Star Wars OPEN Star Wars: Kain's Heroes (Always Accepting New Players)

IC: Kell Lian
Kasey Valley

Kell flinched as a blaster shot sounded off, striking the track. Almost instantly, alarm messages began popping up on his datapad screen, followed by the alert he was hoping not to see. The alert was followed by the Viper droid bay popping open, sending the creepy floating black droids hovering to protect the rail line.

Jori had set up his dish correctly, he saw, so he immediately began punching the activation key in to send his jamming signal. While it was obvious his total signal override hadn’t worked, something he was blaming on the complexity of Imperial encryption, he had another option in place: jam the droids’ targeting sensors. As he finished and sent the code off to be received by the droids, a blaster bolt struck a rock next to him, showering him with debris and making him look up from his gear. Seeing Jori with her holocam out, he yelled.

“Hey watch out!”

He drew his pistols and fired on the nearest droid, striking once with enough damage to make a hunk of metal fall off and cause the droid to reel. He then looked back down at the screen in time to see a new message, this time originating from the train, send out and receive a reply.

“Oh sith, that isn’t good…”

He took another few shots at a poorly-aiming droid, his own shots admittedly poorly aimed this time as well, before yelling at Kain.

“Kain, we got company on its way! Gunship, five minutes!”

With more blaster fire showering dirt everywhere, Kell tried quickly to override the train’s locator signal, jamming up the channel with anything he could find on his system’s memory. For good measure, he also tried flooding the radio channel with random music in his library to try and block any verbal communication or location sharing.



TAG: @Bardan_Jusik @TheAdmiral

 

IC: Chrondarr
In the Valley of the Shadow of Death

The train was speeding up. The driver must be panicking. Tragedy loomed in the highlands.

There was nothing Chrondarr could do about it from this distance. Was there anything he could do if he could get there? Tend to the wounded, perhaps. If he could get there before the wounded joined their ancestors.

He turned his face back over his shoulder and whistled shrilly, a noise many natives would recognize as the mating call of the crested cliffhawk. An experienced mountain man might know it was not the season for that call, but Chrondarr wasn't whistling for mountain men, or cliffhawks. He took in the mountainside ahead of him at a glance, choosing a path, then began to run, down the slope, toward the train tracks.

A shirtless stranger appeared out of nowhere. Chrondarr should have been concerned that the man had snuck up undetected, but at the moment he had bigger concerns, and more of them. A whole trainload of them. He brushed past the stranger, long-legged strides carrying him away from the observation post.

Back at the layup, Windsong involuntarily stepped back from the Coynite's monstrous mount. The six-legged beast had suddenly raised its head, ears swiveling attentively. Without warning it leaped away, galloping toward the observation post.

Chrondarr whistled again, getting one last call out before he started gasping for breath. Stones shifted under his boots, roots pulled at his toes. He was no longer the lithe and agile youth who danced through trees and over rock ridges like a highland ibex, but he still had his strength and experience to draw on as he powered forward, eating up the distance.

His ears soon picked up familiar drumming on the ground behind him. His tris thundered past on his right. A well-timed leap, left foot in stirrup, heave, and he was mounted, neither mount nor rider missing a stride as they rode at breakneck gallop toward imminent disaster.


TAG: @Anedon @Vehn

 

IC: Corrin Skarnson
Mountain Slope

Corrin was suprised, it didn´t happen very often that someone could come this close to him before being noticed. Especially here in the wilderness where he knew how to move quietly. It seemed that stranger was as suprised as he was but Corrin had no idead what to make of the shirtless man, he seemed like the theme park version of a tribal, like the dressed up actors who would sometimes pretend to be one in the big cities. Seeing the man was armed Corrin raised his sppear and activated the energy rune. "Who are you?" he asked keeping his voice as emotionless as possible, he needed to climb higher and get over the slopes back to the layup and the better disapear in the wilderness for a at least a few hours until the imperials had lost his track. "Not sure what you are doing here but there is fighting going on in the vally," Corrin said as he felt he owed this stranger at least a warning not to charge further down the slope.

Tag: @Bardan_Jusik

 

IC: Thomas Ronaan
Kasey Valley
Skarn

Thomas fought the underbrush as he made his way frantically down the slope. He knew the mission had gone south faster than a blaster bolt to the head. It was all he could do to calm his nerves as he made his way down the mountain trail. He stopped to catch his breath, having not moved too far from his original position, and watched as the hover train sped up frantically chuffing and chugging away.

"Sithspit," he cursed as he realized his shot had done the opposite. He could only hope his message had gone out to Kain.

Thomas was about to continue along his journey when a shirtless man stepped in front of him. He looked native. He also looked downright frightening. Corrin had stopped and was engaging in conversation but Thomas, frustrated, couldn't wait any longer.

"You two," Thomas said as he passed them, "we need to get going. There's a war going on and its about to pass us right by. Whatever your name is you either help us fight or get the frak out of the way."

Educate that Thomas thought as he ran full pace down the trail after Chrondarr.

Thomas shook his head in amazement as he watched Chrondarr mount his beast. That was skill right there. The kind of stuff you saw in holovids. Like that one about the off worlder who goes out to the natives and lives with them and then his own kind realizes he's a traitor and tries to kill him. What was that called?

Dances with Skarn?

"No," Thomas sighed, "not the right title."

He hoped no one heard him as he continued jogging, his long rifle whacking bushes as he went along. His life had been so changed by this war. The few times he'd catched his own reflection in a quiet stream or a broken shard of glass he didn't recognize the eyes staring up at him.

His memory went back to teaching. It always did in stressful moments. Teaching was his life's passion.

Class, please turn to page twelve and read the following paragraph starting with the sentence, "I shall do no harm...."

Tag: @Bardan_Jusik

 

IC: Jori Atreus
Kasey Valley, Northern Skarn

Jori was too distracted with her holocam to notice the scary droids floating. Only when the shots started flying did she pay attention. Her parents used to tell her that her job was going to be the death of her… She did not have time to be amused by the irony of the situation. She dove to the ground fumbling for her blaster hanging on the sling.

