Unexpected aid

[tomcat]

It took another thirty minutes before Caden was ready to move the Aegis. They had to remove the dead man's body, and then the ship needed to go through its warm up procedures for start up. If he had been sitting on a flight pad hooked to a generator that kept his sublight drives primed it would have been a lot easier, but they were on a rock plateau on the Outer Rim of the known galaxy.

The Weequay pirate took the seat next to him and Caden watched him as he made himself comfortable in the copilot seat. He set his blaster down, but not far from his hand, so that he could get the Aegis in the air. There was a loud whine as the repulsors came up to power and the dust on the ground was stirred into a cloud around them. The Loronar responded like a fighter with her new propulsions and Caden applied forward motion. He flew the vessel at the nape of planet level allowing the terrain to hide her from any potential sensor systems that might be looking.

The flight to the Weequay's ship took no more than twenty minutes and Caden first hovered over the area looking for any apparent threats. With nothing observed, he brought his ship to land gracefully next to a large boxy-looking freighter. From his flight deck, the Bestinian could see the damage on the Weequay pirate's ship and knew that it would never fly again without a drydock.

[sdrotar]

"I'm not stocked for re-supply, but I can offer your crew a hot meal and some drink," Caden suggested.
He was extremely cautious of the man, of course, but even out here, among privateers, a deal was usually a deal.

The Weequay hadn't given any indication that he wasn't pleased with his part of it, either.

[tomcat]

The Weequay gave the same creepy smile and nodded, "Food and water will be good to get them back on their feet."

The pirate stood and waited until Caden was out of his seat and weapon back in hand, and then the two walked the long hall from the flight deck to the ladder down to deck 1. There Caden dropped the landing ramps and opened the airlocks. Cold air was felt as the night on Tantau II was revealed.

Once outside, Caden saw the remainder of the Weequay's crew approaching. They were armed with a myriad of weapons - from blaster pistols to a spear. The Bestinian wondered if he still had the advantage.

The ragtag crew came to where the duo stood and stared. One spoke, "Where is Lem?"

The Weequay commander answered, "He didn't make it. Took a bite from a strange looking critter on the crossing and ended up choking on his own bile. Nothing I could do for him." Caden watched the other commander and saw that even in his own ship of pirates, trust was an issue. "Anyway... we have a way off this rock if were willin' and we might come out the richer!" That gained everyones attention and distracted them from Caden who had been feeling like prey being leered at by a hungry predator.

And so, the Weequay went into the details of what Caden offered and what would be expected of them. To his pleasure, the pirates were all on board. He slipped his blaster into its holster, but his hand never strayed far.



Give me a synopsis of your plan, Shawn and we'll RP it out from there.

[sdrotar]

  Sorry for the delay here - I think I stumped myself and couldn't un-paint myself out of the corner. 

"We fly in low, get within as short a hike to that base as possible. By now, the troops inside will be... occupied," Caden said.
"Pester them, ask for aid again, whatever - but when that undermanned guard answers your call, it should be easy enough to storm the place - or create enough confusion that you can raid it for supplies."

Caden knew this part would sell the rather sketchy band of men he now carried aboard his ship, though he wasn't sure he wanted to know why, after remembering the Weequay's cat-bird grin.

"I just want my people out - they'll be bringing a guest. Whatever else is in there is yours - have at it."

He offered a warning. "This isn't a battlecruiser; I can't offer air support or a ride back - once I have my people onboard, I'm leaving. But whatever's in there, for what's it's worth, I hope it makes y'all rich."

Caden managed a smile and a joke. "And if it does, when you speak of me, speak well. Happy hunting."

[tomcat]

Okay Shawn, I am going to move time with this thread and fill it in with narrative.



The night sky was filled with stars though the horizon was haloed with light from Tantau above. Caden sat on his ship's bridge watching as the pirates devoured the rations that he had extended to them. He still had no desire to have them on boards, and so he kept the Aegis secured - after all, trust could go only so far on this small rock.

He sat quietly listening to the hint of static that came through the ship's antennas. Caden needed to hear something from his friends. To know that they were alive. All he knew was that it was Britton's intention to make the attack in the early hours of morning... which were now. So, if all had gone well, then the team would be making the insertion now. Or maybe they already had and were waiting for him to come... or maybe they were dead. The silence was maddening and Caden thought that a better communication plan should have been put in place.

The Bestinian looked back outside the canopy and watched as the Weequay commander spoke to his five remaining crew. They were arming themselves with blaster pistols and crude weapons of their own make. His feet up on his flight console, Caden leaned back and left his new allies to their own. His eyes closed and without intention, he drifted off to sleep.

CLUNK! BAM!

Caden jerked awake. He looked around unaware at first where he was. The only thing he was aware of was that his feet were tingling from lack of blood flow and that his neck was aching from his irregular sleep position. His mind now clear, he looked to what might have caused the noise and saw the pirates jumping up and down outside, trying to get his attention. Another picked up the small metal bucket and heaved it at his ship's cockpit canopy once more.

