PROLOGUE: Transit

[tomcat]

Drip. Drip. Drip.

The sound was driving him crazy! Somewhere in this box was a condenser that leaked. He had been genetically engineered by the cloners on Kamino to have acute senses - more adept at hearing and seeing - but the boon on the battlefield became a terrible annoyance between missions. TC-1002, Longshot to his fellow clones, pinched his temples with one outstretched hand. The cloners had also told them that they might suffer some things due to their accelerated growth and bio-engineered abilities - Longshot assumed headaches were what they meant. His eyes were closed as he lay in the makeshift cot within what would normally be a cargo pod. Around him in similar type bunks were the rest of his squad, the Derecho Squad. With them was their assigned Padawan from the Jedi Temple, a man named Martel. The young Jedi was good and had earned the respect of his Clone Trooper squad, as well as shown them respect in kind. They all worked well together.

The pod smelled of lifter lubricant and many other unnamed odors from cargo that may have been packed in here before. Now the modified cargo pod was restructured for stealth. It began a week prior when Derecho Squad was on stand down after a hellish fight on the forested moon, Yavin 4. They had had a direct impact on the engagement through their interdiction of enemy planet-side troop re-supply. Longshot and his companions had hit more rear echelon support vehicles than the Confederacy could keep up with replacing and so helped bring the conflict to an end, instead of a bloody stand-off. The Republic could not afford any battles to bog down; there were not enough assets available to allow for the attrition. But that was what the Derecho Squad specialized in – small support engagements to scatter and subvert enemy actions – and they did it well.

One of his companions stood and he took his hand from his eyes to see it was Haywire – the teams demo expert. Haywire also excelled at slicing and hacking most defense computers and networks. The other members were Mitts, the team doc, and finally Sergeant Booth. The sarge presently was fast asleep in his cot. Longshot wondered how that was possible, but Booth had told them to use the down time to get rest. He was following his own orders well enough.

After Yavin 4, they had been pulled out and lifted to orbit where a waiting Republic Cruiser, the Argon Star, carried them away. The team spent two days on the Corellian Consular-class ship where they received their new orders and finally, in the morning of day three, rendezvoused with a beat up Wayfarer-class hauler. The Wayfarers were strange looking vessels that carried their freight in detachable pods along their port-side. The pod that this hauler had come for was specially redesigned to allow for team Derecho to infiltrate and drop to planet-side where their new objective laid waiting.

More to come, but my daughter woke up and now I need to sit with her and try and get her back to sleep.

[tomcat]

The Argon Star, though not a passenger cruise vessel, was a far cry more accommodating then what the men dealt with now. Once on board, they had had a chance to get some down time, to clean up, and to shake the webs of violence that each had endured on the forested moon.

Once rested they had met with Republic Ops Command and were told of the next mission. Along the Braxant Run, a hyper lane that extended off of the Hydian Way, was a series of three planetary systems that extended from Republic controlled space into that of the Confederacy. The Braxant Run was well-traveled by free merchants but it was also a route that the Republic Grand Army needed to keep both open for travel and also free of snooper stations that could monitor any transitting ships. Within the three planetary systems were planets, or planetoids, that had large sensor installations that monitored the Run through all spectrums of energy, light, and sub-space resonance. The sensors were able to track any inbound flights of ships and follow them the length of the transit of the hyper lane.

The third planetary system was the target. Not only was there a sensor installation there, but also was a subspace booster that allowed for galactic holo-imaging and transmitting of data. If that particular installation was taken off line, the area of Confederate controlled space would be blind for a long enough period that the Republic Navy could get ships in unnoticed and begin to make real headway. Confederacy systems like Mygeeto and Muunilinst could be threatened.

That was where Derecho came into the plan. By specially outfitting a cargo pod, the team would be transported in by a free merchant agent of the Republic and then dropped off over the planet of Plinth where the boosting sensor station lay in wait. The engineers had been busy in designing the teams special ops pod. It would have limited flight capability so that the descent into the atmosphere on Plinth would be possible. It had been fitted with a limited environment for the men that would last for five days - as long as they were planetside by the end of the time, they would be safe; if not then they would perish as the vacuum of frigid space would make the interior uninhabitable. The team would also have an Aratech Arrow-23 landspeeder that was trimmed out with a heavy laser cannon and added armor. Finally, the pod was installed with a transmitter that would give off a false sensor read to any scanner that might try to analyze it and hide all bio-readings. The false read would show that the pod was full stocked with scrap trillium - a semi-valuable metal that was used in most consumer wares.

