Star Wars OPEN Star Wars: Black Sheep (Always Accepting New Players)

IC: Akiva "Wolf" Lurrell
Briefing Room - Intrepid

Having left Chak back in her room she had taken her time getting to the meeting. Something which she was not purposefully late to. Still she had found her quiet point in the back opposite Tabb having just missed something, looking down she noticed why nobody paid attention to her coming to the briefing with a tall cup of tea in one hand and scone in the other and second tea in the other and a jelly cup the other hand. It was a marine escorting Lieutenant Alec Cadera and Corporal Eliana Saeli, on what was likely a 'look they're not dead we saved them' tour of the ship. It was good to know they had two less people needing rescued from the prisons. That should make things easier, having two more pilots and two less to rescue.

Hearing she was cleared to interrogate was an elation and she grinned with satisfaction as she sipped her first tea.After that sat back and enjoyed the show and dance about the Defender and then as the horny wing leader professed his love for all of them. She snorted her tea a little at that but considering the bandages she shrugged, sat down her cup and blew the man a kiss. It was the least she could do after she had raised her hand to her head to sign reciprocal gratitude before realizing he would likely not have a clue what she was doing. Life was good, she had poison brewing, a prisoner to question or two, only thing that could make it better would be to to let her fly her B-Wing now.

TAG: All at Briefing

 

~OOC~ Thank you @The Real Kyp Durron for this brief interaction as we react.

~IC~ Captain Cassell “Skipper” Wystari, Major MacKenzie ‘ Fox’ Hollymander
Location: Briefing ready room of the Intrepid

Cassell cleared his throat. “The feeling, I’m sure... is mutual.” He looked to the rest of the squadron. No doubt the trauma of a near death experience and post surgery were still afflicting Kayn. “Welcome back amongst the living.”

MacKenzie scowled as he looked at the Devaronian, then muttering under his breath. "This team get's weirder and weirder every day." He gave his head a shake. Kayn was clearly under the influence of something and it was clear the squadron were not going to let this go anytime soon.

TAG: All at Briefing, @Sarge

 

IC: Baniss Vermillion

Baniss kept an eye on Black Sheep for their reactions. One of them, a pilot he didn’t recognize, muttered something and looked around. Another pilot he certainly recognized from her red hair, Amber, was intently paying attention. She said something, but Baniss didn’t completely catch it. Another pilot, Ethan, judging by his relative age compared to the others, didn’t seem to believe him, mostly from the Tarkin comment.

Truth be told, he didn’t care. Information that Baniss had seen indicated that Tarkin had been decisive in removing funding away from the Defenders into Project Stardust, aka the Death Star. Considering that the Defender at that point was almost as fast as anything the Alliance had at that point while having more firepower than any starfighter in could be expected to face. If funding had been stripped from Stardust and given to the Defenders, that would have fixed a major weakness in the Imperial Navy at that point. Now the Defenders were even better…

His mental reverie was interrupted by a certain Devaronian professing his emotions for the group. Baniss gave him a small smirk, “I appreciate the sentiment, but I’m a married man...and my wife doesn’t share.” he then cleared his throat, "Does anyone have any questions?"

TAG: @Sarge, anyone else at the briefing

 

Maxime “Max” Pallas
Black Sheep Briefing Room, Intrepid

Max stood towards the back of the room, waiting for the rest of the squadron to arrive. She couldn’t resist another peek at the message from her father.

<<Hello, mo cridhe!>> he said. <<You asked me a few questions in your last, although I don’t have a lot of information for you. Still, I have a bit of news to share. First of all, I’m still alive. Second of all…>> He held up a rank insignia. Max raised her eyebrows. General?

<<Yes,>> he continued, <<I’ve got a promotion. Working with Cracken for Intelligence.>> He shook his head. <<All these years trying to get away from it…ah, well. I’m using the Rossin identity we’ve created, Trey Rossin. We’ve done too much under Pallas to waste our efforts.>>

Max nodded. Her father had done a lot of contracting for the Empire in security services, particularly software. There were a lot of backdoors, some of them designed to be found and countered, so that the real ones would remain hidden. He’d done it under the name Pallas, so it wouldn’t help for a new Rebel Intel commander to have the same name. “Rossin,” she murmured. She’d have to remember it.

<<Now,>> her father continued, <<you asked about an Yvan Sifer, formerly of Denon. I’ve got a location, and I’ve got him flagged to watch. For what it’s worth. The packet is attached. As for Wallings…>> he snorted. <<I’ve met her once, a long, long time ago. I wasn’t aware she was working for us now. I remember she was…ambitious. Anyway…>> Max watched his face. He was wrestling with something. Finally, he shrugged. <<Anyway, that’s about it. I’m watching your Black Sheep. It seems like an…interesting crew, to say the least. Be careful. Remember I love you.>>

She had hoped he’d say more about Wallings. The fact that he hadn’t was worrying. But he often played things close to his chest. He was a firm believer in ‘need to know.’

The rest of the squadron were beginning to file in to take their seats. Max found her preferred spot, back to the wall, close to an exit, eyeline to both exits. When everyone was assembled, Flagg stood up and gestured to a new guy. About her age, dark hair, chiseled cheekbones, and looking down his nose at them as if there was an unpleasant smell. “Pilots, this is Agent Baniss Vermillion. He’s an analyst with rebel intelligence and is here to brief us on the known capabilities of the TIE Defender.” Max suppressed a snort. NOW they were getting a briefing? But Flagg was going on.

“I am happy to say that both Lieutenant Alec Cadera and Corporal Eliana Saeli will be back with us shortly.” Max’s head went up, and she looked around the room. That WAS good news. She didn’t know Cadera, but she had chatted very briefly with Eliana on Naboo and respected her for what she’d done there. One person she was glad to see back.

Vermillion started the briefing, and Max paid attention, studying the displays. So far, nothing she didn’t already know. The files she and Sparky had sliced from the Intrepid’s databases were a few years old, though. Maybe this guy had more updated info. Nearby, she heard the new guy, Tarin shift. “Well, the Imps finally figured out what a deflector shield is for,” he said softly. “You’d think all that military funding would turn out a prettier ship, though.” Max shrugged. Pretty was nice, but it came down to function. In her experience, the Empire wanted lots of ships, fast and cheap.

Vermillion broke off his lecture and turned to Flagg. “I understand that one of the pilots in this squadron was trained with Defenders, why did Intelligence not get the chance to talk to her, or if they did, why did the good Commander Wallings not send her report up the chain of command?” he asked. Max rolled her eyes. She’d been wondering the same thing since she’d gotten on the ship. She’d tried to ask Joy once or twice, but had gotten a brush off and reprimands from her fellow pilots about how they were all Rebels now, and she had to learn to trust them. Fair enough, but it would be easier to trust them if they’d shared the valuable information they had with the rest of the team. Interesting, this Vermillion guy didn’t seem to know about Lou and her husband, either. He flew Defenders, too.

Kayn stirred. He was still in a hoverchair, and there was a patch over one eye. Max wondered if it would be permanent. He’d have to give up fighters, he wouldn’t have the right depth perception. His vivid red skin still looked a bit pale. Really, he should still be recuperating. He turned his head to look at his squadron mates.

“I love you people,” he said. “I really love you people.” Max blinked. This was unexpected.

“We love you, too, Kayn,” said Amber. Beside her, Malek whispered something.

“The feeling is, I’m sure, mutual,” added Skipper, glancing at the group. “Welcome back amongst the living.” Hollymander muttered something under his breath.

Max shook her head, and smiled back at Kayn without comment. He must be on some pretty potent drugs. Either that, or the brain surgery had gone awry somehow. She hoped he’d recover fully, though. She had a great deal of respect for him, heck, she liked him. He should be back in bed.

