main
side
curve
  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Star Wars OPEN Paradoxical Echoes: An Original Trilogy Game (Always Accepting New Players)

Discussion in 'Role Playing Forum' started by Bravo, Sep 3, 2017.

  1. TheAdmiral

    TheAdmiral Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 28, 2004
    IC: Sergeant First Class Adrias Stark
    A Shady Motel, Downtown, Javin


    Adrias hit the ground as the blaster bolts pierced the wall sending pieces of debris around the room. Some of the wallpaper started burning, which could be problematic if they were to remain there. “We should take care of the fire.” he hissed as he took the commlink. Adrias debated whether he should call the base directly, but given what had happened there might be someone listening, so he had an idea. “Captain Stein, this is Sergeant Stark, do you copy?” he asked as he had keyed the right frequency “We were ambushed by Rebels masquerading as Patrol Troopers. We need reinforcements, we are pinned down!” he said ignoring the movement and the whispers in the hallway.

    TAG: @Bravo @TheSilentInfluence
     
    Bravo likes this.
  2. Bravo

    Bravo Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Sep 10, 2001
    IC: Stormtrooper Captain Kurt Stein
    Downtown, Javin


    Kurt was an Imperial Officer. More then that, he was a Stormtrooper. Chaos or not, he had the obligation to fulfill his duty. Even if that duty was holding a datapad and checking IDs, paper orders, and issuing the "move along, move along" order.

    "Next," kurt said with not much excitement (although he was able to scoop up a DLT-19 Heavy Blaster Rifle with modified rifle sling, which was some excitement, and he had across his back with the sling across his chest). The next Imperial crew member of the Darkest Night moved up, handing his ID card and paper orders. Kurt scanned his ID with the datapad, then checked a handful of important lines on the paper orders with the information from the scanned ID presented on the datapad. He looked up between the datapad picture and that of the Imperial crew member.

    "Technician David Skyhawk," he checked the picture and data, "Leading Crewmen. Hull & bulkhead maintenance."

    "Yes, sir," the Imperial said, his voice a bit slurred and his breath smelling of drink.

    "A few drinks tonight, Crewmen Skyhawk?" Kurt asked, handing the man his ID & paper orders.

    The Imperial took them and replied, "Yes, sir."

    "Get yourself cleaned up son," Kurt said.

    "Yes, sir," Skyhawk replied.

    Kurt nodded and looked back to the Imperial Navy Trooper behind him---who nodded---and with another Navy Trooper they moved the yellow-and-orange flashing construction barricade out of the way. Kurt got Crewmen Skyhawk's attention and pointed down the long line of Imperials walking down further with several Imperial Navy Troopers spaced throughout as far as the eye could see, as well as a AT-ST stationed someways back in the middle of the street---on the crest of a hill in the road---with a squad of Stormtroopers loosely around it. "Up the hill, follow the crowd. It'll lead right to the Darkest Night."

    "Yes, sir," the nearly drunk man said and walked off, following the crowd. Kurt was one of three Imperial Officers manning 3 construction barricades length security checkpoint (Kurt manning the middle one) with 2 Imperial Navy Troopers behind each barricade, operating as the manual open and shut mechanisms to the crude---but effective---last minute checkpoint. In front of the barricade was a line of Imperial Navy Troopers and a handful of Stormtroopers that filtered the mass mob of Imperial crew members attached to the Darkest Night into three workable lines (civilians were turned away). Behind the crude barricade---along the street lamps---were two Imperial Navy Troopers standing sentry, keeping the screened & accepted Imperials going towards their ultimate destination: the Imperial Garrison & Star Destroyer outside of town. As Imperials got closer to the ISD and base, security got noticeably tougher---as well as two other checkpoints along the way---with Navy Troopers being phased out for Imperial Army Troopers who had come down from the garrison, as well as several more AT-STs along the way with Stormtroopers as well.

    Several disgruntled voices and choice words could be heard from behind suddenly and Kurt turned around to see a pair of Scout Troopers on 74-Z Speeder Bikes come down the street and slow until they reached Kurt. While one trooper stayed on his bike, the other trooper got off and approached Kurt.

    "Captain Stein?"

    "Yes?"

    The trooper handed him a comlink, "Do you have a Lieutenant Shan under your command?"

    "Yes," Kurt replied.

    "She and others are pinned down. We cannot spare the resources at the moment for a rescue."

    Kurt nodded, checking his belt where his comlink should---

    It was missing, maybe falling off in the chaos after the restaurant shooting?

    "Status update?" Kurt asked.

    "None, sir," the trooper replied, stepping aside, "I am here to relieve you of your security checkpoint and TK-1185 will go with you to their location. It appears local security forces are already on scene."

    Kurt nodded, handed the datapad to the Scout Trooper, and got onto the bike.

    The other Scout Trooper looked at Kurt from his bike, "Follow me, captain!"


    ***************************

    A Shady Motel


    Kurt looked through the bush on the other side of the street, noticing several Patrol Troopers outside---seemingly to be in a defensive formation---with several other Patrol Troopers dead on the sidewalk and their bikes hovering quietly nearby. He leaned back through the bush and brought up his acquired DLT-19, looking to the patrol trooper who was behind the bush covering their rear where their own Z-74 hovered quietly.

    "I count two confirmed Patrol Trooper tangos. One stationary front door, one on patrol around the building, and I can assume most likely a third on exterior sentry duty based on their defensive formation. Two dead Patrol Troopers and two unused speeder bikes."

    "Comlinks are jammed," the Scout replied, "We'll have to approach."

    No duh, Kurt thought, Like no one on this entire planet already knows that! Kurt had to remind himself that sometimes Stormtroopers could be too literal at times.

    "That was my thinking," Kurt started, "You appr----"

    Kurt's comlink came to life!

    “Captain Stein, this is Sergeant Stark, do you copy?” said the voice on the other end, “We were ambushed by Rebels masquerading as Patrol Troopers. We need reinforcements, we are pinned down!”

    "Copy Stark," Stein replied, "This is Captain Stein. Stay put. We're almost there. How many tangos are you up against? Who is with you? And is Lieutenant Shan with you?"

    Since it was the emergency broadcast channel, the conversation was being broadcast over anyone listening, including Shan & Animal's comlinks......


    TAG @TheAdmiral & @TheSilentInfluence
     
    TheAdmiral likes this.
  3. Bravo

    Bravo Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Sep 10, 2001
    IC: Corporal Joseph Venturi
    Company E, 291st Infantry Regiment; Plato 997, Kingdom of Jod
    Special Assignment, detached to Research Sciences & Theory Division (RST), as a specially assigned Fireteam



    Venturi turned around one last time as they departed the Delta-class JV-7 Escort Shuttle, the landing ramp lowered with the two Navy Shuttle Gunners providing a physical security presence, the two gunners armed with the extremely rare S-Model 1 Carbine. How the two gunners came into possession of the S-Model would be a story all of itself and would speak---large part---to this shuttle crew's pull within the Starfighter Corps. Per Jod Military Forces regulations, the S-Model was in the process of being retired from active duty and this regulation was strictly enforced, ensuring the weapon to be an extremely rare sight. While Cavalry Troopers are known to swear by the carbine's performance and hide them from command inspections of Local Garrisons and Army Forts, it was practically unheard of for anyone outside of the King's Army to be able to get their hands on one. As one of the gunners stood sentry at the foot of the ramp, the other one was doing a slow patrol around the shuttle; while the two Shuttle Pilots were clearly in the cockpit of the shuttle, the Tac-SenCom Engineering Technician was coming down the landing ramp with a small field tool kit and headed back towards the dual turbolaser turret.

    Turning back to the here-and-now which---in this case---was Staff Sergeant Bill Zappa, Lance Corporal Teddy Riva, Specialist Class Four Jet Wang, and the 2 RST agents, Joseph caught the initial bits of Zappa's orders as the group moved slowly through the forest, "Spread out," Zappa ordered all around him, "Standard recon patrol formation."

    No one had to give an inspired affirmative and instead just nodded and spread out from their once closed ranks patrol. Corporal Venturi shrugged his shoulders to relieve the tension in his upper back as he lowered his LR-Model 2 Blaster Rifle across his chest. Up ahead through the thick forest trees, he could smell the fainted burning wreckage smell as it drift through the woods. While they were all out here alone when they just had a whole brigade's worth of personnel, equipment, and armored vehicles perplexed Joseph or---more correctly---added to the eerie feeling that this patrol was meant to be kept as secret as possible. And while---if the stories of the HRI Home Guard Branch were to be believed as even remotely true---the 2 RST agents could easily handle themselves, the fact that they brought a fireteam along for extra muscle spoke volumes as to what they were headed into.

    It would be a long hike in and the smell of burning wreckage only got stronger.



    *******************


    "What is it?" Teddy asked as he handed the binoculars back to Joseph.

    Joseph shook his head, "No idea. Nothing Jod, that's for sure. Unless it's a R&D project from Fair & Group Military Contracting. They're known for those weird high-tech projects," Joseph looked at Teddy, "Recovery mission for Fair Group?"

    The Lance Corporal shrugged, "Maybe. But why not just send Fair Group to recover their pet project?"

    "Good question," Joseph said, putting the binoculars back to his eyes and taking one last look over the crumbled mass, which showed a clear path of debris which showed the descent from the sky above, blazing a path through the tops of the trees, and as the craft lowered even more, more parts of the starship coming apart in greater fashion and force as it skidded through the ground the last couple hundred yards and then came to it's current resting place. What was left at that resting place was a gray-colored ball cockpit on what appeared to be it's side with a crumpled and shredded black vertical wing with solar panels on one side hanging over it. The smoking & sparking debris field behind it showed remnants of another vertical wing that matched it, but which was no longer attached.

    "Area is clear," Teddy whispered to Joseph, hearing the "all clear" bird sound from somewhere off in the deepness of the forest; the soldier made sure his LR-Model 2 was ready one last time and clicked back the hammer quietly as he rested it on the log and put his chin up against the butt of the rifle, "I'll cover you."

    Venturi nodded and put the binoculars down before grabbing his own LR-Model 2 and as he quietly got up, looked at Teddy, "Don't miss."

    Teddy looked up from his prone position and smiled, "I never do."

    Stepping over the log quietly and making his way down the decline into the impression below where the strange craft rested quietly, Joseph kept his eyes scanning around. Out of the woods came Jet Wang to his East (as Joseph was headed North from the South) with his LR-Model 2 at the ready like Joseph and the two RST agents came from the North and West respectfully, each of the agents sporting the trusty Standard Issue Army-Navy Revolver. That meant, like Teddy, Bill was somewhere hidden in the woods as well with his LR-Model 2, looking down upon the crash site. With both Bill & Teddy being Sharpshooter Specialists, Chris felt reasonably safe as he approached the downed starship. As he got closer, with heat from the crash site starting to wash over the air, he noticed that the cockpit hatch at the side of the ball cockpit was indeed cracked open a bit. It was facing towards him and as the three of them---Jospeh, Jet, and the 2 RST agents---all got closer to the starship, the agent to the East waived his pistol towards the cockpit hatch and Joseph picked up his speed to a double quick and cocked back the hammer on his rifle as he brought it to his shoulder and aimed down to where he was running. Reaching the cockpit hatch, he swung it open and stuck his blaster rifle through it, showing an empty ball cockpit.

    "Nothing," Joseph reported as the agent and Jet came to flank him.

    The agent nodded without a word and retrieved a comlink from his belt and walked off a bit of ways from Jet & Joseph to get privacy as he made a communications link with someone on the other end...



    TBC
     
    Last edited: Jul 25, 2020
  4. TheSilentInfluence

    TheSilentInfluence Retired Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jul 15, 2014
    IC: Elena Shan
    A Shady Motel, Downtown, Javin

    Elena frowned at his dismissive tone, but ignored it for now. They had bigger things to worry about. When he asked if she wanted to go first, Elena didn't hesitate, brushing past him with a nod. "Yes, thank you Animal." And then, "If you're worried over the consequences, there won't be any. I told you before, my grandfather is a very important person." She looked at him, a strange sort of fire in her eyes. She had a feeling he was struggling with what had happened, but didn't press it any further. "We have a mission, so let's focus on that. If you want to talk later, you know where to find me."

    Hopefully he doesn't speak about this where everyone can hear. The last thing I need is to be moved to another unit.