A couple of blasts missed her, sending bits of dirt flying. Good thing the grass was not dry as it might have started a fire. Jori pressed the trigger but nothing happened. In the heat of the moment she had forgotten to turn off the safety. So she did it. Jori could hear Kell shouting on the comm and shooting at the droids.

At least he was doing something. She managed to shoot at the droid. The blasts flew wildly. Her heart was racing, trying to focus… to aim. At least in that way she kept the Viper occupied enough and threw its aim off. So now they were both lousy shooters. A lucky shot managed to graze its side armor. It ricocheted off of it.

“Kell… cover me… need to find cover!” she shouted at the Ardennian.

TAG: @Bodhran777 @Bardan_Jusik

 

GM Update
​

IC: Jaimie Pathfinder (NPC)/Introducing: Xard (NPC)
Observation Post, Kasey Valley, northern highlands, Skarn

The grey skinned man bared his knives at the beings who had appeared so suddenly from out of the woods. He had heard the shot, and moved as swiftly as he could in that direction, but he hadn't believed that those who had fired had been so close. He had much to learn, and he would have hung his head in shame if not for the challenge before him.

"Not sure what you are doing here but there is fighting going on in the valley," one of them asked. "I am here to bring death to the Empire!" The grey skinned man announced loudly, far too loudly for Pathfinder's tastes. "You two," Thomas said as he passed them, "we need to get going. There's a war going on and its about to pass us right by. Whatever your name is you either help us fight or get the frak out of the way."

"I am Xard, of Kalezeron." He seemed to calm down somewhat now, though he still held his knives in his hands. "I have come to this place to discover how to fight the Empire, and so free my world from their presence." Pathfinder looked to his companions, well what remained of them after Chrondarr had ridden off without them. "The Empire?" Xard stared at him intently. "We're fighting the Empire," Pathfinder continued warily, hoping he was doing the right thing. It wouldn't do if the being was a spy of some sort, such a spy had destroyed one of his previous cells, but this Xard seemed genuine enough. "I will fight for you, if you will teach me the way." He looked to his knives and sheathed them in his boots. "Blades are not enough against them." He said forlornly...

TAG: @Vehn @Anedon @Sarge

OOC: Feel free to move Xard and Pathfinder as needed with your group. Of course Chrondarr is already well ahead of the rest you.

---

IC: Elim Kain
Kasey Valley, northern coast, Skarn

As a string of blaster bolts tore up the ground in front of Kain he threw himself prone to the ground and began returning fire with his liberated E-22. Twin bursts began peppering the droids, though most of the shots sailed wide as he was more concerned with keeping the reciprocating barrels clear of obstruction than actually hitting his target. The twin barrels gave an edge in firepower over the stormies standard E-11, but keeping the weapon going in a combat situation always seemed more trouble than it was worth. Behind him Hesin was working as fast as he could to get back out to where they had laid the bomb. That at least was easier now that they didn't have to worry about tripping sensors anymore, though what came next was somewhat more difficult.

The bombs were set up to be self contained and tamper proof, and now here they were, tampering with the damn things. The old chemistry professor took in a deep breath as an errant blaster bolt ricocheted nearby. He knew that any attempt to open the bomb up to disarm the explosives would set off those same explosives. Once set, the damn things were going to go off, he had made sure of that. He furrowed his brow, wondering then just what he could do. Removing it from the track seemed the simplest way to ensure it didn't go off...

“Kain," The cell leader searched for the source of the shout, realizing after a moment it was Lian. "We got company on its way!" Oh great, could this get any worse? he asked himself as the Ardennian continued, "Gunship, five minutes!” Yeah, it was worse, much worse. At least the droids seemed to have even worse aim than stormtroopers, none of the rebels had been hit yet. That Kain found curious, he knew from previous experience that they tended to be fairly lethal. Taking a moment to look back at where the Ardennian was pinned down it dawned on Kain that Lian was somehow jamming their electronics, affecting their targeting systems. That just might give them the chance they needed.

Taking a deep breath, the cell leader steeled himself and took careful aim at the nearest droid and pressed the trigger of his E-22, holding it down for full automatic fire. Red blaster bolts peppered the Viper droid's armored skin before it finally exploded, sending sharp shrapnel raining down on everyone. Kain didn't think he had hit it that bad, but if he disabled it, maybe it had self destructed? He shook his head, it didn't matter, that was one down.

"Professor!" He shouted back to Hesin, unwilling to turn his head and check for himself as he scanned the area in front of him for the other droid. "How's it coming back there?"

TAG: @galactic-vagabond422 @Mistress_Renata @TheAdmiral @Bodhran777

OOC: That should give each pairing a single Viper droid to deal with while the other two are still headed down the track. feel free to damage/destroy them as needed in your posts, even if that means taking out the one facing Kain.

 

IC: Kell Lian
Kasey Valley

Out of the corner of his eye, Kell saw a droid burst like a balloon, a grin forming on his face despite the raining bits and pieces. He was pulled back to his own current situation when Jori yelled at him for cover fire. She was still exposed, and shots were landing close enough to make her, and him, plenty nervous. Making sure his gear was out of the way, he stood up and waved an arm, while using his fourth to put his fingers to his mouth and whistle.

“Hey! Over here, rust bucket!”

He then put both free hands on the foregrips of his CR-2s and flipped it to automatic, both blasters raining plasma at the Viper droid. The first several shots skipped off the armor, CR-2s were notorious for that sometimes, but others began eating away at the black metal hide and arms below. If that didn’t get the droid’s attention, he didn’t know what would.

“Go, get to cover now!” he yelled to Jori, while keeping up the fire on the droid.

He could feel the blasters getting hot from the plasma bolts, and before long he was forced to kick the thermal mags out of both weapons. Dropping back into cover, he went reaching for new mags, hoping he gave Jori enough time to find something sturdy to get behind. Looking out at the others from his small bunker, he could see the effect his jamming had on the other droids, as errant blaster fire found only dirt. It seemed to have confused Kain a bit at first, but he appeared to be taking full advantage of it now.

