At the hangar bay Commander Ackbar watched as Lyla led her crew and the last three Verpines into the life boat. Blaster bolts struck the hangar bay as their climbed aboard. The Imperial Shuttle had disengaged from the main hangar and made its way around the asteroid to blast at them as they tried to make their escape. Blistering hot sparks showered everyone as the base shook. The Verpine jostled and screeched as they clambered into the small space craft. Close behind Klyn dived into the vessel to escape the destruction that followed the engineer.

When everyone was aboard Ackbar stepped inside and pressed the eject button. The interior of the life boat had no steering, navigation controls or viewport. An explosion sounded outside the craft and then the boat made a jarring leap into space.

Time passed slowly within the drifting life boat. Without communications equipment, sensors or flight controls everyone was helpless, at the mercy of the vessel's automated controls. Occasionally the life boat made a leisurely course adjustment. It didn't seem enough to avoid the hundreds of asteroids out there, yet no collision occur. Only Suskafoo and the three others Verpines seemed unconcerned with the prospect of flying blind through an asteroid belt.

Then the unpleasant situation changed as the life boat shuddered and became caught fast, as though trapped in the jaws of some great vice. Ominous sound echoed through the craft, then the sound stopped.

'I am sick of those guys.' Lyla whined bitterly as the Imperial shuttle appeared in front of them now, shooting at them, all their efforts with the blast doors seemingly in vain. Nevertheless, she carried on into the life-boats, having no other option or way to fight them.

Once inside, she was disappointed to find the life-boats were no more than escape pods, and was quick to say to Ackbar. 'This is your idea of escape?!' she demanded, ready to argue with the world that kept trying to kill her. No controls, no navigation, not even a viewport, it offended the scout's need to know where she was going. But she sighed, becoming resigned to the fact that she actually hadn't had control over her fate in some time.

'Where are we even going?' she asked after a while, to fill the endless wait. She'd thought they were going to the secondary base, but realised that could be too much to hope for now. With nothing to do or fight, Lyla was left alone with her fears, that the mission was an unmitigated failure, and on her command again, that the Empire would get the plans and the Rebels would get nothing, that any minute the Imperials would find them, blow them out of space, or else capture them and put her back into prison and Grendreef's torture chair...

Then, of course, something picked them up. 'Do I want to know?'

Rynn checked and double check his blaster once the life boat had slowed and then stopped in some sort of grip. He looked at Ackbar, trying to judge the emotion on the mon calamari's face to determine if he was expecting this or not. "Don't suppose this boat comes with spacesuits?" He asked mostly rhetorically. He knew at the easiest way to end a fight in a ship was to suit up and throw open the airlock, but that wouldn't work unless everyone had a suit.

Chu-Shkar was frustrated. He had warned about this very thing, And now it was coming to pass. Then on top of that Rynn was joking about spacesuits. At least he hoped he was joking...

Klyn wasn't too happy with the 'barely moving defenseless target' situation, but his parting gift should be enough to buy them some time, and maybe even cover their escape if they are lucky.

Which was not exactly how he felt since they got their current mission. Especially because of what happened with the Gold.

As their escape pod finally got caught, it was time again to test their luck.

He did, however, check his blaster... just in case...

Tera winced as she had no time to deal with her blaster injury. "Well....I guess it's looking more and more likely we'll have to fight." She drew her saber, leaving it unignited. "I'm not going to be captured by Imperials."

'...Again.' Lyla added dismally, her memories of being held prisoner on the Miser Naval Base still fresh and recent like an unhealed wound. Being bound, menaced, drugged, and interrogated was not an experience she cared to relive.

The life boat hatch opened slowly to reveal an enormous docking bay. Beside them other life boats were secured, their doors open and empty. Dozens of Verpine skittered about at a hurried pace. The hangar bay and starship their were in was functional and efficient. Simple bulkheads were interspersed with instrument panels and atmospheric control pipes.

'What the cruk?' Lyla exclaimed, eagerly leaping out of the cramped lifeboat. So this was the secondary base. It almost looked effective. 'You've been holding out on us, Ackbar. So, what's the plan now? I don't want to evacuate a base again, but I think we're going to have to.'

Klyn almost fired as the hatch opened, but thankfully avoided a terrible mistake.

He looked at what could be seen from their position, a bit impressed but mainly very relieved.
"Well, a good surprise.  For once.  I wouldn't mind a few more, it's a bit unusual and refreshing."

With a tiny surge of hope, he quickly got out of the pod and looked around.
He was very obviously searching for something...

Chu-Shkar had his bowcaster leveled at the opening, ready to fire at the first imperial he saw, but when the door opened and he saw the organized chaos of a rebel base, he let out a loud "Chuff." The breath he had been holding released in a sigh that was explosive. He sagged in relief and slumped against the wall of the escape pod. He was sure he was about to die, as he was not going to be taken alive. He had seen what happened to wookiees in captivity, and he would never be a slave.

The fact that they were not in Imperial hands was such a relief that his body actually lost all strength for a minute.

From across the hangar bay a Verpine  strides over to meet Commander Ackbar "please follow me" the Verpine said in halting Basic. The Verpine led them through several crowded corridors to the bridge. The command chair spun around and another, older Verpine considered the Rebels. Ackbar stepped forward "it is good to see you again, Speaker Jurfel" the Verpine nodded "mine is the pleasure Commander Ackbar, but danger threatens the hive and we must act quickly. One hour ago the Empire broadcast a sub-space message on all frequencies, ordering the Verpine to submit or die. The hive has rejected the Empire's ultimatum and has decided to actively join the Alliance. The situation is grim, however. Imperial stormtroopers have captured Research Station Shantipole and, with it, the two prototype two-man B-wings. Our remote sensors reveal that a large number of capital ships have moved into position around our asteroid field. TIE fighters are sweeping the area in regular patterns. We are massing our own fleet in an attempt to gather the hive for escape."

