SWRPF Archive The Shattered Galaxy: Main Game Thread

IC: Salla Vivek
Aboard the Red Spirit, Velmor System

The wide assortment of ships were fast to approach her position once she had made her presence known. With her hand still poised over the comm unit, Salla sat forward, her elbows resting against the control console as she studied the modified shuttle as it whisked forward to dock with the Spirit. It wasn't like her to be nervous, but until she was certain these guys weren't hostile, she would be on edge. It was only natural.

"Ms. Vivek, a pleasure!" a resounding voice issued from the comm unit. "The credits Contruum promised are being transferred to your account as we speak. I'm her liason for today."

Credits. Upon hearing those words, Salla began to relax a bit. At least they were serious about paying her, unlike some of the other scum she had the displeasure of working with in the past. Shifting her green-eyed gaze to the computer, Salla began to watch the numbers roll across the screen in confirmation of the transfer as Contruum's man continued to speak.

"Contruum would like you to smuggle this baradium bomb to a particular location on Garos IV. The central government/military complex on Garos IV. It is heavily shielded, and as such it would be impossible for us to destroy it in a bombing run. Our Y-wing allies shall be attacking the system and harassing the Garos defences, and then Contruum will be arriving himself to secure his prize. Your acts are a distraction, you see, for what Contruum is stealing."

On second thought, maybe it had been premature for her to start relaxing. Baradium was highly explosive and it was capable of taking out a large capital ship with a single shot; imagine what it could do to her beloved ship if something set it off. No, she didn't like the idea of having that thing aboard, but the credits were tempting. Very tempting. So tempting that she was willing to risk herself and the ship to bring home a hefty payday. Only the gods knew how long it's been. She earned it.

Licking her dry lips, Salla spoke into the comm. "Everything checks out," she confirmed with a single tap of her index finger to the computer screen. The credit transfer was complete. "I just need to clear a space in the back for the...delicate cargo. See you in a few."

Switching off the comm abruptly, Salla unhooked her safety restraints and rose from the pilot's chair before making her way towards the cargo bay.

TAG: Sinre

---

[b]IC: Han Solo[/b]
[i]Aboard the Millennium Falcon, Kessel[/i]

The [i]Falcon[/i] shook once again as a missile barrage bounced off their shields and exploded somewhere off to starboard, initiating a Wookiee howl from the co-pilot's station as Chewie slammed his fist into the console with frustration.

"Watch it, will ya?!" Han shouted through clenched teeth as he fought to keep the freighter steady. "We have plenty of repairs to make so as it is without you adding to the total!" Removing one hand from the yoke, he wagged his finger menacingly in the Wook's face before indicating the controls in front of him. "Make yourself useful and keep an eye out for anymore of those missiles. Looks like our Mando friend ain't doing his job, otherwise we'd already be down on the surface."

[i]"Come on, Solo!"[/i] the gruff voice broke over the comm right on cue. [i]"Your score is dropping by the minute."[/i]

"Not my fault, pal!" Han shouted into the headset as he took the [i]Falcon[/i] through another series of stomach-churning maneuvers to shake off another round of missiles. "If you would've kept your end of the deal, I wouldn't be up here playing hide and seek with these missiles! You better get your act together or this is gonna be one short partnership!"

The comm fell eerily silent and for a long moment, Han thought he was rid of that Mando slime when two distinct explosions blossomed brilliantly against the darkened horizon. At first, he thought he was seeing things, but one glance at the sensors indicated that it was indeed real. Nakir had just gone ahead and blown up t

 

IC: Supreme Prophet Kya
Docked with the Red Spirit, Velmor System

I just need to clear a space in the back for the...delicate cargo. See you in a few." Kya nodded to himself, and checked over his uniform once more. No sparkly Prophet clothes, of course. And certainly his face wouldn't be recognisable - he was the Supreme Prophet of the Dark Side. He wasn't Kadann, he wasn't one to advertise his identity. Nobody knew who the Supreme Prophet was.

They would shortly. When he was Emperor.

With a smile, he headed to the airlock, his six pirate-costumed Stormtroopers holding the case of baradium. Tapping the comlink, Kya spoke. "We're ready, Salla."