    There was a sudden beep and Elena looked down in surprise as Captain Stein's voice came over the comlink, loud and clear. He was asking for her and Animal, and she pressed the button on her wrist to respond, happy that they were no longer alone in all of this and that they might actually be able to track down the traitors and save their men. "This is Lieutenant Shan. I read you loud and clear Sir. Animal and I are inside the hotel Sir, attempting to locate the other troopers. Is there anyway you can provide assistance?"

    Tag: @Bravo @TheAdmiral
     
    Bravo and TheAdmiral like this.
  5. galactic-vagabond422

    galactic-vagabond422 Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 11, 2009
    IC: Natalia Markova
    Darkest Night

    Natalia was glad to be out of the tank and resting in a hospital gown. The pain was gone and she could hear other noises besides her own breathing, and heartbeat. Though the bright lights were still a little much for her when she first left the bacta. However by the time the medical chief checked on her she'd gotten used to the feeling of being back on solid ground and not floating in slightly viscous liquid.

    "I am recovered mam'." She said curtly not going into details. Not wanting to be put under evaluation for mental trauma. Though there was much going on between her ears. Why did violence seem to follow her, every time she's left the ship she'd come under fire. Was it something she was doing? Or was it merely those she chose to associate with? She could still remember the cold feeling that almost took her as the others scrambled to save her. There were moments there where she could have died but she was kept alive. How she didn't know, why was another question that she likely couldn't answer either.

    Right now all she was doing was going through the motions, just wanting to return to her post, to return to what was normal. No more would she leave the ship, no more would she get involved with things outside of her responsibilities. These past two outings have shown her that no good could come of it.

    Though that burning curiosity still churned away inside her.

    Who did kill the Commodore, and was everything that was happening related to it?

    TAG: @Bravo
     
    Bravo likes this.
  6. Bravo

    Bravo Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Sep 10, 2001
    IC: Chief Medical Officer Debgate
    Command Medical Bay, Darkest Night, on planet of Javin (landed)


    "I am recovered mam'."

    Debate smiled, "Oh, I'm sure you are," the chief medical officer unhooked the data-pad on the end of the bed and looked through it as a refresher, "Your vitals are great and everything is looking fine. In fact," Debate looked at the woman, "Great. The advantages of youth."

    The medical doctor put the datapad back in it's place and took a step back, "Normally, I would order you to twenty-four hours rest in your quarters. That wound was worse then first thought. But, like I said, youth is as good a healing agent as any if paired with the properly administered bacta treatment. Someone older than you by a decade or so----while they would have survived----would have been in that tank for several days longer. However," Debgate's cheerful demeanor soured slightly, "The new chief of security, Gotz Richter, is waiting outside. He has taken over the investigation into Commodore Englewood's unfortunate death from both Senior Lieutenant---or rumor we hear now, Commander---Steadfast and Brigadier General Vasiliev. He's, well," Debate smiled thinly, "A tough man. Even for my tastes. He asked me several questions while you were in the tank. But," Debgate said encouragingly, "While you're in here, you are my patient. And you take as long as you need to get dressed," Debgate started to turn away, but stopped, and looked back to Natalia, "Just, if I may offer, answer his questions as directly and quickly as you can. And get out of there. He's very good at his job and its unnerving. When you're dressed," Debate pointed to the refresher, "Just check in with the nurse and she'll discharge you. A fresh uniform is in the refresher for you."


    TAG @galactic-vagabond422
     
    Last edited: Jul 29, 2020
  7. Bravo

    Bravo Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Sep 10, 2001
    IC: Stormtrooper Captain Kurt Stein
    A Shady Motel (Downtown), Javin


    "This is Lieutenant Shan. I read you loud and clear Sir. Animal and I are inside the hotel Sir, attempting to locate the other troopers. Is there anyway you can provide assistance?"

    Stein smiled. Everyone was on the same channel and---hopefully---game plan soon, "Good to hear your voice, Lieutenant Shan. I will advise this channel is open. I repeat, this channel is open to anyone with a comlink who has access codes to this emergency channel. So, keep sensitive info out. Do you copy that information, Sergeant First Class Stark? Lieutenant, you can start with clarifying if these Patrol Troopers outside the motel are friendlies or tangos? I count three of them with two deceased Patrol Troopers nearby."


    TAG @TheAdmiral , @TheSilentInfluence
     
    TheAdmiral likes this.
  8. Bravo

    Bravo Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Sep 10, 2001
    IC: Jim Palso
    Hunk of Junk, Somewhere near the Velcar Free Commerce Zone
    (Several hours prior to the events with Corporal Joseph Venturi)



    Palso dismissed Walking Library's rambling, "I know, I know! Just hold on!" Palso pulled up on the yoke, adjusted his speed, and then put the light freighter into a dizzying dive.

    Someone from the bowles of the freighter yelped in sudden pain.

    "Sorry," Jim cursed under his breath.

    The three TIE Fighters chasing from behind overshooting their target and one of them collided with their comrades engaging from the front, the two TIEs clipping each other's wings and sending them spiraling off into the various randomly floating and largely spaced out carbonbergs that dotted the colorful gas nebula. Both TIEs exploded, leaving 4 TIEs to scramble into a hasty re-engagement. Behind both sets of TIEs were a Arquitens-class Command Cruiser each, the cruisers' turbolasers a distant and ineffective---if nagging---reminder of the Empire's pursuit of the Hunk of Junk.

    "Shields adjusted," came the shuttle pilot's (Zelk) voice from the system station behind the co-pilot's seat, "That should save your droid from complaining about those cruisers again."

    "Watch it buddy," Palso warned, looking over his shoulder and to the right, "Or you'll be floating home," Jim turned his attention briefly to the weapons station behind his own pilot's seat, "Are those weapons ready?"

    The shuttle tech, Not, nodded, "Should be," he turned to Palso, "Try that. I think I fixed the communication issue on the new cannons."

    Jim nodded, first turning to Zelk, "Go check on Vic at the Engineering Station. See if he can boost anything more out of the engines."

    "Who made you boss?" Zelk said, crossing his arms over his chest. Suddenly the freighter shook as the TIEs behind them were finding their marks with their green laser blasts; Zelk's attitude suddenly changed and he started out the cockpit, "Right! The Engineering Station!"

    Jim keyed the console comlink as the man's boots echoed down the corridor, "Havah, Winterkill! Those twin Tomral RM-76 Heavies should work now. Give those TIEs some hell!"

    "Look!" Library said, pointing out the front of the cockpit transparisteel viewport.

    "Yeah," Palso said without much excitement as sensors started pinging what was on the other side of the opening back into normal space and out of the gas nebula.

    "Food?" Taller said, coming into the cockpit with Bugger behind him, a large serving plate of pizza in Taller's hands.

    "Seriously?" Jim asked, then corrected himself, "Sir, you do see that we're a bit busy at the moment?"

    "Yep," Taller said with a stuffed face of pizza, finishing his last words with food in his mouth, "And you'll are doing a great job. Reminds me of that time just after the Clone Wars when---oh, this is where the fun begins!"

    "What fun---?" Jim started as he looked between Taller's full mouth talking and the viewport. Then he checked the glaring sensor warning and checked the opening back into real space again where he now saw another Arquitens-class Command Cruiser was blocking their escape with another cruiser just flank and port (or right from Jim's point of view). The cruiser closet to them started to spill its three TIE Fighters as its turbolasers started opening up at a distance, forcing Jim to dance around the incoming turbolaser fire.

    Jim keyed the comm again, "Winterkill, Havah. Three more Eye-Balls ahead of us, with two cruisers in staggered formation. I'm going to thread the needle between their bridge towers. I'm dropping aft shields and putting the extra power to forward shields. Keep them off of us long enough to blow this nebula!"

    Jim started running through switches and toggles and looked at Library, "Put all shields forward to max."

    "Would now be a good time to mention I don't think this is a good idea, Captain Palso?" Library said.

    "Captain now???!!!" Taller almost choked on his food with a chuckle, "Someone got a promotion!"

    "My ship...." Palso said, a bit sheepishly, "Sir. Captain, sir."

    Taller shrugged, laughing, "Captain here, Palso. But back on the Johnny Boy, don't forget your place," Taller said as he started to leave, "Staff Master. Come on Bugger, lets find the drinks on this freighter! Any good captain would have some!"

    Jim felt a mix of embarrassment and anger forming on his face as Taller's foot steps grew fainter and fainter.

    Library was looking between the retreating Taller and Palso. "What did I say?"

    Jim shook his head, "Nothing Library. Just get those shields lowered," the freighter shook with an impact of laser fire from the chasing TIEs from behind.



    TAG @Mitth_Fisto , myself (for @greyjedi125 )
     
    Last edited: Jul 29, 2020
    greyjedi125 likes this.
  9. Mitth_Fisto

    Mitth_Fisto Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Sep 29, 2005
    IC: Jingleheimmer Voss (Jingle)
    Darkest Night (some time later...)


    It was an unusual feeling to be on a starship with real gravity, because that real gravity was caused by the starship being on ground. The influx of Imperials coming back to the ISD was impressive and, it would seem, painful. It also was terribly wrong, a ship of the deep only came to worlds to stock up on previsions and . . .now that he thought of it he was going to have to check and see how many shipments had been delivered before his R&R got shot to pieces along with far too many members of the crew.

    Imperial crew was being shuffled through two at a time through flanking Imperial Navy Troopers and a single white armored Stormtrooper standing off to the side (a KX-series security droid was standing behind the stormtrooper). As the line moved closer and they were now a half dozen pairs of heads away from the blast doors, as they got closer Jingle could see two other Imperial Navy Troopers standing directly opposite the incoming line of Imperials on the other side of the blast door. It appeared, once through this last checkpoint, crew members were next to proceed to their quarters aside from "essential" personnel, which meant the skeleton crew. Jingle felt mixed emotions at that, he somewhat wished he was not essential, but command staff always is. Even if in the kitchen which meant all the people he oversaw directly would also be essential and overworked in making meals that could travel to those locked down crew members throughout the ship. Anyone on planet-side R&R was expected to be back in their quarters until further notice. Rumor going around the ranks was that medical personnel would start coming around doing a second check of "tests" to confirm people's identities. He begrudgingly tried to already begin resigning himself to that fate. With the attack by "friendlies" and now a very rushed evac, SOP was for truly there for a reason and sadly past tragedies had dictated it. As it would be very easy for an impostor to slip onboard.

    As they reached the blast doors and got through, Alex looked at Jingle as the two were about to go their own ways after a few silent steps, "Until next time, Chef?"

    "Until then. Perhaps you choose the place then?" he asked with a wane smile at his own gallows humor.

    TAG @Bravo
     
    Bravo likes this.
  10. Bravo

    Bravo Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Sep 10, 2001
    OOG: Due to DRL, @greyjedi125 had to step away temporarily from our game. As such, he has given me permission to role play his Winterkill character until he returns. Let us hope I do the character justice. :)


    **************


    IC: Winterkill
    Hunk of Junk, Somewhere near the Velcar Free Commerce Zone
    (Several hours prior to the events with Corporal Joseph Venturi)



    Winterkill put one hand in front of the other and used his feet in a corresponding way as he ascended the gun well ladder and into the dorsal gun turret, which housed the newly minted Twin Tomral RM-76 Heavy Laser Cannons that Jim Palso had acquired at their last stop off at the Monastery Moon. While noticeably slower than a likewise-aged AG-2G Quad Laser Cannon in rate of fire, the single barreled Tomral RM-76 Heavy Laser Cannon more than made up for the rate of fire issue with pure raw firepower; under a skilled gunner, the RM-76 packed a devastating punch of death in a single shot that the AG-2G could only hope to achieve with all four barrels. The double (twin) barreled RM-76 gave an unskilled gunner a fighting chance with a one-two punch sequence in firing rate, making up for the weapon's traditional slower rate of fire and allowing for less accurately placed shots to still find a home.

    Sliding into the gunner's seat, Winterkill quickly familiarized himself with the controls as he strapped in with the crash webbing; even for an older weapon, the RM-76 shared a lot of basic switches, toggles, and buttons that newer set-ups shared (or copied, more correctly, from the older models). Although the weapon lacked the modern weaponry's more advanced & detailed HUD systems, it maintained a relatively respected & basic HUD system for a weapon designed before 10 BBY. While old, the system would do it's job. Sometimes the simpler, the better.