As the Speaker gave his announcement Commander Ackbar studied the ship's data panels and read-outs "Those capital ships have formed a blockade, effectively cutting off our avenue of escape. The TIEs are engaged in a systematic search that will not end until they find what they are looking for — namely, the computer files we have" he looked to Lyla and the team "and all members of the Alliance engineering team. The Verpine fleet consists of unarmed ships which stand no chance against the powerful Imperial vessels. But my analysis shows a flaw in the blockade. Here, at this point, is the weak link. A single escort frigate is the only obstacle in sector G147, where the asteroid trajectories form a natural corridor through the field. An armed vessel could provide cover fire and a distraction that would allow us to move the fleet out of the field and into open space before the rest of the blockade could respond."

The Mon Calamari shook his large head and looked to Lyla "with your ship missing, the only combat-ready craft in the immediate vicinity is my transport. Unfortunately, it is docked in the Shantipole's hangar bay. A small strike team could sneak into the research station, recover the ship, and eliminate any remaining evidence of our secret project." the Commander considered.

Lyla groaned; it was like they'd jumped out of the fire back into a larger, hotter fry-pan. So, this was not the second base, the second base had been taken as well, as had the B-wing prototypes, making the whole mission and the Rebel cause a fail. 'And that's why not to scatter your facilities about the system.' she remarked, irritated at the sloppiness of the whole set-up. Now was the not time for blame, of course, but it sure did help release steam.

Hearing Ackbar's plan, she sighed, knowing it was fraught with risks and misfortune as usual. Of course the strike team would be hers. Once again, it was time to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, after having tossed it in there in the first place. 'Raiding Shantipole is going to draw attention and lead the Imperials back here... where is "here", anyway?' she wondered, looking around the bridge, guessing it to be Verpine ship.

'Has there been any sign of the Alabak's Gold, and do you know what the Imperials have done with the B-wings? If they're still on Shantipole, we might at least steal them back at the same time.' That seemed the only glimmer of a chance of salvaging the mission.

'And have we made any headway in finding the spy? We've already lost two bases to this leak, it needs to be plugged.'
This message was last edited by the player at 02:40, Wed 20 Dec 2017.

"Let me remind you Lieutenant that we are forced to hide our presence here in Roche asteroid field. Secrecy has been ally, but now an Imperial spy has taken that from us" the Mon Calamarian cast aside Lyla's criticisms he concentrated on her questions "the identity of the spy has eluded us".

Commander Ackbar was at ease on the ship's bridge and at a control seated himself and called up a holo-image of the asteroid field. The Commander highlighted the Verpine transport and the research station to show the Rebels their relative positions. He changed the image, zooming in to show the plans of the research station.

"You must fly through the asteroid field to Research Station Shantipole, get inside undetected, and set the main generator to explode. I'll provide you with the detonite and timers myself. A thirty minute fuse should give you a reasonable safety margin. When the generator explodes it should destroy the entire station, and the prototype starfighters along with it. That explosion will be our signal to move the fleet into corridor G147. If you have not secured a combat vessel and begun your distraction manoeuvres on the frigate, we shall try to escape anyway, but we'll be easy targets for the Imperial ship. Good luck, and may the Force be with you."

Suskafoo volunteered to join the rebels. He said if he can access the computers at Research Station Shantipole he will be able to retrieve additional files that will speed up the resurrection of the B-Wing project.

Jurfel listened to Ackbar’s plan and pointed to another smaller docking bay away from the bridge “we have four asteroid hoppers the Rebel hive can use to reach Shantipole” the Verpine offered.

So, infiltrate (how?) an Imperial-captured base, set it to blow, and steal a ship to escape (if you're really lucky). Lyla sighed, feeling like she'd just been given a suicide mission, crukked over without even the decency of a tail-rub. They had to do everything, while Ackbar's lot sat and scratched their fins. Ackbar hadn't even answered her questions. She was tired, tired of being kicked from pillar to post without even a say in how. She couldn't do this again. 'No.' she said firmly, crossing her arms and standing her ground, her air literally mutinous.

'We're not going anywhere. Not until you answer my questions. Not until you convince me you've got the leak plugged and the spy dealt with. Else this whole exercise is already a bust.'

"The spy must have come from my command staff, either Lieutenant Pollard or Lieutenant Glek. Neither have made contact since the evacuation" the Commander answered Lyla "the prototype B-wings are at Shantipole. You may be able to steal them back from the Imperials" the Mon Calamarian agreed.

With Lyla refusing to take any other action Ackbar turned to Jurfel and the two began talking and analysing the sensors and computers, Jurfel announcing "I have completed analysis on the Imperial search pattern, I calculate that we have a little less than nine days to make our breakout attempt. After that we are certain to be discovered by the TIE patrols".

Chu-Shkar rested his hand on Lyla's shoulder and gave her a gentle squeeze. "ADMIRAL, which would be more lovely, and do either know about this bass?"

Lyla cast a critical gaze about the bridge, wondering if any of them was a spy as well. Ackbar had only blabbed the last-ditch plan to everyone of these people, and via Verpine communication, the whole local Verpine hive. She would have to change every aspect of the plan she had control over.

'We need to find this spy first. What was the last anyone saw of Pollard and Glek?' Pollard she'd seen during the withdrawal, but Salin Glek had sloped off as soon as they'd arrived. Glek was obvious spy material, given his effort to intercept their message for Ackbar, but Lyla had to wonder if he was too obvious. But subtlety wasn't the Empire's strong point. 'I'd like to check and question the evacuees as soon they're collected from the escape pods.'

'Then, Commander Ackbar,' Lyla stressed, since he still hadn't officially received his rank yet, and still might not, 'We need full maps, plans, and codes for Shantipole base. I don't want a repeat of the evacuation.'

RESEARCH STATION SHANTIPOLE MAP KEY
1.Verpine Tunnels
2.Airlock #1
3.Communications Center
4.Rec Area
5.Mess
6.Elevators
7.Command Center
8.Computer Room
9.Living Quarters
10.Airlock #2
11.Life Boat Bay
12.Medical Center
13.Repulsor Beam Controls
14.Main Generator
15.Power Converters
16.Life Support
17.Atmosphere Generator
18.Pilots' Rec Room
19.Hangar Bay #1
20.Storage
21.Maintenance Shop
22.Maintenance Shop
23.Hangar Bay #2
24.Shield Generator
25.Power Cells
26.Storage
27.Airlock #3
28.Agrifactory
29.Storage
30.Research Lab
31.Auxiliary Power
32.Hangar Bay Sub-Level

"Permission granted" Ackbar accessed the plans for Research Station Shantipole. Providing the Rebels with a full map and key. He also provided codes for all blast doors.