---
Out-system, Insipid, bridge

"It all depends upon what the orders would be," came Kev-Mas-Colcha, intimidating in his Shadow Guard armour. His Gladiator-class Star Destroyer was shorter than the Insipid, but had a larger presence for the bulk. Both had a matte-black hull, making them difficult to detect. But, even if the Deathbringer was shorter, it was a more useful ship - more soldiers, more fighters. In a fight, the Insipid would probably win -

Captain Kline shook off that thought. He had signed up to join the Pentastar Alignment, not the Sith Empire, sure, but he had his orders. The Captain cleared his voice. "My Lord, the Supreme Prophet has judged that the Sith Empire requires control of Garos IV. He has created a plan to secure the system. I am forwarding the defence grid details to you... now." He flicked a hand at an officer, who did so.

"The planet is protected by two Carrack-class cruisers and a Strike-class cruiser. Seven squadrons on the planet, two with the task force. Planetary shield generators concealed in the main military/government building. The Supreme Prophet would like the Deathbringer to attack the planet, while he smuggles a weapon into the main building. With that done, the Insipid will jump in, and capture the system once that's done."

"Any questions, my Lord?"

TAG: HanSolo29, Kev-Mas-Colcha
---
IC: Lorelei Kya
Aboard the Doneeta, Battle of Kessel

The Gladiator took the missiles in its engine section, the explosion removing the TIEs on Thryta Melagan
's tail. The Destroyers shields, taxed by the Doneeta and Savior, were activate haphazardly, and reactivated to contain the explosion, shredding the warship. The remaining fighters were suddenly overwhelmed, Snapper Squadron having taken them out with, it was evident, two losses - an incredibly lucky battle. Lorelei Kya nodded to herself, pleased.

"Form up, Snappers. Report your losses." She paid some attention to them while she opened another channel to Tokins. "Captain Tokins? How are things?" The Doneeta had taken the brunt of the short-lived starfighter strafings, but was designed to be sturdy, so no harm had been particularly done, as far as Lorelei could see.

Tokins voice came across the Alliance channels. "Alliance task force, we've secured orbit. I need Snapper Squadron to support Nakir and Solo. Half the squadron staying in orbit, the other half down. Bilt, Melagan, Kya, with the down-team. Go." Lorelei nodded, and snapped out over her comm. channels.

"You heard the Captain, Snappers. Down we go. I hope everyone remembered their blasters!" Doneeta, for its part, rolled towards the Savior. Tokins hailed the ship.

"Captain Corbec, I need some med-teams deployed to the ship. The Empire or Sith might take advantage of this, so we need to be at full shape." On the bridge, Tokins moved to the ready room. "Corbec, I have something to discuss with your privately. Ready?"

---
Kessel surface

The E-webs began to shatter, their position ruined, and the slavers retreated into the mines. They would need dislodging on foot. A dozen slavers, it seemed, some fools, one or two

 

IC: Salla Vivek
Aboard the Red Spirit, Velmor System

Rubbing her sweaty palms against the fabric of her jumpsuit, Salla took a step back and admired the work she had done clearing a spot for the 'special cargo.' She made sure there was plenty of space to go around in case things got bumpy on their journey. The last thing she wanted was to have this bomb go bouncing around the interior of the hold, only to strike some loose object and explode in a white brilliance. That would end things real quick and then there would be no room for a reward.

Sighing, she brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes as the earpiece she wore crackled to life. There was a click on the other end before the voice of her contact filtered into her mind. "We're ready, Salla."

Well, they certainly didn't waste any time. It was time to suck it up and get this over with. Not even bothering to return a response, Salla trudged through the remainder of junk littered throughout the hold and approached the airlock located within a small access chute. Out of memory, she began to type in the code to open the hatch but hesitated for a split second before the last number could be punched in. The weight of the situation suddenly bore down on her very being and she shuddered involuntarily. This could be a turning point in her life or it could lead to utter disaster.

"Get a hold of yourself," she grumbled under her breath, forcing her teeth to clench together out of frustration, pain shooting up to her ears with the intensity of the action. She closed her eyes to allow some calm to ebb through her body before depressing the final button to complete the sequence. The door started to circulate open with a steady whine until finally she was face to face with the gang of pirates, the baradium case secured between them.