She crossed her arms, and waited to hear the rest of the briefing. The man was smirking at Kayn. “I appreciate the sentiment, but I’m a married man...and my wife doesn’t share.” He cleared his throat. "Does anyone have any questions?"

Max raised an eyebrow at his comment. He didn’t know Kayn or what they’d been through; he probably didn’t know that her former wingleader was still recovering from fairly intrusive brain surgery. The Sheep had earned the right to come back at Kayn, and they had done so gently. This guy hadn’t earned that.

She glanced around the room. “Agent…Vermillion, was it? Could you please detail the recommended countermeasures for blocking Defender attacks and manuevers? Your presentation was informative, but not very specific. Our prisoner flew with the Skulls, but I doubt she's going to willing to train us. And what upgrades will we be getting to our own ships to enable us to defeat them in future encounters?” Max doubted there would be anything that Sparky hadn’t already thought of, but she was curious to hear the response. Apart from the news that there would be Defenders on the flight simulators, she hadn’t heard anything helpful. If him and Hollymander are the types of guys doing intel, Mom, then you’d better keep a close eye on Dad. He’s gonna need all the help he can get. She slipped her hand inside her pocket to touch the braided Corley wreath.


TAG: Anyone

 

IC: Baniss Vermillion

Baniss blinked his eyes, it was a pretty insane series of questions to ask a non-pilot, but he decided to answer with what he could, “First, yes that is my name. In terms of the questions, I’ll answer the last question first, I’m only a layman when it comes to the comparative economies of the Alliance and the Galactic Empire, but when I apply myself to said question, I ask, ‘Who is most likely to be able to come up with a starfighter or an upgrade that would be able to take on a TIE Defender?’,” he looked at the pilot, he recognized as Max, “It isn’t the Alliance.”

He looked around to the entire group, “As far as countermeasures and tactics, that is outside my specialty. My specialty is to find information the Empire really, really doesn’t want you to have and get it back here so it can be spread out amongst our military. The goal is to get the most accurate information as possible into the hands of the people who will then be able to come up with strategies to face it. Given your experience against Defenders, part of the informal working group is going to be everyone onboard the Intrepid.”

He then glanced at the two people to were assigned to interrogate the prisoners, “I might not take anything they say as completely factual. In fact, the best way to find out more about the Defenders is to steal them, at least one of each variant, which means four total. Which means several of you need to learn the Defender, and have a very good security expert with you.”

“Oh, and before I forget, there are a couple of former Senators imprisoned at the same camp as your pilots...you might want to get them too.” With that, he stepped away from the lectern.

TAG: @Bardan_Jusik, anyone else in the briefing room

 

OOC Hey folks, still doing this in two parts to make sure everyone gets their TAGs. Just a (friendly) reminder to not get too ahead of ourselves and not to use meta knowledge to inform our characters. We have a bit of time before the rescue attempt is launched/the POWs try to escape, so go ahead and use it for more character building. No need to rush things.

GM Update Part I
​

IC: Beskaryc Taab/Commander Flagg (NPC)
Portside pilot's ready room, rebel carrier Intrepid

Taab raised eyebrow behind his faceplate at the data given them by the Rebel Intelligence agent, all while suppressing the urge to reveal what all the pilots must have been thinking. Rebel Intelligence was a contradiction in terms. They'ed already been flying against simulated TIE Defenders in the sims, this would no doubt help round out the rough edges, but after coming up against the craft multiple times in combat the Sheep already had a pretty good idea of what they were capable of.

Flagg meanwhile jumped in at the end of the briefing, informing the Agent that there was "no mission to rescue any POWs." For confirmation, he looked to the CAG who of course had no idea of what the Black Sheep were planning as the man gave a curt and exasperated nod along with his own nasty look towards Agent Vermillion before stalking out of the room unannounced. It seemed that despite raising a few good pints, the agent now was making no friends anywhere among the pilots aboard ship.

"All right then," Flagg again stepped forward again, eager to cut short the animosity flowing between Intel and Flight, "I guess that means we're dismissed."

---

Several days later...
Commander Flagg's office

Days had passed on board the Intrepid, days in which the Black Sheep had spent practicing in the simulators, healing and refining their plan to liberate their friends. The news that there were high value prisoners in the POW Camp had come as no surprise to Flagg, it had been right there in the briefing, but getting them out wasn't their priority. If it could come as a secondary measure of their efforts though, well so much the better. Indeed as Flagg sat in his office thinking things over he knew that Taab had already put the finishing touches on the plan. They just needed the opportunity now to implement it.

That was something not yet easily achieved. The squadron was still mostly on stand down, though Taab was to lead a small detachment out on a training patrol. It was more to give the pilots something to do than anything else, though at least it served to get some of them back in the saddle again, and get their minds off of the last few weeks. Flagg really should have undertaken the mission himself, the Mandalorian XO had enough on his plate with planning the POW camp raid. Normally that sort of planning would have been left to the Planning and Operations officer, but Kayn was... not himself lately. His outburst back during the briefing had been enough to demonstrate that and he had been pulled off of planning this one going forward. So it had fallen to Taab to round out what Kayn had started. Still, due to the secretive nature of the planning, Taab couldn't bow out of his regular duties, which included the training hop he and nearly half the remaining squadron were about to depart on.

Taab had immediately wanted to modify the plan to allow the Mandalorians in the squadron to crew the Valkyria, they could act as special forces and fan out to find their missing people. It was much the same argument given during their attack on the Bith Marquis. Marines had eventually been used as a boarding party there, and several had been killed. Here, given the secretive nature of the planning, no marines would available to them, but still Flagg had overridden the Mandalorian. They needed every plane they had to pull this off and that would leave them three planes short. A B-Wing and 2 Y-Wings, they simply couldn't give up that kind of firepower and expect to come out of this unscathed, especially with the current numbers they now faced.

Baker flight was down to just their two A-Wings. There had been no word on when they would get any replacement pilots for them, and even if they did, they didn't have the fighters to put them in. The small nimble fighters were in short supply, and Flagg suspected that Viper squadron would get first dibs on any replacement planes sent to the Intrepid.

Charlie Flight was in a little better shape. They had not only received a replacement bird and pilot, but had also found a replacement plane for Cadera and Saeli, another two man bomber. That brought the flight to three quarters strength. Flagg had put Tarin in charge of the flight, McCear was just too inexperienced and Cadera just been shot down and was of no mind to be a leader right now.

Despite having lost two fighters during the destruction of the Bith Marquis, Delta flight was also at three quarters of their authorized strength. That was because they had received a replacement plane in the midst of the misison, only for it to be lost as well. The losses didn't seem to bother the Mandalorian leader of the flight though, nor did they weigh heavily on the mind of Flagg, through the squadron leader figured it was for different reasons. Only Able flight had gotten through the mission unscathed, something Flagg attributed more to chance than anything else.

Two of those Able flight pilots were going off on the training mission with Taab while the third member was involved in the interrogation of their Imperial "guests." Flagg wasn't sure how much useful information they would get out of them, but any little bit would help, so it was worth the effort. He sighed, there were rumors that CAG would have a real mission for them soon. Until then all they could do was continue to convalesce, train and interrogate the prisoners they held...

---

IC: Beskaryc Taab
Port side hanger deck, preparing for launch

"All right Black Sheep...follow me," Taab commed out to the detachment of fighters as they launched from the Intrepid's flight deck. There were just six of them. Two X-Wings piloted by Max and Vixen would serve as their cover if things got...complicated, to go along with the entirety of Charlie flight. Lieutenant Tarin had been put in charge of the flight now, a decision Taab agreed with. Charlie flight now had two Mndalorian pilots between Tarin and Cadera to go along with Mcear. Saeli of course was in her normal spot, the second seat behind Cadera in his two seat bomber. Taab's craft was the only B-Wing in the current detachment, and they brought along neither of the squadron's A-Wings.