Once his blasters were ready again, Kell started to pop out to shoot again, but a lucky blaster shot from the Viper droid managed to catch one of his weapons, causing it to jerk out of his grip and onto the ground beside him. The suddenness of it made him swear and jump back down, shaking his hand which was now mildly numb from the impact. He could see his gun, now sporting blast marks on the collapsed stock but otherwise in one piece. However, he’d have to go out into the line of fire to get it. Good thing he had a second blaster, but he was a bit pinned now, and almost got his bell rung.

“Jori, do you have a shot? I’m down a blaster,” he yelled, hoping she was in a good position to take a direct shot.

TAG: @TheAdmiral @Bardan_Jusik

 

IC: Thomas Ronaan
Kasey Valley
Skarn

At last a clearing in these blasted woods Thomas thought as he stumbled into an adequate sniper nest. He had a clear view of the train chugging away, the Viper droids engaging the others, and now he was a lot closer to really bring the pain.

He felt the presence of others on the back of his neck. Xard and Pathfinder were nearby. He supposed Corrin was as well. That was fine so long as they didn't interrupt his beautiful masterpiece. He quickly unslung his rifle and within seconds had distance to target. A few clicks of his scope to adjust for the breeze let him know he was all dialed in and ready to kill.

"Stay quiet," Thomas whispered to the others, "when I make my shot get down there and raise hell."

A Viper droid zipped and zoomed over the train firing off a few shots while its friends engaged as well. Thomas had a clean shot and he did what he'd done a thousand times before. He took it without reservation. His blaster rifle kicked against his shoulder as the round went out and struck home. Years of warfare in the streets of Grad had taught Thomas to pack up the minute the blaster bolt left his barrel. Those were the precious seconds. The ones that could save his life or end his run of resistance.

Thomas, rifle slung back over his shoulder, turned to the others and said, "Make your move. I've just kicked the hornet's nest. That droid may not be down for the count but its going to be hurting and angry as all get out. It's computer software will most likely find the source of the bolt which means my position is now compromised. Go, I'll do what I can from here."

Tag: @Bardan_Jusik; @Anedon ; @Sarge

 

IC: Chrondarr
Second Thoughts

Chrondarr bent low on the back of his tris. The Beast's six legs beat their rapid tattoo against the wet ground, trees appeared ahead of them and disappeared behind them. In minutes, he'd be close enough to the track to do something.

A blaster bolt flashed overhead, overtaking him from behind. Another shot from Thomas. What was he shooting at now?

Suddenly the world turned surreal. What was he doing there? He was not a revolutionary or a soldier, he was a Skarn Coynite, a mountaineer of the Highlands. His people never chose to involve themselves in the battles between humans. That was not their way. The only reason he was with these people was because they were going to pass through the territory where he hunted and trapped, and with his help they'd pass through faster and be gone sooner. If he kept on like this, he might well get himself ensnared in their war.

But there was still a trainload of innocents rushing toward a bomb on the tracks. His spirit would never rest easy if he turned his back on them.

Chrondarr gritted his teeth and pushed on.

TAG: @Vehn @Anedon

 

IC: Jori Atreus
Kasey Valley, Northern Skarn

Jori slipped on the grass while running. Ironically that mishap saved her from a stream of crimson bolts. They sent puffs of soil and pieces of burnt vegetation in the air. Jori rolled to the side trying to get up while the droid was distracted by Kell. She saw a large rock formation and decided that could be the perfect cover.

She managed to scramble to her feet and ran towards it. Good thing the droid was still distracted. She sat behind it, trying to catch her breath. Her heart was racing. She patted her uniform, trying to feel whether everything was in place. She then checked her camera which was dangling from her wrist on the string. It was intact and operational. Good thing of the older model cameras was that they were made of a sturdy material and did not break that easily.

Kell shouted for her to shoot at the droid. Jori gritted her teeth and then realized that she did not have her blaster. She peeked from behind the rock and saw it lying on the ground where she had fallen. Jori took a deep breath and ran towards the pistol. She lunged kicking the air out of her as she reached for the gun. The droid was still focused on Kell.

Jori managed to grab the handle and aimed still prone. She aimed, trying to steady her breathing and pressed the trigger. The crimson blast flew off the muzzle and managed to strike the Viper in one of its “eyes” sending sparks everywhere. That got its attention…

Another stream of bolts flew her way. Sending pieces of soil and rock from her previous cover. Jori shot back as she tried to run again. Somehow she managed to get back behind the rock with only a bit of her sleeve singed by a near miss. “Oh how I hate combat...” she murmured to herself.

TAG: @Bodhran777 @Bardan_Jusik

 

IC: Corrin Skarnsson
Kasey Valley

Corrin watched as Thomas fired at the droid coming closer, he could almost hear the howling of its machine spirits at the hit but it seemed that one wasn´t enough if he understood the sniper correctly. "Will get closer and have a look then," he told him before turning to Xard, "want to fight the empire? First rule to always stay silent and hidden for as long as possible, take them down from cover and don´t make yourself the target." With that Corrin gave the grey skinned humanoid a sign to follow him down through the woods again and closer to the droids that would soon be upon them. It was easy for him to run through the forrest effortlessly jumping over obstacles while staying in the shadows of the large trees. He hoped Xard would be able to do the same. Corrin asked himself why he was doing this and not simply tried to escape but the meeting with Xard and his words had reignited some of his hatred for them empire and so, in this moment he wanted to fight not run away. Soon he came across the droid Thomas had hit. The machine was heavily damadged but just as the sniper had predicted its machine spirit wasn´t dead yet. Corrin had seen and fought these things before and so he knew how to deal with them. Stepping closer to the damadged machine he showed Xard its main processor. "That´s where its spirit lies," he said as he rammed his spear directly into the weakpoint. "Hit them there if you want them to stay dead." He told Xard and offered him one of his spears. "A better weapon than these knives if they swarm us."

Tag: @Vehn, @Sarge, @Bardan_Jusik

 

OOC: Sorry this is late. There is a bit at the beginning which I was working up with @galactic-vagabond422 which fell by the wayside, first holiday season then sickness… and we didn’t finish. Hope this helps a bit.

IC: Reva Cambrion, Connor Neil
On the edge…

The young man listened attentively to the former teacher as he showed them how to use the improvised explosive. It was a little more complicated than he expected, but he got the gist of it. Looking off into the distance he could see the tracks, and the sheer cilf they were affixed to. He could hear his heart pounding in his chest as he heard the orders from Kain. Get close don't set off the sensor net. He nodded his head in understanding and began to make his way towards the pylon. Half way there he turned to his partner, Reva.

