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The night had passed quickly and the team roused one after the other as each heard the broken stillness in the pod. Most felt refreshed from the rest, but a couple still lagged from the constant activity since Yavin 4. Well, maybe it could be called the inactivity - the hurry-up-and-wait effect that could sap a man's energy due to the anxiety of inaction. Still, none of team Derecho showed the other that they were not ready and at 100% for the mission at hand. They checked their chronometers and saw there was enough time to consult their data plans again and to go through their equipment load out.

Booth took the pilot seat once more and began the start up process for the pod. It was connected to the Pride's power core to provide light and heat during their hyperspace flight, but soon they would be released and the reconfigured pod would have to maneuver via its own engines. It was a small sublight system that would give Booth the ability to fly the thing and control the drop to planet-side. He tapped a button and watched as green lights came up on his screen. That was good - their flying can's engine was beginning its warm up.

Behind the Sergeant, Longshot and Mitts squeezed past the Arrow speeder that was chained in place within the pod to the crate behind it. Mitts depressed a numeric pattern on the keypad and it hissed open. Within the crate was the team's gear - all their personal weapons were secured in a rack that sat on top of everything else they would need: computer spikes, datapads, electrobinoculars, medpacs, and more. Contained safely within, too, was Haywire's explosives.

The slicer specialist was in the center of the pod, just behind Booth along with Hammer and Jalobar. The trio tried to comfortably squeeze themselves around a small fold out table that had an open case across it. Projected from the case's flat surface was a holo-image of their target and the planet's geo-data. Plinth was essentially a pastoral planet that swept around its star within the habitable zone. It was blanketed with a breathable atmosphere of nitrogen and oxygen and had mass enough to provide a standard gravity that the men would be used to. Why the planet had not been colonized by more than just free merchants, pirates, and smugglers was a wonder. Of the three planets in the chain of sensor stations, Plinth provided everything that a society would need to flourish - both a proper flora and fauna.

But the three men did not have any desire to debate the reasons why Plinth was not a major populated world within the expanse of the galaxy. All they were concerned with was the large sensor relay and power boosting station that sat along its equatorial line. The structures were atop a rocky dome surrounded by miles of flat grasslands. Other small mountains of bare, sand-colored rock were scattered across these plains in no particular pattern that would show plate tectonics. Instead these domes must have been formed by subterranean pressures bulging up and pushing the rocky sub-surface through the grasslands.

The image of the power station was three-dimensional, but was drawn like a schematic and showed a sub-surface conduit that plunged down deep into the dome on which the structure sat. It was determined that the power station tapped into the geo-thermal energy of Plinth. Haywire looked the schematic over - it was all speculative, but the Republic engineers who designed these power stations told the Republic Army High Command that Derecho team would most likely find a power supply system within like the one displayed. If it was the case, then the explosives expert didn't need to haul a ton of explosives into the sensor station to destroy it. The boosting station was already full of energy that it used to amp up the signals it sent to and from its sister sensor relays. That energy could be harnessed and used to destroy itself. Haywire had two options: plant the explosives he did have to cause damage to key cooling systems and thus create an overload, or to slice into the control systems and shut down the coolers. Either way, the power station would go critical and blow the top of the mountain off - destroying itself and the sensor station that sat next to it.

While Haywire read system specs, Hammer and Jalobar busied themselves discussing the potential threats that would be present. There was no estimate as to any garrison that might be guarding the station, but the Confederacy itself, like the Republic, was hard pressed to keep troops on the front lines. The only hard intel they had from the free merchants that brought news from CIS territory, and this planet in particular, was that a large, shadowy reptilian humanoid was in charge of the station. Word was that there were both battle droids and soldiers present but no one was allowed to get close to the relay station. Finally, the pastoral grasslands were teeming with great herds of bovine-type animals but these brought the many predators - some indigenous and some that had been introduced into Plinth's ecology.

A voice suddenly filled the pods confines, "It's time. Prepare for release in three...two...one."

CLUNK!

The team felt the pod shake as it was let go from the Wayfarer. Jaena had brought the Sarin's Pride in towards Plinth, after dropping out of hyperspace, using the planet's shadow to guard against the large sensor relay detecting her. She flew her ship into the mass of tumbling chunks of ice and stone and released the converted cargo pod. Once done, she activated her ships tractor beams and grabbed two of the huge pieces of ice and dragged them out of the beltway in which they circled both Plinth and her star. Jaena pulled the asteroids until the planet's gravity grabbed them and began to pull. These would provide additional cover for team Derecho as they fell to the planet's surface. With her part of the mission performed, Jaena pointed her ship back the way she came so that she might fly a normal path to Plinth and the little port town of Krastor.

Again it became a game of waiting. Booth used the pods maneuvering jets to get into a flight path with the large asteroids, using them to shadow their own presence. Even if they were detected, it would be like three chunks of ice had broken free and were now starting their short trip to burn up in the astmosphere. Everything went as planned - the pod began to buck as it hit Plinth's robust atmosphere and Booth did little but let the ship fall. He couldn't guide it well until the speed was significantly reduced, but even then it would be a metal box falling to the ground. Once he had piloted it so that the pod wouldn't skip off the atmosphere, he concentrated on covering as much distance towards the relay station as he could without drawing any major attention.