"Welcome aboard the Red Spirit!" she called out with enthusiasm, setting her insecurities aside. "If you'll follow me, I'll show you where you can put that bad boy to rest." She waved casually at the casement as she whirled on her heel to head back toward the hold.

TAG: Sinre

---

[b]IC: Han Solo[/b]
[i]Aboard the Millennium Falcon, Kessel[/i]

Solo released a loud whoop of excitement as the slavers began to scatter and retreat back into the mines, the onslaught of the [i]Falcon[/i] too much for them to bare. "Not bad, huh, pal?!" he turned to his Wookiee co-pilot with a cocky grin stretched over his features. "That'll teach 'em to mess with me."

The Wook unleashed a roar that threatened to rattle Han's brains as he voiced his own words of encouragement. Tilting his head to the side, he pointed with a shaggy arm towards the mottled surface coming up under them before tracing a line to the [i]Slave I[/i] as the Mando brought the ship in for a landing.

"Looks like our iron-clad friend finally managed to do something right," Han surmised as he reclined back, starting to bring the [i]Falcon[/i] around for her own landing. "Knocked out half of those guns and the rest seem to be retreating." He blew out a low whistle. "Pretty good, huh? But let's see how he holds up on the surface." He paused, a reminder of the not so distant past sparking to life in his mind. "Remember that princess? Rescue operations are my specialty. Bet he can't pull that off."

A devilish grin found its way onto his features as he looped the freighter around the complex one final time before settling the old freighter down behind a couple of jagged rock formations. Of course, it had been years since that fateful day aboard the Death Star, but it never left his memory. In a lot of ways, it was the same kind of thing except instead of rescuing a princess, his goal was to free a bunch of Rebel slaves. But it would lead to the same results. The Alliance was rich; they'd pay well.

"Stay here," he ordered his co-pilot, throwing off his flight gloves as he rose from the pilot's station. "I'll probably be coming in hot, so be ready. If we're lucky, maybe we'll get a chance to go back for another round." The Wookiee ack

 

IC: Sark Tokins
The Doneeta ready room

"Ready."

Captain Sark Tokins nodded to the man, producing a datapad. "Captain Corbec, I have been receiving worrying information from the Garos and Velmor systems. Alliance Intelligence has been picking up the deployment of Sith assets in the Neutral Regions - we've been expecting this since the Third Battle of Endor cost us most of our territory outside the Outer Rim..." Tokins let it sink in just how serious things were at the moment.

It was true, that since the return of Lord Shadowspawn the Rebellion had failed to win a major victory.

"The Kessel mission may net us extra soldiers, but its not enough to see us triumph. If the Sith are up to something at Velmor, then Korriban may be open for a strike. With the Sith fleet routed from Byss, and Declann's clone running around in the Core near Kuat, a Sith movement into the Neutral Regions is going to expose them to a strike. I need intel from Korriban - so we can make a decision to either supplant the Sith or use them against the Empire."

"Comments?" Sark wasn't making it an option. If anything, it appeared that his supplanting of the position of Supreme Commander had gone to his head...

--
Kessel mines

Nakir led the two-man charge, the Falcon spitting potshots at the surviving remnants of the Kessel Defence Force - a few TIE fighters, mainly. Five Snappers led by Bilt dusted them relatively easily, and Chewbacca roared at them to hurry up and support Han and the Mandalorian.

They were already into the mines, blaster fire still singing out. There were a dozen Zabrak mercs remaining, and a pair of Gamorreon guards. All of a sudden a sniper shot sang out from the haze, catching Nakir in the seam in his armour between the thigh and knee, sending him clattering to the ground. A motley array of Alliance war prisoners were caught between the two forces, and those who had made attempts to flee had been ruthlessly cut down by said sniper - demonstrated when a Mon Calamari attempted to run the gauntlet and was shot through the neck.

The rocky cave gave excellent cover, and even though the slavers had lost the entrance - two smouldering heaps that had been the E-web cannons and more than a dozen dead bodies - their fear of the sniper, Aurra Sing, was far beyond any remorse about death. Against the Alliance death was a possibility; against Aurra it was a given.