This was to be just a simple blue milk run designed to get the pilots flying again while evaluating the newcomer. None of them launched with any torpedoes or heavy ordinance, in the duty log this was listed as just a simple navigational training exercise. Taab was going to use the opportunity though to do a little recon however. He had plans to jump them to the Intrepid's last three positions in an effort see if the ship was being followed. He doubted it was, but it never hurt to be sure. Still to his mind, this would just be a quick survey, he certainly didn't expect them to find anything...

He pushed the throttle of the Iron Cross forward, accelerating out of the hanger bay, his last image as the craft pushed out into space was Flight Officer Quin there on the hanger deck giving him a jaunty salute as he went by. The remainder of the squadron, those not on this training op or assigned to interrogation duties, had turned out to watch them leave. Harley of course was in Taab's own flight, and he returned the salute before he watched her turn and give Wysteri an over exaggerated hug. The captain of the Valkyria was standing between the two A-Wing pilots left in the squadron, Yaren and Balzroth. The latter was still healing up, though physically he seemed fine, mentally though, mentally Taab wasn't sure if he was all there. Taab hoped he would be back to normal, well his version of normal anyhow, soon. He was too good a pilot to be left behind, especially for their planned unsanctioned operation. The last member there who had come to see them off was Vehn, he had lost...well everything on their last mission, and Taab wasn't sure where he fit in with the squadron anymore but Taab's plan had him assigned to the Valkyria for the recovery efforts of their POWs when the time came. At the very least he would be among the most motivated to find their captured squadron mates.

TAG: @Mistress_Renata @Adalia-Durron @Bodhran777 @TheSilentInfluence @galactic-vagabond422 Your character's fighters will be launching with Taab, I'll give us something to do here soon.

TAG: @Sarge @Rebecca_Daniels @Corellian_Outrider @Vehn whose characters are on the flight deck with Harley watching the others leave.

---

IC: Captain of the Bith Marquis
Intrepid Brig

They would come for him. The Imperial Captain and former commanding officer of the Bith Marquis knew it deep down. Of course they had already interrogated him, in that oh so pathetic rebel way, but they would come for him again, and again until he finally talked. He scoffed at the idea. These rebels, so inept. They had no idea what a real interrogation was, no idea the usefulness of torture and intimidation. No idea how useful interrogation droids were not only for the information they could directly extract, but for the sense of dread they instilled in their victims. What he had faced here on this ship was nothing compared to what he had seen on his own vessel. Oh his officers on the Bith Marquis had been most adept at extracting whatever they wanted from whoever they wanted.

His sneer dropped and became a frown. Of course those officers were probably all dead now. He may very well be the only surviving member of his ship's officers and crew. That struck him as unfortunate, and he wondered how this rabble had ever been so lucky as to destroy one of the finest vessels in the Imperial fleet (despite it's somewhat unfortunate name). Well, the Captain intended to honor that ship, and the sacrifices made by her officers and crew by telling these rebels nothing.

There was a noise at the hatch, and a pair of marines appeared as they unlocked and opened it. He had been right, of course, they were coming for him. Again. "Let's go" the senior one said, a woman Lieutenant if the captain understood rebel ranks correctly. She and her partner quickly stood him up and applied binders to his wrists before bringing him to the nearby interrogation room where he was seated behind a stark utilitarian table. In the corner of the room was the pedestal where, if this had still been an Imperial vessel, the interrogation droid would have been placed. But as this was now a rebel ship the pedestal was empty. The captain smiled, and looked at the holo cam in the upper corner of the room that had already begun recording, and at the two way mirrored glass to his right. Undoubtedly this interrogation would be well observed, and yet he was fully prepared to ensure that his captors would not be given a show.

The marines left, closing the hatch behind them leaving the captain there alone for a few minutes. The hatch wasn't locked, at least he didn't hear the locking mechanisms clang shut, but there was no use trying to escape. Not now anyway. The two marines would be posted right outside the door and the captain had no illusions about overpowering even one of them, much less two. So instead he just sat there in his assigned chair, silently, giving his interrogators nothing to go off of save the knowing smile he directed at the two way mirror. A moment later the hatch again opened and in walked two rebel officers, pilots if their flight suits were any indication. Not professionals? How interesting.

One was human, experienced by the look in his yes. A real veteran. The other was an alien, humanoid, but in no way able to pass for human. He recognized it as a Codru-Ji, though he had never met one before. This should at least prove, diverting, he thought to himself. He was right in that neither was a professional, those were behind the mirrored glass in the forms of Agents Hollymander and Vermillion. They would observe, and take notes on everything being said in that room. And when they were done with the Imperial capatain, they would move on and interrogate their other Imperial guest.

TAG: @Mitth_Fisto @Anedon @The Real Kyp Durron @adaml83

 

OOC Hey folks, still doing this in two parts to make sure everyone gets their TAGs. Just a (friendly) reminder to not get too ahead of ourselves and not to use meta knowledge to inform our characters. We have a bit of time before the rescue attempt is launched/the POWs try to escape. No need to rush things, we have a bit of a plot we're moving forward with first here in the POW camp before we get to that point.

GM Update Part II
​

IC: Roger Hammond (NPC)
SonTay POW Camp

Hammond allowed a small smile to form on his face at the sounds of celebration out on the "sports field". Ostensibly the festivities were in honor of Colonel Ganho's Lifeday, after all it wasn't every day that the senior ranking officer gained another year. Especially in a place where another year was anything but a guarantee. Of course that was just the reason given to the goons, the Imperials who would wonder what was going on. The real reason for the prisoner's celebration was the progress made over the last several days on the tunnel systems they would use to escape hopefully soon.

George itself was completed now. It ran beyond the wire and into the Imperial encampment. Of course that it was completed wasn't common knowledge yet, Hammond for example hadn't yet told Captain Rouger about the tunnels's completion, his own effort to keep tempers from flaring once again. The last thing they needed was added attention brought upon them due to tensions within the camp. Of course those who had dug the tunnel knew about ti being finished (aside from breaking up into open ground). Included among those were the newly arrived prisoners from the Black Sheep, they had earned the trust of their barracks mates and finally been put on digging duty, more because the X Committee had no choice they needed the diggers, than anything else. The political prisoners transferred in temporarily from the high value prison camp meanwhile had been hard at work on Tom. They had all been brought in on the escape attempt, and promised a spot on the list in exchange for their help with the digging.

Stilts meanwhile had been recaptured after his "escape attempt". He was still in the isolation wing at the north end of the camp, his lightball bouncing against the walls of his cell could be heard throughout the camp. He had been on the loose for three days, and hopefully managed to get the information they needed for their escape to ultimately be a success. The main tunnel, Harry, was not yet complete. It actually ran directly underneath the cell Stilts was sitting in, though it had yet to reach the wire at the far northern edge of the camp. Still, good progress had been made there while Tom had been more slow going. Using the most inexperienced diggers there hadn't helped efforts, but at least they were making some headway. By the end of the week, things should be good to go. Assuming Stilit's information panned out.