CLUNK!

It banged against the window and Caden shouted out, tired frustrated, "STOP IT!"

Clasping his gun belt to his waist, he quickly ran down the access corridor of his ship and then down to the first deck. He opened the landing ramp and airlock only to see the Weequay commander standing at its base. "Where have you been?" asked the pirate. "The alarm has been sounding for almost fifteen minutes."

In the distance, Caden could barely perceive the sound, but it was there - a long droning alarm. The prison was sounding the attack.

Suddenly his wristband comlink that was tied into the Aegis's comm system squelched, "Guns disab...<squueeee>...headed to the <hizzzzzzzz>...pick up"

[sdrotar]

  Literally falling asleep on the job, huh? Well, that's embarrassing!

"Son of a..." Caden cursed himself - how could he let that happen?

"It's time," he shouted to the Weequay. "Let's go!"

The Aegis' thrusters roared to life and Caden rocketed his ship dangerously over the rocky plain. He allowed himself a moment to feel the thrill of being at his own ship's controls again - it had been far too long.

[tomcat]

The Aegis flew close to the ground as it soared towards the prison facility. Caden had his passive sensor's status on his console to make sure he knew if and when his ship might be spiked. The sensor array was only detecting a huge amount of electronic noise that was being pumped into the area by the huge antenna and dish array that sat outside the facility. Hopefully the Imperials had created their own problem and would not be detecting any approaching ship.

As they approached, the dark night sky behind the prison allowed the inner facility light to show Caden that all three turrets were smoking. If anything, the team had shutdown the prison's primary defenses. With this knowledge, the Bestinian felt a bit more confident and took his ship up higher into the air. A thought began to come to mind. What if he could get his landing ramp just over those balcony turrets? The pirates could hop down and have easy access into the prison.

[sdrotar]

The  A thought began to come to mind. What if he could get his landing ramp just over those balcony turrets? The pirates could hop down and have easy access into the prison.

"Looks like their turrets are out," Caden called back to the Weequay commander. "I can drop you right on top of the facility if you want - but I'll have to come in hot and get out fast. I need to know now."

He remembered the Weequay's grin and guessed which one he'd take, as he angled the Aegis toward the roof, ever mindful of his scanners.

[tomcat]

The Weequay yelled in reply, "Just get me over those balconies! We'll do the rest."

Caden gave a nod. It would take a bit of smooth maneuvering, but he could do it. He hit the control button on his flight panel that began to lower the starboard landing ramp. An alarm klaxon began to warn him of the ship's potential integrity loss and control surfaces being muddled with. He ignored it and began to bring the ship in close to the facility. Caden quickly swung her to port exposing the starboard landing ramp over the balcony. He used the lower gun turret camera to guide himself, all the while manipulating the lateral and hover thrusters.

It wasn't that easy after all. The loronar was a big ship and not meant to do precision hovering and maneuvers.



Caden needs to give me a Pilot test DC 18... if successful you may post dialogue to order the Weequay to go. If not, you'll need to bring the ship around for another time and the DC will increase by +2. Each Pilot test will fall into the order of rounds now starting at Round 9.

[sdrotar]

Pilot Test (DC 18); Caden's Pilot Skill +10
Roll(1d20)+10:17,+10 Total:27 - SUCCESS

******

The Aegis was a freighter, not a fighter, and she acted like it, but Caden still knew his own ship like the back of his hand. Deftly bringing her in low, the Aegis pivoted as Caden brought the vessel over the top of the prison and then spun it like a top, so that the landing ramp could drop only a scant meter over the roof, an easy jump for the privateers.

"She's all yours," Caden shouted.

[tomcat]

Through his comm, Caden heard the Weequay mutter one last comment, "Good luck."

On the landing ramp, the pirate commander leapt to the balcony, rolling as he hit the hard duracrete landing. Behind him, his crewmen began to do the same. To Falken Wright, it was the most unimaginable thing he had ever seen.

The ISB officer had been running through the storage hall with his team of stormtroopers, coming at last into the hall that led into the administrative control area. From the turret balcony, a high-pitched whine of repulsors deafened the room and gusts of hot jet wash blew into their faces. Then the pirates began to leap into his prison facility. More invaders?!

With the last pirate gone, Caden hit the accelerator and the Aegis quickly lurched forward and away from the prison. He pushed a button to bring the landing ramp up and then brought the ship up to a comfortable cruising altitude and slowly did figure eights over the facility. The lower turret camera watched for any potential threats or allies, the cannon moving and targeting everywhere that Caden looked.



All right Shawn, you are now listed in Round 10 and will perform any actions and dialogue there.

[Telcontar]

  I gotta say....I thought this was a fool's errand thread. WOW.....Freakin AWESOME!