    He looked out at the blue tunnel of hyperspace race behind him as he could see the glow of the light freighter's engines in the near distance. Operationally, this should be straight forward: standard defensive stations on exit from hyperspace. Clear your exit, ensuring you wouldn't be surprised by pirates or worse (if there could be worse that is) and cover your reentry into hyperspace or next navigation point in outer space until any assumed threat level was low enough to disengage weaponry. But---Winterkill rolled up the sleeve of his left arm to reveal several minor battle scars along his arm---the Nagai learned long ago to never assume, even in the most "routine" of operations.

    The wounds were minor for him, at least, as he rolled down his sleeve and gripped the controls of the gun turret. For others, well, they might have received a chest full of war medals. Hailed a war hero and been made into a national icon to boost political messaging. For Winterkill, none of that happened. What did happen, however, was his survival. If he could claim any status of war hero...

    ...well, there was a reason why he didn't remove his shirt. His back and his chest displayed the sacrifices one received for survival. And no fanfare or bands or public speeches followed him home. Just silence.

    Shaking his head from the memories, he heard a voice emitting from the microphone-and-headphones dangling from the hook up to his right.

    "...Winterkill, do you copy? How is the gun turret?"

    He reached up and put the headphones on his head, adjusted them and the microphone and spoke into them.

    "Dorsal turret reporting," Winterkill replied, citing, "Sorry for the late check-in, Palso."

    "No worries," Jim said on the other end, "We're dropping out of hyperspace in two minutes. How's the turret?"

    "Checking," Winterkill replied, reaching over to his left and above his head and flipping the power switch. The turret jumped to rigid life, its bygone looseness now a relic of the past as energy and liquids ran through the systems. All lights, gauges, and monitors were going from red (or yellow) to green, from zero to ideal pressure, and from offline to online. Winterkill replied, "Everything is---" he was about to say green, but it wasn't, as across one of the smaller monitor screens to his left was a blinking message in yellow reading CONNECTION ERROR---blink---TO TARGETING---blink---COCKPIT---blink and then repeated itself, "Systems are all a no-go!" Winterkill exclaimed. Winterkill could of swore he heard Palso choke on something, then the Nagai repeated, "Systems are a no-go in the dorsal turret."

    A new voice appeared over the internal comm channel. It was Walking Library. The robot's droid responded, "I see the error here. The same error of the ventral gun turret," the droid paused, "We'll work on it from here, Winterkill. Sit tight. You'll have control of the turret, but the laser cannons themselves are offline. Its a connection error between one system and the next. We'll alert you when its online."

    "Copy," Winterkill replied and sat back and waited. Good thing, at least, as the deceleration from hyperspace took effect on the light freighter and the blue tunnel of hyperspace collasped and faded away behind him was that, the likelihood of encountering a problem was---

    The Hunk of Junk shook and Winterkill knew that was no asteroid!

    "Contact! Contact! Contact!" Palso barked into the internal comm system and Winterkill watched as the green laser bolts flying past him some unseen attacker to his back suddenly---and violently---switched perspectives as the light freighter was forced into a series of evasive maneuvers from the pilot in the cockpit. As his gun turret view changed rapidly and suddenly with the ever changing flight path, Winterkill used the foot pedals to rotate the turret this way and that way to get a bigger view of their treat. Before them was a Gladiator Auctorati-class Star Destroyer foreshadowing the giant gas nebula that consumed their entire front view. With it was a single Arquitens-class Command Cruiser that was aft of the star destroyer on the dorsal side and above and behind the star destroyer's bridge tower. The cruisers was launching TIE Fighters. While the warships provided only distant turbolaser fire that lacked close-in accuracy (but nonetheless decorated the surrounding black star-speckled space with green turbolaser beams), the TIEs were the real threat: both aggressor and cattle herder, if the TIEs own powerful laser cannons didn't destroy or disable the light freighter, than they could cattle heard the light freighter back towards the warship's heavier firepower for the same effect.

    While Winterkill was no naval expert, he did have an excellent battlefield memory. And he could of swore that that Gladiator-class Star Destroyer was the one that attacked them in the Corporate Sector. The Nagai checked the gun turret's laser cannons and true to the droid's words as he pulled on one trigger then the other, he got an exciting charge, followed by a chunking and uneven pitiful machine wimper.

    "We're going to take them into the gas nebula!" Jim barked over the comm channel.

    While the gas nebula was quite the impressive sight to see and would take the better part of a day at full burn to scale one side or the other to get "on top" and over (and probably a week at full burn to get across it's width and around it), there was tactical sound to taking the shortcut through the center, especially considering it would give them extra time to get the cannons online and firing. Although, there was also tactical sound for an Imperial trap waiting aside, expecting such a move. While Winterkill would have opted for a full retreat, banking on the light freighter's better maneuverability and speed verses the 2 larger warships (as well as only 3 TIE Fighters in pursuit), he had to admit he didn't know if there would be another trap waiting for them on their equally as predictable escape plan.

    Stuck, as the Humans would say, between a rock and a hard place.

    As the light freighter did a dance around the outer cosmos---the gas nebula now growing only bigger and ever more encompassing to their current fates as they got closer---Winterkill moved the turret with the foot medals to keep up with the TIE Fighters that danced around them and the cruiser that started to adjust its position and put full speed to engines to try to cut the Hunk of Junk off at the first opening into the nebula.

    As the Hunk of Junk broke through the gas nebula's opening, the 3 TIEs were close behind still firing their angry green beams and the cruiser was 2 steps behind the faster light freighter---and failed to cut off Palso & crew at the opening---and instead was opening the nebula. As the multicolored swirl of dense colors dominated the gun turret's view on every side with randomly floating carbonbergs, Winterkill had a sinking feeling they were running straight into a trap. The star destroyer's lack of pursuit was a giving sign. As the nebula seemed to get thicker and thicker and darker and darker despite the radiant colors all around them and their travel seemed to slow as if they were traveling through thick clouds, Winterkill knew now they were in a trap. And in this nebula there was only one reliable way out and that would be through the Imperials on the other side blocking the exit.

    Soon, however, green laser fire let up his backside and as he turned from the aft watching for the pursuing Imperials, he saw another one of those cruisers launching TIEs. As the two groups of TIEs on either side now closed in, Winterkill really wished he had control of his laser cannons! Suddenly, however, Winterkill felt his stomach do knots he didn't think was possible as the light freighter suddenly did a roll and dive and the two groups of oncoming TIEs scrambled to adjust course and follow, 2 such TIEs clipping themselves and spinning off into explosions.

    Someone from the bowels of the freighter yelped in sudden pain from the quick course adjustment. Apparently they were not strapped in.

    Turning his turret back to the aft where he could keep an eye out on the 4 left-over pursuing TIEs, Winterkill watched helplessly as his fate and everyone else's fate was in the hands of a rocket head Corellian hot shot.

    How ironic, trusting one's fate into the hands of someone as unpredictable and crazy as a Corellian.

    A course, there could be worse fates, like---

    Winterkiller stopped himself from justifying this ironic fate. Actually, no, there was no worse fate than this, putting his faith into a Corellian!

    Suddenly, either by dumb luck of the Force having pity on his fate, the internal comlink came alive!

    "Havah, Winterkill! Those twin Tomral RM-76 Heavies should work now. Give those TIEs some hell!"

    Winterkill smiled as he checked the formerly flashing monitor screen, which was now blank with a green status reading READY in a steady display with no blinking, then brought his weapons to bare and replied, "I'll be happy to."

    He squeezed the left trigger, then the right trigger, feeling the heavy vibration and push back on the gun mount as two green laser blasts shot out in a staggered formation. While the shots missed, Winterkill could see that one of the TIEs noticeably reacted and, soon-after, the fighters broke up their otherwise tighter formation and spread out.

    Fine. Havah had his turret under there to greet them with.

    For his part, Winterkill focused on his 2 targets and started laying a heavy rain of laser cannon fire their direction, with each one-two punch getting closer and closer to being on target he grew use to the TIEs evasive flight patterns. Soon, one of his shots hit! The first shot tore into the right (Winterkill's left) wing of a TIE's solar panel, while the second "punch"---as the TIE's quickly deteriorating TIE's flight path forced it to starboard---blasted into the TIE's ball cockpit, blasting the TIE to bits!

    Winterkill didn't allow his pride to get the better of him as he started tracking the other TIE. Then his headset came alive again.

    "Winterkill, Havah. Three more Eye-Balls ahead of us, with two cruisers in staggered formation. I'm going to thread the needle between their bridge towers. I'm dropping aft shields and putting the extra power to forward shields. Keep them off of us long enough to blow this nebula!"

    Well, his theory was correct. There was only one way out of this nebula! As distant turbolaser blasts started to fill the space around the light freighter from the cruisers, Winterkill keyed his comm, "Ventral turret! Havah, do you copy? First one to three kills buys the drinks?"



    TAG @Mitth_Fisto
     
    greyjedi125 likes this.
  11. Bravo

    Bravo Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Sep 10, 2001
    IC: Captain Duke P. (Patrick) Totter
    Personal Command Officer Quarters, Darkest Night, landed on planet of Javin


    Totter watched as the amber liquid sat in the glass. He watched it for a moment longer before taking the glass, putting it to his lips, and swallowing the liquid with his head thrown back. He put the glass down and put his hand on the bottle of Whyren's Reserve, lifting it up and pouring it into the now empty glass. After the glass was full, he put the bottle down and was about to put his hand on the glass, when it was suddenly taken away from him from the man that sat diagonally to him, both of their reflections in the viewport of the Star Destroyer's Command Officer Quarters, only one of three such luxury suites aboard the entire starship.

    "That's enough," Enoch Steadfast replied as he pulled the glass from the executive officer, "The Commodore was looking for you."

    Totter smirked, "Was he now? Well, he---or you---found me. So when does my career end?"

    "It almost did," Enoch said frankly, "We had a ship wide alert and you weren't there."

    "I'm sorry Commander," Totter replied, "I'll try better next time."

    "It is a position I accept because of the necessity of our situation."

    "Englewood is gone, Enoch. THAT is the situation! He was my best friend," Duke replied like a whipped dog, "And with him, so is my career. Gone. He was the only reason why the Navy kept me around."

    Enoch had had enough and got up from the chair along the length of the table opposite the viewport and put Duke up against the wall separating the bedroom from the living room area, "You're a drunk, Duke! Get cleaned up or get out of the Navy! I don't care which. But April is a good woman, Duke. A good woman! The best any man could ask for. And you have a beautiful 4 year-old daughter, Christina. Don't throw it all away. Not now," Enoch released his grip on the captain's collar and took a few steps back, grabbing his cane alongside the table, "Englewood did his job. He knew the risks and died doing what he loved: the navy. And he saved your career. Don't dishonor his memory like this. If the new Commodore wanted you gone, you'd be gone by now. Shape up, Duke."

    Enoch turned to leave and was already to the door when he stopped when Duke called out his name.

    "I could have you under court martial for attacking a uniformed officer."

    "You could," Enoch replied, not turning around, and hit the door release button, which showed the corridor outside as it opened, "But you won't. Get cleaned up, Captain. We need you on the bridge in ten minutes."


    NO TAG
     
    Jedi Knight Fett likes this.
  12. TheAdmiral

    TheAdmiral Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 28, 2004
    IC: Sergeant First Class Adrias Stark
    A Shady Motel, Downtown, Javin


    Adrias was relieved to hear Captain Stein’s voice, but before he could say anything there was another round of shots piercing the wall. The fire on the wall was slowly picking up speed, which could be a problem “We need to change position, soon the room will be filled with smoke.” he hissed again to his companions “Captain Stein, Lieutenant Shan is not with us, we are pinned in one of the rooms. The number of assailants is unknown.” He did not reveal their numbers just in case the enemy was eavesdropping “There is some fire in the room, it should be visible from the outside.” there was no way not to reveal that information as the enemy will learn that they are in a dire predicament.

    TAG: @Bravo @TheSilentInfluence
     
    Bravo likes this.
  13. Bravo

    Bravo Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Sep 10, 2001
    OOG: I'm getting us all tied together, as we can rejoin the others ( @TheAdmiral & @TheSilentInfluence ). For reference, we'll be ending in the Army Quarters, where we're all held up in crew confinement pending medical review.


    ***********


    IC: Stormtrooper Captain Kurt Stein

    A Shady Motel, Downtown, Javin


    “Captain Stein, Lieutenant Shan is not with us, we are pinned in one of the rooms. The number of assailants is unknown.” He did not reveal their numbers just in case the enemy was eavesdropping “There is some fire in the room, it should be visible from the outside.” there was no way not to reveal that information as the enemy will learn that they are in a dire predicament.