"Ya' thing you could carry this thing?" He asked holding up the pressure cooker, "I'd like to keep my hands free...just in case I need to draw my weapons." He also didn't like the idea of fighting with a bomb on his back.

Reva took the bomb with many misgivings. She hoped it was stable. "Sure," she said. The man was a bit younger than she was, but he seemed more self confident. At least he knew how to use his weapons. They carefully picked their way along the slope to the base of the pylon. Reva watched him as he made his way up the pylon, avoiding the sensors, and followed him, with the bomb slung awkwardly in a pouch on her back. He began moving forward along the support towards the tracks, and she went after, crouching as she moved along, keeping her weight low. And then she looked down.

It was a long way down.

Reva gasped, and dropped on to the support column, straddling it and hugging it closely. “I can’t do this!” she squeaked. There was nothing below her, nothing but cliff and waves and a chill wind, threatening to blow her off to the rocks below. She could hear Connor calling her, admonishing her, urging her forward. She lifted her head and opened one eye. Only about 2 meters… two meters and she could hand off the bomb for him to place on the track. Only she’d have to let go of the column, and she couldn’t, she didn’t dare.

She squeezed her eyes shut…and then they flew open as a blaster bolt went off. Her head snapped up and she looked around. What…? The commlinks were going crazy, cutting in and out. Shouting from the team, incomprehensible. What was happening? More blasts, and suddenly she could see Viper droids, released from the main pylon. Blaster bolts, shooting at the droids, droids shooting back. She could see the Professor moving back up the pylon, trying to retrieve the bomb. Something had gone wrong. The mission had gone equatorial in a spectacular fashion. She looked at Connor, who was focused on the Vipers now, and she pulled the bomb from the pouch with one hand, throwing it at a pair which were swooping towards them. Now, shocked into action, she could scoot backwards along the support at top speed. No need to worry about the sensors now. Now she could get her feet on the ground again, where she very much wanted to be.

TAG: @Bardan_Jusik, @galactic-vagabond422, Anyone

 

GM Update

​

IC: Elim Kain
Kasey Valley, northern coast, Skarn

Blaster bolts flew through the sky, crisscrossing one another as most missed their intended targets even as they lit up the encroaching darkness. Kain knew that in the grand scheme of things, with battles between kilometers long starships and scores of expensive fighters, or planet wide battles between mechanized units, that this "battle" barely even rated as a skirmish. Still, to him and those fighting here, it was the most important battle of the entire war, as it was the one that they were trying their utmost to live through.

He had taken out one of the Viper droids, but it's companion was making all sorts of trouble for Lian and Artreus, though they had at the very least damaged it. The other two nearby meanwhile had Cambrion and Neil pinned, at least as far as Kain could tell. It worried him that he didn't know what was going on with the other pair trying to retrieve their bomb before the train full of civilians arrived, but he was too worried with staying alive himself right now. He couldn't even tell if his own battle buddy, Professor Heisn, was alive to retrieve their own bomb.

**KABOOM**



A loud explosion rang out behind the cell leader, and Kain risked a look back to see what had happened. Apparently Cambrion and Neil had not only recovered their explosives, they had used them against the droids that had been attacking them. Even now the remains of one were scattered all about while the other crashed to the ground, sparking and smoking as it did so. They had taken out two birds with one bomb, Kain grinned. Now there was just one more to go, and it too was already damaged, though not badly enough that it wasn't still hunting them, firing as it went. Kain though had bigger concerns, he would leave the last droid to the others.

"Pro..." Kain began to call out to Heisn, wanting to ask him again if he had managed to retrieve their bomb. The train was fast approaching, and he knew they didn't have much time. His question was interrupted though by rapidly incoming blue fire that seemed to erupt all around them. "What the...?" he instead asked, all thoughts of Hesin and the bomb momentarily forgotten as he searched for the source of the incoming blaster fire. That didn't take long, the tree line up the hill was ablaze in blue bolts, Pathfinder's Z-6 was the source he could see as he continued to rain blaster fire down on their position from the treeline up the hill. He didn't seem to be hitting anything, though he was raising quite the commotion. The lone remaining droid near them tried to return fire towards the source of the heavy fire, but instead began smoking and shaking before it too exploded. Damaged by Lian and Artreus just a few moments earlier, it had finally self destructed.

Kain waved the other rebels down the hill towards them, giving them the all clear signal. All clear, though he knew they weren't out of this yet. "Professor!" Kain yelled for the man a third time, though this time his call was answered by a red faced, and empty handed Hesin. "Did you get the bomb, do you have it?" Kain fired off his questions rapidly. "Well, yes...and no." The Professor looked pained and embarrassed as he responded. "What does that mean, yes and no?"

Heisn grimaced as his face took on a shade of deep red. "I managed to get the bomb off the tracks..." he started as Kain breathed a sigh of relief. "And then I dropped it." The shocked look reappeared on Kain's face. "What do you mean you dropped it?" Heisn shrugged now, his complexion coming a bit more under control as he defended himself. "There was blaster fire hitting the pylon, and I didn't want to fall so I grabbed it with both hands and...I dropped the bomb..." Kain let out a deep breath. "Off the cliff and into the ocean." Kain brought a palm to his face as he rubbed his forehead. One bomb used, the other lost. Their mission then was a failure, now all they could all hope to do was get out of here alive.

TAG: @galactic-vagabond422 @Bodhran777 @Mistress_Renata @TheAdmiral

---

IC: Jaimie Pathfinder/Xard (NPCs)
Running to the sound of the guns, Kasey Valley, northern highlands, Skarn

Running headlong through the forest after Chrondarr, the remainder of the observation team was quickly making their way closer and closer to the tracks when Ronaan stopped short suddenly. "Stay quiet," Thomas whispered to the others unslinging his blaster rifle, "when I make my shot get down there and raise hell." Pathfinder hefted his Z-6 rotary canon. "Ready to rock and roll," he said with a smile that was mirrored on Xard's grey face. "I shall begin the road to vengeance today," the Kalzerian replied in earnest even as the sniper took his shot, taking down a Viper droid, even if just momentarily.