Nakir thankfully dropped behind an outcropping, but that left Han Solo halfway into the tunnel with no support and over a dozen mercs to deal with. The two Gamorreons dumbly led the charge on his position, not too far from Nakir, who was holding his exploded knee and pinned down. His beskad was on the floor between the two, and the Gamorreons had vibroaxes with Han Solo's name on it.

Bilt and the other four Snappers had to quickly land and rush into the tunnel to save Han, and still free the prisoners. For Aurra's part, she was picking out more targets. And, dutifully, she shot off Snapper Four's head, the Quarren flailing and then collapsing to the floor.

TAG: Sarge221, JEDIGUNSHIP, HanSolo29
---
IC: Supreme Prophet Kya
Aboard the Red Spirit, Velmor System

"If you'll follow me, I'll show you where you can put that bad boy to rest."

The six pirate-troopers began steering the bomb to the rear of the ship, and Kya walked beside Salla Vivek. "You come with the highest recommendation, Ms. Vivek. I trust everything is in order? We have a very narrow window to fulfill Contruum's contract, it looks - a Gladiator-class Star Destroyer has emerged in-system. A Sith raiding party, it looks - it's only one ship. We'll have to get in and out quickly - we'll still get paid irregardless..."

Kya snorted. "We can leave Contruum to tangle with the Sith, if it comes to it."

---
Aboard the Insipid, Velmor edge

Captain Kline nodded. "It will be necessary, Captain Colcha

 

IC: Salla Vivek
Aboard the Red Spirit, Velmor System

The leader of the pirate group, a grungy man whom Salla did not recognize, kept pace alongside her as they made their way down the access corridor towards the hold. The casement carrying the bomb was out in front of them, six pirate henchmen were guiding it with careful hands as they moved along. Salla made a point to keep a wary eye on their progress as the leader began to speak. It would be stupid to ignite the thing with the crew still on board, but with pirates, you could never be too careful.

"You come with the highest recommendation, Ms. Vivek. I trust everything is in order?" the man questioned as they entered the hold and Salla self-consciously directed the henchmen to the spot she had cleared for the cargo. She paused for a moment to scrutinize the man with one raised eyebrow. "What you see is what you get," she said evenly. "Although, I'm curious as to who would provide you with such a generous recommendation."

The man opted not to answer her question for the time being and continued on with his ramblings. But what he had to say this time set her a little more on edge. We have a very narrow window to fulfill Contruum's contract, it looks - a Guardian-class Star Destroyer has emerged in-system. A Sith raiding party, it looks - it's only one ship. We'll have to get in and out quickly - we'll still get paid irregardless..."

"Sith?" she repeated with a bad taste in her mouth. She knew this job sounded too good to be true. She would've pulled out right then and there if the monetary reward at the end of this wasn't so generous. Sith or no Sith, she couldn't afford to turn down credits, especially since she was already scraping the bottom of the barrel to get by from day to day. "What do they want?"

Again, the man bypassed her question, a habit she was quickly growing tired of. "We can leave Contruum to tangle with the Sith, if it comes to it."

"Or maybe we'll get lucky and this package will blow them out of the sky too," she muttered under her breath as she knelt down beside the casement and began to secure it to the deck plates. "Take out two birds with one stone. Would I get paid extra for that?"

She stood up, dusting her hands off on her coveralls. "Well, that does it. Everything's secure. I can head out as soon as you're ready."

TAG: Sinre

---

[b]IC: Han Solo[/b]
[i]The Mines, Kessel[/i]

Sending a two-man crew down into the mines had been a mistake. Not only was the place dark, musty and filled with everything imaginable from horror stories, including giant energy spiders, but they were now effectively pinned down against the craggy surface with nowhere to go. Slavers were coming at them from one direction, Alliance slaves were pinned in the middle of the whole mess and to top everything off, a sniper was hidden somewhere in the near darkness while taking potshots at anyone trying to escape. Nakir had already been dealt a crippling blow from said sniper and that left Han to face the oncoming rush of goons all by himself.