He also brought up a list of five names of the technical crew that had reached the safety of the Verpine vessel, Elimik Marsime, Zaibruc Molobee, Dandon Tolesam, Josala Delgram and Suslil Lemmaps "you are free to question any of them. Both Lieutenant Pollard and Lieutenant Glek are missing in action".

Lyla looked over the map and codes, as well as the names of the technical personnel, and nodded. 'Thank you.' And thank the Goddess. 'Where can we find them?' With the information, Lyla hurried off to locate and question these people, so she could get a handle on the spy problem.

'Tera, and anyone else who's hurt, get medical attention. I want everyone in top shape before we head back out.'
This message was last edited by the player at 02:44, Fri 22 Dec 2017.

Klyn was very disappointed as he finally realized the Gold wasn't here.

A bit moody, he followed the rest of the team to the command center to get their next mission.

He had to agree with Lyla, this was getting close to impossible.

But as there was a tiny chance of finding the Gold there, he had a second motivation for getting there... as long as they had a plan.

"I will check the plans of that base we need to infiltrate while you interrogate people as I'm terrible at that kind of job.  But maybe I can find something we could use for our next invasion."

The technical personnel were recovering from their narrow escape from the Imperial invasion. Two of them, Zaibruc Molobee and Dandon Tolesam were in the medical bay suffering from minor traumas, the other three were in small area of the ship's living quarters set aside for the Rebel Hive.

Klyn remained on the bridge and accessed the file son the research station. Jurfel also shared the technical readouts of the asteroid hoppers with the engineer. Analysis of the readouts provided Klyn were the following intelligence.

Research Station Shantipole was the largest Rebel base in the Roche system. The Verpine and Rebel engineers had been working for five months designing and constructing the new two-man B-wings.

For access to the station Klyn identified three airlocks, indicated on map at position 2, 10 and 27. Two hangars at 19 and 23 and a life boat bay 11. The station built within a naturally occurring asteroid is full of winding and twisting corridors. The asteroid hoppers are short range repulsorlift craft, able to transport up to a crew of four. They are ideal for travelling through asteroid fields but not suitable for deep space. They are covered with a sensor-reflective material that should confuse any Imperial scanning equipment. As craft designed and built by the pacifistic Verpine they have no weapons or shields.

Chu-Shkar tracked down Ackbar and asked to speak to him in private.

"THE key to undocking this is the word Homeworld. THIS file contains all of the data on the project. I have a copy as well, and will be giving another one to fiends, so that the data gets out. You should have a copy so if you get free and we don't it still goes out to the Alliance."]
This message was lightly edited by the player at 08:06, Sun 24 Dec 2017.

'Alright. Confirm everything, I hate surprises.' Lyla said to Klyn with a nod before setting off on her interrogations, long delayed since before the Imperial attack. Deciding those in the medical bay weren't going anywhere, she went to find the other three, Elimik Marsime, Josala Delgram, and Suslil Lemmaps.

As Klyn studied the technical read-outs and Lyla interrogated the Rebel engineers Chu-Shkar approached Commander Ackbar who was on the bridge analysing the Imperial and Rebel activity in the Roche system. The Mon Calamari took Chu-Shkar into an office. The Commander was grateful for the additional data file "excellent work. The Alliance is in your debt, Lieutenant Lyla is fortunate to have you on her team" he nodded his head "we still have much work to do if we're going to get the plans to the Alliance. May the Force be with you" he thanked Chu-Shkar.

As Lyla wandered around the Verpine ship the many Verpine crew skittered about, ignoring her entirely. She found Elimik Marsime in the living quarters. The human male, middle-aged and going bald, had his head in a data pad. When Lyla interrupted the engineer stopped his calculations "glad to see you made it ma'am. Brilliant ship designers these Verpine but it won't be worth anything if the Imperials find us" he worried.

After leaving Ackbar's office, Chu-Shkar sought out Lyla. Seeing her talking to a technician he waited patiently until a lull in their conversation before asking; "WHAT would you like me to do Lieutenant?"

Lyla approached Elimik, wondering what kind of bedside manner to project, before deciding not do do anything different. 'Same here, you did good work in the evac.' She took a seat, sighing 'That's what I'm worried about. How do you think they found us the last time?' she asked, taking the conversation starter Elimik had offered, to save her playing inquisitor.

The engineer rubbed his neck and sighed. Grime, dust and sweat marked his fingers and lined his neck. He had little rest since their escape and had tried to wash but been kept busy. He seemed relieved to rest and chat with Lyla, a hero of the Rebellion.

"There must be have been a leak" Elimik shook his head "if there's a spy they must have been with us the whole time. No one new has been brought onto the project. We've all had our own individual tasks, the only members with access to the entire project would be the Commander and Lieutenants Glek and Pollard".

'Aha.' Lyla nodded in agreement. Of course, it keep coming down to Glek and Pollard. And Ackbar. 'Did you happen to see anything suspicious or weird going on before we left? Anything, really. Even a strange astromech could be a spy droid.'

"Most of the Verpine are barely sentient" he explained "barely any need for droids, the worker Verpine are totally subservient to the dominant Verpine. Only possibility is part of the team" Elimik looked disheartened at the thought, but not guilty.

"Don't know much about Pollard, he speaks little of his past but I've heard he was a pirate before he came to the Rebellion, he's a dangerous man for sure. Glek was from Mon Cala and fled to join the Rebellion when the Empire subjugated the planet, he's hard working but doesn't comprehend much the advanced technology the Verpine are designing".

Pollard had been a pirate? Well, the Rebels couldn't be picky about their people – they'd taken her, after all. But it meant his loyalties were unreliable, his cause dubious. Glek, meanwhile, was sounding rather better, with a clear reason to serve the Alliance, but it did suggest an Imperial connection or threat over him. 'What about one of the dominant Verpine? And what about Ackbar?' Lyla reined herself in; she was getting paranoid. 'Do you know what happened to our ship, the Alabak's Gold?'


OOC: Perception (sense deception or influence) 24

"There's little chance in was any single Verpine, they share some kind of hive consciousness. If one of them has decided to betray us then they all have" it was a worryingly scary proposal, which made it unlikely but not impossible.

