A rescue

[tomcat]

I am not going to belabor you all with another thread to roleplay out the conversations between you all and this new contact. It is primarily Kaida that is doing all the 'talking', so Jingo feel free to divulge your plan as to how this thing is going down. The first thread has the ambush example laid out by Posterboy, if you wanna go back to that.

The bridge Skill Challenge is listed there, too, if you plan on dropping the span.



The companions met Savraan's man, Kresh, the next day. He was a huge man, tall and muscular. Kresh's arms showed the tawny color of a person that spent the better part of their day in the sun. BIT's evaluation of the rebel was that he was simple but dedicated to his objective - the overthrow of Imperial rule on Salliche. It was the kind of dedication that could muster the will to fight no matter the odds, but the level of training could make the exchange a one-sided story.

Days passed.

BIT made his way out to the countryside with Sam so that the two could test the droideka's systems. It took a few tweaks, but the droid resonded well to his new masters. It was leary to the clone to now be working alongside one of these machines that had killed so many in the wars.

Days passed.

The date of the transfer was fast approaching and the final plans were being laid out with Kresh, the bridge, and the companions. Farok spent a few credits and made use of the Force with a few in town that held positions of respnsibilty and were connected to the Imperial facility. The former jedi was able to confirm that the prisoner transfer was happening at the said time and date, but he was unable to get a manifest as to whether Kaida's sister would be among them. For this, the noblewoman from Commenor put faith in the intel that she had received from her brother those many weeks before.

[Telcontar]

  I have been letting kaida run with this story arc so far so I am here just don't have anything to add.

[Jingo]

As the time approached Kaida met with the team and went over the plan and checked their equipment.

The plan: http://rpg.avioc.org/boards/index.php/topic,1193.60.html

She told Kresh only that they needed a distraction at a certain time, but if he had more men to spare, she could use them in a different sector, their orders would be given when needed only that they would be involved in some fighting so she could use men who were solid. Oh and could he round up some explosives for them?

First thing to know is to figure out is how many ppl will we have at our disposal and what level of training will they have. Can they get us some explosives.

[GandalfOfBorg]

"Okay, we've got a notion for a plan but we need to identify all of our positions," noted BIT, indicating the imdediate group.  "For an operation like this, precision and timing is everything.  Extra help is great but this has got to work if it is just us.  We can always work out contingencies if there is more support."

[tomcat]

Hey Guys, again sorry for the delay and that I didn't include this stuff the other day.

Kresh has access to no traditional explosives, although the non-traditional kind can be created via fertilizer and ammonia.

He has a total of 32 men available to him. They are normally used for creating distractions in crowds or to incite anger and fear during rallies. These men are considered untrained in combat, although a number of them are hunters. They would be considered nonheroic level 1 PC's and though most can be armed, they have little battle experience. Kresh does have five of his people that lead the others and they would be considered nonheroic 2/soldiers 2.

Some of those 32 men will need to be used in town to create a situation.

[Jingo]

Here are my thoughts. I think we'll need more vehicles from our buddies to 1) do the car comb 2) transport prisoners we can't fit in the Arrow/Aegis to safe houses, 3) For speedy reaction.

We have 27 non trained + 5 trained leaders = 32 men from Kresh. I'm assuming they have their own small arms.

Without knowing the exact composition of the enemy, I suggest we divide the men into three teams:
Team Alpha: 9 men + 2 leaders
Team Bravo: 9 men + 2 leaders
Team Charlie: 9 men + 1 leader

I don't know how many we'll need for the actual rescue, but I suggest Teams Alpha and Bravo help with the hitting the convoy along the road, acting as flankers/scouts whatever. Team Charlie can cause a situation in town: get the populace crowd riled up, start some riots, burn some imperial govt buildings, etc. Whatever can cause a distraction and pull troops away from the real battle.

Team Alpha can blow the bridge or setup the car bomb and drive it into the lead unit as it approaches the bridge, be in charge of making sure the lead unit doesn't get across the bridge or that reinforcements from the town don't get through to the

Team Bravo can lay down covering fire while we do the rescue.

What is Kresh doing? Is he participating in the riots/attack?