The sounds of wood sawing and hammers banging intruded over the soft noise of celebration in the yard. Imperial work was progressing just as fast as the POW's, though their work was far more nefarious. Already Imperial work crews (made up of prisoners marched over from the criminal wing of the camp) had cleared the burnt out remains of the burned out barracks hut in the high value area of the camp and were hard at work constructing a new one. It would be done by the end of the week, and once done the Sunwalkers and Graul would be transferred back. There was no way to escape from there, no tunnels dug into their side of the camp, so if they wanted out with the POWs, they would need to finish the tunnels, quickly. Hammond hoped it would be an excellent added motivator for those political prisoners to get Tom back on schedule.

Of course none were down there right now, there would be a mid day count coming up shortly, and it wouldn't do for anyone to miss it (or perhaps worse yet show up covered in dirt). So for now the tunnels lay fallow, though once the count was done with a few prisoners here and there would slip away from the celebration in the yard and get right back to work. Until then, it was time to relax a bit and celebrate the simple things.

Riki and Tiki had managed to put together the parts for a small still, and had scrounged up the ingredients for some rather foul tasting moonshine for the celebration. Not much, just enough for a swallow or two per prisoner. Someone, Hammond didn't bother to see who, shoved a mug of the vile drink into his hand. The smile came back and Hammond raised it to his lips but stopped short. It reeked of Coaxium, though he was sure that couldn't possibly be right. Wrinkling his nose, he instead raised his mug towards captain Rouger who he saw standing at the far end of the field, drinking heartily. It seemed everyone was having a good time, congratulating the Colonel on his lifeday and happy that they would soon be away from this dreadful place.

Not everyone was having such a good time however. With the POWs distracted, the Imperials went to work of their own. The barracks themselves were now vacant, and so a squad of stormtroopers, led by none other than Agent Blut himself, moved in. Professionally, quickly and efficiently the squad moved straight to the barracks nearest the fenceline with the criminal camp. Blut didn't believe for a moment that these prisoners weren't up to something. In fact he knew they were plotting some sort of an escape, and now he was going to find the proof.

Saxon Hollymander was with him of course, the Imperial agent had hardly left his side ever since his arrival. At least they were rid of that pilot Gray. Oh at first Blut had been rather enamored of the high ranking and well positioned Imperial aristocrat, but he had soon tired of his lack of knowledge when it came to dealing with more delicate matters that were the concern of the ISB. Blut could hardly blame the man, it was who he was, and if their positions had been reversed he was sure Gray would have the same sort of feelings should Blut try to integrate himself with a flying squadron, especially one as elite as the Death's Head. Still it would be good to get the pilot out of his hair. Already he knew the pilot had left to go back to the spaceport, while a shrill whine above told him that the man had indeed retrieved his craft and was about to conduct a farewell flyover. Good riddance he thought as the group entered barracks nearest the fenceline with the criminal camp preceded by the white shelled stormtroopers. "Sir, we found it." One of them reported, as the pair of Imperial agents moved in to get a closer look.

Of course the activities of the stormtroopers and agents hadn't gone unnoticed by the prisoners, but there was little they could do to dissuade the search. Indeed, any attempt to do so would only arouse further suspicion. Still it was with a fair sense of surprise when the alarm started to sound and more stormtroopers began to file into the camp. The POWs had seen which barracks they goons had entered, and their alert now could mean only one thing. "They found Tom," Hammond said under his breath. "How in the blazes had they found Tom..." He trailed off as he answered his own question even before he finished asking it. The Imps had honed right in on it like they knew it was there, and the answer to Hammond was obvious. Someone talked.

TAG: @Sinrebirth @darthbernael @Jerjerrod-Lennox @Mistress_Renata @Sarge @TheAdmiral @Vehn @HanSolo29 All POW character would be in the yard/sports field attending the celebration and witnessing the subsequent events.

OOC: For those that have seen the film, this scene obviously heavily inspired by a similar one in the film The Great Escape, which should come as no surprise to any of you is a large influence on this portion of the game. This of course will wind up going in a different direction.

 

IC: Louise "Lou" Gray
SonTay Prison Camp
Yard

The sunshine felt good on her face. So did the warmth. There was nothing quite like fresh air to revive one's soul. To restore one's energy. Even though the jungle planet of SonTay was murderously humid and hot in her tank top and thermal leggings it still beat wearing her orange jumpsuit. That thing was a sweat trap. A real winner when it came to sapping her strength. It was meant for space not the unconscionable temperatures found her eon SonTay. She was glad to see it go out with the trash. She was done, for now, wearing such ridiculous clothing.

Lou squinted as the camp gathered to celebrate Colonel Ganho's life day. The entire situation felt surreal to her. Celebrating a life day in the middle of a prison camp. Next they'd be playing Limmie in the yard. She shook her head. She wasn't in the mood to celebrate anything except getting off this miserable rock. Still, there were worse things she could be doing. Like digging out George. That had been one hell of an adventure. The endless threat of cave in's, the claustrophobic nature of the tunnel, the smell of sweat and earth. It was good to be topside for a chance.

Lou played nice of course and shook the Colonel's hand and wished him a happy life day. She didn't want anyone suspecting that she was anything but sympathetic. After all she screamed ex Imperial almost as brightly a Joy and her family. She'd finally earned the Rebel's trust and now she wasn't about to loose it by playing loose and fast with the rules. She took a nibble of the sorry excuse for a life day cake and quickly spat it out. Yuck.

An alarm sounded sending chills down Lou's spine. The hair on the back of her neck shot up as she shot a glance in the direction of the gathering stormtroopers. More of the white clamshells arrived being directed about by a very terrifying Imperial officer. No doubt some spook sent here by High Command. Something had been found as the officer spoke rapidly with his colleague and then to the stormies.

Lou felt her heart sink as a realization swept over her.

There would be no escape. Not yet, anyways Something that should not have been found had truly, dangerously, been found.

A roar in the distance cast Lou's eyes skyward. For the briefest of moments she caught sight of an approaching TIE Defender. Still some klicks away from the camp but coming in their direction. Her fists tightened with rage as she immediately knew whose craft that was.

Dietryk.....

Tag: @Jerjerrod-Lennox; @Sinrebirth; @TheAdmiral; @Mistress_Renata; @Sarge; @darthbernael; @HanSolo29

 

IC:Artemis "Art" Deco
Location: Sports field, SonTay POW Camp

It wasn't often the POW's got to celebrate something. The Colonel's life day was one good excuse, especially since after what had happened the past few days.

Artie like the others had been working hard, working with blood, sweat and tears and covered in dirt. With the tunnel now completed hope was rising that one day everyone would be able to get out.

Artie had decided to dodge the food and drink, mostly the drink as the Squibs decided to make it smell like engine fuel. But he did quickly shake the Colonel's hand and wish him a happy life day. Mostly he decided to keep out of the way as such big gatherings he was always nervous about. He felt more comfortable in a smaller group back in the barracks.

He had had a good chat with Joy's dad but decided to leave them to it after the end of their last conversation. He had not spoken to the other new person yet nor Joy's mother but he hoped to do so at some point.

As he made to have a wander around the field he spotted the Imperials on the move. Officers and stormtroopers which only meant one thing: either they wanted to do a quick inspection whilst everyone was out or they had found something and wanted to investigate.

Oh not good…

Luckily it wasn't their barracks they were investigating. But as soon as the shout went up and the alarm went he knew they had found something. Artie's face turned pale and his stomach sank. They had found one of the other tunnels, and that meant trouble for them all….

But who would do this? Who would rat us out?. It's got to be someone here because no one else would know about the tunnels.

Feral was scanning them all and he could see the wheels turning in the leaders brain. No doubt they would all get a roasting once they got back indoors. First of all they would have to survive roll call and whether the Imperials decided to make an example to the camp and punish some members of the camp. Artie wondered if Feral would go as barracks leader or Joy or Lou could go for another round. Maybe even him.