    It was clear, now, that Stein was receiving both transmissions from Lieutenant Shan and Sergeant Stark, but that Stark was only receiving one transmission: Stein's and not Shan's.

    "Get out of that room, Sergeant!" Stein ordered, "Now! Do whatever it takes! I will locate Lieutenant Shan to assist, just get out of that room!"

    Stein could see the small amounts of smoke start to puff out of the room---small amount even by his amateur judgement---but inside that motel room, it was probably more akin to the feeling of a campfire smoke blowing back in your face.


    ******************


    IC: Trooper DW-418125 (Benjamin Jacob Waynes; "Face"), Trooper DW-418128 (Lance Zachary Yates; "Business")
    A Shady Motel, Downtown, Javin


    Even Business heard the clearly barked order from Captain Stein on the comlink across the room and said, "Hallway is clear. Lets move it or loose it ladies!"

    Face looked at Adrias as the fire started picking up speed as it gained foothold of more meaty materials inside the wall, "Sergeant, lets go!"

    The three men filed out of the hotel room, past the two dead Patrol Trooper bodies, and not more than a dozen yards later, they heard a voice ring out.

    "STOP! Let me see your hands!"


    ***************


    IC: DW-418121 ("Animal"; Craig Anthony Stewart)
    A Shady Motel, Downtown, Javin


    Animal saw movement from down the hall where a small fire had broken out along the wall.

    "Movement, Lieutenant!" Animal issued, bringing his blaster pistol to bear as the three humanoid shapes got within clearer visual range and through the smoke.

    "STOP! Let me see your hands!" Animal barked. Just as he said that, the fire had produced enough smoke to trigger and the fire alarm and overhead sprinklers were activated, drenching everyone in a constant flow of unfiltered water.

    "Don't shoot Animal! Don't shoot!" Came the familiar voice of Business and Animal lowered his blaster pistol.

    "Friendlies," Animal noted to Elena behind him and stood up, walking the few feet to Business as terrified civilians---if they hadn't already fled earlier with the reports of blaster fire both inside the motel and outside a few blocks away---now poured out of rooms at the sound of a fire alarm. As humans and aliens rushed by all around them, Animal said to Business, "We've been looking for you fools all night!"

    "Sorry, Animal," Business said, "We got tied up with some old friends."

    "You too?" Animal replied, then looked back to the Lieutenant, "LT, I think its time we blow this joint."

    Without waiting a reply, just because at the moment the least talking the better with her, he motioned his troopers past when he came to Adrias, "Sergeant," Animal said, "I'd appreciate a full report on tonight's activities," Animal nodded towards the bodies, "We had our own run in with these Patrol Troopers. And I want to see if you got any useful intel on them."

    Soon, the whole group was moving with the flow of civilians and, in time, outside. For Animal, he kept his eyes straight ahead as he passed Chris' body behind the desk. Once outside, it was a quick comm call between the LT and Capt and soon everyone was standing together outside, the distant sound of emergency equipment approaching. From the outside, the fire already seemed to be dying, thanks to the sprinkler system.


    ******************


    IC: Stormtrooper Captain Kurt Stein
    A Shady Motel, Downtown, Javin


    Stein looked at the five Stormtroopers, as his borrowed speeder bike sat empty and the other Scout Trooper & his speeder bike were both a few feet behind them.

    "I'd like to give us some inspirational speech about how I'm glad to see you all alive," Stein began, "But we don't have time. If you haven't heard, all Darkest Night crew are evacuating the planet after several attempted attacks on our crew by hostiles in Patrol Trooper armor. Expect some poking and blood samples back at the SD to clear personnel from impostors, but we're some of the last people the Darkest Night is waiting on. So we best double time it back to the Star Destroyer."


    *******************


    IC: DW-418121 ("Animal"; Craig Anthony Stewart)
    Army Quarters (Joker Platoon), Darkest Night, leaving low orbit over Javin to high orbit


    Some time later.......


    Animal finished brushing his teeth in front of the mirror, spiting out the residue into the sink and quickly washing it and his mouth with the extremely limited amount of water each barracks was permitted to use for hand washing and other basic hygiene outside of taking a shower (which always had to be a sonic shower to avoid water use). A towel was wrapped around his mid-section, exposing his upper torso and lower legs. His feet were covered by general issued flip-flops, which even had a small Imperial symbol on each flip-flop! How special that the Empire had to promote itself on a 1 galactic credit piece of general issued item. Or, if you account for government spending, more like a five thousand galactic credit pair of flip-flops!

    "And you're sure that is all Master Sergeant?" the Old Man asked as he stood behind to the side, his arms over his chest. The Sergeant Major's white stormtrooper armor was on---per the need for all available hands on the Star Destroyer to assist in security during the planetary landing---but his helmet was attached to his belt, showing his face.

    Animal nodded as he put his toothbrush away in his black leather toiletry bag and pulled out the deodorant and put some on, "Yes, Sergeant Major," Animal replied, putting the deodorant away, zipping up the small leather bag, and he turned around to the Old Man as the two walked back towards Animal's bunk, the two having to nudge and swim their way through the cramped quarters as all crew & personnel had been restricted to quarters pending a full medical review, if they were on R&R planet side during the Patrol Trooper attacks. Command wanted to make sure no one was an impostor. "I wrote it all in the report, sir. Trooper Chris was threatening the Lieutenant and I told him to stand down. He didn't. And I fired."

    "There was a lot of chaos going on down there," Patrick said, "I'm sure the evidence will support your version of events."

    That was the Sergeant Major's way of saying he'd take care of it behind closed doors.

    "What's all the fuss about, sir?" Animal asked, putting his things away in his mini storage locker and closing it, turning to Patrick, "I mean, we had plenty of impostors in Patrol Trooper armor. The security footage will clearly show that that trooper pulled a weapon on an Imperial Officer and despite my best efforts, the trooper would not back down. So I took the shot."

    "The fuss is that we have a dead trooper, you writing a report that you pulled the trigger, and the security footage is missing."

    "Missing?" Animal replied.

    The sergeant major nodded, "Gone. No one knows. The motel's main office was raided by thugs after the fire and the place was trashed. They took anything and everything. The security console was completely fried to cover their tracks and the security data was missing when local law enforcement arrived."

    Animal's heart sank. This was no random hit by thugs; he wasn't stupid. This was a planned capture of evidence from a organized group that knew how to cover their tracks. The "thugs" hit too soon after the fire for it to be anything but a targeted operation. But by whom was the question. And who else knew his and Elena's Force secret to run that targeted op?

    His career was over.

    The Old Man saw the look on his Master Sergeant's face and put a hand on his shoulder, "Craig, I'll take care of it. Don't worry."

    Animal nodded and sank down into his bottom rung bunk, "Yeah."

    Patrick nodded and shrugged, "I've been in your shoes before," the Old Man looked around before talking and lowered his voice, "Your report and the LT's report are the only evidence they have right now. And its coming from reliable sources, you two. Trooper Chris, innocent or guilty, will get swept up as a battlefield loss. Nothing more will be said. Trust me."

    The Old Man gave Animal one last assuring pad on the shoulder before leaving. As Animal sat there, the Army Quarters swarming with cramped activity, he could only think on one thing: he kept Elena's secret.

    For now.


    TAG @TheAdmiral & @TheSilentInfluence
     
  14. Bravo

    Bravo Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Sep 10, 2001
    OOG: @Mitth_Fisto , you can move your character to his Senior Staff Officer Quarters at your will.


    **********


    IC: Alex Qipao19

    Darkest Night


    "Until then. Perhaps you choose the place then?" Voss asked with a wane smile at his own gallows humor.

    Alex smiled thinly, "No restaurants."


    *****************


    Pilot Quarters (Dark Nebula Squadron), Darkest Night, leaving low orbit over Javin to high orbit


    Some time later.......


    Alex read the datapad, catching on "galactic events" outside of his own mini galactic event here on Javin.

    The irony.

    Unlike other quarters---like those of the Army Quarters---the mandatory quarter confinement order was met without the readily availability to a sonic shower. While now wouldn't be an issue, tomorrow would be an issue once bodies started smelling like 2-day old bodies without a shower.

    As he read his news, his squadron commander got everyone's attention....


    TAG @Mitth_Fisto
     
    Last edited: Aug 3, 2020
    Jedi Knight Fett and TheAdmiral like this.
  15. Bravo

    Bravo Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Sep 10, 2001
    IC: Captain Xavier Kyte, Commander Firmus Piett, Moff Kaine
    Imperial Government Complex (IGC), Nexus City, planet of Entralla


    "You come highly recommended by Moff Trakin," Moff Kaine said matter-of-factly as the black-coated RA-7 Protocol Droid finished pouring his hot tea & moved away with the black teapot, silver serving plate, and white towel over his left forearm to boot. Kaine waited a patient second until the droid shuffled out of the Moff's office, the blast doors opening and then closing on the droid's exit, that overlooked the miniature city of levels, offices, lobbies, and other fixtures on the backdrop of the classic Imperial gray color scheme; the office itself was center in the mini city, elevated above everything else by an enclosed turbolift shaft. The bottom level turbolift doors were flanked by a pair of white armored stormtroopers featuring E-11 Blaster Rifles and a neatly uniformed stormtrooper officer to check access authorization around the clock, seven days a week. The turbolift had one other stop on it's way to the top spire, which was the security station halfway up the long shaft. The station provided 18 Imperial Navy Trooper personnel monitoring the miniature city around the clock (and the exterior of the IGC as well), as well as a squad of quick reaction force white armored stormtroopers armed with 6 E-22 Blaster Rifles, 2 DLT-19 Heavy Blaster Rifles, and 1 T-21 Light Repeating Blaster. From there, the turbolift went to its second stop: the top spire. Housing a triple level office, the top spire actually extended to the roof of the IGC with an unobstructed view of Nexus City through a U shape construction to the front of the building's upper levels and the spire just above the U's clearing. The bottom level (inside the miniature city) housed the Moff's general office (where Kyte, Piett, and Kaine all sat now) & administrative offices for his direct support staff of 10 personnel (and a private kitchen, mess hall, and chef for all in the top spire to enjoy), while the second level housed the Moff's expansive personal living quarters, and the third & top level was a private observation deck complete with both a pool, hot tub, and its own garden for food & small park. The bottom general office, where the turbolift ended (and private stairs went to the second & third levels), was flanked by a pair of similar white armored stormtroopers with E-11s around the clock, a similiar pair of stormtroopers on the interior of the door as well around the clock. Two last stormtroopers stood sentry around the clock to the beginning flight of stairs to the Moff's more personal space in the second & third levels.

    The bottom first level (general office) featured all-transparisteel walls on all sides, which individual sections could be darkened for privacy. It was in these privacy darkened wall windows that Kyte, Piett, and Kaine were meeting.

    "We have a terrible issue as of late and its making the leaders of the Velcar Free Commerce Zone nervous which---you can imagine---is bad for business. Both for them and for the Empire," Kaine added, saying lastly, "We're very thrilled to have you on bo---"

    A red flashing light and emergency beep interrupted Kaine and he said, "If you'll excuse me, gentlemen," he hit the button on the comm unit installed into his large desk, "What is it?"

    "Sir, you need to look at this data stream coming out of Sector Three, Three, dash, One."

    "Where Commandant Zake has employed our three Imperial Cruisers with his Star Destroyer and Gal Lace's Coruscant Aces?"

    "Yes, Moff Kaine. But sir, its not that. Its something else."

    "By the Force good man, transfer it to my office. What do you need me for, then, Major Non? I'm in a very important meeting."

    "I'm sorry, sir, but the blue wave---you should be seeing it now---" which Kaine could as the live stream of the odd occurrence could be seen and looked to be several hundred lights years in length across (although looked only to be the size of three Imperial I-class Star Destroyers in depth pointed downwards in succession), "Moff Kaine, everything this thing hits: things are disappearing! Like starships. But several planets that have been encountered, sir, we can't tell any sizable difference except odds and ends reports of people or vehicles and equipment suddenly disappearing with no order---it seems at complete random. Some of those people or equipment---vehicles, tools, and even whole buildings---will be found in completely different parts of the galaxy."

    "Hmm," Kaine said, do we have any Imperial losses?"