He braced himself now, his breath mask fogging with condensation from his heavy breathing as the first wave of mercs surged forward. Two Gamorreans were at its head, their hulking bodies wobbling almost comically as they ran with vibroaxes held high in the air. Out of instinct, Han drew his blaster and lifted it in the direction of the pig men as they drew closer, drawing a line on the nearest one and firing.

That proved to be an even bigger mistake.

The shot merely bounced off what little armor the Gamorrean wore and prompted the beast to snort loudly in irritation. With a burst of speed Han never thought possible for their species, the pig man moved forward to intercept his prey with a downward sweep of his ax.

Han gasped, staggered backward and turned to run, only to have his foot catch on the loose gravel of the cave floor and found himself tripping as a result. He was on the ground in the next instant and not taking any time for a respite, rolled to t

 

OOC: I hope I'm not overstepping my bounds with the treatment of the Gamorrean and if I am, I'll make the appropriate changes.

IC: Han Solo
The Mines, Kessel

A sickening crunch issued from somewhere above him and in the next instant, the Gamorrean broke the lock they were in and staggered backward with a high-pitched shriek of surprise. It wasn't until Han propelled himself to the side and rolled out of the way of the vibroax that he noticed that the Zabrak was now riding the back of the Gamorrean and appeared to be the source of the pig man's distress. It hadn't taken the man long to react to the call for aide and even as Han regained his composure, the Zabrak's hands were wound tightly around the Gamorrean's thick throat in an effort to strangle the beast.

"Finish him, while I distract him!" the man's voice echoed above the piercing shrieks of the frantic Gamorrean. The pig man was flopping about now, his ax whirling around his body in a clumsy display as he attempted to free himself of his current attacker. It was a critical mistake and one only someone as dumb as a Gamorrean would make. Never hesitating, Han took advantage of the opportunity.

Rushing forward, Han recoiled once to avoid a sweeping pass of the ax before raising his own weapon into the air to execute the killing blow. With teeth clenched, he brought the sword down in a cleaving motion and connected solidly with the pig man's skull, producing a satisfying crunch as metal hit bone. A spasm shook the Gamorrean's body and he issued a blood-curdling scream before falling silent and toppling over backward onto the cavern floor.

Han stood there, breathless, as he allowed the blade of the sword to drop harmlessly to the floor. "Well, that'll teach him a lesson," he remarked nonchalantly as he brought a hand up to wipe the sweat from his brow. He lifted his chin and allowed his gaze to rest on the Zabrak. "Thanks for the help, pal. But I ain't done yet. If I don't produce some slaves for your precious Alliance, I don't get paid. And in order to do that, we need to take out that sniper."

TAG: Mister_Master, JEDIGUNSHIP, Kessel participants

 

IC: Han Solo
The Mines, Kessel

The Zabrak offered a reply, one Han was willing to go along with until another man, an Alliance pilot of some sort, decided to interject and provide his own commentary. Han took the opportunity to distance himself from the two men, taking a step back and rolling his eyes out of annoyance as they spoke. This was the very reason why he never liked being a part of the whole and preferred to do things by himself. Nothing ever got decided and once everyone finally agreed on a plan, it was always too late. But then again, what did he care? They were only a ragtag group of rebels and he owed them nothing.

"Thryta," the pilot was saying. "That's easier said than done. First off, we don't even know where the sniper is. Second, we don't know how good they are. A good sniper won't give away their position. What we need to do is get them out in the open."

Then again, these guys would get themselves killed without his expertise.

Blowing out his breath in an overly-dramatic sigh to draw their attention, Han pushed his way between them. "Alright, two things," he offered, holding up his hand to count down on his fingers. "First of all, your horned friend here already laid that plan out to us. If you want to give anyone credit, it goes to him. Secondly," he paused to flash them a wicked smile. "You obviously don't know me and I can handle these guys no problem - sniper or no sniper. Why don't you boys sit back and watch a professional at work, huh?"

Turning away to get to work, a flash of light suddenly erupted from the far end of the cavern before three figures started to dart in their direction. Han squinted and brought his arm up to shield his eyes from the explosion. But even at this distance, he could see that they were Alliance prisoners and they had a slew of mercenary and slaver scum on their tails as they made a frantic dash for the exit. So much for his plan and as if things couldn't get any worse, he heard a sudden battle cry rise above the steady hum of blaster fire.