And I don't know how long I would last this time…

Maybe Traer had sold them all out when he did his disappearing act. No doubt him and his Aqualish friend would want to be the first in the queue when they got back to the barracks for a bit of torture action.

He moved forward to stand next to Lou. Artie didn't glance at her in case the Imperials were looking but he wanted to show solidarity with his fellow Y wing pilot. Plus in his mind he knew Joy nor Lou were the rats. Yes they were former Imperials but he believed they were Rebels now. Unless he had read them wrong….

Artie watched a TIE commence a flyover of the camp and hoped that the pilot was not about to have a go at them on his way out.

All he could hope was that whomever had ratted them all out would receive all the karma the universe could offer.

TAG: @Bardan_Jusik , @Vehn , @TheAdmiral , @darthbernael , @Sinrebirth , @HanSolo29 , @Mistress_Renata , @Sarge

 

Ianna Mcear
Intrepid, Hangar

Ianna had to be almost surgically removed from Saeli as the hug she gave the returned pilot. It was a glimmer of hope, her flightmates have returned, if they could return then anyone could. All the people she lost, everyone that had walked out of her life, they could come back, there was hope. She held onto that, held onto them. It gave her some peace, a warm feeling in her heart. Things were going to get better.

Now she was called up go on a bit of a training mission. It felt nice to finally get back into her Y-wing, Serica was just about the only original Y-Wing left in the squadron. Lou had toasted her's a while back and Joy's was scrapped in the last engagement. It felt almost fitting. Ianna and Serica, the only ones to come home.

There's a twinge of sadness in that thought. A reminder of all the turmoil and death and loss this one squadron had been through. Likely double the losses of any other squadron both in personnel and materiel. Yet here they were, despite everything, despite all the pain they were still here, still flying and they were going to get their friends back.

She got changed into her flightsuit slowly getting into the familiar clothing. It was comforting, broken in, something that put her in the mindset she needed to be in.

Climbing up the ladder Meili stopped her looking up with a smile.

"Hey Kid, your bird is good to go."

"Thanks."

"Make sure to bring her back in one piece."

"Always." The young pilot smiled as Pat was locked into the socket, her little helper, and likely the only reason her old warhorse was still here, still flying.

Everything was going to be alright, they were going to get their friends back, they were going to be whole again.

"Black Eleven ready to launch."

TAG: @Bardan_Jusik @Mistress_Renata @Adalia-Durron @Bodhran777 @TheSilentInfluence

 

OOC: This combo has been brought to you by @The Real Kyp Durron and a Death Star laser as the ultimate grudge ender
IC: Baniss Vermillion, Mackenzie Hollymander

Baniss waited for Mackenzie to show up in the room, not that he was bored. There was the information to sift through. As much as it cost to obtain it, I’m going to use it…

Baniss glanced through the mirrored window at the subject. He didn’t know who he was, and quite frankly, he didn’t care. I’m not sure he’ll tell the truth at all, I don’t know if there’s any value at all here. It’s why I have my data.

There were a half dozen datapads on his side of the room waiting to be used once this nasty business started.

Once again he’d been called to do something people around him assumed he was good at. He knew he was not. Entering the room he gave the other man a cursory nod of acknowledgment before moving to the window. “I hope you are good at this as I know I am not.” He stated simply as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Assumptions have been made.” He turned to Baniss. “Major MacKenzie Hollymander.” He shrugged slightly. “Most call me Holly.” He looked back to study the prisoner.

Baniss shook his head, “It’s my first time actually observing one of these. Usually, they have me working on a different project, or trying to figure out what’s next.” He snorted a little bit, “There’s a thing about assumptions, they can bite you when you least expect it.” He walked over towards the window, “Is there any proof that this person will give us the information we need?” He then offered Holly his hand, “My name’s Baniss, people have called me all sorts of names, some nice...some not.”

MacKenzie chuckled. “Oh, I know that one. Been called a few choice things in my time as well.” He took the man’s and shook it. Indicating toward the man in the room before them he explained. “He managed to find his way on board the Valkyria in our last mission. Believe he is or more so was the Captain of the Bith Marque. He could be a good source of information but I believe he won’t talk easily.” He gave his head a slight shake. “His carnal desires brought him to us but I don’t believe he is weak-minded elsewhere in his life.” Turning to where Baniss had been and noticed the numerous data pads. “What are they all about?”

Baniss looked back at the datapads, “Data, particularly on TIE Defender, mostly because I wouldn’t know why I would be here otherwise. There’s also some other information, which might not be as useful. Things have been pretty chaotic all over the place since Hoth.” he grinned and shook his head at the understatement. “I figure we can use it to compare what we know with what he says.” he shrugged, “Might help.”

“Wasn’t at Hoth.” It was a statement. “Stationed elsewhere at the time. I did, however, read the reports.” A soft snort. “The Imperial Reports that is. Their view on it was somewhat different from what I’ve heard since. It seems the Alliance did a good job of avoiding the Empire. A better job than the Imperial Reports would have you believe.” He glanced at the data pads. “Should I attempt to speed read that lot?”

Baniss nodded, “I wasn’t either, probably a good thing, I hate being cold.” he glanced at the datapads, “Well not all at once, though this is absolutely bias, you might be more interested in the Defender, especially if you want to fly one someday.”

“Not in my plans at this point. I can fly but I doubt I could be considered a pilot.” MacKenzie watched as the man before them moved restlessly. “Content to be co-pilot on the Valkyria at this point. Cassell and I have an understanding.”

Baniss looked at Mackenzie as if trying to remember facts, “You were security with the Empire, weren’t you? Are you sure you’re in the right line of work?”

Once again MacKenzie was given cause to laugh. “No? I have no idea what my line of work is. Security over there is very specialised. In fact, running blocker and arranging….” He wanted to find the correct words for this. “Personal entertainment was more what I did. Security for an overbearing and somewhat over self-important General most of the time. I started at the bottom seven odd standard years ago.” He looked at his boots. “Sometimes one does things they’re not proud of for the sake of freedom.” He murmured.

Baniss walked over and grabbed the datapads on the TIE Defender and handed one to Mackenzie, “Could you tell me the level of security you’d need to technically have access to something like this?”

Taking the pad he began to scan read it. “Very high.” He muttered. “I never had access to it.” He scrolled to read more. “You had to be in the right area of expertise and knowledge and like I said before. I am no pilot.” He found what he was reading a little alarming. “We need this for sure. Have faced these things a few times since I came on board and I have to say they are almost unbeatable.”

Baniss smiled, “Correct, the encryption was a pain since it wasn’t anything standard Imperial, but given that it’s Grand Admiral Thrawn’s pet project, that might not be a surprise.” He lost his smile, “The mission was rough though, out of a team of six, two were KIA and three others were wounded to varying degrees. Didn’t help that we had an idiot who wanted to try to get more…”

MacKenzie turned to the man beside him. “That sounded very personal. Were you there?”

Baniss nodded solemnly, “I was...it’s probably ended my career as a field agent, which makes my wife happy to no end.”

MacKenzie frowned as he watched the man’s face where the pain of loss was obvious. “I’m sorry.” He thought for a moment. “Is she here? How do you do such dangerous work knowing you may leave her behind?” This was his big issue with Amber and he wanted to know if there was a way to cope or deal with it.

“Thank you.” Baniss nodded, “No she doesn’t serve at all, she thinks I do academic studies on various subjects, which isn’t far from the truth. That said, she keeps me honest and allows me to live in a way I don’t normally get the chance to in my line of work.”

“So she doesn’t know you might not come back?” It was a blunt question. “Yet you still do it?”