    "None yet, sir. But the wave is headed straight for Sector Three, Three, dash, One. They only have minutes."

    "Have we located an epicenter and suspected trigger organization for such an event?"

    "The Corporate Sector, Moff Kaine. Where Commandant Zake's star destroyer came from."

    "Keep me posted, Major Non. Inform our forces in Sector Three, Three, dash, One to avoid this blue wave by all means necessary---even if it means leaving Commandant Zake's little side mission---and inform our forces and Zake to track this wave and record all data."

    "Yes, Moff Kaine. Major Non out."

    Kaine took a breath and one last look at the hologram before turning it off and smiled, looking at his guests. "I'm sorry about that. Now where were we?"


    Captain Xavier Kyte knew that answer, but he was running through his mind what he had just seen. He would need to get in contact---somehow, without blowing his cover---with the Research Sciences & Theory Division. This was something right up their wheelhouse.


    TBC
     
    Last edited: Aug 6, 2020
    Jedi Knight Fett likes this.
  16. Darth_Elu

    Darth_Elu Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Jan 2, 2003
    GM Approved and now Reporting for Duty!

    [​IMG]



    General
    ---Name:
    Saraali Deatar
    ---Species: Human
    ---Gender: Female
    ---Home World: Anaxes
    ---Age: 27
    ---Year of Birth: 29 BBY
    ---Year of Death: 10 ABY?
    ---Government or Political Cause Allegiance: Galactic Empire

    Appearance
    ---Height:
    5’8”
    ---Weight: 147 lbs.
    ---Eye Color: Very Dark Blue
    ---Hair Color: Black
    ---Tattoos and Body Piercings: Both ears are pierced
    ---Other Attributes: Horizontal scar on her left cheek, going from the corner of her mouth to the back of the jawbone

    Clothing, Equipment, & Weapons
    ---Professional Clothing:
    Imperial TIE Fighter Uniform
    ---Other Clothing: Varies, but is keen on black shirts and dark blue leggings
    ---Body Armor: Whatever comes standard with TIE Fighter Uniform…likely little to none
    ---Primary Weapon: E-851 Blaster Pistol
    ---Secondary Weapon: Vibroknife
    ---Martial Arts: Standard Imperial CQC

    Personality
    ---Traits:
    Aloof, Professional, always possesses a quiet confidence that borders on arrogance, Rarely speaks.
    ---Habits: Suddenly talkative when in her fighter, can often be seen quietly sitting somewhere when not in her fighter with her eyes closed and ‘walled’ off from those around her…except for superiors. Is undergoing her own mental flight simulations in her head at these times. Essentially meditation for her.
    ---Favorite Foods: Doesn’t particularly care what she eats
    ---Favorite Drinks: Spotchka
    ---Favorite Social Events: Empire Day
    ---Social & Cultural Likes: None Outstanding
    ---Social & Cultural Dislikes: Anything remotely critical of the Empire

    Education & Skills
    ----Highest Education Level:
    Anaxes War College
    ---Specialized Education: Starship Operation for both fighters and capital ships
    ---Primary Professional Skill: Piloting
    ---Secondary Professional Skill: Mechanic (as required by all TIE Pilots)
    ---Life Experience Skills: Tactical and Strategic Training from the War College, otherwise none

    The Force
    ---Jedi, Sith, or Other:
    N/A
    ---Force Sensitivity: No
    ---Force Abilities: N/A
    ---Lightsaber: Has a holo of one in her quarters due to liking their aesthetic and being a Vader Fan, but otherwise none

    Character Flaws / Limitations
    ---Physical Limitation:
    Doesn’t possess the greatest stamina outside of piloting…running or physical labor will tire her out quickly, it’s something she has always been ashamed of
    ---Mental Limitation: Honestly doesn’t really know how to act or socialize outside of piloting or discussions regarding Naval strategy, she’s been zeroed in on those aspects her whole life to exclusion of all else
    ---Emotional Limitation: Unable to grasp what is wrong with the Empire and is extremely detached emotionally to others as she has never cared for ‘bonding’
    ---Character Critical Failure: Get her into intense physical combat and while she can do surprisingly well for an exclusive pilot, she just simply won’t last long enough. If she stays put in a firefight, she’ll be ok. But lots of re-positioning or melee fighting would likely be her end

    Biography
    ---Early Life, Education, & Family:
    Saraali Deatar was born into a middle class family on the core world of Anaxes. Given their love of the military and the general concept of security, they were easily swept into the fold of loyalists to the Galactic Empire when it formed. Her parents immediately began planning for their daughter to join the nearby Imperial Academy when it was announced (before it was even up and running on the planet) and her whole life plan of being in service to the Empire. This was all exacerbated by the fact that they were also enormous xenophobes, caring only for fellow humans. While their lifestyle and teachings have molded Saraali into exactly how they wanted, the xenophobia was one trait that never stuck. Nevertheless that didn’t stop Saraali from being shepherded into the Academy at the earliest possible age, though she rather enjoyed the experience. Realizing she had a love of starships rather than any walker or other land or sea vehicle, she aimed to be a glorious fighter pilot. Seeing as how her life had basically been streamlined into thinking only of this, so too did her mind bend that way. It’s all that mattered, all there was. Her graduation had only been a matter of time. It was perhaps the greatest and proudest moment of her and her parents’ lives. Until it was topped by the graduation of the legendary Anaxes War College itself as an official Fighter Pilot that is.

    ---Professional Life: Since graduation of the War College, she has served dutifully and without question for the Empire wherever they ordered her to be. She has no incidents on record of insubordination or the like and no negative evaluations either. The one thing she regrets is that she has no outstanding mission or ‘shining moment’ to which she could point at as a mark of elite status that she personally feels she is at. No opportunity to prove the depth of her potential and it has been a little grating to her, not that she shows it.

    ---Traumatic Experiences:
    None as of yet.
     
  17. Bravo

    Bravo Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Sep 10, 2001
    OOG: Introducing @Darth_Elu 's character. Please see this Galaxy's Dump's post for more info. :)


    ****************


    IC: Alex Qipao19, Baille Harte
    Forward Hanger Bay, Darkest Night


    "So," Alex said as he and the other pilots & support crew of Dark Nebula Squadron walked in a loose group with tehir belongings in military issued backpacks on their backs and extra attire & equipment in duffle bags in hands that dotted in the group's gathering randomly (not everyone traveled light and not everyone traveled heavy) towards the 3 Sentinel-class Landing Craft that had recently landed inside the hanger bay from another location in the galaxy, "Know where we're headed?"

    Baille shook her head, "Nope."

    "That sounds reassuring."

    She looked at Alex, "What answer were you expecting? That the rebellion had decided to give up and we can return to a normal life?"

    "Well, not that extreme," Alex replied to her, "But something more like along the lines of I heard from so-and-so, who heard from so-and-so, who heard from a bigger so-and-so."

    "Alex," Baille said with a chuckle, "I heard from so-and-so, who heard from so-and-so, and heard from a bigger so-and-so that we all know nothing!"

    "Ha, ha," Alex replied dryly, rolling his eyes.

    "Its called classified orders, Alex," Baille replied, "We are a classified squadron. Its not like the Empire has TIE Phantoms just dropping out of their pockets. And we're being watched by Lord Vader himself. Who knows, maybe Lord Vader had a priority mission for us. We were told to depart immediately. Heck, they even packaged up our TIEs onto a Victory I-class Star Destroyer for transport back to the Core Worlds. Now that's something I call first-class escort protection!"

    "I still don't like it," Alex replied as they neared the closet landing craft to their direction of travel.

    "Well, what would you like? A personalized letter from Lord Vader himself?"

    Alex looked at Baille, "Yes, in fact. Addressed to me. Covering all my concerns."

    "Men," Baille retorted, "I thought us women were suppose to be the emotional ones. You're like a chocolate bar melting in the sun right now."


    *********************


    IF-3397, Gozanti-class Cruiser


    The blue tunnel of hyperspace collapsed and the star lines snapped into solid stars and then the planet of Javin in the distance, a Star Destroyer in the foreground and off to the distant port of screen was surrounded by picket vessels, escorts, and patrols (several other defensive warships patrolled around the planet with several space stations in orbit, but this Star Destroyer seemed out of place and most likely their destination). One of the heaviest guarded star systems in the galaxy, this was hopefully the last mircojump the Imperial Freighter had to do, as the captain of the nondescript general purpose freighter was getting tired of them. The whole system was fortified with more firepower then he cared to think of and the approach to and from Javin was hampered by dozens of man-made gravity wells and natural gravity wells that forced hyperspace travel into one specific course and incoming travel from outside the system (regardless of the direction) was forced to start their 3 hour trek from the outskirts of the star system to reach Javin proper. Any altercation from the set course and one would be torn to bits by automated defenses, warship & starfighter patrols, fortified spaced stations, and extensive mine fields; an in-depth array of sensors, communications, and other survalliance technologies & tecninques scattered the star system, making any undisclosed, off course, or secret travel of the star system nearly impossible.

    Although that didn't mean people hadn't tried. Plenty of poor souls had tried and had failed. It was said that the Javin System would be the Imperial bastion of the Greater Javin and based on the amount of raw defenses the freighter captain had seen now a second time, the Javin System could easily outlast any enemy who dare sack Coruscant.

    "IF-3397," came a steady Imperial voice said from the blue-themed hologram that now stood in front of him, "This is Javin Port Control. State your business."

    The captain had to resist the urge to roll his eyes at the Naval Ensign. Not so much at the ensign, as it was now the 4th time in three hours he had to repeat his intentions to various checkpoints along the way. Force he hoped he never had to do this run again in his career!

    "Captain Eric Sholve of IF-3397. We have crew and pilot replacements for the Darkest Night. Last minute push through of the orders two days ago by the ship's new commodore."

    "I see," the young ensign of the port control tried to sound intimidating as he glanced at his datapad for a long moment in the hologram as he stood there; the mid-career freighter captain mentally smirked, as he knew this young ensign was just starting out his career. Wait until he got into the meat of it all and was stuck on some lifeless, luckless, and nondescript general purpose freighter for the bulk of his career. The true military life was just awaiting the young officer, who probably dreamed of being a war hero. "I have you registered. Please transmit your clearance code."

    "Transmitting now," the freighter captain responded, nodding to the communications tech to carry out the order.

    "Your code was received. IF-3397, you are cleared to dock with the Darkest Night. I'll alert them of your arrival. Adjust your course to 10.4. Maintain port speed regulations and do not divert from your course."

    The transmission was cut before the captain could say anything in return and instead, he muttered to himself, "Thank you Javin Port Control," the captain cleared his throat and addressed his bridge crew, "Helm, adjust course to 10.4. Maintain port speed," the freighter captain turned to his XO who was standing behind him, "Alert our passengers to be ready to disembark within ten minutes."

    "Yes, captain!" the XO replied and hurried off to fulfill his orders.


    ***********************


    Aft (primary) Hanger Bay, Darkest Night


    The passengers from the IF-3397 were just started to come down the gangway and Rudy Ash did a double take as Rick Johnson quickly finished up writing in sharpie marker on the piece of white card board he had found earlier on the star destroyer. But he wouldn't say where, leading Rudy to believe the TIE Fighter Pilot had acquired it through less than legal means.

    And the sharpie marker. Seriously, who steals a sharpie marker?

    The master mechanic shook his head as the TIE Pilot popped the sharpie lid out of his mouth, put the lid on the marker, and stuffed the marker in his pocket before looking at the sign, smiling, and then holding it up above his head. The sign read in big letters: SARLI DETAR.

    "You spelled her name wrong," Rudy said, putting his head in his hand and shaking it.

    "TIE Pilot," Rudy reminded Rudy while shooting the man a quick glance before returning his attention to the front where the passengers would be pooling in the hanger bay waiting for officers or droids to collect them and instruct them where to go, "Not a teacher."

    "How did you pass the academy again?" Rudy asked, lowering his hand and looking to see if he could find the new Flying Officer.

    "My buddy did for me," Rick said, "I was good with flying. One of the best. But the books," Rick made a dismissive sound, "That's stuff is for those educated people! Just tell me where to fly, what to shoot, and how to get my name in the papers!"

    "Force help us," Rudy replied, shaking his head as he brought his other hand to his mouth, which held his cigar, and took a drag off of it, "Help us all. Especially me!" the mechanic muttered through the cigar in his mouth.

    "Hey!" Rick said, "You can't be smoking those on duty."