"Make your move. I've just kicked the hornet's nest." Ronaan commanded as he slung his rifle once again, ready to relocate. "That droid may not be down for the count but its going to be hurting and angry as all get out. It's computer software will most likely find the source of the bolt which means my position is now compromised. Go, I'll do what I can from here." Pathfinder slapped Xard on the shoulder, "C'mon, let's go wreck some tinnies!" He moved down the hillside, hip firing his rotary canon as he went, bright blue bolts showered the landscape, though none seemed to actually hit any of the Viper droids, the fire was sure to be a further distraction to them.

"They are made of tin?" Xard was confused and surprised as he shouted in triumph, following Pathfinder down the hill. "Even my blades can pierce their skin!" Luckily Skarnsson was right there with him to set him straight, giving him pointers along the way. "...want to fight the empire? First rule to always stay silent and hidden for as long as possible, take them down from cover and don´t make yourself the target." It was sound advice, but Pathfinder wasn't sure the new recruit was even listening as his loud laughter wafted over battlefield. The pair of them made it to the downed droid as Pathfinder continued to give them cover.

Stepping closer to the damaged machine, Skarnsson showed Xard its main processor. "That´s where its spirit lies," he said as he rammed his spear directly into the weak point. "Hit them there if you want them to stay dead." He told Xard and offered him one of his spears. "A better weapon than these knives if they swarm us." Xard nodded his head in thanks as he took the proffered weapon, sheathing his own blades in his boots. "Thank you my friend." He said solemnly as he stabbed down at the droid. "Die tinny!" He exclaimed loudly as the spearhead pierced the droid's CPU, adding to the already lethal damage done to it by Skarnsson.

Pathfinder meanwhile had seen the all clear signal from Kain and had stopped firing. "Rally on the boss!" He shouted to his comrades as Kain waved them down. It took a moment for Pathfinder to realize they weren't all there though. "Hey," he began the confusion evident in his voice. "Where's Chrondarr?" Scanning down the tracks he finally caught sight of the Coynite, rushing towards the oncoming train with reckless abandon on his six legged mount. "He's going to get himself killed!" Pathfinder exclaimed even as the a droid, which seemed now to be escorting the train, spat its red venom at the onrushing Chrondarr.

TAG: @Vehn @Sarge @Anedon

OOC: Just one droid left, the one attacking Chrondarr as the train is rapidly approaching. You all should be able to see it by now.

 

IC: Chrondarr
"I'm a peaceable man, but... "

Blaster bolts exploded tree limbs just meters away from Chrondarr. He felt the splinters and slivers pricking his face. The Beast swerved aside, ducking under low tree branches. Chrondarr kicked his feet clear of the stirrups and stretched his arms upward, grabbing a solid branch and swinging himself off the back of his galloping tris and up into an old fir tree. He grunted painfully with the effort.

The droid hesitated for a moment, dividing its attention between two targets. It selected the larger target and fired another burst at the tris.

Chrondarr was not a violent person, but no Coynite would ever stand by and watch his own personal tris be attacked. Rider and mount shared a special bond, an almost spiritual connection, known as kars'asruul, or soul rider. He had to get the droid away from The Beast.

Balancing on the branch, he loosed an arrow from his crossbow. Missed. Of course. One of the keys to accurate shooting is breath control. He was panting like a fat bantha running up a mountain, his hearts pounding like hammers. He worked the cocking lever, focused for a moment, forcing himself to be still, breathe in deeply, let it half out, settle the sights on the target, squeeze the trigger... A hit. The flint arrowhead shattered against the droid's armor, and the wooden shaft of the arrow spun away. He gasped, drawing more air into his laboring lungs.

But he had drawn its attention. The droid turned away from the tris, scanning for the source of the shot. Chrondarr reloaded with a big game arrow, a heavy bone shaft with a needle sharp durasteel point, and recocked the bow. Steady... the crossbow again made its familiar twanging snap, hurling the heavy arrow straight into the body of the droid. The arrowhead stuck in armor plate, the shaft still sticking out of the body, and the Spirit-less abomination fired back.

Chrondarr jumped to another branch, putting the meter-thick tree trunk between himself and the droid. A memory flashed into his mind.

It was many years ago, the winter of 64, or maybe 65, he had been trapped in Deep Valley when an avalanche closed the pass, and he nearly starved. He was hunting a simian, not tasty eating, but better than starving. The creature was in a tree, and he was moving in on it, trying to get a clear shot, and it kept jumping to branches on the other side of the tree, moving away from him and climbing higher as he stalked ever closer, until...

Another blaster bolt blew splinters out of the tree trunk. Chrondarr smelled the fresh pitch, like the tree's lifeblood, its spirit tormented by the unthinking wanton machine of destruction. He shifted again, slinging the crossbow across his back, moving higher and away from the droid, keeping himself under cover. The droid needed to move closer if it would have a chance to circle around the tree fast enough for a clear shot. He kept climbing, constantly circling away from the droid. It kept circling after him, drawing closer, closer, until...

It was just a couple meters away from the branches, and a little below him, when he hurled himself out of the tree, landing on top of the droid and grappling it with both arms and legs. His 150 kilos were too much for its machinery; it fell out of the air and slammed to the ground. The landing almost jarred Chrondarr loose, but one hand still clung to the droid. They rolled together down a steep hill, flesh and metal limbs flailing. Mechanical claws reached out for the Coynite, but he was already moving toward them, grappling them with arms and legs, wrestling with the metallic invader of his homeland.

The droid's upper portion swiveled. Chrondarr found himself staring into a rounded glassy lens, like an undead eye. Straining to keep the thing's spidery limbs restrained with both legs and his left arm, he drew his heavy knife with his right hand and stabbed the eyepiece. His tro'har's point scratched the lens. He grunted and strained and twisted and managed to wrestle himself on top of the droid. Putting all his muscle into the effort, he smashed the pommel of his knife into the mechanical eyesocket. The lens cracked. With a gasping roar, he swung again, and the droid's eye shattered.