"The Commander is a peaceful man" was Elimik short dismissal of any slur on his reputation "sorry I didn't see what happened to your ship. Someone might have tried to use it to escape the assault".

'Probably our spy.' Lyla concluded ruefully. 'Alright, well, thanks for your time. I better let you rest. We have a lot of work ahead of us.' she ended, trying to sound somewhat chummy and leader-like.

She left Elimik to his study, and found Chu-Skhar waiting for her outside.



Lyla tugged at a tail, trying to think what else needed to be done or checked up on. 'Well, what do you think we need to do?' she asked. 'I had an idea we could check comms records for outgoing communications prior to the Imperial attack, but I guess they're stuck on the other base now. There's a thought: can we block or scan for comms traffic here on Shantipole? I don't want a repeat of what happened last time.'

Chu-Shkar nodded and said, "I CAN set up a watchdog program that will monitor all outgoing communications for anything suspicious. Though I think that's like closing the door after the bantha is gone at this point."

'Well, we're not so sure the bantha is gone. It could still be hanging around spying on us.' Lyla returned. She went on with the metaphor, 'So, until I check out the rest of the herd, and confirm which bantha and where it went, I'd still like to make sure.'

Visits to the other four members of the engineering team Zaibruc, Dandon, Josala and Suslil offered Lyla with a similar perspective as her interview with Elimik. The Commander was to be trusted and any leak would have come from one of the missing lieutenants. Lyla sensed no deception from any of the engineers. With neither lieutenant yet to catch up with the Verpine spacecraft their current plans would be secure.

Chu-Shkar nods and goes off to find a computer access terminal that will connect with the communications array.

Once there, he plugs his computer into the access and begins to write the program he needs.

So, she had two suspects, one at least a double agent, and neither of them accounted for. She didn't know any more than she had when she'd started investigating, but she knew more about them now. Lyla couldn't confirm that Pollard or Glek hadn't already secretly made it to Shantipole, or wouldn't arrive late in an escape pod, so she saw no reason to relax security, or at least her demands for it.

After leaving Suslil, Lyla found a quiet place to rest and studied the plans for Shantipole, the specifications for the asteroid hoppers, and the details of Ackbar's plan.


OOC: In Shantipole, do we know which hangar bays we can expect to find the ships in? Will there be captured Rebel or Verpine personnel we need to rescue or can enlist to help us? Are the three airlocks the only means of entrance, or can we enter via the agrifactory?

Rynn tagged along to hear the questioning himself instead of getting it second hand. He didn't like any part of the situation. they were in.


When they had found where'd they be resting Rynn finally spoke up. "My credits are on Glek. I didn't care for his attitude before the attack went down. I think he's our man. Though I am bias. I thought it was Glek from the begining, but hearing that Pollard was a pirate cemented it. I know not every crew works the same way, but we never did things covertly. It was always brute force pirating." He shook his head at the lack of information. "Either way, have BOLOs out on the pair? It wouldn't be great if which ever is the spy is walking around here."

'Yeah, Glek definitely tried to intercept our message for Ackbar. ButwWhether he's a spy or just a busybody, I dunno. He seems too obvious, you know?' Lyla mused. 'And we last saw Pollard when we were holding off the Imperials, so if he was a spy, he was leaving it awfully late to make his getaway... But yeah, I'll put out an alert, for all the good it will do.' Getting her comlink, Lyla called Ackbar's staff and formally declared Glek and Pollard as suspects to be apprehended.

Putting it away, she realised what Rynn had said and asked with surprise 'Wait, you were a pirate?'

Rynn rubbed the top of his skinsuit, scratching his head. He hadn't realized he had yet to tell this crew about his past. They knew back at Neskroff, he was upfront when he approached the Rebellion. Hopefully he'd done enough for the group to negate any bad stigma for his past.

He slowly nodded, beginning his tale.
"Against my will. Thought you knew." He said, thankful that the skinsuit covered the sheepish look on his face. "My parents were killed by pirates. I was 7. They found where my parents had hid me on our ship, and I punched one of them. I guess they liked my spunk because they kept me. Over a decade I worked with them. I flew, and cleaned the ship. I guess after that long they'd forgotten how they captured me. I hadn't. I put on a enviro-suit, then went and opened up the airlock. I had rigged the bulkheads not to intact their emergency protocols and seal the ship. They didn't even have time to realize what happened." He let out a pretty big sigh, feeling the weight of his past. "Tabriz often sold slaves to the Empire... so I didn't care for them. And then Tabriz's friends caught wind of what I did and came after me. Not long after that, I ran into the rebellion. I was at Neskroff until I was assigned with you."

Lyla listened with growing sympathy to Rynn's tale; once she heard it, she could hardly judge him for his association with pirates, or how he'd disposed of them. All the team had their painful pasts and brushes with darkness. Dead parents were a common theme. The Rebel Alliance was generally not a place for happy, well-adjusted people. 'I'm sorry.' Lyla said with feeling. She raised a hand to his shoulder, but hesitated, not touching him. Someone who wore a skinsuit their whole life was probably not someone comfortable with casual contact.

'Why do you wear the suit and mask?' she wondered. 'Sorry, don't mean to pry. I don't know much about the Ubese.'

"Way back when Ubese were arms manufacturers. The old Republic didn't like that so they blew up our depots and factories. Since then the atmosphere on our planet is druk. Not a lot of oxygen left, and a whole lot of pollutants. The ones that stayed, like my parents, adapted to it. We can't live without these suits, can't breathe without the mask. We can talk,
 but it barely comes out as a whisper, so we need the amplifier." He chuckled to himself. "Now you're most likely one of the leading experts on Ubese. We don't like other people, grudges held since the Old Republic did their thing. But like I said, I was raised off planet, so I'm more used to other species."

Tera blinked as she arrived in the room. Her eyes opened wide as she spoke [Language unknown: "Ad est der u samomi ovepr ar roai Entnotion ers hoou-ellonick manbleorestaith? N osou eresomsom n a sonme ut virsetill ereavestrdayday nce inmolesata."]

'Oh. I'm sorry.' Lyla said, with genuine feeling but little idea what she could say to that. She wondered what Rynn thought about the Alliance's goal to restore the Republic, and was about to ask when Tera arrived, not speaking Basic.