    "Keep your mouth shut and I'll give you one later," the mechanic offered and put the cigar out on his work coveralls and then put in secretly in one of his work rockets.

    "Okay," Rick said with a shrug and smile, "Didn't see anything."



    TAG @Darth_Elu
     
  18. Mitth_Fisto

    Mitth_Fisto Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Sep 29, 2005
    IC: Jingleheimmer Voss (Jingle)
    Darkest Night (some time later in his quarters)



    It was refreshing as he stepped out of the sonic shower and discarded his towel in the laundry after exfoliating with it. To know that you were clean and everything was wiped away was a good way to make yourself take a cleansing breath and reset. Only downside was as he stepped into the bedroom where he had toolkit laid out on the bed, taking his ritual spot sitting next to it he raised his prosthetic leg on the bed and picked up the micro scanner and data analysis tablet.

    Plugging it in he set to combing his hair as it ran through the system, checking wiring, responses, servos, battery life tests. It was routine, sadly so to were the flashes as the mechanical leg would twitch and spasm, clawed feet gripping the air only to spasm the other way as if being scalded. The jerking and twitching was unsettling, but after time he had gotten used to it. What was bad was the next step, it always made him grip the sheets, his breathing became shallow and hard as he waited. Trapped in his mind as he relived the days pains, stubbing the metal toe on the dresser, countless hours on his feet on the shuttle down, shifting on the metal leg as he colated reports and sent replies for the resupply, the moment he had twisted wrong today on it, the awkward shuttle ride to the restaurant. He knew what was coming, but he couldn't stop the ritual, the reliving of the rapid neuro transmitters repeating the day in rapid succession. Sometimes it was the days greatest hits, remembering that pinch as he had bowed to a pleased review from the Commodore for recreating another Corellian dish that has the high risk of killing everyone if done wrong or some such. Only today his mind was being forced to relive. . . the pain as he twisted in the booth, the pain that hadn't registered at the time of landing hard and wrong on the artificial leg as the blaster shots had started, the pain as he twisted to see the Navigator. . .

    He screamed into the pillow he had instinctively grabbed. He screamed raw and hard and long as the final remembrances of the day played out in over amped diagnostics that were lower shelf quality that caused him the painful rapid replay of the neuro signals from the day. He screamed for what the day had been.

    The device trilled that the diagnostics were done, the computer side of things was done. He was spent but he was done yet. Pulling himself up with blurry eyes he began the recommended adjustments on the prosthetic. Every flash and hard twist a face of another body, another loss.

    TAG: @Bravo

    *************************************************************************************************************

    IC: Havah Jeth

    Hunk of Junk, Somewhere near the Velcar Free Commerce Zone
    (Several hours prior to the events with Corporal Joseph Venturi)

    Havah swayed, using his body weight like a pendulum ball to travel up the gun well ladder, every sway in either direction was part of the steady push and pull of his corresponding limbs to propel him into position. Once in the new Twin Tomral RM-76 Heavy Laser Cannons Havah took a deep centering breath. Appreciating that new weapon emplacement smell. Dropping into place he set to the rotations of playing with the gimbals, true there was a battle on, but if he knew how she handled he was more likely to hit something. While noticeably slower than a likewise-aged AG-2G Quad Laser Cannon in rate of fire, the single barreled beast he was controlling more than made up for the rate of fire issue with pure raw firepower; under a skilled gunner, the RM-76 packed a devastating punch of death in a single shot that the AG-2G could only hope to achieve with all four barrels. The double (twin) barreled RM-76 gave an unskilled gunner a fighting chance with a one-two punch sequence in firing rate, making up for the weapon's traditional slower rate of fire and allowing for less accurately placed shots to still find a home.

    Not being an unskilled gunner he was liking their odds. Getting strapped in with the crash webbing; well most of the way, just enough to ensure he wouldn't go flying, while technically old it was still new to them and that new solder smell of installation would have to do as he patted it after making sure the power up toggles and settings were correct.

    He looked out at the blue tunnel of hyperspace race behind him as he could see the glow of the light freighter's engines in the near distance. Situationally this was a simple thing. If there was nothing there you got to catch up on your old flimsi work, if something was there you stared at it until someone told you to do something, and if someone told you to do something you blasted the bloody things out of the deep black. If your station is hit, break the webbing and dive down the tube. Better to be a five second fool then a screaming corpse.

    He heard a voice emitting from the microphone-and-headphones dangling from the hook up to his right. He put on the headphones but didn't reply as he made sure everything was on and working properly. Once done he went to the next proper step. Ignoring the comm he simply puled out his flute out of boot and started to play a simple tune, waiting was better without the needless chatter and he already had a good idea who might be trying to gab at a time like this.

    All lights, gauges, and monitors were going from red (or yellow) to green, from zero to ideal pressure, and from offline to online. Across one of the smaller monitor screens to his left was a blinking message in yellow reading CONNECTION ERROR---blink---TO TARGETING---blink---COCKPIT---blink and then repeated itself, "Ah, hot days!" he sighed as he put away the flute and keyed the mike, "Systems no go on the Ventral turret. Connection Error and for Targeting system it looks like."

    A new voice appeared over the internal comm channel. It was Walking Library. The robot's droid responded, "I see the error here. The same error of the dorsal gun turret," the droid paused, "We'll work on it from here, Jeth. Sit tight. You'll have control of the turret, but the laser cannons themselves are offline. Its a connection error between one system and the next. We'll alert you when its online."

    "Copy," Jeth replied and sat back and pulled back out his combat flute. Good thing, he had a way to pass the time, as the deceleration from hyperspace took effect on the light freighter and the blue tunnel of hyperspace collasped and faded away behind him was that---

    The Hunk of Junk shook and Jeth knew that was no asteroid!

    "Contact! Contact! Contact!" Palso barked into the internal comm system and Jeth kept started up a more rowdy tune as he watched as the green laser bolts flying past him from some unseen attacker to his back suddenly---and violently---switched perspectives as the light freighter was forced into a series of evasive maneuvers from the pilot in the cockpit. As his gun turret view changed rapidly and suddenly with the ever changing flight path, Jeth simply kept his eyes on the sensor screens and tapped a foot to his own melody. Eventually he caught that before them was a Gladiator Auctorati-class Star Destroyer foreshadowing the giant gas nebula that consumed their entire front view. With it was a single Arquitens-class Command Cruiser that was aft of the star destroyer on the dorsal side and above and behind the star destroyer's bridge tower. The cruisers was launching TIE Fighters. While the warships provided only distant turbolaser fire that lacked close-in accuracy (but nonetheless decorated the surrounding black star-speckled space with green turbolaser beams), the TIEs were the real threat: both aggressor and cattle herder, if the TIEs own powerful laser cannons didn't destroy or disable the light freighter, than they could cattle heard the light freighter back towards the warship's heavier firepower for the same effect.

    "We're going to take them into the gas nebula!" Jim barked over the comm channel.

    While the gas nebula was quite the impressive sight to see and would take the better part of a day at full burn to scale one side or the other to get "on top" and over (and probably a week at full burn to get across it's width and around it), there was tactical sound to taking the shortcut through the center, especially considering it would give them extra time to get the cannons online and firing. Of course the danger of such a thing was that anything could be in the nebula, from space wales to pirates, to more Imps, to a hidden wreck waiting for them to plow into. Truth was unless the hyperdrive was up for a second quick spin up without overheating then this was the best route as well as most uncertain.

    As the light freighter did a dance around the outer cosmos---the gas nebula now growing only bigger and ever more encompassing to their current fates as they got closer---Jeth finally moved the turret with the foot medals to keep up with the TIE Fighters that danced around them and the cruiser that started to adjust its position and put full speed to engines to try to cut the Hunk of Junk off at the first opening into the nebula whilst continuing his tune.

    As the Hunk of Junk broke through the gas nebula's opening, the 3 TIEs were close behind still firing their angry green beams and the cruiser was 2 steps behind the faster light freighter---and failed to cut off Palso & crew at the opening---and instead was opening the nebula. As the multicolored swirl of dense colors dominated the gun turret's view on every side with randomly floating carbonbergs, Jeth figured today was still not about to go their way yet. The star destroyer's lack of pursuit was a giving sign. As the nebula seemed to get thicker and thicker and darker and darker despite the radiant colors all around them and their travel seemed to slow as if they were traveling through thick clouds.

    Soon, however, green laser fire let up his backside and as he turned from the aft watching for the pursuing Imperials, he saw another one of those cruisers launching TIEs. As the two groups of TIEs on either side now closed in, the light freighter suddenly did a roll and dive and the two groups of oncoming TIEs scrambled to adjust course and follow, 2 such TIEs clipping themselves and spinning off into explosions. The internal gravity of the gunwell had a bit of difficulty following that one.

    Someone from the bowels of the freighter yelped in sudden pain from the quick course adjustment. Apparently they were not strapped in. Jeth laughed at that as he put away his flute and fished out his flask to take a bracing sniff and a drop.

    Then of course as he was just tasting the sweet bracing nectar the chatty person came back on the line.

    "Havah, Winterkill! Those twin Tomral RM-76 Heavies should work now. Give those TIEs some hell!"

    Jeth sighed as he quickly snapped on the cap and secured the flask as he checked the formerly flashing monitor screen, which was now blank with a green status reading READY in a steady display with no blinking, then brought his weapons to bare and replied, "Roger Roger."

    He squeezed the right trigger, then the left trigger, feeling the heavy vibration and push back on the gun mount as two green laser blasts shot out in a staggered formation. It was in the wrong direction, but he got a feel for the speed of the shots and what would happen, Winterkill meanwhile had poked the hornets nest instead of swatting them. Luckily that meant some were coming his way.

    As the two slipped into his field he chugged away at them. For fans they were hard to hit, took him four tries before he caught one, his shot piercing as it turned through wing and across through the far wing by the strut! The things wings were on fire as it soared away, possibly unable to change course as it burned. Not strictly a kill shot, but it was out of commission.

    Switching to the second TIE he set to matching speed of his turn with the craft to line up the shot when chatter box came on the line again.

    "Winterkill, Havah. Three more Eye-Balls ahead of us, with two cruisers in staggered formation. I'm going to thread the needle between their bridge towers. I'm dropping aft shields and putting the extra power to forward shields. Keep them off of us long enough to blow this nebula!"

    Well, at least this was going to be interesting. As distant turbolaser blasts started to fill the space around the light freighter from the cruisers, Winterkill keyed his comm and decided to talk as well, "Ventral turret! Havah, do you copy? First one to three kills buys the drinks?"

    Grinning he pulled the trigger and finally got the second craft with a hit to the ball, making it shatter beautifully. "You're on!" he called back as he scanned his firing field for the next target. Of course now he really needed to kill two more, unless he wanted to argue a technicality to tie a win, something he did not want to do. Also with his expensive habit it would be nice to have someone else pick up the tab.

    This just got serious.

    TAG @Bravo
     
    Bravo and Darth_Elu like this.
  19. TheAdmiral

    TheAdmiral Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 28, 2004
    IC: Sergeant First Class Adrias Stark
    A Shady Motel, Downtown, Javin


    The trio obeyed the order, not that they needed to be told a second time, given how the fire was spreading. Hopefully there won’t be much resistance, given how the corridor can become a killzone. The alternative was to jump from the window, but the prospect of two broken legs, broken spine or worse was not very enticing. They were between the proverbial hammer and the anvil.

    He nodded to Face as he ran out in the corridor. Adrias had to jump over one of the dead bodies as it was on his way. Adrias was about to swerve and point the blaster at the voice when Business seemed to have recognized who it was. And as if taken from a holomovie the sprinklers decided to soak them with water.

    So it was Animal and the cute Lt. Shan. Adrias grinned but said nothing as he listened to their banter. As they were about to leave, the Master Sergeant approached him “We did not have much chance to talk, but one of them mentioned Lepsawn 1-9.” Adrias stated flatly and moved after Animal. He kept an eye on the civilians as to avoid being ambushed by someone posing as one.

    The group approached Captain Stein, Adrias saluted the man, though he knew that he was not in a regulation outfit, nor he had his helmet or cap on. But was too tired to care. He smiled at the joke about the speech, but stifled a groan at the medical check up. Something was going on, to force the Darkest Night to evacuate, the blast from the ISD, the Patrol Troopers. He would need to have a word with Stein about it.

