Gates had never actually made it to a seat, having been lounging near the table that held the steaming hot pot of caf - so she could more easily refill her cup. She had nodded to the other members of the squad as they entered, and she was content to lean against the corner of the table in silence as Deuce and then Jace detailed the specifics of their mission.

Although 'detailed' might have been a slight misnomer, since there weren't many.

She took another long sip of her caf, closing her eyes as the molten wakeup juice made its way down her throat, although she couldn't help but chuckle a bit at Jace's mention of payment almost as an afterthought. She assumed without asking that the payment portion of the job was exclusive to the mercenary, or maybe the Jedi... but she was damn sure the 7th wasn't going to suddenly decide to give her a bonus. "I don't suppose Havoc had any contacts on-planet that we get to piggyback on, eh?" she glanced between Jace and Deuce at that, before she continued, "A safe place to dock in would be a godsend... or are we going to be making our own way from the start?"

At the female pilot's question, Jace all but laughed. "Gates, it's Tatooine.  You're looking on the wrong planet if you want a safe place to land," he replied.  "Fortunately, three Jedi, a big blaster on your hip, and military starfighters tend to dissuade most trouble."  The man then shook his head, his expression turning more serious.  "Unfortunately, we don't have much to go on.  Mos Espa was mentioned in their last report before going dark, so I recommend you start there.  Havoc tends to be pretty subtle... so your best bet might be picking up their search.  Look for the Sith, and you should find 'em.  Crazy Sith should cause a few noteworthy rumors."

Gates snorted, and tossed Jace a dirty look over the rim of her cup, "I know that, Jace!" She smirked, and folded her arms across her chest, before taking another sip of her caf, "I was more wondering if Havoc had a place on-planet that they were working out of that we could piggyback on as a base of operations... but in hindsight, if they've disappeared it probably wouldn't be safe anyway." She shrugged, "Mos Espa's as a good a start point as any... Don't suppose there's any chance of reading those reports before we go?"

"Maybe we need to attach a weapons rack to the outer body of the Aurek, not like there is much in the way of air resistance out in space...and a cover for when we land on a planet.", he sort of mumbled the last as he considered his options, the first time he was being given carte blanche with weapons and of course he couldn't really take any,"Maybe I'll grab a couple ion grenades...."

He glanced up at the 'crazy sith' comment and shrugged,"Depends on what type of crazy, might be more like a spider in it's web than just a crazy killer...."

Huu was silent for most of the meeting but at last he spoke,"Might want to all consider taking something with Ion capacity, if he was an expert at droids and that sort of thing we might want to find something that we can all use that does Ion damage...for Beyn and myself that is likely just to be our lightsabers and the usual but Hex and Kenna might be able to get something more effective for their fighting styles?"

"The report has already been forwarded to your 'pads, but there isn't much in the way of detail.  I've summarized the bulk of it already for you, but go nuts," Jace replied, with a nod.  He cast a strange grin to Hex at his comments, and Huu's as well.  "When it comes to crazy sith... come prepared for a fight, I suggest.  Ion's a good call, but keep in mind he might have a few war droids around - the kind often build with shielding against that kind of attack.  Bring something with some punch... but don't strap it to the Aurek, please.  There might be no air resistance in space... but I'd advise not making a jump with something like that.  You're welcome to try though."

The man then stepped back from the podium and looked around the room once more, before glancing to the chrono. "So, any more questions?  If not, you guys should get to work preparing.  You'll be leaving in about two hours... or sooner, if you're prepped to go."

Hex shrugged,"I'll go grab a few Ion Grenades and I'll be ready. I've really not got much else I can do in the limited space....maybe a few non-Ion grenades but I'm not that excited about transporting too much explosives. Lightsabers can take care of what Ion can't I'd imagine...."

Standing he sighed,"Anyone else need anything from the Armoury while I'm down there?"

Huu nodded at the various answers and then smiled,"I am as ready as I'll ever be. My lightsabers, companions and sabers. All I need is my ship and we are on our way..."

"Gates," she retorted, tossing a glance in the direction of the Kel Dor Jedi Master. "Only a few people get away with callin' me 'Kenna', and no offense Huu, but ain't none of you three on that list." Already she was mentally preparing another list of things to pilfer from the armory, mostly in the form of excess power packs, because there was no such thing as too much ammo. A good rifle, maybe a spare ion pistol if there was one to her taste - although she figured the Jedi and those 'sabers of theirs were going to be more useful against droids, so that was low on her list - a change of clothes besides her flight suit...

"Hey guys?" she paused in the midst of her mental tally and looked up, "Might I suggest some outerwear that doesn't scream 'Jedi Master' as a distance of twenty klicks?"