"[Language unknown: Iouavesan masan hioul wh iv ek ard ivlat comse pausth ndesa to iou waat Lesticthu?" ] Rynn said slowly, stumbling over a few words and finally getting the sentence out. "I haven't spoken that since not long after my parents died." He said solemnly. "It feels weird. I didn't know I still knew it."

He looked at the Jedi, "How was your research? My kind doesn't care for the Jedi, and can be pretty hostile, even amongst our own kind."

"Well, ummm, I just thought you were being private in your clothing styles, some cultures value privacy as a major thing. If it helps I can also communicate in Ubenial too? Sorry, it was just helpful to communicate so I learned it." she raised an eyebrow "Oh this was back when I was a student. It formed part of my thesis that led to my induction into the Imperial Navy. I was more a life scientist than a doctor. I'm not terribly sure that anyone I talked to truly had a choice in the matter. Thinking about it...I'm fairly sure my research may have been subverted to accelerate climate change instead of reversing it." she frowned "I mean I know I'm taking lessons and everything but I'm still not sure I would refer to myself as a Jedi."

Twitching a tail, Lyla glanced between the two of them in surprise. 'You speak his language?' she confirmed, adding 'That could come in useful. Now if only one of us could understand Wookiee.' she sighed. 'Twi'leks are more common, but I don't often get the chance to speak Ryl.'

On the topic of Jedi, she mused 'Well, those other Jedi didn't impress me much, I'm afraid. But you're alright by me, Tera.'

While the others made their inquests, Klyn kept working on the various schematics.

He also wondered if the Verpines would be upset if he upgraded their little ship...
Mainly with shield and/or a blaster canon.

Whilst Lyla, Rynn and Tera questioned the Rebel engineers and made their hypotheses about the suspected spy within their midst Klyn began gathering the data their would need for their mission to steal a combat-ready ship and destroy any remaining traces of the B-wing project.

By the time Lyla led the others to join the engineer he had the plans laid out. For access to the station Klyn identified three airlocks, two hangars and a life boat bay. The station was built within a naturally occurring asteroid is full of winding and twisting corridors. A large dome at the top of the asteroid contains the colony agrifactory.

Upgrading the asteroid hoppers wouldn't be difficult and having aided the Rebels with the B-wing project adding armaments wouldn't upset them, the difficulty was at present whilst they were aboard the pacifistic Verpine ship they didn't have any ship-based weapons to attach.

'If we need weapons on an asteroid hopper, we're already dead.' Lyla pointed out bluntly after hearing their options. 'They're small and stealthy, that's their benefit, weapons would give them away... So, our first issue: access. Infiltration seems wisest, we don't have the anything for a full assault.' she estimated, leading the discussion but looking to the others to see if they had anything to contribute.

'These hoppers are four-man craft, but maybe we can squeeze in a fifth, we won't be in them long enough to get comfortable. We ride one hopper in, but set an empty one drifting as a decoy. They scan it first, ignore us second. Just leftovers from an abandoned base. How about that?' she asked, surveying the team for objections.

Tera looked with a worried frown  "I...uh...I don't like it. Five of us in a hopper...if anything goes wrong with it...there's no redundancy. I'd rather have two...in case one breaks down...or we grab a hostage on our way out...or if we have to rescue anyone that was left behind. Two gives us redundancy and two escape routes."

Lyla agreed with that. 'Alright, we take two hoppers, with a third as a decoy. Do we have two pilots?' She looked around for volunteers; pilots tended to be kept on rotation in this team. 'Where should we make entry?'

As the Rebels began to make plans Suskafoo led them to the asteroid hoppers, "let me accompany you. I can extract the data files from the research station computers" the Verpine volunteered. At the hoppers Jurfel had arranged a collection of supplies. Waiting beside the four asteroid hoppers were six cubes of detonite, three timers and six space suits.

"Let's not forget one part of the plan is getting away inside a battle capable vehicle"
said Klyn.
He also showed on the plan the place he had selected.
"I think the hangars are a bit too risky: there might be some troopers wandering.
On the other hand, we might find an escape ship more easily, and computer access might be easier too.
Airlocks would require some extra vehicular moves, but there is less chances of being spotted.

And there is the life boat bay.  Our current vehicle might not be too noticeable there, and we could also plan a 'plan B' escape from there.

Lyla indicated the protruding facilities on the plan. 'What about these external structures? The agrifactory and these monitoring station thingeys? Is there any way in through those? The agrifactory won't be patrolled, and would offer a good hiding place. Plus these turbolifts go straight down into the heart of the facility, giving us access.'

"We could also do a two pronged attack. One group being a diversion while the other get the plans."<blue> she shrugged <Blue>"It probably won't delay them for long, but at that point the diversionary team can press an attack themselves. If we're going to be thorough in the recovery of these fighters....we need control of the whole facility....along with possibly the means of utterly destroying it to. Do we have any thermal detonators?"

"I thought stealth was the main plan for this mission?  We could keep that idea as a plan B. Which, looking at our history, will probably become plan A very quickly, anyways..."

He pointed at the detonite.
"We have ample supply to destroy the base, if judiciously placed.  But don't dream about controlling the base: we will be vastly outnumbered and our chances of success will drastically drop as soon as the alarm is raised."

He also answered Lyla
"The agrifactory  doesn't seem to have any kind of entrance lock from the outside, so it would be hard to enter from that point without causing some damage, I think."

'We do have two mission objectives: destroy the base, destroy or steal the B-wings, and steal a ship to escape on. Okay, that's three, four objectives. Plus whatever comes up on the way. Lucky us. Okay, let's consider just two: destroy the base, steal a ship. Splitting up will help us achieve them, move about more stealthily – or leave us separated or without each other's expertise.'

She squinted at the map, wishing it could be bigger. 'The agrifactory has an elevator straight down into the command centre, the computer room. We could seize it pretty quickly if we want to, if we could get to the other elevator. We couldn't keep it though. But the computers could at least tell us where the ships are.' She shrugged her notion away, a nice idea but too difficult to pull off.

'We want the main generators, here, they're pretty deep in the base, but a fairly straight shot up from Airlock #3. If only we knew which hangar to go to for a ship. Hangar #2 is closest, with a fifty-percent chance of having a ship inside.'