    Once on-board the ISD he managed to send a message to the Captain that he would like to speak to him after the check up. That was a bit presumptuous of him, given their rank differences, but still that did not change the fact that they needed to have a word in private.

    TAG: @Bravo @TheSilentInfluence
     
  20. TheSilentInfluence

    TheSilentInfluence Retired Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jul 15, 2014
    IC: Elena Shan
    A Shady Motel, Downtown, Javin

    Elena realised that she had been thinking too hard, as of late. Or that's what it felt like. She was happy of course, that they had found the others, happy that things were somewhat back to normal after they found Business and the others. Elena realised she must have looked horrible, especially to the medics on board the Darkest Night when they returned. Though they had applied more bacta, there would be scarring, something that Elena wasn't too fond about. Her hand remained wrapped, and she was told that it wasn't to be used for at least a week. But still, Elena had more pressing issues on her mind. It was true that she had gotten away with using the force, provided that Animal didn't say anything. But she had a feeling that sooner or later they would have to talk about it. She didn't need her force sensitivity getting out on the Darkest Night. There was only so much protection from the Emperor she could use.

    She paused in the mirror in the fresher, and touch the bruise on her face. It looked better, but her jaw was still sore. Elena sighed and straightened out her uniform, leaving the front open and black tank top visible underneath. Well, at least I haven't been arrested yet. Elena thought as she stepped outside and went to her bunk. Elena clambered up and checked her messages, but finding none locked her data pad and jumped down. She glanced at Animal as she walked out of the room, and gave him a curious look before leaving. I need a drink. Or food. Or maybe just time to clear my head.

    Elena frowned and leaned against the wall after she had gone a good distance away, shaking her head. I'm way too on edge about everything since we were attacked. That was different from Onderon. At least we knew when the Rebels were going to attack there. She wondered what the next planet would bring.

    @Bravo @TheAdmiral
     
    Last edited: Aug 8, 2020
    TheAdmiral, Bravo and Darth_Elu like this.
  21. Bravo

    Bravo Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Sep 10, 2001
    IC: Jim Palso
    Hunk of Junk, Somewhere near the Velcar Free Commerce Zone
    (Several hours prior to the events with Corporal Joseph Venturi)



    "This is going to be tight!" Palso yelped over the ship wide intercomm as the two cruisers loomed ever closer and seemed to be closing the distance between them to prevent Palso's idea of breaking them down the middle. The TIE Fighters were hot on their rear, spitting angry green laser bolts at them and trying to keep up with the freighter's evading maneuvers; the one punch-two punch vibration & sound of the Twin Tomral RM-76 Heavy Laser Cannons could be felt throughout the ship (not to mention the ever so lucky shot of a TIE Fighter getting through on the unshielded aft of the freighter). Jim drew the light freighter through a large lazy loop that changed their immediate flying pattern to avoid a devastating barrage of green turbolaser fire from the two cruisers ahead of them (one TIE got taken out by one of the cruiser's own turbolaser shots however), before flipping the ship back over to only put it on its side like a knife ready to cut butter.

    Palso punched the speed and he wasn't the only one who felt the raw power added by the RR-51 Chem Injector Suite. As the two cruisers seemed ever closer now and doubts began to rise in Jim's own mind, Walking Library summed it up nicely.

    "I have a bad feeling about this!" the protocol-mechanic droid stated.

    "Me too!" Palso confessed, "It was good knowing you Library!" Palso said as the two bridges of the cruisers came ever closer together and----

    "Yahoooooooo!" Palso yelped in joy as the light freight shot through the two ships! "I knew we would do it!"

    Celebration could be heard throughout the light freighter, but it was short-lived as three TIE Fighters had continued the pursuit from behind. The freighter's comm system came alive.

    "Unidentified light freighter, this is Major Gal Lace of the Imperial TIE Fighter squadron Coruscant Aces. You will surrender or die."

    Jim replied, "Sorry Major," Palso said, "But this freighter doesn't surrender to anyone."

    "We'll see about that," Gal Lace said and the 3 TIEs launched into pursuit speed and green laser fire started flying their way.

    "Switch shields back over," Palso said, finding the ability to shake these 3 TIEs to be more diffucult then the other ones, "He's good," Jim admitted as the 3 TIEs stayed in the perfect blind spots of the heavy cannons, despite Palso's best efforts to constantly flip, roll, and bank the freighter to get the best shots for the turrets.

    "Palso," Zelk said from the system station behind the co-pilot's seat, "Our deflector shields were already low from the energy they took from the frontal charge on those two cruisers. That last shot from the TIEs wiped them out!"

    Another shot hit the freighter and shook it, illustrating Zelk's point. "Not good," Palso said, looking around into outer space and seeing a blue wave approaching. "What's that?"

    "I wouldn't turn towards it," Library said.

    "It may be our only choice," Jim said and changed course towards the massive blue wave that seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see. Jim added, "I have a bad feeling about this."

    "Me too," Library stated.

    It wasn't long, or so it seemed, before they were almost to the blue wave---the turrets having taken care of two of the three TIEs finally---when Palso put the light freighter on its nose and dived down the depth of the wave, Library having calculating its length to depth. Even with the RR-51 Chem helping, the light freighter barely seemed to clear it but Major Lace, his shocked voice could be heard over the comm system and he vanished.

    "No! No! Wait!!!!"

    "Any pursuit?" Jim asked as he brought the light freighter to a more level speed and direction, heading away from the nebula.

    "None," Library said, "Checking for our next hyperspace jump."

    "Good," Palso said, switching on the ship wide comm, "Everyone check in. Status report? And who got those two kills on those TIEs?"


    TAG @Mitth_Fisto , Me (for @greyjedi125 )
     
    Last edited: Aug 9, 2020
    Jedi Knight Fett and Darth_Elu like this.
  22. Bravo

    Bravo Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Sep 10, 2001
    OOG: @greyjedi125 , thoughts for Winterkill in this post? I took one of the few qualities of The Last Jedi's use of The Force and applied it here, mainly towards the aspect of Rey's character as a "nobody" (an arch I wish The Rise of Skywalker would have continued instead of the Palpatine crap) and the aspect that anyone could feel the Force, if not use it (that is the main focus of this post, Winterkill's ability to know---like any Average Joe---and feel the Force, if not be able to use it like a Jedi or Sith.


    *****************


    IC: Winterkill

    Hunk of Junk, Somewhere near the Velcar Free Commerce Zone
    (Several hours prior to the events with Corporal Joseph Venturi)



    "Really?" Winterkill asked, grinding his teeth as the three TIE Fighters followed them through the bottle necked cruisers. He could have swore he could see the people on the bridge of those cruisers as Palso had razor sharped them through the nebula blockade. That took guts and a healthy dose of Corellian mindset.

    The mercenary had talent behind the stick and the Corellian ego to match. In time, that talent would become skill. And then, the Nagai felt, Palso just might put that raw ambitious nature to smuggling. Every time Winterkill saw the young Corellian gunslinger, he always saw the swagger and luck of a smuggler deep down inside. Not for the sake of smuggling, but for the sake of adventure and freedom, a sake that always seemed to be a longing in Palso's eyes. And maybe, Winterkill thought, Palso may take that calling for adventure & freedom.

    One day. But not today. Today he, like the rest of them, was a Merc. And today, Winterkill told himself as the three TIEs broke a more causal following formation and approached with guns blazing, they still had to survive. Whatever was said---which Winterkill could only imagine the TIE Pilots gave Palso & company a final chance to surrender---did not sit well with the Imps and they came in at the Hunk of Junk. But whoever these TIE Pilots were, they were a step above the rest. No matter the direction Winterkill rotated the turret, the TIEs used their superior maneuverability to their advantage and combined with learned skill that only came from experience, stayed one step ahead.

    After one of his several more missed shots, despite Palso's constant flipping, rolling, and banking of the freighter to get the best shots for the turrets, Winterkill slammed the controls in frustration.

    "Bantha Poodoo!" Winterkill exclaimed to no one else but himself in the turret. He's sure it echoed down to Havah Jeth below in the dorsal turret and throughout the rest of the freighter. Something caught Winterkill's attention off to starboard that wasn't one of the many passing by or impacting TIE green laser cannon bolts. It was blue and as he brought his turret to bare on the sight as the pilot in the cockpit of this light freighter decided to fly towards it, Winter said to himself, "I have a bad feeling about this."

    Another shake throughout the starship, which meant another hit. Winterkill felt anger flowing through him, reminding him of the concentration camps during the Tof-Nagi War and the many other things he saw and did as a freedom fighter for the sake of his people. The memories, the blood, the loss. But as the blue wave approached them and them it, Winterkill saw in it both a terrifying truth and humbling understanding. Here, a great and beautiful unknown approached them. But that beauty was foreshadowed by the terrifying truth it may actually be, as the Hunk of Junk started to shake as if it was going through air turbulence. The shaking & jolting was consistence to the point that the beauty was replaced by the terror and awe of the power behind and inside that blue wave that spanned further then the eye could see.

    Lost in the beauty of the death that now approached them, Winterkill closed his eyes. He had heard people talk about this thing called The Force. It was everywhere they said. But only the select chosen could use it. He didn't know if he believed in it, but he could feel it. Everywhere. Whether he could use it or not---here, now---it provided a peace and understanding as he was certain this was it for him and the rest of the light freighter crew. If anything, he wanted peace from the pain, the suffering, and the nightmares that haunted him daily from the Tof-Nagi War. Just a moment of peace before the great darkness claimed him. He wanted peace, to see what it felt like before his life ended here. He wanted it all to be over.

    The light freighter shook again as another impact found home.

    But Winterkill didn't move. He didn't know what it was that was drawing him deeper and deeper. Was it The Force? Or something else? He didn't care. But the more he let himself become lost in it, the more peaceful he became. He smiled. The darkness wasn't gone, he still felt the nightmares and regrets from this life. But it was becoming less & less. Peace.

    Peace.

    "One more direct hit to the aft and we're done for! The turrets can't get a lock on those TIEs!" Winterkill could hear someone yell from below---he thought it came from the engineering station somewhere down there.

    "I'm sorry Martha," said someone else from below, "I didn't make it home. Forgive me."

    Just as the peace was about to overwhelm him and he would be free of this life's torture, Winterkill's hands raced to the turret's controls and his eyes snapped open. "No," he said to himself out-loud and swirled the turret around to the aft. Finding a combination of unchecked animal-like rage from years of pain & death and laser focus on the peace that showed him what could be---but not yet, not now---he found the closet TIE, tracked its movements with the skill of a predator set free from the injury that earlier hobbled him in the hunt, and squeezed the double triggers from left, then to right. The one-two punch blasted out and caught a TIE Fighter just as it thought it was a second ahead as it had always been in this fight so far, the first blast catching the starboard solar panel which caught the panel on fire and turned the TIE just enough as the second blast tore through the connective beam connecting solar panel and ball cockpit. The TIE's fiery panel snapped free and the one-panel ball cockpit swirled out of control and into the deepness of dark space.

    Suddenly, the light freighter was on its nose and dived down the depth of the wave, Winterkill watching as the last remaining TIE behind him getting caught by it and simply vanishing before his very eyes---no explosion. No debris. Just gone. And moments after that, Winterkill watched as the blue wave passed over them and was gone, racing its way across the galaxy.

    They had made it. As the Hunk of Junk slowed down and leveled out, Winterkill heard Palso's voice over the ship-wide comm and he responded through his headset moments before taking it off.

    "Everyone check in. Status report? And who got those two kills on those TIEs?"

    ""Dorsal turret," Winterkill replied, "All is green here. I got one TIE. I don't know who bagged the other. The third---I saw it disappear into that blue wave. Just vanish."

    He took off the headset and hung it on the hook provided above his head to his right and undid the crash webbing. Looking out into the coldness of space, there looked to be no Imperial pursuit. He exhaled as a bead of sweat rolled down his face. Soon, the starlines stretched out and the blue tunnel of hyperspace wrapped around Winterkill's turret.

    "Thank you," he said out-loud, yet quietly. To whom he was speaking, he didn't know. But he just had to say it. The pain, the anger, and the memories were all there still and just the thought would start to boil his blood into an unholy rage. But now, there was peace for Winterkill.

    Somewhere out there.