<< TIME JUMP >>

With preparations complete and running on a timeline, the four pilots of Aquila Squadron managed to launch on time... and from the Nova's position at the outer limits of the shipyards, it was but a short ride to escape the gravity well, and launch into hyperspace.  The jump itself - or series of jumps, to be more specific, took a fair bit longer, considering their distance to the desert planet.  Gates would be used to these by now, while the Jedi, less used to sitting in a cramped cockpit for long periods of time, had to rely on meditation to get through with relative comfort.  Eventually - finally - the alarm sounded once more, signalling an impending reversion to realspace.  This time, when the stars shrank back to distant dots, the pilots were greeted with the sight of a dull, tan colored world - the world of Tatooine.

As the Aureks' systems came back online, and their pilots took in their surroundings, the view of Tatooine would quickly become secondary as the viewscreens were filled with the flashes of distant laser fire.  Up ahead, between Aquila and their destination - but not strictly blocking their way - a battle raged between what looked like an old bulk freighter, and a squadron of fighters.  The freighter was not unarmed, judging by the fire lancing back from what had to be ventral and dorsal turrets... however, armed though it was, it was clearly outmatched.  This was made even more apparent as a distant explosion appeared on the upper hull, cutting the return fire in half.

The scanners came online quickly enough, identifying the freighter as 'Unknown', while the fighters had simply shut off their IFFs; tthe ships were all likely a combination of smugglers, pirates, or mercenaries.  Strangely enough, no distress signal could be found.  Even as the Republic fighters returned to 100% readiness, the battered freighter shifted tactics, aiming to make a run for the edge of the gravity well... but it wasn't going to be fast enough.

None of the ships seemed to have noticed the four new arrivals, leaving the pilots with a choice... they could lend a hand, or move on to complete their mission more quickly.


GM Notes:
- No Intiative, simply post in your preferred order, and actions will be taken in that order as applicable, if any.

The chime of the alarm pulled Gates out of her reverie, and she opened her eyes to the sight of Tatooine in the distance, its dull tan surface tinted a bit more warmly than it actually was, courtesy of the yellow-hued visor of her helmet. ++Welcome to Tatooine, gents,++ she laughed into the comm that connected the four Aureks, her next statement softer and perhaps not intended to be broadcast, as her finger lingered on the switch for the comms, ++What do we have here...?++

After a moment's pause to take in the fight arrayed before them, Gates laughed and keyed up the comm again, ++Now that doesn't even look fair. Shall we see if we can't even things up a bit?++ Before anyone could actually answer, she rolled her Aurek to the side and took off towards the engagement, intent on intercepting the lead fighter with a shot or two across the bow. It wasn't her intention to dive right into full-on combat, instead giving the fighters a chance to bug out when faced with a quartet of Republic opponents.

Hector sighed, stretching his legs as they came out, clearly glad he wasn't a larger person in the small quarters as he waited for everything to come online. Tilting his head he focused on what the HUD was telling him was going on as he watched the various bits of information, his fingers wrapping around the controls as he waited for a choice from their leader.

He nodded, knowing she couldn't see it, before answering++Roger that, let's see if we can make some friends. Good chance we got a smuggler getting nabbed by some pirates but what the heck...++ Bringing his ship around he stayed close to Gates, setting his own guns to low power rapid shots as he aimed to spray a burst across the shields of one of the pirates. Enough to drain them pretty low but not drop them, just to give them a fright.

Huu sent over a single click of his comm to acknowledge and then fell into formation behind the other two, but off to the side and a little back, keeping pace but giving himself time to work on getting a lock for his proton torpedo's rather than actually firing, that way he'd simply give them a warning of how much trouble they were in before he actually started working on ending lives.

A rumble issued forth from Beyn as he jerked out of a meditative trance that might have actually turned into a nap, given his reaction to the chime and the voices of his new squadmates coming over the comm. A few blinks of his feline eyes were all that was necessary for him to register what was going on - as well as Gates' and Hex's thoughts on the matter. ++Making friends with a smuggler may be just what we need, Hex,++ he answered, even as he banked his fighter to follow the two younger pilots. ++After all, we may need a covert way on and off this planet, ourselves. With any luck, more even odds will give them cause to reconsider.++

As you near the engagement, the design of the ships becomes more apparent, both to the naked eye as well as your ships' scanners.  Three of the fighters are of a heavier class than your own - heavy fighters, or bombers, two of them Republic designs from a generation or two back, while one is a more recent Sith design.  The other three still come up as 'unknown', although now you can see why.

The three fighters are what most call Uglies - ships cobbled together from pieces of multiple ships.  The lead fighter - the one targeted by Gates - appears to be the hull of an old Aurek with the folding wings of a Sith Interceptor bolted onto it.  Extremely agile, based on the quick weave it performs to get out of the way of her shots, but likely rather fragile.  The other two are more alike, and almost the opposite of the first.  They look to be formed from the cockpit pod of a Sith interceptor, with a pair of engines bolted to either side, and an array of light laser cannons strapped around them.