The Wayfarer-class hauler's name was Sarin's Pride, though whomever Sarin was and why they would be proud was unknown. Her captain was a young Corellian woman whose name was Jaena. She was a free merchant, but was also an operative for the Republic Intelligence Service. Her loyalty to the Galactic Republic was nothing to doubt. And so Jaena sat in her small command cockpit flying the Sarin's Pridge on a trajectory that would pass a asteroid belt that surrounded the Plinth planetary system. These asteroids were not made up of huge pieces of stone but consisted mainly of large pieces of ice. Once near the asteroid belt, she would release the cargo pod and then the Derecho team would imitate an asteroid that was pulled, or bumped out of its standard orbit and now would fall to the surface of Plinth. It was not uncommon for this to occur and the large chunks of ice would just burn up within the atmosphere or impact with little effect. Because of this, the inhabitants of Plinth paid it little heed.

Now the team was getting rest. They were still in hyperspace flight but if all went as planned, the morning would come with their release from Sarin's Pride. That would give them twenty-four more hours to make the twelve hour gravitational drop to Plinth. It was cutting it close, but team Derecho had yet to see an easy day in this army.

Longshot squeezed his temples once more and closed his eyes - somehow he would follow his officer's orders and get some sleep. After all, in another twenty-four hours they would be wishing that sleep would be an option. He lay there and thought about their mission. They needed to infiltrate the relay station, blow it, and then escape. Once out of the target zone, they needed to trek over at least 100 miles of open terrain until they came to the small space port of Krastor Town. There they would rendezvous once more with Captain Jaena who would see about getting them off the planet. It would be fun.

He relaxed and let his thoughts wander to something else. The sad thing was in his short lifespan thus far, he knew little else but war.

[tomcat]

Feel free to add any narrative or dialogue for your PC's. I will have the first primary story post up tonigt or tomorrow.

[GandalfOfBorg]

Martel couldn't clear his mind to remain in his meditative trance.  He mused this must be a Jedi's version of insomnia.   He'd already been up and about reviewing the mission and its specs, checking on his men, and the ship.  What was getting to him... this time?  He promised himself that this time he would contact Master Ki-Adi-Mundi about some help.  After a brief set of calisthenics, he gave upon the Jedi way and settled in for some normal sleep, restless though it was.

[Callowmoryne]

It was still the better part of an hour before he found sleep again. Occasionally as he lay there his eyes would wander from the pods bulkhead above his bunk to gear cluttered area they all shared. Dsquad was the best of the best in his mind. His teammates were solid troopers he trusted without hesitation, he saw the jedi Martel finish up a quick workout. Solid as well longshot thought, he was quick and lethal and showed no fear in a pinch. He had heard and seen enough to know Martel was an exception among the padawans charged with leading troopers squads. In longshots opinion it was enough to say the jedi didn't go around acting like he had a vibroblade up his arse. "Ungh" he groaned and rolled over, some nights his keen senses could be a bitch colder than space. Somewhere between the drips and and the cacophony of smells the pressure in his temples eased and he drifted off. His last conscious thought. He couldn't wait for some action. It would come faster if he got some rest.

[tomcat]

Great guys!

Hey John, just as a note - I don't necessarily want to force your hand with things like Longshot having headaches. I just think about the idea of the accelerated growth of these cloned soldiers and that there has to be some quirks that they suffer. Do you know what I mean? Also, I don't want to convey that Longshot has supra-human abilities perception-wise, but that that was the focus that the bio-engineers stressd on him (hence your traits that you have) - so, he is just good at that stuff.

Anyway, you know what to do so run with it and have fun!

We have two more players joining us that will fill the last two characters in the team - I will get you guys more info shortly.

[deadpool]

  Hi. New player here. I'll be Mitts the medic. Tom, the stats are great. I'll just keep them as they are. Let me know if I have to do anything else. Also, heads up, not a native English speaker, so forgive me if I make some mistakes along the way.

Seeing his restless teammates, Mitts couldn't help but to feel a little bit concern. He knew it was only natural that they were awake given their situation, but he also knew that their bodies were going to be put through a lot of stress in the next hours and they would need all the energy they could muster.
"Come on. Get some sleep" he said to Longshot "I don't wanna be patchin' you up just 'cause you fell asleep in front of a tank." He smiled trying to convey he was just joking and hoping that would relax his comrade.