That didn't seem to faze the thing at all. One of its limbs had worked free and an open mechanical claw reached for Chrondarr's throat. He dropped the knife and seized the droid's wrist joint, straining and gasping to hold it back.


TAG: @Vehn @Anedon

 

IC: Kell Lian
Kasey Valley - Making it up as he goes...

Kell was relieved as he heard the sounds of blaster fire coming from where Jori was, telling him she was still up and doing alright. As soon as blaster fire stopped spraying rock chips from his cover, he looked out and saw the damage they had done to the droid. While it was still up, somehow, it wasn’t looking to hot, and its aim was worse than ever thanks to the busted eye.

KABOOM

Kell flinched as the loud explosion ripped through the air, a result of the bomb making full contact with another droid. As he shielded himself from raining debris, he saw out of the corner of his eye that their own metal enemy was suddenly being showered by blue blaster bolts from the team’s overwatch. Moments later, he flinched again as the droid burst into pieces.

Kell looked around and saw where Jori was taking cover, letting out a somewhat nervous laugh as he realized he, and the others, had made it through the firefight in decent shape. They had survived so far, and he could officially cross a shoot-out off his list of firsts. He just hoped these didn’t happen too often, though he knew deep down that was highly unlikely.

Standing up again after the all-clear, he looked around at the scattered pieces of Viper droid, occasionally picking up an interesting piece or two. All of them were ruined, of course.

“Sheesh, why do they have to blow up? I could have used some of these components…”

He tossed the pieces back down, grabbed his other blaster, and made his way back over to his gear, giving it all a look over and making sure it was still functional. Aside from being splattered with dirt, it was all otherwise fine, surprisingly. Further examining the comms, he suddenly realized what was coming next, and grabbed his commlink. Quickly thinking of something, he patched into line between the train and the incoming gunship, making sure to kill the music that was still playing.

“Gunship, be advised this is Recon Squad 17. We’re at the site of the sensor trip and have the issue contained, no need for aerial support. Transport, please activate rail locks and hold position until we can clean up, then you’ll be cleared to proceed as normal. Over.”

Kell tried to make his transmission sound as official as possible, hoping that somehow the gunship bought the lie, or at least gave them a chance to clear out. After, he picked up his things and packed them away.

“We should get moving pretty quick. We’ve lost time, and the cavalry may still be on its way.”

TAG: @Bardan_Jusik & everyone else

 

IC: Jori Atreus
Kasey Valley, Northern Skarn

Jori sighed of relief when she heard the explosions. She patted away the mud and pieces of grass stuck on her “uniform”. Jori was used to crawling through dirty environments. Once she had to go through the contents of trash compactor looking for clues. Good things she managed to escape before she was squashed by the press.

She remembered scoffing at people telling her that there might have also been a dianoga, but she had found no clue of the creature. Probably an urban legend. She took a peek from behind her cover and saw only the smoking debris from the blown Viper. Jori grinned, maybe she could take a souvenir?

Just as she stood up to go there she heard Lian talk to someone. He mentioned “gunship” so Jori blanched by the prospect. She jogged to him and waited for him to finish his conversation “Are they coming?” she tried to cover her nervousness. “Do you know how many are there?”

TAG: @Bodhran777 @Bardan_Jusik

 

Reva Cambrion
Kasey Valley, feet on the ground --finally!

Nothing felt better than solid rock under her boots. She assumed Connor was behind her; he wasn't very talkative. She scrambled along the uneven terrain towards Kain, remembering just in time that they were supposed to leave a little distance between themselves, and crouched to ensure a lower profile. "We couldn't get ours in place," she said, "sorry!"

 

IC: Thomas Ronaan
Kasey Valley
Skarn

Thomas broke through the thick forest and immediately knelt on one knee to stabilize his firing position. Chrondarr was in trouble. The Coynite had clearly done damage to a Viper Droid but the droid was fighting back hard no doubt trying to take Chrondarr down with it. Thomas wasn't going to have any of that. Chrondarr had proven himself in battle. Chrondarr was clearly on the side of the righteous. Chrondarr, dare he say it, was his friend.

Those were hard to come by these days.

Thomas raised his rifle, sighted down the scope, and knew he had a kill the moment he pulled the trigger. The Viper droid was knocked back by the impact and then exploded a few meters from Chrondarr's position. For now their battle was done. He slipped his long rifle over his shoulder and raced to Chrondarr's side. He knelt down and offered his hand and whispered, "I have your back, Chrondarr."

Tag: @Sarge

 

IC: Corrin Skarnsson
Valley

Corrin rolled his eyes at Xard´s battlecry. "What did I tell you about being quiet?" he said in a hushed tone, while wondering how his new friend had managed to survive up until this point. More sounds of fighting not that far from them caught his attention.

Seemed the droid they had just taken out was just the first to come and it seemed the two rebels where engading the enemy. For a moment he was unsure how to proceed, he could probably still retreat and leave this fight behind him, but where would that lead him? To again travels the wilderness alone with nothing but Rih? The lonlyness and guilt again overcoming him? No, these people weren´t his tribe but they where allies, and for now he would stay with them.

"Seem our friends could use a hand," he told Xard, and gestured with his spear in the direction of the fighting. Makeing their way to the other two Corrin noticed that the battle was already over and another droid laid destroyed on the ground.

"Seems we missed quite a fight," he said quietly to the others. "What is the next step?"

Tag: @Sarge, @Vehn

 

GM Update

​

IC: Elim Kain/Jaimie Pathfinder (NPC)
Kasey Valley, northern highlands, Skarn

The onrushing train could be seen rounding the last bend towards the intrepid band of resistance fighters as Chrondarr and Ronaan took out the last remaining Viper droid. That meant they were out of time, Kain looked to Cambrion who seemed apologetic rather than relieved. "We couldn't get ours in place," she said, "sorry!" Kain shook his head, and pointed to the onrushing civilian train.

"Change of plans anyway," he shouted over the roar of the approaching train. Of course with one bamb used to take out the Vipers, and the other dropped into the ocean, it meant they had no chance of taking out the armored military train, if it ever showed up. He sighed loudly, at least they were all safe and they hadn't killed any civilians. It was a result he could live with. Still they weren't out of the woods yet, literally or figuratively. The gunships were still on approach, though Lian was trying to warn them off.