Maybe we use the Droideka as a fast reaction reserve unit?

What we do as chars will be kind of fluid since we're not sure what we're up against yet, but Scott's plan will be our default.

Thoughts?

[GandalfOfBorg]

 
With the car bomb, you have 2 choices: IED-like device parked along the road to blow as the lead car passes or have it remote-controlled because no one is going to volunteer (unless they are a fanatic) to drive the car into the lead car.  With the time left, I bet BIT and/or Abby could jury-rig a slave device to a basic vehicle.  As for the bridge bomb, Sam should do that and be supported by a group along with maybe another of our party.

Order of Action for op based on your description:
1) Blow lead car with IED or take out that end of the bridge first (Alpha and/or Sam + support)
2) Speeders come up behind with cannons firing and men laying down suppression fire (Alpha at lead, Bravo at rear), neutralizing any communications is paramount.
3) Prisoners recovery *most dangerous part* (Us)
4) Blow out rear vehicle and/or blow out remaining part of bridge (Bravo and/or Sam + support)
5) Get the hell out of Dodge

[tomcat]

To answer the few questions above:

Kresh can/will certainly participate with whatever task you guys want to set him on.

His men can be armed and it won't need to come from you guys. I didn't mean to make them sound as if they are greenies off the street - it's just that heavy combat will be nothing they are used to. That said, there is a freedom fighter quality within each of them, as they feel the Empire is encroaching.

Remember you have the following assets:

2 speeder bikes that each have a laser cannon
1 Arrow speeder that has a laser cannon and grenade launcher (both can be fired at the same time, but each needs a gunner)
1 E-web cannon, although I think this was going to be mounted on the Aegis' chin as a turret
1 PLX-2M Missile launcher
3 detonite charges with 2 triggers
1 comm scrambler with its own power generator
1 droideka

plus your light arms and grenades

You have 32 men/women plus Kresh

And you guys have the party of six characters.

I think you have a good deal of resources.

I will say that trying to blow the bridge with only 3 detonite charges may be hard.

Lastly, to make a car/speeder bomb will require you guys having a car/speeder you want to sacrifice... Kresh might have some hardware, but he'll be hesitant to give it up.

[Posterboy]

THINGS OUR CHARACTERS NEED TO TAKE CARE OF PRIOR TO ENGAGEMENT

1) Acquire 1-2 Bantha-II Cargo Skiffs (or something similar) from Kresh's network for use in making some fertilizer "car-bomb"... perhaps trading the E-Web Cannon or our extra small arms for this equipment. (make us a deal, Kaida! )

Alternatively: Steal something, preferably from the Empire. This might not be a bad option... if we rig an Imperial vehicle to explode, it might make the enemy unsuspicious of the vehicle on the bridge, or lure them to come closer and check it out... either option is preferred. Kresh's network might actually have some Imperial equipment that they have taken from previous raids (stormtrooper armor or Imperial uniforms, maybe an Imperial transport truck?) ... maybe, we should just keep it simple and go with Kresh's network.

2) Acquire sufficient materials from Kresh's network to create 1-2 fertilizer bombs that will either do enough damage to destroy the bridge (preferred) or create a blockade to make the bridge impassible. If we are able to "box" as many of the escort vehicles on the bridge as possible to limit their counter assault, all the better... but the key objective is to make it impossible for the transport truck to cross the bridge.

3) Create car-bombs

4) Ensure Kresh has sufficient vehicles and safe houses lined up for participating rebel forces and freed prisoners.


PRE-AMBUSH SET-UP

1) BIT – As the expert sniper and tactician, BIT plays the pre-ambush role of "lookout"/scout/team coordinator. He finds himself a sniper nest from which he can get a great overview of the area. He keeps an eye out for the incoming prisoner convoy, communicates the size and type of the enemy forces, looks for weaknesses to exploit in enemy formation and executes the ambush by giving Abby the call blow up the skiff(s). Once the ambush is set, his role will be to disable the transport truck with his sniper rifle, either by taking out the pilot/driver, or disabling the engine/propulsion of the truck. Afterwards, taking out the heavy tank, if it is still operational, or any soft targets (especially around the transport truck) will be his mandate.