Chu-Shkar looks at the Verpine that wanted to go and asks, "I can get into any computer system, why do you need to go?"

"Only that I will be able access the B-wing data quickly from the Shantipole computer system" Suskafoo answered Chu-Shkar, the tall insectoid's antennae twitched and waved his hands awkwardly "it will be safer for me to remain here if you believe you are capable" the Verpine agreed.

Chu-Shkar thinks for a moment before asking. "IF the B-Wing data is still there, what did I download?"

"You retrieved the B-wing data files stored at Ackbar's command base. There are more data files at the Shantipole Research station. Data files vital to the B-wing project" Suskafoo replied.

"SO we didn't get all the data. WE need to get that data L.T." Chu-Shkar says to Lyla.

Lyla facepalmed. She hadn't thought it possible, but it was; after all she'd seen today, Ackbar still found new ways to disappoint her. 'Of course we do. Because Ackbar didn't keep back-ups or keep it all in the one place... Okay, do we need to get this data, or do we need to destroy this data and stop the Imperials getting it?' she asked Suskafoo for a clue. 'Destroying the base will destroy the data, but if we need to download it, we need to get into the Computer Room after all.'

Tera looked depressed "I bet we need to recover the data. I'm sure they could reconstitute it from the prototypes, but not without quite a lot of work. So I think we need to plan on taking and holding the computer room for a while...."

"Your primary objective is to secure a combat vessel to allow us to evade the Imperial blockade and to destroy the Research Station. If you can get the data before destroying the base it would be beneficial to the B-wing project. If you need any help I am willing to accompany you" Suskafoo offered his aid again.

'Five objectives, including cleaning up Ackbar's mess.' Lyla revised bitterly. 'Alright, to do all that, we're going to be there too long, doing too much, for a smash-and-grab raid. What about an infiltration, like we did on Sedri? A Wookiee prisoner gambit, maybe? If we have some uniforms, we could dress Tera, Klyn, and Rynn up, then me, Chu-Shkar, and Suskafoo could pose as prisoners?'

Tero looked worried "I ...uh I'd be hesitant to try a prisoner gambit again. It didn't work terribly well the last time." she looked a little downfallen "I think I've seen too much of the Imperial hand to be truly effective when masquerading as an Imperial any more."

Chu-Shkar just growled at the idea of being a prisoner at all.

So much for that, but Lyla was still prepared to take one for the team. 'I don't suppose they get stripper-grams out here?' she muttered sourly.

'Okay, then we'll have to split up: two teams, through Airlocks #2 and #3, we make two simultaneous raids to the Computer Room and the Main Generator each, raise as much havoc as we can, then we retreat and meet up at one of the hangars, and hopefully steal a ship and get the cruk out of there.'

"DOWNLOADING the data should be quick this time. WITH Suskafoo's pass codes, and the program that I wrote ready to go it shouldn't take much time at all. MOST of the time I was having to spend writing the program, and cracking the code. IT shouldn't take even half as long this time." Chu-Shkar said through his translator device after Lyla called off the prisoner idea.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:34, Tue 23 Jan 2018.

Rynn sighed, it didn't seem this would be an easy mission either, as they couldn't even nail down what their focus should be. "Just get me to the ship, and I'll try to punch the hole in the blockade, or draw enough away, which ever occurs to me in the moment."


As they discussed the teams of the raid, Rynn pulled up the map on his bracer computer and looked at it for a few moments before suggesting. "If we can get in this airlock  here(10) we could be in space suits, take out the atmosphere(17) and life support(16) generators on the way to the main generator." He rubbed the chin of his skin suit. "Would give them plenty to worry about while we are moving around in there." He turned the map to see it from a different angle. "We could both come in that airlock or the computer room team could go in the other one (2) and make their way to the computer room, then we have a choice of which hangar we fall back to to steal a ship."

Klyn wasn't too keen on causing ruckus as they wanted first to get there without too much trouble.

Rynn's plan was, in his opinion, a bit better than just firing at will.

"That could work, yes... By combining Chu's computer skill and my skills at mechanics, we might event manage to make it look like system failure or something like that to cover our track..."

A plan prepared the Rebels split up and boarded the Verpine asteroid hoppers. The asteroid hoppers glided away from the Verpine transport. Several dozen small to medium craft float nearby, all of the Verpine. A life boat similar to the one you arrived in is engulfed by one of the larger vessels.

OOC Moving things along, let me know who's in each group. I'm assuming you've left Suskafoo behind, let me know if I'm wrong.

Roll Pilot skill checks when you are ready to navigate the asteroid field to Research Station Shantipole.

'Sounds like a plan to me.' Lyla agreed, satisfied with what Rynn came up with to fit their needs. 'We'll try to be stealthy as long as we can – when the alarm's raised, this'll get much harder. We stay mobile and adaptable, no sense us getting stuck over there. We need a mechanic to plant the detonite, sabotage the life-support – that's you, Klyn. And Chu-Shkar can slice the computer to get the files. We'll need a pilot in each group, and medic. I'm not as good as Tera, but I have that interface visor to assist.'


OOC: I propose the following, but the groups now seem a little small, but that's probably okay for stealth. We could take Suskafoo to make up numbers, if only Verpine weren't pacifists. I don't suppose the Alliance could lend us a few fighters?
Team Wreck Stuff: Klyn, Lyla
Team Steal Stuff: Chu-Shkar, Rynn, Tera

"Agreed" said Klyn.

"YOU"RE the boss L.T. BUT I can do significant damage with my computer, so I'm probably on both teams." Chu-Shkar said before giving a chuffing laugh.

Tera asked the Verpine "Okay, so you're pacifists? Would that preclude you from doing your best to protect Lyla and Klyn? Could you for example create merry havoc with doors and systems to keep Lyla and Klyn from being disturbed as they try to sabotage the base?"

The survivors of Ackbar's Command base were engineers and technicians. The focus of the Shantipole Project was research and design. The crew of the Alabak's Gold were the only fighters and last hope of the Verpine Fleet and Commander Ackbar's team.

At the helm of one asteroid hopper was Rynn and at the other Klyn, the ship's repulsorlift engines kicked in and the hoppers leapt away, leaving the gathering Verpine fleet far behind.