Baniss put the datapad in one of his pockets and opened his hands, “Well right now, my career is at a crossroads, I might not go on field ops anymore.” he shook his head, “It depends if I want to do that, or possibly have a family someday.”

His words resonated with MacKenzie but he chose to change the subject. This one was too close to home and as he didn’t know the man well enough at this stage to start unloading his personal issues. “Do these Defenders have a weakness? As a co-pilot of the weapons and targeting. A weakness would be a bonus.”

Baniss considered, “Its missile loadout is equal to that of an X-wing, so it might not be best to use it as a strike craft. Its hull is a little weak but strong in comparison to other TIEs. That said, if you hit it, it will take damage, and it might actually be a little too fast...if that makes sense. Even as maneuverable as it is, it would still require more space for it to turn around from a head-to-head pass if it wanted to stay in range, but that’s a big if. Most likely they’ll bounce a group and speed off before setting up for another strike.” he smiled a little weakly, “If you hit the things enough though, you will destroy them...small consolation that it is.”

MacKenzie considered. “It’s about teamwork then?” He visibly snorted. “Yeah, that is not going to work with this lot. I doubt they know the meaning of ‘team’. In fact there are a few ‘showboaters’ that make it almost impossible.”

Baniss shrugged, “Maybe it’s time for them to learn, but I would have thought that several of them were tired of raising their glasses to lost friends and comrades.” he looked at MacKenzie, “But they have to listen first.”

“Good luck with that.” He looked to the prisoner. “I think they’re about to start. Best listen up.”

Baniss nodded, “And we should keep an eye on our datapads just in case…” he pulled his datapad out. Not he was convinced the prisoner would tell the truth or anything.

TAG: @Bardan_Jusik, @Mitth_Fisto, @Anedon

 

OOC: A combo with @Vehn , many thanks

IC:Artemis "Art" Deco, Louise "Lou" Grey
Location: Sports field, SonTay POW Camp

As Artie stood next to Lou he couldn't help but sneak a look. He knew he would probbably get in trouble for it, but after he had patched her up after her torture session he felt he should see if she was alright.

He cast a quick glance her way, Lou was looking up at the TIE coming over, her fists were clenched as if in fury.

"Are you alright?" Artie said quietly facing forward again " Judging by the way you are looking, I guess not. Someone familiar up there?".

Lou released her fists. Tried to release her anger. Her thirst for revenge. Artie's voice brought her back to reality. Brought her back to SonTay and all the trouble that it entailed. Here on the jungle planet from hell she'd learned a whole new meaning for existence.

"No," Lou replied, "I'm not alright. You see up there is the man who worked me over. Who did this to my face. I have every intention of destroying him when I get the chance. The sooner the better."

She returned her attention to Artie and smiled, "You did a good job taking care of me. I appreciate that. Tell me, Artie, how did you end up here?"

No wonder she seems hacked off….

"If there is one thing I believe in, it's karma" Artie said with a slight smile "All those who do horrible things or deeds eventually get what's coming to them. That man up there? His time will come. Not that I wish death on everyone, but you know for torturing such a nice person…" he went a little red and then turned away a little.

After a moment he said "How did I get here? Well I made a rookie's mistake. The frigate I was escorting had supplies which were badly needed for a base. We got ambushed by a Star Destroyer and they launched TIE's. My first ever battle and the chance to get my first kill. Performed a risky move to try to catch and kill the TIE and left the safety of the frigate. What happened next? Ended up hit by a tractor beam".

He shook his head, his eyes turning sad. " I don't know whether my fellow escorts or the frigate made it. I was whisked away to be interrogated. All because I got excited over potentially achieving my first kill"

Artie then looked at Lou "And then I end up here. As I told your friend Joy, I was tortured, beaten and they said to me they would stop if I did favours for them. I never did and I will carry those scars on my body for the rest of my life. Even got whipped once for mishearing an order".

Artie shrugged "And so ends my tale of woe. How did you end up here in this humid paradise?".

Lou nodded and remembered her first kill. It was something that never left you. The rush, the exhilaration, and the challenge.

She appreciated Artie’s words about karma. That was something for sure. Something tangible she could hold onto in this mess.

“My flight, Charlie Flight, jumped into a system with an accretion disk. Messed our sensors. We were hunting a Star Destroyer by the name of the Bith Marquis. We and others in the Black Sheep took her down. As she blew up the Skulls, a TIE Defender squadron, led by my ex husband Dietryk attacked us in the debris field. My Y Wing was destroyed and a piece of shrapnel lodged in my gut. The Imperials “rescued” me and treated my wounds. Unfortunately I lost my child in the process.”

Lou paused as tears formed at the corner of her eyes. “Sorry,” she paused, “ not sure why I brought that up. It’s been hard here. Harder still when I dwell on what I have lost.”

“Where are you from? What is that like? Do you have family? She asked.

Artie's face turned even sadder as Lou mentioned the loss of her child. Had she lost squadron mates during the battle?. And being attacked and beaten by your ex husband just about finished her off. No wonder she felt such rage against him. How did you bounce back from that?

Artie wanted to put an arm around Lou but stopped himself. He didn't know whether she would appreciate it or not.

"I'm sorry about everything that happened to you Lou. It must be hard to feel like you have lost everything. But hopefully in time everything will be alright. You and I will fly again, take on the Imperials and help the Alliance win the war. You might see your squadron again too. We always have something to live for"

He then smiled, his eyes brightening "Me? I hope to see my parents again someday back home on Commenor. Not a pretty planet, well compared to others anyway. Mostly deserts, mountains and canyons. Some oceans. Not a bad place to live if you didn't mind being under the Empire's iron fist"

He sighed "We protested against Imperial rule but it was no use. Before the Empire came it was considered a good world to live on. I worry about the Empire finding my parents and hurting them sometimes. I used to love flying along the canyons with my friends in our speeders, trying to make sure we enjoyed ourselves as much as we could before we got into trouble" he chuckled.

"What about you?"

Lou laughed. It felt good to have a normal conversation again. To talk shop. Shoot the bull.

“Never been to Commenor myself. Always wanted to see other places. Suppose in a way it’s why I started my flying career with the Empire. Anyways I come from Roon. Outer Rim planet that has oceans, prairie, grasslands, and mountains. It’s beautiful but also a bit primitive. Quite a few people use older methods of transport and farming. The planet has an energy barrier, almost like a mist, that hides it from the rest of the galaxy. It’s barely occupied by the Imperials. Small garrison that has literally nothing to do.”

“My family owns property there. Modest ranch known as Tesserone,” Lou added, “once this entire war is over I intend to settle down and work the land. I own the property now that my parents have passed. Would like to get back to it soon.”

“Tell me,” Lou said, “what did the Imps find over there?”

Artie had never heard of Roon but from the way Lou was describing it it sounded quaint and quiet. A good place to get away from it all.

"Sounds good to me" Artie replied with a smile "I think it's most pilot's or anybody's dream to head home after this is all over. See family and friends. Maybe even settle down with someone" he wiped a bit of sweaty blonde hair out of his face "Who knows".

He looked over to where the Imperials were milling about. Should he tell her what he thought was going on? He trusted her enough this far, besides her and Joy were now helping out with the digging…

"I think it is one of the tunnels" he said, his face turning worried, " Luckily it's not our barracks they are searching either. Who knows what they would find in there. Someone must have told them something, they wouldn't have found it otherwise".

"Not good,” Lou replied,“and no matter what you hear or suspect I will tell you now it wasn’t me. I didn’t even know we had a tunnel there. I have been staying in my lane.”