"I'll handle this. You get the sniper. Go!"

"Wait! No--!" he started to protest but quickly realized it was no use. The cavern had turned into absolute chaos and there was very little he could do to stop it. Deciding he had no other choice but to join in with the fray, Han brought his DL-44 into position and began firing at the running shapes of the mercenaries, all the while keeping a close eye on the cavern walls for the sniper to strike.

TAG: Mister_Master, JEDIGUNSHIP, Sinre, Kessel group

 

IC: Aurra Sing
Kessel mines

The situation was becoming even more difficult to maintain. A trio of Alliance prisoners were making a dash for the cave exit, and the mercs were chasing them. The Alliance soldiers were advancing forwards, firing bolts at the mercs, and the entire group were running towards each other, but Aurra noted that she was almost out of mercs, with two, maybe three, holding the slaves back with some difficulty.

Hissing, Aurra fired a few sniper bursts at the Alliance pilots, incredibly easy to target in that garish orange, downing one more - a beautiful shot through the eye of Snapper 11, and then leaped into the fray, tugging a crimson lightsaber from her belt and activating it. She landed between her mercenaries and the prisoners, and deflected a pair of shots in a moment back at the Alliance group.

Han Solo had the side of his head clipped by a bolt, and Snapper Six took the next in the shoulder, spinning him around. Then she launched forward, for the three prisoners, for Thryta, for Bilt, for Han, and for Nakir.

This is going to be easy!

--
The Doneeta ready room

"Ready."

Captain Sark Tokins nodded to the man, producing a datapad. "Captain Corbec, I have been receiving worrying information from the Garos and Velmor systems. Alliance Intelligence has been picking up the deployment of Sith assets in the Neutral Regions - we've been expecting this since the Third Battle of Endor cost us most of our territory outside the Outer Rim..." Tokins let it sink in just how serious things were at the moment.

It was true, that since the return of Lord Shadowspawn the Rebellion had failed to win a major victory.

"The Kessel mission may net us extra soldiers, but its not enough to see us triumph. If the Sith are up to something at Velmor, then Korriban may be open for a strike. With the Sith fleet routed from Byss, and Declann's clone running around in the Core near Kuat, a Sith movement into the Neutral Regions is going to expose them to a strike. I need intel from Korriban - so we can make a decision to either supplant the Sith or use them against the Empire."

"Comments?" Sark wasn't making it an option. If anything, it appeared that his supplanting of the position of Supreme Commander had gone to his head...

TAG: Sarge221, HanSolo29, Zandoran_Celix, Mister_Master, JEDIGUNSHIP
---
IC: A'Sharad Hett
XoXaan's tomb, Valley of the Golg, Korriban

A'Sharad Hett felt the Force stir. It hadn't stirred for years, he reflected. It was as if someone had put a foot wrong in the tide, and had sent a shockwave through the very heart of Korriban. Hett didn't know about the Sith Empire currently occupying the Valley of the Dark Lords. The miasma of the dark side had engulfed them, concealing them from his black sight.

Hett stood, not saying anything, but looking in the direction of the disturbance. The Sith Holocron of XoXaan thrashed, her nails cutting through the air as she too detected what he had. "Acolyte, you sense a Jedi on Korriban."

"A Jedi?" Hett ignored XoXaan's reference to him as a Sith acolyte. He was not. All he was doing was spending a few years learning power to destroy the Emperor and Darth Vader once and for all. He unconsciously brought his flesh hand to his throat, reminiscing. He would not fail. He couldn't fail in his vengeance again.

"Yesssss..." XoXaan crowed, the hologram - or spirit, as the dark side energies of Korriban had made it into something entirely different to a device many eons ago - emitting a cackle. "Not just an acolyte. A man on the edge of the darkness... a rogue. Another Jedi for me to make into a Sith...?" Hett found he had his lightsabers in his hands, and knew why he did - he could not allow XoXaan to corrupt anyone else. He had to find this newcomer, and kill them.

He placed his blades back on his belt, and made his way through the Valley.

---
Elsewhere

The ship had landed. Crash landed, that was