Before the Rebels could begin their raid on the Research Station Shantipole they had to get there. Asteroids hurtled passed them, far enough away at the moment that neither pilot, Klyn or Rynn, were troubled too much and avoided any collisions.

Strapped in tight in her chair and under just as much tension, Lyla waited anxiously for the little asteroid hoppers to make the perilous journey to Shantipole. This was the hard part, the point where they were utterly vulnerable and powerless. She would hope it would be over quick, but if they were blown up, well it would be over quick, wouldn't it? 'These things are supposed to be stealthy, so we should be good. But let's not draw attention to ourselves. Keep it slow and steady and quiet.'
This message was last edited by the player at 02:08, Tue 06 Feb 2018.

"A good thing, then" answered Klyn
"As I just picked the signal from an imperial probot..."

He checked a few things before adding
"I don't think it noticed us... for now..."

Lyla bit back a curse, realising it might be better not to make a sound at all. A probe droid was all they needed. She nodded to Klyn, and waved for him to continue.

"LET me see the readings please." Chu-Shkar said with a bit of concern.

Not sure which it is, but rolled both skills.
rolled 23,24 use computer.

rolled 15 know tech.
Trying to detect if it spotted us or not, and if I can determine any transmissions.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:25, Fri 09 Feb 2018.

The two asteroid hopper aware of the probot, changed their course to avoid detection. Here where the asteroid field was at its densest they would in their small asteroid hoppers remain hidden. If the probot was to draw closer to the Verpine fleet however it would reveal them to the Imperial fleet.
OOC For ease of role-play and communications between groups unless told otherwise I'll assume that the two asteroid hoppers' comlinks are connected.

Lyla peered over Klyn's shoulder at the probot's course, trying to divine where it might go next. If it discovered the Verpine ships, then Ackbar's fishbrained plan was down the plughole. 'Is there any way of disabling or destroying that thing, without giving the game away? Maybe by pushing an asteroid at it?' she said to him and over the open comlink to the other hopper.

"IT hasn't detected us yet, we should be able to slip by it."

"We should, indeed" acknowledged Klyn,
"But it might notice our fleet before we are ready to evacuate."

"To answer you question, Lyla, our means are a bit restrained here but we could assist, maybe, if it moved 'on its own', or it might transmit incriminating datas about it's destruction."

.

hum... not good ^^]

Tera looked dubious. "Ummmm...I could maybe try moving an asteroid towards it.... if you'd like."

Lyla mused. This wasn't the time to doubt the existence of the mythical Force, and if nothing happened, then nothing was lost. 'Alright. If you're absolutely certain you can do it.' she answered Tera. 'If not, let's just move on. With luck, we'll be done before it finds anything. Or it's too late to be a problem.' But since when did they have luck?


OOC: Ack, I made a post the other day, but it never arrived.

Tera closed her eyes, feeling the connection between the universe and the asteroid lying, waiting as it had done for an eternity, until she connected to it. In a moment she and the asteroid were united. Part of the universe and connected to all things, she urged it to move in the direction of the probot, so that to avoid it it might take an interest in things away from the course they were headed on.


OOC:
22:16, Today: Tera Inkari rolled 25 using 1d20+11.  use the force.

The asteroid field was a chaotic mix of tiny meteorites and larger planetoids. The view across their whole field of vision was of clusters of rocks as they flew in a whirling storm. From the viewport of the space hopper Lyla and Klyn saw one of the larger asteroids veer from its orbit to slam into the Imperial probot. Damaged the probot was sent spiralling and out of control, then it exploded in a shower of sparks and spewed metallic debris to intermingle with the asteroids.

In the other hopper Chu-Shkar and Rynn watched as Tera closed her eyes and focused, her hand lifted and her palm pushed onward at exactly the same time as the asteroid struck at the probot. After the collision the damage caused to the probot was enough for it to initiate its self destruct sequence to prevent its capture.

The danger averted the Rebels continued their journey. As they were getting very close to Shantipole an unusually heavy concentration of asteroids appeared ahead, their scanners picked up a TIE fighter patrol skimming along its edge.

Going around the asteroid storm would be safer but with the TIE fighter patrol they risked being spotted. Would they Rebels risk the asteroid storm or the Imperial patrol?

Lyla let out a little cheer as the asteroid clipped the probot and it self-destructed. 'Alright, good job.' she offered over the comlink. Maybe there was something to this Force after all? It was amazing how much more real it seemed with someone trusted and reliable making the claim.

Then the next hazard presented itself. Lyla groaned at the sight of the TIE fighters. 'Can you fly through that cluster? It'll save time and conceal us from the TIEs.' she asked Klyn, indicating the asteroids on the screen.

"Well, I'm a good enough pilot, but it's not my area of expertise" answered Klyn, looking a bit worried about flying there, but maybe because he didn't practice a lot recently.

"Still, against rocks we could prevail, against a patrol, once spotted, we would be target practice..."

Chu-Shkar continued to monitor the droid's signal as it was destroyed, seeing if it transmitted any data before it exploded.

rolled 27,28 using 1d20+15,1d20+15.  use computer.
rolled 27 using 1d20+10.  know tech.

'These tubs don't even have weapons, armour, or much of anything else.' Lyla admitted, recalling she'd nixed the idea of upgrading them anyway. But they struggled against TIEs in the Alabak's Gold, so a dinky little asteroid hopper stood no chance in any event. 'But they are designed for scooting through asteroid fields and they have a sensor-reflective hull. Maybe the TIEs won't spot us? What are our chances?'

An eye on the scanners Chu-Shkar did not detect any outgoing transmission when the probot exploded. For now it seemed the Verpine fleet would be safely hidden in the asteroid field.

The Rebels safety was yet to be decided. The TIE patrols would if the got close enough detect the Verpine hoppers. The Rebels would be undetected if they entered the asteroid storm or they could stay out of the asteroid storm and try to evade the patrols, both would require a skilled and lucky pilot.

Evading the TIE fighter patrol the Rebel took the asteroid hoppers into the asteroid storm. Storms were common place in the asteroid field, the hoppers without any shielding were usually flown around such storms. Any collision would have to be avoid or they would be smashed into pieces.

