Damage <Comms & Weapons destroyed>
System Patrol Craft: *UNKNOWN - Not on sensors*


TIE Escort x 4 - All destroyed

B2-CC9 - Uninjured
Devon - Uninjured

Mika - Uninjured
Heigran - Seriously injured
PK-24 - Undamaged

Xil - Stabilised
Grayrhynn - Dead
B1-AE3 - Destroyed
B1-AE5 - Destroyed
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:02, Sun 31 Mar 2013.

The moment the door started to open under its own power, Devon ducked back behind CC9 and the riot shield, peering under the droids arm to assess the opposition.
Great he thought More Stormies...

Given the situation, Devon didn't wait to be told - he aimed and fired his grenade launcher at the enemies on the left, his plan to land a shot behind the barricade, right where it would do the most damage to the defenders.

It tales Mika a moment to take it all in, but time is slipping by.  On the comms again, "Ten here, the freighter's ours, send in the engineers.  Thirteen is injured, condition unstable and he needs medical attention."

She moves over to the fallen Heirgrin and kneels down next to him.  "How bad is it, Heigrin?  I've called for help, they'll get here as quick as possible, but I need to get down to engineering.  Are you okay here?"  If Heigrin proves mentally unstable, she'll apply her stun baton.

I'll be fine sweetness.  Of course you can come do a full body assessment later if you like.  Despite his jokes, it was obvious he was in a lot of pain.  Bastard caught me when I wasn't looking.  Well he sure saw me when I gutted him, didn't he?  Just leave me some medkits and run along.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:52, Sun 31 Mar 2013.

CC9 remains in a defensive stance until the grenade lands and then advances with his shield up, firing precise shots favouring the stormtroopers as targets.  He will stop just out of grenade blast radius range (if he's not in it already) and will continue to fire until the stormtroopers are dead.  If the Imperial Navy boys haven't scattered or died in that time he will cease fire to allow them a brief moment to surrender.  He doesn't expect they will.

Mika quickly moves from Imperial to Imperial, gathering up any medkits or medi-paks and sets them down next to Heirgrin.  "Here, and I'll get you better soon as I can.  Now I got to get down to engineering, make sure we keep breathing."

Mika makes her way back down to engineering and finds the guy in charge.  "What's the status?"

First thing, she'd have to get power to the hyperdrive, that means the reactor.