“Gunship, be advised this is Recon Squad 17. We’re at the site of the sensor trip and have the issue contained, no need for aerial support. Transport, please activate rail locks and hold position until we can clean up, then you’ll be cleared to proceed as normal. Over.” Kain nearly laughed at the attempt, not because it was a bad idea, quite the contrary. It just might work. “We should get moving pretty quick." Kain's laughter stopped. It didn't seem as though Lian was as confident in the bluff as Kain was. "We’ve lost time, and the cavalry may still be on its way.”

Jori chimed in then “Are they coming?” Pathfinder pointed off over at the two rapidly approaching dots in the sky, growing larger as they grew closer. "Looks like it," he said warily once again readying his rotary blaster. It was then that Lian's comm gear once again came to life. "Recon squad 17?" The voice sounded confused, but Kain wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. "I have no record of a recon squad 17." The voice became more menacing now. "What's your operating number?" Well at least Kain knew it was a bad thing now. "We're coming in, stand down." Kain resisted the urge to put a blaster bolt through the comm gear. Not only would it have been counterproductive to destroy valuable equipment that would be hard for the rebels to replace, it just seemed like the kind of thing only an idiot might do.

"Seems we missed quite a fight," Skarnsson said quietly to the others, a stranger in tow. Kain looked at him suspiciously but Pathfinder simply gave a nod to the cell leader indicating everything was OK. "What is the next step?"

"Take cover!" Kain shouted out, though thwere wasn't much cover where they were standing between the tree line and the rail tracks behind them, though there were a few large boulders that would suffice. In front of them a pair patrol gunships swooped low, making their characteristic whine, as they came to a sudden halt a meter or so off the ground. From each of the pair disgorged five white clad stormtroopers, who began firing on the rebels the moment their boots hit the dirt, as the gunships pulled up and away clawing their way back towards the sky. Their bluff had been called.

"Light'em up!" Kain shouted out as he went to a knee and returned fire with his E-22. Angry red bolts zig zagged the area around him, and behind him he could hear them impacting something metal. He couldn't spare a glance backwards to see what was being hit but the roaring sound behind him told him what it was. The train, the civilian train full of innocent men, women and children, was zooming by behind the rebels. Looked like Lian's bluff hadn't worked on the train engineer either, and now as the train went by the stormtroopers blaster bolts were impacting against the sides. Damn them, Kain thought. The rebels had just gone out of their way to avoid derailing the civilian train, and now the stormtroopers were callously using it as a backstop totally uncaring about where what lie beyond their own targets. It just meant the rebels had all the more need to end this, and quickly, before a civilian caught a stray blaster bolt...

TAG: @galactic-vagabond422 @Bodhran777 @Mistress_Renata @TheAdmiral @Vehn @Sarge @Anedon

OOC: 10 stormtroopers total. Eliminate them all as you see fit. Any stragglers will be taken care of by NPCs in my next update, but no need to save any badguys for them. Likewise feel free to damage or destroy the pair of gunships in your posts

 

IC: Kell Lian
Well, it was worth a shot anyway…

Kell was vaguely aware of Kain’s chuckles as he made the call over Imperial comms. Yeah, it probably wouldn’t work, but then again, he was just hoping to confuse or stall them even for a minute or two more. As soon as Pathfinder pointed at the dots in the distance, Kell let out a sigh of disappointment as he realized the bluff was too little too late.

Ignoring the comms traffic from the gunship, he took cover as the white duraplast helmets made their debut, guns blazing. Kell grunted as the first round of shots hit their cover, while still more flew by and struck the train. Just the thought of these stormtroopers, who were supposedly there to “protect”, striking innocents was enough to get the Ardennian’s blood boiling.

With a careful lean-out with a blaster, Kell returned fire, missing his first few shots before having to lean back in for cover. Unlike the Viper droids, these guys weren’t exactly hackable, and their aim was far better for it. Feeling safe to lean out again, Kell changed up his direction, leaning out the other way and looking out at a different trooper taking aim at someone else.

Focusing on the sights of his blaster, he squeezed the trigger and sent a round of bolts off, striking the stormtrooper in the shoulder joint of the armor. As the trooper collapsed into a pile of white armor, Kell took cover once more as shots came his way in retaliation.

As much as he disliked the act of killing, he knew he couldn’t let himself get bogged down in remorse. After all, these were stormtroopers who wrecked his home and business, confiscated much of his personal belongings, and had been causing all kinds of pain for the locals. He didn’t have to enjoy what was happening, but he knew it was either them or the stormtroopers, and Kell wasn’t about to give up.

Looking around, Kell paid attention to where the others in the group were, trying to time his peeks out of cover with the moments someone else was taking fire, doing his best to take advantage of any lapses in fire he was receiving to help cover someone else.

A detonator or two would be great right about now, he thought to himself.

TAG: All

 

IC: Thomas Ronaan
Kasey Valley
Skarn

Thomas ducked behind the nearest rock as all hell broke loose. Two gunships had unloaded about 10 stormtroopers who were intent on making short work of Kain's Heroes as well as the civilian train beyond. Leaning against a nearby rock he heard Kain shout out to open fire and give them all he had. He looked on in a mixture of disgust and horror as the civilian train came under fire.

That was unacceptable.

Thomas calmly reached into his pocket and procured a foldout bipod which he quickly affixed to his sniper rifle. He reached into his other pocket and slipped in a specialized energy cell designed to fire one high powered blaster bolt capable of punching through several layers of armor. He'd designed the round himself. It wasn't something he advertised and the process to make one was time consuming. Field tests had been promising but this would be the first time he used such a round in actual combat.

Thomas craned his attention upward as one of the gunships flew low overhead no doubt setting up a strafing run. He gently rested his bipod on the rock and angled his sniper rifle upward as the gunship began a slow, lazy, banking turn back around to their position. The Imperials were focused on dealing maximum damage today. He sighted down the scope and knew he had the range to target though the rate at which the gunship was accelerating meant he had to be at his very best. He'd only get one shot.