After a brief moment of hesitation, and some hasty evasive maneuvers... all six fighters seem to come to an agreement.  The flare of their drives can be visible as they break off the attack on the freighter and careen off in the opposite direction of your own approach, fleeing the scene... albeit with a smattering of return fire from the trailing heavy fighters, which seem to have functioning rear turrets.

++Figured they would do that!++ Gates laughed over the comm, holding her course steady long enough to be certain that the fleeing fighters were, in fact, actually fleeing. Once they had, she banked her Aurek around to roll up on the freighter, keeping her shields up just in case they decided to fire on her as well.

++Unidentified freighter, this is Aquila Three,++ there was a long pause, as she waited for a moment before finishing, ++You're welcome.++

Hector slipped alongside Aquila Three, his own guns and shields still powered up as he did everything but get a target lock on the target. Yeah, that had saved their rear end, but that meant nothing to the scum that were the blockade runners and smugglers of the universe.

They were almost as bad as the mercenaries like him.

Smiling tightly he kept his guns trained on them none the less.

Huu blipped his speaker in acknowledgment of the retreat of the pirates but swung wide of the other two, knowing that Beyn would follow, to present a spread target for the larger freighter and, more importantly, to put him and Beyn on a good attack vector should the freighter decide that it's response to their 'heroics' was to open fire.

Behind Master Huu's Aurek, Beyn's banked to follow, skimming along in the wake of the other. While it wasn't immediately apparent to him what Huu was doing, he clued in quickly enough - and even if he hadn't, his job was to ride Huu's wing and he knew it. In the interim of waiting for a response from the freighter to Kenna's hail, the Cathar let himself relax in his fighter. Sinking back into the seat with his feline eyes half-lidded, he sent his mind out to scan the freighter for the presence of other Force-sensitive individuals.

Just in case.

With the Aureks swinging in around the freighter, the Pirate fighters seemed just about done with things.  They continued to speed off until they were just out of range of missiles or proton torpedoes... at which point, they turned along the Freighter's vector.  They matched its speed, keeping pace and watching, waiting.

The freighter, battered and bruised, did not open fire on the Aureks, contrary to popular belief.  It kept powering forward, seemingly intent on escaping Tatooine's gravity well to safety.  After a moment, long enough that you begin to suspect there will be no reply at all, the comms crackle to life across the channel used by Gates to hail the freighter.

"Now that's a sexy voice," came a heavily accented, almost jaunty voice.  "This is Star Dandy, Aquila three.  Many thanks to the four of ye, things were gettin' pretty dicey there, almost had to dump the cargo.  The Lady would not have been pleased."  There was a pause, likely as the speaker issued orders to other members on the bridge.  Slowly but surely, the freighter seemed to pick up a bit of speed as power was diverted to engines. "We're just about at our jump point, then we'll be outta your pretty hair.  If ye dun mind the curiosity, what's a quartet of Republic fighters doin' this far outta the way?"

Hex cut in quickly at the words from the voice, there was something he didn't like about that voice but he wasn't sure what it was++My voice is almost as sexy, don't you think? The big thing about this quartet is not letting the Republic no we've got them, so we'll cover you to the jump point and you don't mention we've got these babies, got it?"

"What Four says, Star Dandy!," Gates laughed, "And you don't sound too bad yourself. Oughta come an' look us up, when you get back on planet. You can buy me a drink." The grin that was almost certainly on her face behind the mirrored yellow visor of her helmet was evident in her voice.

"We're just on a little recon trip, seeing the sights, sending postcards back to the folks, that sorta thing," she continued. "Mind if I ask who 'the Lady' is?" she went out on a bit of a limb, her gut instinct leading her to take the chance. "We could do with someone who knows what's what down on the dirt, if you know what I mean."

As she spoke, Gates slipped her Aurek in alongside the freighter, knowing that Hex would follow. He had said they would cover the freighter to the jump point, and with those pirates hanging close, well... they clearly needed to.

There was a pause at the other end of the line before the Captain of Star Dandy spoke up once again. "Sorry to say, Four, but your lead's got you beat there.  And if I might suggest, if you're joyridin' in Republic fighters, it might be a good idea to paint over the Republic markin's."  There was a chuckle across the line as the defacto battlegroup continued on towards the freighter's jump point.

"You ever find yourself in the middle of nowhere, honey, and I'll do just that," he said, voice about as sincere as one could get over a comm system.  "Who she is depends on who's askin', love - and it ain't for me to say.  But if you're lookin' for what's new and exciting, you've picked the wrong planet.  Not much goes on around the dusty rock, these days.  That said, if you wanted a postcard shot, there's word of a doozy of a sandstorm brewin' just north of Anchorhead in the Dune Sea.  Should be quite the sight, I'm told - it ain't died down like they usually do overnight."

"Well she's more my type than you are too, so no offense taken.", he smirked under his helmet, let her make of that what she would,"And on a totally unrelated topic, don't suppose you know any good ship painters down there on the dust ball?"

Slipping his ship in behind Gates he followed the ship towards the jump point,"How long do those storms normally last?"