2) KAIDA – With her ability to rally troops, she is hidden under a camouflage net on the north side of the road, west of the bridge, with her droideka, a speeder bike and a contingent of Kresh's troops. The net can cover a 3x3 square, if I'm not mistaken, so the speeder bike takes 2 squares, the droideka take up 1 square, which leaves room for 6 rebels. (1 team leader and 5 regulars) When the ambush begins, she rallies the rebels before speeding out to take out the rear escort vehicles. The droideka works as disabling/destroying any heavily armed, rear guard vehicles first (tanks, or any air speeders). The rebels lay down suppression fire and attempt to take out any soft targets (troopers on the ground or on speeder bikes).

3) CADEN, SAM, and KRESH – On the south side of the road, west of the bridge, Caden, SAM and Kresh are hidden under camouflage netting, along with 5 regular rebels under Kresh's command. Caden and SAM are equipped with a speeder bike and SAM will also have the PLX-2M Missile Launcher. My hope is that's possible for Caden to pilot the speeder while SAM rides on the back and fires the missile launcher. Their objective is to knock out the heaviest escort vehicle as quickly as possible, and then supporting Abby and Farok in the rescue of the prisoners. If the truck is not destroyed, then perhaps Caden can pilot it off the road to a more discreet location (or a rendezvous point). Otherwise, the two provide suppression fire for Abby and Farok. Kresh and his men will provide suppression fire at first, and then help guide prisoners to safety.

4) FAROK and ABBY – Prior to engagement, Abby, Farok, and a contingent of rebels (1 team leader and 4 regulars) are hidden under the last remaining camouflage netting, west of the bridge, doesn't really matter with side of the road... but close to the bridge. The team leader rebel will be on the grenade launcher, Abby will pilot and fire the laser cannons. Farok will be ready to turn on the comm. scrambler. When BIT gives the orders, Abby blows the skiff(s) by remote detonator, Farok turns on the comm. scrambler and then Abby moves to engage the prisoner transport truck. The team leader uses the grenade launcher for suppression. Abby pulls alongside of the transport truck, Farok and the rebels exit out the back and attempt to disable any guards and release the prisoners. Kaida's sister and Abby's father are moved into the Arrow and whisked away to safety.
 
5) ADDITIONAL REBELS – So far, we've used up 14 regular rebels, 2 team leaders, and Kresh. I could see 2-4 rebels (1 team leader and 3 regulars), prior to the engagement, park one vehicle on the bridge, and then head to a place west of the bridge, hidden a little ways away, equipped with transport trucks to escort freed prisoners and rebel forces to safe houses.

The remaining 2 team leaders and 10 regular rebels would be used to create a distraction in town. Depending on our needs, we may want to consider giving them one of our blocks of detonate and a manual trigger for their efforts.


THE AMBUSH EXECUTED...

STEP #1: Blockade the Bridge[/b]

a) BIT gives the signal for Kresh's in-town forces to begin causing distraction.

b) Once that order is confirmed, BIT gives the signal to execute ambush.

c) ABBY blows the Skiff.

d) FAROK turns on communication scrambler.

These steps happen one after the other


STEP #2: Attack Convoy

a) BIT attempts to 1) disable the lead vehicle of the convoy, or 2) the prisoner truck.

b) KAIDA rallies troops, and then begins to destroy the "lighter" rear guard escorts with her speeder.

c) The DROIDEKA attempts to destroy the "heavier" rear guard escorts or any flying targets and protect Kaida.

d) KAIDA's REBELS provide suppression fire and attempt to take out soft rear-guard targets.

e) CADEN and SAM attack any of the "heavier" escort vehicles, especially the tank.

f) KRESH and HIS REBELS provide suppression fire and move to help free prisoners.

g) ABBY and FAROK and THEIR REBELS attempt to disable prisoner truck and free prisoners.

All of these steps happen simultaneously.