    TAG @Mitth_Fisto , Me (for Jim Palso)
     
    Last edited: Aug 9, 2020
  23. Bravo

    Bravo Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Sep 10, 2001
    IC: Stormtrooper Captain Kurt Stein
    Army Quarters (Joker Platoon), Darkest Night, leaving low orbit over Javin to high orbit


    The blast doors opened to the Army Quarters and Stein walked in, rubbing his left arm while waiting outside in the corridor was a collection of medical personnel and four Imperial Navy Troopers.

    Someone had seen the CO and yelled for officer on deck. The whole platoon snapped to attention in their various positions within the quarters.

    "Double line troops," Stein said, "Everyone. Commodore's orders. You all get a in-depth blood test and bio-scan," someone along the endless ranks complained about yet another blood draw (since they all had one when arriving on the Darkest Night just hours ago), and instead of calling the trooper out, Stein understood the frustration and let it slide.


    ****************

    20 minutes later...

    The medic looked at Animal with as much enthusiasm as one eating dry bread, "Number, rank. Name."

    "DW-418121. Master Sergeant. Craig Anthony Stewart," Animal replied.

    The medic looked at the data-pad, looked up and said, "Arm."

    Animal stuck out his left arm, felt the prick of the needle, watched the draw of blood. The medic put the blood into the mobile medical station's computer scanner they had brought along. After it verified Animal's blood and ruled out anything that shouldn't be there, a nurse walked up and held a data-pad looking device. She then ran the device down the length of Animal's body. The nurse looked at the medic and nodded without a word to Animal.

    "You're cleared," the medic said, pointing towards the exit, "Please proceed out. You'll return once this process is done."

    Animal looked behind him, seeing only a few troopers left. He turned to the medic, "Doesn't look like to me there's many left. Why can't I just stay?"

    The medic just stared back and pointed to one of two Imperial Navy Troopers flanking the inside blast door. Animal rolled his eyes, "Right. Got it."

    The Master Sergeant exited the Army Quarters and looked for the nearest Live Firing Range. He needed to blow off some steam. Once there, he looked at the two Imperial Navy Troopers behind the security fence sitting at the console desk with the weapons safe behind him. The one handed him his rank cylinders that granted the NCO linked access (access based on position & rank on the star destroyer) to the weapons safe.

    "E-11 Blaster Rifle," Animal said. The one trooper nodded and stayed at the desk, while the other one retrieved the weapon.

    With weapon in hand, the Master Sergeant took out the stock of the weapon, locked it into place, and sighted down the barrel. He was so use to the weight & size of his own T-21B Heavy Blaster, that he had forgotten how light and flimsy the E-11 was compared to the stockier T-21B. His first three shots were less then perfect. When he squeezed the next round off, he saw Chris' body and surrounding environment from just a few hours ago on the target.

    "She's a Jedi!"

    He shuttered, fighting back the urge to react that he had actually shot an innocent man. The whole scene played back as he lined up each successive shot and pulling the trigger, the whole memory playing back from his point of view.

    "Whoa! She's no---"

    "She's. A. Jedi!" Chris shouted back, his blaster shaking and his voice trembling with both fear and excitement, "She must be arrested willingly, Master Sergeant! Or killed on the spot for refusal to do so! For their crimes against the Republic!"

    Animal lined up the blaster rifle again, taking shots. Some hit, others were close. But it was more like playing wack-a-mole then it was actually target practice.

    "Trooper," Animal replied, "Now is not the time or place for this. You have no proof that the Lieutenant is a Jedi. None. And you're pointing a live blaster at an Imperial Officer!" Animal took a step forward, but raised his hands (with blaster pistol in one hand) to show he wasn't a threat to the trooper, "But I'm sure the Lieutenant can look past that," he glanced towards Elena for approval, then back to Chris, "Its been a long night for everyone. Maybe your just seeing things."

    "She's a
    JEDI!" Chris repeated, "I remember in our training, Master Sergeant! She was using the Force! I remember it! Get on the comm and report her in, immediately! I'll keep an eye on her!"

    Animal started laying in on the E-11's capabilities as he went from single shot to burst mode. His aim was starting to improve. He felt his anger rising and he pulled the trigger again and again and AGAIN!

    Animal cracked a smirk of frustration, "Now, Trooper, is not the time!" he added, trying to refocus the trooper's attention to military protocol (that always helped in stressful times), "Lets finish this mission. Then, afterwards, I'm sure the Lieutenant will be more then happy to get checked out."

    Animal switched to full auto and started tearing the bullseye to pieces as he laid in shot after shot after shot into the dead middle.

    "If you won't do it, Master Sergeant," Chris said, reaching for his helmet, "I will."

    "NOOOO!!!" Animal screamed towards the now disappeared memory.

    "No....what?" Rang out a voice from behind.

    Animal snapped around to the voices behind him. His heart racing, sweat running down his face, and a look of a crazy man all over his face.

    "Whoa there pal!" said one of the troopers, backing up from behind the security fence, "No need to be all like that. Lets just put the weapon down." The other trooper behind the desk got up more slowly and followed suit, but was clearly armed with his blaster in hand (although at his side).

    Animal looked at the red-hot barrel of the E-11 and then turned back to see the smoking and flaming bullseye target down range. He turned back and discharged the empty clip, put the rifle into safety for good measure, and dropped it to the counter-top in front of him separating his firing range and him. He turned back to the two navy troopers, "Sorry about the mess."

    "Yeah," said one of the troopers, "No worries. We'll get it cleaned up."

    Animal nodded, licking the sweat from around his lips, and exited the range. Once outside, he immediately felt the cold air hit his face. He nodded to the two sentry Navy Troopers outside the range and just started walking.

    Anywhere.

    Anywhere but here lead to the Entertainment Deck. Rarely outside of the Trooper Barracks, Animal took in the sights & sounds of the place that grunts like him were usually restricted to from visiting during combat operations, as command wanted all personnel to be easily accounted for and to battle stations or units if the general quarters was sounded aboard the star destroyer. While this created a me-verse-them mentality between both navy crew and army & stormtrooper grunts (and navy trooper security housed with them), today---so far---no one seemed to care as each new minute saw another naval or starfighter personnel wonder into the entertainment deck during these non-combat hours. While Animal was sure there would be trouble to be had in time if he stuck around long enough, for the time being, he found the Crew Lounge deepest inside the entertainment deck and ducked inside for a few drinks. It'll be as hard as a place as any to find him.

    And, maybe, to try and loose Lieutenant Shan if he was honest with himself (what would tell her to look in the Entertainment Deck, where the Trooper Barracks had the same relaxing options for Animal to explore?). At least for the time being. He still wasn't in the talkative mood about the murder of Trooper Chris. He found a bench along one of the back-most walls in one of the darkest corners and sat down. It started with one drink.

    Then another and another.

    It wasn't just Trooper Chris anymore. It was the flood of guilt and wrongdoing in the pursuit of peace that had lead up to Trooper Chris' murder. Was he justified anymore when he pulled that trigger the next time? Or was he simply a criminal wearing stormtrooper armor?


    *****************


    Stein looked up at the pair of last troopers, "Ah, Lieutenant Shan and Sergeant First Class Stark," he smiled, "Our newish and newer stormtroopers," Stein snickered quietly at his own joke, "Although I'm the newest trooper around here!" he actually snickered out-loud this time at his joke, which drew a sideways look from the nurse standing besides him. He shrugged, "What?"

    After the troopers were clear to go and quarters cleared to be reopened, Stein walked outside into the corridor with the two stormtroopers. "Lieutenant and Sergeant, I wish to engage your post-action reviews of these stormtroopers we're with. Unofficially. The highly talked about Joker Platoon. While an unorthodox sampling to be sure, considering our circumstances, what are your thoughts of this veteran unit?"

    Stein also knew Stark had sent him a comm message. He would deal with that privately, unless the Sergeant wanted to bring it up here.


    TAG @TheAdmiral , @TheSilentInfluence
     
    Last edited: Aug 9, 2020
  24. Darth_Elu

    Darth_Elu Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Jan 2, 2003
    OOC: Attention on deck! The Ice Queen hath arriveth! :phasma: Sorry in advance. :p

    Saraali Deatar IC:

    ~IF-3397, Gozanti-Class Cruiser~

    She sat inside the passenger section of the cruiser, idly hating the slowness of the ship. But then what do you expect from a Gozanti? It wasn’t exactly meant to be a racer. A big plodding tank in space, and even then that was only with customization otherwise they didn’t fight too well either in her opinion. But their defense was good. Their only redeeming feature in Saraali’s eyes.

    Still, you use a tool for its intended purpose.

    Re-blocking that all out of her mind, with her eyes still closed as they had been for the last hour or so, she focused on the battle simulation in her head. She was replaying what she had learned and seen from some rarely preserved holo-clips of the Battle of Coruscant during the Clone Wars. Placing herself there in the cockpit of an ARC-170 starfighter.

    Ducking underneath a Venator-Class, she spun to avoid the Droid Starfighters and prepared herself for the coming vulture droids that had been dumped her way; a few stray shots being unleashed to take out a passing enemy chasing an allied V-Wing Fighter going by to their right. Perfect timing. The vulture droids seemed to be prepping to land on her ship. In her mind, she smiled.

    Her thumb moved over the firing button.

    Wait for it, Saraali. Wait for it. Wait…

    “We will be nearing our destination. Be prepared to disembark within ten minutes.”

    Saraali didn’t see the man who had come to notify his passengers of the information, just doing his duty, yet as she slowly opened her eyes with meditation ruined…she wanted to punch him in the face. Her face didn’t show it, it was as impassive and professional as ever. But in her mind’s eye, the man was crumpled on the floor and holding his face in a mix of pain and confusion.

    Hmph.

    Ten minutes though. Very well.

    ~Ten Minutes Later: Primary Aft Hangar Bay, Darkest Night~

    She, along with the others, came down the gangway ramp in the middle of the Star Destroyer aft hangar. Saraali was unimpressed, having been in some before by now, but she couldn’t help but cast an eye about herself nevertheless. It was good to get a sense of things. Evidently this was going to be her new station of operations for the time being.

    In full uniform sans helmet, she made her way ahead of her, instinctively knowing the general direction she would be expected to head for. It didn’t take her long to spot the two men waiting for her.

    A burly, bearded mechanic by the looks of one and the other? Blond, cocky grin, far too casual stance, and holding up a cardboard sign. Last touch: SARLI DETAR.

    Her mouth creased into a frown and her eyes hardened. Was this some kind of joke? She didn’t go through the Anaxes War College and then all those assignments upon graduation to be treated like some kind of airhead on a pleasure visit.

    This was the ISD Darkest Night, correct?

    Closing her eyes with her own impassive mask once more taking form, she knew it would be best if she operated on auto-pilot in this instance. Via regulation she knew exactly where the TIE Pilot Quarters were located and she would make her way there on her own. Upon arrival she could take the next stop and find a knowledgeable sort to help her find her specific room.

    This nonsense was not why she was here.

    She stepped right by the two men completely ignoring them and acting as if she never even noticed the sign on her way to the personal quarters, no sign of her footsteps slowing. Barring that if she saw someone who looked like a capable officer, perhaps she would ask if there was a briefing room she needed to head for instead.

    Whichever came first.

    So far this was not an auspicious beginning to her next military station.

    Tag: @Bravo
     
    Bravo, TheAdmiral and greyjedi125 like this.
  25. TheSilentInfluence

    TheSilentInfluence Retired Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jul 15, 2014
    IC: Elena Shan
    Army Quarters (Joker Platoon), Darkest Night, leaving low orbit over Javin to high orbit

    Elena smiled a little at Captain Stein's joke, but kept a serious expression as he spoke, asking her and Sargent Stark what they thought of Joker Platoon. Elena looked over at Sargent Stark and gave him curious look, before she turned her attention back to Captain Stein. "Well sir, with everything that happened recently I can tell you that Joker Platoon can perform well in high stress situations. I don't know what would have happen to me if Animal and the others hadn't been there, or the rest of those civilians in the hotel." Elena shifted her injured arm and nodded thoughtfully. "But Sir, I would like to recommend more training to deal with those types of situations as the fight with the Rebels continues. We need to be accurate to the letter Sir. With every single thing we set out to do." Elena paused, considering her next words carefully. "We need more then training simulators Sir. We're all here fighting for The Empire. To make sure that whatever system the Rebels want to implement won't succeed. If the soldiers around us lose that willingness then the Rebellion has already won. We need to fight with our hearts and minds Sir."

    Tag: @Bravo @TheAdmiral
     
    TheAdmiral, Bravo and Darth_Elu like this.