TAG: @Bardan_Jusik , @Vehn , @TheAdmiral , @darthbernael , @Sinrebirth , @Sarge , @Mistress_Renata , @HanSolo29

 

IC: Eliana Saeli & Alec Cadera
Port side hanger deck, preparing for launch

Eliana grinned when Ianna came over and hugged both her and Alec. It was nice to see a friendly face. "It's good to see you." She said, as their hug broke. Eliana watched as Ianna left and went off to get suited up. She turned to Alec and reached down and took his hand, squeezing it for a moment. "I guess were back in the skies again." Eliana looked a little nervous at the thought, but tried to hide it the best she could. "I'm going to go get ready. I'll see you by our new Y-Wing."

Alec nodded with a smile watched Eliana walk off and turned to go and get ready himself. She seems nervous. But how can I blame her after getting shot down like we did. Alec thought to himself as he pulled on his flight suit and grabbed his helmet. But we have to go back up to keep taking the fight back to the Empire. I can't stand by and leave everyone to suffer.

By the time he had finished changing and walked out towards the hanger Eliana was already there, hand touching the Y-Wing and head ducked in prayer. She turned to him as she finished and cast him a quick, shy smile. "I'm sorry, I was just-"

"It's okay." Alec replied. "You're culture is important to you, just as mine is to me. It keeps us grounded." He looked at the Y-Wing, "Well when were not flying out there." He smiled at his own little joke and Eliana smacked him lightly on the arm and rolled her eyes.

"Yes. This is the way. Isn't it Alec?" Eliana answered, if a little sarcastically.

"You make fun of me now, wait until you become Mandalorian."

"When did I ever say I wanted to be Mandalorian?"

"Oh about every time you asked a question about Mandalorians after we crashed." Alec shrugged a little, looking amused.

"I was curious." Eliana replied, feeling flustered.

"And now you're furious." Alec pointed out as he hopped into the Y-Wing. "You can direct that anger against the Imperials."

Eliana took a deep breath before she climbed into the Y-Wing and sighed. Mandalorians.

Tag: @Bardan_Jusik @Mistress_Renata @Adalia-Durron @Bodhran777 @galactic-vagabond422

 

IC: Akiva "Wolf" Lurrell
Interrogation - Intrepid

Take a person alive and lock them in a cell. Give them nothing but four walls and you either harden them or break them. She was no expert but she knew that much, and her job had always been identify and neutralize. This was a touch outside her wheel house, but then again the waters had changed. They had changed so much, if a life was ever due to be haunted she was about as high up the ladder as those that lived in the shadow of the alien castles with their translucent walls. 'Begging for companionship and trouble with every breath.' as her mother would put it. This certainly wasn't a move away from those troubling waters. Rather if this man died she knew she would be begging for trouble.

She had gone over human charts with service men variables every waking night as her concoctions brewed. Aiming for that sweet spot dosage she had seven different poisonous objects on her person depending on size and how the interrogation went. She also had a couple counter agents for the same reason. She had rehearsed a plethora of human heart beats in her mind. Replaying truth and lie, listening to fear and calm. If she focused, she would hear it.

Walking into the room with her fellow pilot she barred her teeth and took a place sitting on a pedestal in the room. Still being in her pilots garb she unlocked one of her legs safety harness' as she sat. Listening to the man's heart, watching the man's eyes, breathing deep to take in the worsening pungency of a caged man. Trying to get the measure of him, and how he would respond to her fellow pilots words.

TAG: @Bardan_Jusik , @Anedon , @The Real Kyp Durron , @adaml83

 

IC: Jocelyn "Joy" Sunwalker, former Admiral K’rill Sunwalker, Doctor Dennii Ordonnen Sunwalker
Location: SonTay POW Camp

They were standing outside of the barracks. Normally Jocelyn would enjoy being outside, having spent a lot of time on different spaceships that she missed solid ground, a sky and some sunlight. But here, here it was just a nightmare, hot and damp, and all those bloodsucking insects. Orders were orders.

Her parents seemed to be okay with all of that. They were used to these horrid conditions. That sent a pang of regret and anger in Jocelyn’s heart. No one should not be used to this! It was all mixed with some terror at the prospect that she will have to become like that. Good thing they have been working on that escape tunnel.

Jocelyn had her doubts about it, but it was better than nothing. At least if they were caught she would die fighting. That would be quick and hopefully painless. Better than simply rotting in this place. The hope that the Sheep would magically swoop down and rescue them was getting slimmer by the day.

Wellings would not allow such an Op for a couple of pilots. Besides, there was no way they would learn in which camp they were held. There must thousands such places around the Galaxy.

Hearing about the Political Prisoners Camp made Joy double her efforts. She would not allow to be separated from her parents again, not after they were reunited so recently. The trio huddled together, a bit on the side. They have been mostly keeping to themselves. Joy have been telling them what she had been doing these past few years. She could see her father’s mixed feelings about it. Despite being imprisoned he remained an Imperial patriot, as she was, but they had to bury their feelings down. They had an unspoken agreement that they were fighting for the reformation of the Empire and not the restoration of the ineffectual and corrupt Republic. A rather slim chance of that ever happening, because if the Empire won it will increase the oppression, and if the Rebels won they would restore the old order. So they were fighting for a lost cause… but they would keep on doing that…

A TIE Defender flew by, oh how she missed flying one of those. Joy looked at Lou, knowing who the pilot must have been. She shuddered at the thought that someone could be so cruel, then remembered her own torturer. Then a Stormtrooper appeared and she heard that the have found Tom. Oh no! She looked to her parents, both of them looked ashen, her father shrugged. It was neither of them, but Jocelyn dreaded the prospect that they will be the scapegoats, after all it is easy to blame the Imperials…

TAG: @Bardan_Jusik @Vehn @Sinrebirth @Sarge @Mistress_Renata @HanSolo29 @Jerjerrod-Lennox @darthbernael

 

IC: LT Kayn Balzroth
Keeping an Eye on the Hangar Bay

Kayn stood with a handful of wingmates and watched as the Sheep launched without them. He didn't much care for seeing them going into the black without him, but not watching them go would have been even worse.

Sickbay had begun the process of reactivating his neural implants and he was feeling fine. The medical droids were being overcautious and proceeding much too slowly in returning him to flight status; he was ready to get back in the cockpit. His new eye was fully functional, but he was still wearing his eyepatch in accordance with instructions to limit usage of the cybernetic optics and break it in gradually. Besides, he wasn't ready for the others to see it yet.

As Iron Cross clumsily turned toward space and moved forward, he saluted the B-wing and immediately went from the salute to thumbs up for Taab. He held the gesture as the rest of the ships followed. Seeing Black 3 clear the atmospheric containment field, he sighed with relief.

Aside from the never-ending whines and clatters of routine maintenance (much of it from Lughdyt and Rebel Rouser), relative quiet fell across the hangar bay.

Kayn turned to Zara, Skipper, and Quin. He raised his eyepatch and glared at them, daring them to say a word.

"Let everybody know, I'm putting a bounty on the head of whoever it was who snuck into sickbay and changed the specs on my new eye. My next paycheck for the name of the perpetrator. Clear?"

The emerald-green eyeball glowed balefully at his wingmates.



TAG: @Rebecca_Daniels @Corellian_Outrider @Adalia-Durron and all the bounty hunters looking to make an easy credit.

 

IC: Airen Vehn
Hangar Bay

Airen looked longingly out the mag con field as the fighters slipped away on their training mission. He flicked a quick glance to where Lou would've been berthed if she'd made it back home alive. He still couldn't forgive himself for leaving her out there. He also struggled with the idea of what was happening to her under Imperial control.