Rocks and debris of all sizes was hurled around them, frightening close to the hoppers.

OOC Pilot skill checks from Klyn and Rynn.

00:05, Today: Klyn Cors rolled 29 using 1d20+10.  pilot.
Yehaaa ^^


Klyn apparently quickly remembered how to pilot in dire situations, so he guided the small vessel quite skillfully.

'Sharing nav data. Follow our course and you might be right... Watch that asteroid to port.' Lyla supplied to the other hopper over comms as she operated the navigation computer. But then she realised she was probably just telling Klyn and Rynn what they already knew and might just be distracting them, so she shut up and let them get on with it.


OOC: I thought I'd give a cooperation bonus, but failed.
10:07, Today: Lyla Rahn rolled 9 using 1d20+6.  pilot - cooperation.

Flying through the storm required some skilful piloting. Klyn often confined himself to the engine room of the Alabak's Gold but machines and starships were innate to him, the control came simply and the hopper leapt through the smallest gaps in the asteroid storm.

Either unlucky or not so attuned Rynn wasn't able to get the small unarmoured starcraft through the storm unharmed. An asteroid struck the hopper, everybody onboard were thrown about but so far unharmed. Gripping the controls Rynn managed to wrestled them to maintain a their flight path and bring them out of the storm to reach the other hopper. The hopper was damaged but they were able to continue their journey.

Once through the storm there was no trace of any Imperial pursuit or presence for the remainder of their trip. They safely finished their journey to Research Station Shantipole.

Once close it was easy to determine which asteroid their destination was. The Research Station was one of the largest asteroids they had seen. Large enough that tiny moonlets orbited around it. Through their viewports and sensors they saw the airlocks and repulsor-beam units, haphazardly placed in typical Verpine fashion. Of the two hangars the first was obviously a target of the Empire's attack, it was a shambles. Frayed wires and other debris floated freely within the shattered confines, drifting lazily into space through the now-dead force field. A blackened ship lay twisted against the wall. Five Imperial techs in full vacuum suits move about the hangar's semi-darkness surveying the damage.

The second hangar is well-lit and undamaged. Dozens of stormtroopers stand guard while unarmoured technicians load boxes on a large Imperial shuttle. Two other ships sit unattended in the corner, Commander Ackbar's Mon Calamari shuttle the Out Runner and the very familiar and welcome sight of the Alabak's Gold.

OOC Perception and Knowledge: Physical Sciences from anyone that wants to roll.

"Yes!" exclaimed Klyn as they spotted the Gold, thinking it was a just reward for the very stressful flying he just did.

"Well, I guess we have found our escape shuttles.  I'm sure Ackbar will be happy to see his too."

15:23, Today: Klyn Cors rolled 16 using 1d20+11.  Physical Sciences.

'There's my big beautiful boy!' Lyla cheered as she recognised the fat turtle-like form of the Alabak's Gold. She was just glad to see it, the odd ship that had become her home and her ride. 'I guess that confirms it: an Imperial spy or two stole our ships. And we're getting them back.' she decided, resolved to try. After all, they had no other option for a getaway.

As they orbited, she closely scanned the two hangars, one wrecked, the other much too well guarded, but they couldn't let that stop them trying. 'Let's scout these, then get to our airlocks.'


OOC: Perception 20

Tera smiled on seeing the gold...though with a tinge of sadness. Now an Imperial spy had taken the ship they'd have to turn the vessel in. It would be too well known as a rebel ship. "Hey...doesn't that mean we'll have like 4 ships to escape in? 2 of these new fighters the gold and ackbars shuttle? It gives us a lot of options, but it means we need to prioritise what we want."

"WE need the B-Wings, and the Gold, but Ackbar's shuttle? WHY would we need that?" Chu-Shkar asked through his translator.

'And why wasn't it back with Ackbar at the other station?' Lyla added wonderingly, but should give up on trying to understand his arrangements. 'I don't see the B-Wings here, we need to destroy them anyway. Let's decide on ships when we get there, in case our mission priorities change, which they will.'

The rebels were able to land their hoppers on one of the moonlets and observe the base before their began their raid. Glistening ice-crystals deposits can be seen in spots all over the asteroid. A large dome rises out of the top of the asteroid, covering the colony agrifactory.

'Careful, there's a mobile laser cannon in the undamaged hangar, there, near the entrance.' Lyla pointed out for the others. 'And they have four TIEs docked in there, hanging from the ceiling. Getting out is going to be even harder than we figured on.' Because of course it would be.

"Of course it harder than we expected, when will we learn?" Klyn answered ironically.
"Ice means an airlock opened, so I see 4 at the moment." he added.

He tried to find the two they had picked for their entrance.

"You guys act like any part of this is going to be easy." Rynn said. "Just infiltrate a imperial base and steal a bunch of ships without getting killed. Super easy except for the extraction." He inspected the base, trying to look for the best way into it before they made there attack.

'Where have you been? I'm quite sure this will be painfully difficult.' Lyla retorted over the comlink. Checking the plans versus the asteroid turning in front of them, Lyla tried to match the hangar bays and airlocks. 'We want airlock number 3, left of that wrecked hangar bay. You want airlock number 2, right of that good hangar bay. We all set on the plan?'

"WHICH team do you want me on lieutenant?"

OOC: I think you're already on Team Steal-Stuff with Rynn and Tera, as I suggested in post #77. I think we've been going with that. Since you're on the other hopper with them, it's a bit late to change now. :)

OOC: Noted.

Klyn nodded at Lyla's guidance and started to move the small vessel toward their destination. He tried to be as stealthy as possible, of course.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:37, Wed 14 Mar 2018.

The ice deposits on the asteroid surface when pointed out by Klyn made finding the airlocks simple. Klyn flew toward airlock #2. Rynn flying toward airlock #3.

OOC Pilot checks from Klyn and Rynn please.

The flight in the asteroid took a toll on Klyn, or maybe he felt too distracted by the Gold and an 'it will be easy' feeling, but something went wrong.


07:03, Today: Klyn Cors rolled 11 using 1d20+10.  pilot.

oops

Rynn darted his ship on the most efficient path to the hangar.




21:13, Today: Rynn Culmar rolled 29 using 1d20+10.  pilot.

OOC Continued in Airlock 2 and Airlock 3.