STEP #3: Rescue Prisoners

a) Once all hostile forces have been eliminated, ABBY turns off communication scrambler.

b) KRESH gives the order for his troops to bring in the transport vehicles for prisoners.

c) CADEN and SAM leave immediately (after leaving the missile launcher with the Arrow) for the ship to get it ready for take-off.

d) BIT takes Kaida's speeder and also heads back to the ship, in case there is any trouble.

e) KAIDA, FAROK, ABBY, KAIDA's SISTER, ABBY's FATHER (if present) and the DROIDEKA take the Arrow land speeder to back to the ship. In addition, any "illegal" equipment is also stored in the back (missile launcher, for instance... or we donate it to the cause on Salliche?). Kaida will administer any first aid required.


STEP #4: Get the Ship Outta Dodge!

Once we've all arrived at the ship, CADEN engages thrusters and gets us outta here. Maybe have people at their stations in case we have to deal with any trouble. 

[Posterboy]

One more thing to note... BIT or ABBY may want to note to Kresh and the other rebels (maybe everyone), to avoid bunching together... a group of soft targets is very attractive to a tank's concussion missiles. 

[Posterboy]

"Okay, we've got a notion for a plan but we need to identify all of our positions," noted BIT, indicating the imdediate group.  "For an operation like this, precision and timing is everything.  Extra help is great but this has got to work if it is just us.  We can always work out contingencies if there is more support."

Abby nodded her head, "BIT's right... especially if we've looking at temporarily knocking out communications in the area, we're all going to need to know what we're doing."

Pressing a button on the holo projector, the technician brought up an overview of the area surrounding the bridge. "I've been studying SAM's photos of the area, the maps and the tech specs of what we're likely to face. The way I see it, I'd suggest we... "

[OOC: insert plan laid out above.]

The Arkanian woman had a grim look of determination as she met eyes with the others around the room. "What do you think?"

[tomcat]

Very nice posts!

[sdrotar]

  Spectacular, Posterboy. Amazing stuff. 

Caden's OK with the plan - he's a solid-enough pilot and he and SAM are simpatico.
He'd recommend not trying to swipe anything from the Empire, though - no reason to risk any increase in security before we try this...

[Jingo]

Kaida nodded at Abby's plan. The Arkanian had a solid head for tactics. That was a wonderful asset, but Kaida wondered if her friend had not been entirely open about her past. But she let it go. She trusted Abby and the plan made good sense.

"Excellent points, Abby. I also agree with Caden about not stealing imp vehicles. We can't afford to risk attracting undue attention. Kresh, can you provide one or two cargo skiffs and the needed explosive materials?" ( Let me know if I need to roll persuade or anything for this. We can also try to purchase some used junkers if we have the funds. I'd like to keep the E-Web, if possible. If it's not yet on the Aegis, let's use it in the attack.)

She felt that pre-battle churn in her gut as the plans solidified and they sandboxed the convoy attack under the cool metallic ceiling of the Aegis. Hours ticked by. Each person learned his or her role and Kaida spent her time memorizing the map and the plan and each person's role in that plan, as if that would ensure success.

But Kaida remembered the other battle plans, the other operations where things went awry, the smells of laser blasts charring skin and flesh. The bitter taste of her tears. The fallen: Britto, Logar, and finally Brim. She prayed no others of their team would be added to that list. Her thoughts turned to her family. Of her dead brother and father. Of the people of Commenor living under Imperial rule. But her team, they were her new family.

"Let's do it," she said, looking at them in turn.

Other thoughts about plan. We'll go with Abby's adjustments on team assignments.
Also, I don't think the Droideka is going to be able to take out any hardened tank-like vehicle. Soft vehicles and humanoid targets, yes.

[Posterboy]

Other thoughts about plan. We'll go with Abby's adjustments on team assignments.
Also, I don't think the Droideka is going to be able to take out any hardened tank-like vehicle. Soft vehicles and humanoid targets, yes.

Good question about the droideka's fire power. Doug, what's the weapon specs on Kaida's new toy? (or where can they be found?) If I'm not mistaken, those blaster cannons do decent damage. I thought they were almost like E-web blasters on their arms

On that note, we could also hook one of the rebels up with the E-web. It's stationary, and will likely be one of the first targets hit do to it's threat level, so... dangerous to whoever is manning it... but it might add a bit more punch.

The other tricky bit will be "setting up" without being seen. Not sure how best to do this... maybe take up positions the night before?