He clenched his fists. His piloting days were done. That didn't mean he couldn't take part in a rescue. He'd been a ground pounder, for the wrong side, not so very long ago. He knew how to use a blaster. Was accurate. Had fought against a brutal insurgency on Jedha with nothing but the Imperial cap and tunic upon his weary body. He knew what it meant to fight in a war. A real war. The kind to which there was no escape but the longing comfort of death's embrace.

He wanted to get out there. Save Lou. Save the others. Save his unborn child. The longer everyone waited around the harder it was for him to keep his focus. He knew there was a process to these things. Plans, opinions, logistics, all that, but it didn't stop him from wanting to hold Lou in his arms once more. Maker, he missed her so much. So very much.

The Zeltron spoke. Kayn. That was his name. He hadn't been right in the head lately. Now, well, he seemed to be regaining his old form.

"Let everybody know, I'm putting a bounty on the head of whoever it was who snuck into sickbay and changed the specs on my new eye. My next paycheck for the name of the perpetrator. Clear?"

Airen cleared his throat and knew what he was doing was going to catch some serious flak, "I think it might've been Amber. Heard she has a thing for horns."

Tag: @Sarge; @Adalia-Durron; @Rebecca_Daniels; @Corellian_Outrider

 

Maxime “Max” Pallas
Black Sheep Briefing Room, Intrepid

Max listened to Vermillion and rolled her eyes as he stepped away from the lectern. “Typical. Tells us what we already know and nothing we can use,” she said, not worrying about anyone who could overhear her. Well. Sparky was using the Defender schematics they’d been able to pull from the Intrepid’s databanks to work on upgrades, which she would share with the other crews, as far as Max knew. She wondered about the simulators. There were so few of them, the Sheep rarely had access. She’d actually tried to ask Joy about the Defenders, but got a brush off. And as for Lou… Max shook her head. Given that Lou had deliberately made sure that Skull squadron had the chance to escape Naboo before the bombs went off, the Corellian wouldn’t trust her to tell the truth, anyway.

As the meeting broke up, she walked up to Zara, who had been avoiding her since Naboo. Another one who believed in St. Lou's innocence. But Max had made a promise. She handed the Twi'lek woman a datachip. "Your friend, Yvan Sifer," she said. "If you're still interested, here's where you'll find him." She didn't wait for a response, but headed out the door.

A few days later…

Max nodded as she did the pre-flight check with Sparky. Koko was making sure the batteries were fully charged. He’d buffed the ship to a high gleam, as usual. No heavy ordnance, no torp, just laser cannon in case they ran into trouble. She didn’t quite get why Able was doing this, but Flagg figured they needed training. Malek was supposedly questioning the prisoners. He’d probably give them hot chocolate and ask them about their unhappy childhood. Max didn’t think he’d get anything useful. Akiva, though… Max smiled. The Codru-ji could be scary, and she was competent. Hopefully, this would bear fruit.

Max nodded to Sparky, waved to Koko, and settled into the cockpit, tightening her helmet and doing the last checks. This would be a simple training run, just her, Flagg, and Diva. Max glanced over at the redhead, wondering what melodramatic stunt she’d pull to make it all about her. Tehanis had said she was part of a Rebel cell, but she didn’t know the meaning of teamwork.

Max exhaled, and touched the corley wreath in her pocket as the canopy came down. A simple little jaunt to get their wings back. Even Amber couldn’t screw that up…she hoped. Max looked from Flagg’s ship to the Gamorrean, who was doing some sort of shimmy as he prepared to give them the signal to launch. Let’s get this over with.

Tag: @Bardan_Jusik, @Adalia-Durron, Anyone

 

Alec Fenton
Intrepid

One day people will talk about this war, well I guess they will hardly able to stop once they start talking about it. A few veterans of the clone wars visited our shop over the years and they never stopped talking about those once they had started. So I have no doubt it will be the same for this one, but will they mention the dirt? It just everywhere, in my cabin, on the ships, even in my hair. Will they mention living for months if not years without a real bath? Living mostly from protein bars? I somehow doubt it, holodramas never show that side of things, cause it isn't flashy enough. But that doesn't make these things not real, I can feel the dirt, see the oil stains on my clothing, the calluses on my hands. They all tell me one thing, this is real, I am truly here. I am no longer a boy who just got caught up in this, no I'm a mechanic working for the Rebellion. I'm one of a few thousands who stand against millions, not a reassuring thought that's for sure, and yet we are still here. Still fighting. I wonder what comes after this though, many other rebels don't, some believe that we are all going to die, that there will be no aftermath for us, those who do mention something usually say it will be like in the old days, that we will restore the republic. Others don´t seem to care either way, so focused on destroying that everything else has become meaningless to them. If I look at our leadership I guess we are indeed moving back to what we had before the Empire. But will that make things better? Mothma, Organa, they make main nice promises, that things will get better, but what does that mean? Will things indeed improve or are we just destined to eventually make the same mistakes again? There was a lot of injustice in the galaxy even before Palpatine was even born, don't need to be a history professor to know that. So much poverty, uncaring Senators living in shining towers while the billions below suffered. And now its these same senators or their kids who lead this Rebellion: Mothma, Bel Iblis, Organa... Are we truly fighting for something better or just to get the old elites back into power? I think in the end these questions are...

Alec sat the datapad down and deactivated it. He had worked for several hours now on this new chapter of his diary and probably take a break. This chapter was different than what he had written before. So far he had mainly described his own situation and the things happening to him, but now his musings had lead him further, to question the morality of the Rebellion, the motives of their commanders. Thoughts like this where dangerous he knew, this wasn't the Empire but it still could be seen as defeatism and be punished accordingly. But he knew he had to continue writing, someone should do that, he felt, at least someone should give an honest account of their time in the Rebellion. In the end their squadron would be one amongst many, but Alec felt their voices should be heard as well. He was even thinking about interviewing some of the other techs and pilots, to get their feelings written down as well. It was a naive idea, he knew that himself, but still writing a book about what happened here, a homage to his squadron as well as a more honest account than what the propaganda would say was something that appealed to him.

Swinging his feet out of the bed he sat up and stretched himself, after several hours of working on his datapad he felt hungry. So he stood up, tried his best to get his hair in order in front of his mirror before making his way to the mess hall, who knew, maybe he would even met someone there, and hear more stories for his book.

Tag: Anyone who might want to run into Alec at the mess hall

 

Teranis Kellit
SonTay prison camp, underground workshop

Kellit pushed the chair away from the table, and stood up slowly, wincing as his prosthetics took his full weight. He rolled his head and stretched. His neck and shoulders ached from hunching over his work for so long. He picked up one of the fake identity cards and scrutinized it closely, turning it to the left and right to see if the holographic data was reflecting properly. Well. He’d finished the first 25, and they looked okay. But the fake identities needed to be imprinted on the datachip inside, and that was beyond his abilities. Back on Sharan, Spooky or her dad would do that. They had mad slicing skills and access to actual Imperial networks. Easy for them to create fake identities, implant them in actual Imperial databases and copy them to the chips. But Spooky wasn’t here, if she was even still alive.

He pocketed a few of the finished cards and made his way up to the barracks. Through the peephole, he could see the coast was clear, and he casually made his way around the prisoner area until he found Krane. “Hey, boss,” he said. “I got those things you wanted…but there’s a problem.” The two of them walked around and stopped to lean against the wall of the filtration shed, where the machinery would cover the sound of their conversation. Pretending to light up a nicstick, he looked over at the officer. “If you want these things to work, we’ll need a slicer.”

TAG: @Bardan_Jusik, @TheAdmiral, @Jerjerrod-Lennox, @Sinrebirth, @darthbernael, @Vehn, @Sarge, and anyone else on SonTay who I might have forgotten.