[Posterboy]

Just prior to heading to sleep...

Booth sat in the pilot's seat within the modified cargo pod, staring a little longer at the 3D images in front of him. Holo images of Plinth with stat data, atmospheric temperature and pressure estimates, design plans for the sensor and booster station, reports of suspected enemy troop strength, and terrain images all rotated through. The sergeant had just reviewed the material with the rest of Derecho, told them to sleep on it and that they'd be gathering two hours prior their projected drop time to come up with a solid plan.

The squad knew Booth well enough by now that the sergeant was no lone ranger and believed each member of the squad needed to contribute to any action plan. While they each had their roles to play, when it came time to plan, Booth would often lay out as much intel as he had on their objective and then let the team work out the details on how to carry out the mission.

It often started with Longshot, giving details about the lay of the land, mapping the best land route to and from the target, identifying any initial targets that would need to be eliminated, and pointing out where he would likely take up overwatch. Haywire would give information on suspected enemy electronic security features that would need to be brought off-line, structural data on the target and insight into where the squad would need to lay down some explosives, along with an estimated timeline on completing the work. Mitts would likely point out locations and timelines of enemy troop reinforcements, hazardous chokepoints, and places of refuge should Derecho find themselves in trouble. Martel and Booth added their thoughts where they saw necessary.

Booth reviewed the material one more time before shutting down the holoprojector. He had told his men to get some sleep. It was time for him to follow his own orders. Getting to the bunks, the sergeant soon settled in his bed. Others were still awake, but he didn't bother with nagging... he knew each man would get the rest when it came. No use trying to force it.

For the sergeant, though, sleep, when it was allowed, always came easy. Booth could force, could will his body to sleep. Given two minutes, the man could relax his muscles and mind well enough to rest. The sergeant actually welcomed the sleep, for he knew his mind was continuing to work through the intel on the mission while he slept, making connections and formulating plans unconsciously while his body relaxed. He often found that his best thinking and planning came together soon after he awoke. So, he slept soundly through the quiet noise of his brethren looking to quiet internal noise.

[Stefan]

Hammer sat on his bunk at the rear of the storage container.  He'd done the PMCS on his weapons and was looking through his specs at the datapad on his lap trying to memoprize the details of the plan and the intel on the planet when Booth came in and laid down.  The Jedi had fallen into a fitful sleep and it looked like the rest were following suit. 

He turned the pad off and folded his readers.  As he put them away he pondered again the odds against him at this point.  He thought back to the conversations with the medical personell back on Kamino, they didn't say that they were going to destroy him, but he'd known other failed clones and he knew what happened to them.  He'd hidden his shortcoming from them till he was full grown, in fear that he would meet the same fate.  After weeks of deliberation he was told that because it did not affect his combat ability he would be allowed to continue his training.  They'd watched him intensely but he'd excelled, making sure they had no reason to doubt him.  Now here he was, defending the republic.  He laid down and relaxed, tomorrow would bring hell but today he was where he needed to be.

[Zilfallion]

Haywire stood up against one of the corners of the storage container.  They'd been in here a while and he'd long since checked over all his gear, but he wanted to make sure everything about the facility was in his mind and fresh, so he was going over all the data they'd had on the station on his bracer computer.  This was his kind of mission and he'd make sure to get it done.  In his mind, there was no messing up for him, it was either do it or let his team down, which meant there was really only one option.  Once he was done, he'd turn off the computer and notice the rest of the team was mostly asleep.  A couple steps later over to his bunk he decided to follow suit, relaxed knowing he was with his team.

I don't suppose we're getting any special ordinance?  With only 2 reels of detonite cord I'll have to improvise once we reach the facility most likely.  Maybe see if I can overload any generators.  (Sorry for quick post, have to run for a few hours)

[tomcat]

I am still getting this game spooled up so there will definitely be more info regarding the target and the equipment load out that Derecho will have available. You guys will be telling me essentially what you want once I give the complete mission parameters (i.e. planet info, power info, anticipated enemy forces, etc.)

For the new guys, any Out-Of-Character posts - if you will please use maroon to color the text. I use navy for the good guys, red for the enemies when I do dice rolling. You guys don't have to worry about accenting your in character dialogue with bold or colors.

Thanks!

I will post again in a bit with more game stuff - just dealing with some crap at the office.

[Callowmoryne]

  yay this is gonna be fun. Welcome new players