The gunship leveled out and began a slow, casual, angle of attack. Not long now that gunship would rip right through everyone and possibly take out the train in the process. Thomas couldn't allow that to happen. Not today. He quickly began a timer in his own head and focused on the cockpit. He'd seen this model of gunship before patrolling and dealing death above the streets of Grad. He knew where the pilot was located. Knew just where to place his shot.

Steady, Thomas, he thought as he recalculated his shot and knew it was time.

The gunship loomed large in his scope though were he to take his eye away from his target it would appear fairly distant at this range. He could make out the pilot adjusting his own trajectory and receiving active comm. signals from the clamshells on the ground. Rain drops accumulated on the cockpit glass briefly obscuring the target. Thomas refused to let that stop him from his objective.

"Might my armies be the rocks and the trees and the birds in the sky," Thomas quietly recited recalling the last lesson he'd taught his class before the deadly bombing that took their lives.

The time was now.

Thomas steadied his breathing, timed his heart beats, and when all was still he pulled the trigger. The blaster bolt flew with great velocity and force right into the cockpit. A splash of crimson erupted on the shattered glass and inside the cockpit. Thomas tore his attention from his scope and watched with muted satisfaction as the gunship suddenly took a violent dive into the ground erupting into a ball of flame and debris.

A blaster bolt zipped by his head.

The battle was far from over.

Tag: @Mistress_Renata; @Bardan_Jusik; @Sarge; @TheAdmiral; @Bodhran777; @galactic-vagabond422; @Anedon

 

Reva Cambrion
Kasey Valley, Skarn
How did I get into this?

Reva was confused, listening to the Ardennian man trying to talk to...who? Was he trying to call the Empire? There was a rumble and she looked up to see a train beginning to roll by. Great. We blew it. Or really, we were supposed to blow it, but here it is. Except wasn't it a civilian train? She suddenly felt cold, a prickle on the back of her neck.

An angry howl and Reva gasped as two Imperial gunships roared overhead, with white-armored Stormtroopers dropping to the ground, blocking the way back into the treeline, the way to safety. She could hear Kain shouting "Take cover!" Apart from a bunch of rocks and the pylons, there wasn't much available. Reva dropped to the ground, crawling behind a decent-sized boulder. There was someone there already, but it was big enough for two, if they stayed low. The man was murmuring something under his breath. Reva fumbled at her belt, finding her blaster, and put her arm around the rock. She couldn't really see what she was aiming at, but there were enough troopers, she was bound to hit something. Taking a deep breath she pulled the trigger.

Nothing. Reva frowned, and tried again. It was an older gun, but she'd charged the power pack and the cartridge of tibanna gas was fresh. One more try and she pulled back, staying low, and stared. What was she doing wrong? Was there an on switch?

TAG: @Bardan_Jusik, @Vehn, Anyone

OOC: She's new to this!

 

IC: Thomas Ronaan
Kasey Valley
Skarn Valley

Thomas wasn't alone. He looked down and saw a woman nearby. She appeared to be having trouble with her blaster pistol. He frowned as he watched her struggle to fire off a shot and was surprised when nothing happened. Either the blaster was faulty or this lady was brand new to them. He guessed the latter. He knelt down behind the rock and reached out to assist her.

"There's a kill switch," Thomas gently said, "near the back. Right now the safety is on. Flick the switch with your thumb and this blaster will be good to go. You don't see this kind of blaster very often anymore. Not with the war. Remember. Aim small, miss small. Steady your breathing and hand and you shouldn't have any trouble. I'm Thomas by the way. Thomas Ronaan."

Thomas returned his attention to the battle all around. Somehow, he knew, this lady was going to be all right.

Tag: @Mistress_Renata; @Bardan_Jusik

 

IC: Chrondarr
Right and Wrong

He took the hand that Thomas offered, but was careful to push himself up off the ground without putting too much weight on the man. Few humans could lift a Coynite of Chrondarr's bulk.

The smoking remnants of the machine that had nearly choked him lay nearby. The sniper's shot had obviously killed it.

Killed... He should be offering a prayer for the spirit of the thing if it had died, but it was a machine, had it ever lived? Spirit of the killing machine, rest- No. That didn't seem right, the thing wasn't capable or worthy of eternal rest. Worthy?

His grandfather had taught him that worthiness was about more than virtues, or what one deserved. It matters little if the one being honored for its death was worthy, what matters is that you prove your worthiness by honoring its passing. If you kill and do not care to honor the slain, you become less, you learn to kill thoughtlessly, and your spirit begins to die. That is why we offer peace and honor to all the dead.

Noises intruded on Chrondarr's thoughts, the train, flying machines, blasters. There was no time to stand and think. White-armored Imperials were shooting at Kain's men, heedless of where their missed shots flew, endangering the train and it passengers that they should have been protecting. Such callousness was unacceptable, an affront to all spirits.

He raised his crossbow and aimed for a white figure. But his sights jerked downward; all his life he had been careful not to point a weapon at a person. His hands and eyes were trained to look out for people, not kill them. More shots fired, burning bolts lashing at the train. He deliberately settled the sights on a stormtrooper, forcing himself to hold steady and gently squeeze the trigger. His hand spasmed open reflexively. Gritting his teeth, he aimed again... then lowered his aiming point slightly, not the torso, aim for the legs, disable the man, don't kill him... The crossbow twanged and the heavy arrow launched, cleaving the rainy air between hunter and soldier.

The soldier turned and stumbled, tripping on a rock or root before the arrow reached him. He slipped, almost fell, bending low, and the arrow flew just under the helmet, and transfixed the man's throat. White armor began to turn red, and the stormtrooper fell.

Chrondarr was frozen. He stared transfixed at what he had done. He wanted to run to the man, stop the bleeding, but his legs would not move, and he knew that it was too late, nothing he could do would bring him back now. He had taken a man's life. That was not the way of the Coynites of Skarn. That was wrong. Spirit of the soldier, be at rest... No, there was no eternity of peace for that one, he was a killer, the kind of man Chrondarr's father and grandfather had warned him not to become.

Is that what I am to become? A calloused killer of men? When I die, will my spirit find rest, or go the way I sent this man?


TAG: @galactic-vagabond422 @Bodhran777 @Mistress_Renata @TheAdmiral @Vehn @Anedon