With a teeth rattling impact, the pod came to a halt. Booth's control panel had shorted and smoke and sparks filled the interior. The other clone troopers quickly began to do their tasks - opening the pod, securing the perimeter and once safe, unloading the equipment. The Arrow was unchained, its engines activated and then pushed out of the pod. It now hovered within the waist-high grass that surrounded their landing site. The relay station was one hundred and forty klicks from their position - a good two to three hours by the speeder, more if they approached on foot. Derecho team continued to unload their gear, strap on their armor, load up the speeder, and slap power packs into their personal weapons.

Booth took out a hand-held holo-projector and activated it. An admiral of the Republic Navy appeared and spoke:

QuoteTO: Sergeant Booth and Commander Martel Jalobar
FROM: Republic Navy Fleet Ops, Fleet Admiral Desaul
Team Derecho, SpecOps ARC team-16, is to transit immediately to the Generis Sector along the Braxant Run where you will make planet fall on the third world known as Plinth, which orbits the star PL-IVc. Once landed, you will conduct immediate operations to destroy the CIS sensor relay and power boost station that sits on the equatorial line of the planet.
ROE: the Republic is currently at war with these Separatist planets and all actions are permitted to see your task completed. Team Derecho has full autonomy and may act in whatever accordance needed to complete its mission - all subjects are expendable but said assets are best expended at the price of success.

AD VICTORIUM

:ooc: Okay, as I said the team has their vehicle with a blaster cannon mounted on it.

Now, except for what we have on the PC sheets, if there is any other specialized equipment desires (i.e. this is what is stored in the weapons locker), let me know.

Zil, I am still considering the CI scopes.

 :ooc:hey Doug, the pod is just jettison at this point right? Its useless to us and are we to far away from our objective to worry about booby trapping it or some such?


Longshot checked over his gear. Double checked his rifle. He spared a glance at the rest of his squad and couldn't help but smile. Imagining some poor locals or separatist forces seeing team Derecho plunging over a hill guns blazing. The mental image gave him a chuckle to go with that smile. He quickly swallowed that prideful thought. Yes they were the best. But even the best had bad runs. Anything could happen out here. He needed to focus on the mission. Take nothing for granted. That was how they survived. He was damn sure glad he had a crew like Dsquad.

Martel shook his head, "All for the glory of the Republic." This time their contempt and lack of empathy wasn't so thinly veiled for their troops, he thought.  One last check over his pack and other gear, he fell into a routine he had established early on.  Calling out to the force to quiet his center, he stretched out his senses to get a lay of the land and maybe some insight that had been lacking before.  This installation and how it was situated bugged him -- the CIS never made anything as easy as it seemed -- and in the back of his mind he continued to ponder the intel and lack thereof on the environs.  Finished with his ritual, "Saddle up!" he called.

:ooc:
:00:

Longshot looked at the pod that had carried them to the surface. It was scored from the heat but still very intact, most of its electronics still active within and quite capable of betraying their presence. But this was a smugglers' planet and it was said that the wilds were littered with cargo pods from the many illicit trades, or deals gone bad. It didn't matter though - once they were done, Longshot knew that Booth would trigger the white phosphorous incendiary charges that laced all the pods equipment and blow them to non-existence. All that would be found would be a burnt out husk of a cargo pod that anyone would assume had been dumped by a pirate trying to escape the law. Caught in the planet's gravity it burnt up on entry.

No worries.

What never entered the mind of the clone trooper was the fact that the team had literally just ridden a flying bomb to Plinth's surface... no worries.

Martel caught his breath as the Force immersed him in the life energy of Plinth. He felt a mass of energy, not far from their position, and though it was made up of many it seemed as if it was one huge living thing. The mass moved like the wind over the grassland covering it for kilometers. In a moment its head would shift course and all behind it would move in that direction - it was amazing.

The Jedi knew what he felt. Plinth had an indigenous creature that locals called paloo-beasts. Hoofed, grazing animals that stood a man's height at their shoulder. They were hunted for their meat, skin, hooves and horns - but never had they been domesticated. Hunting was an inappropriate word, he corrected himself. The paloos roamed in massive herds that any predator could easily follow and snag a weak and lagging beast. Martel told himself to warn the men to be careful. If a herd suddenly began to move in their direction, they could be caught up in a mess - especially if the animals decided to halt around them. It was said that they could rest for days.

 :ooc:

Doug:Booth's load-out is good... maybe add a jetpack. See below. Also, a camo sheet for the Arrow to hide it when we're not driving. I imagine this to be kept in the Arrow, not on Booth.

Team: I'm thinking the best approach might be to follow alongside the river until we are within 1 km. Perhaps one approach would be to get jet packs for each of us, pop up the back side, land on roof, dispatch the enemy, make our way inside. We are all trained in Pilot, so that's great news. However, we'd also likely have to drop a bunch of our equipment due to weight restrictions. Jet packs are also quite loud, so no element of surprise.

Another, quieter option would be to use syntherope and grapple darts and scale the 30 m back side of the complex. I'd suggest our S-5's, but I don't think they hold enough syntherope. (Doug?)

Another option (not sure if this is legit game mechanics) would be for Martel to use "move object" to send a couple team members up to the roof top. They secure the area, send down syntherope to the others.

Otherwise, this looks like a long and costly uphill battle. Perhaps, we could use our S-5s to bounce up each "step" of the front approach, rather than zig-zag up.

Other ideas? Or affirmation for any of the above plans? Let's lay it out.

Doug: Regarding the map, are the numbers, yellow spots, and red "D" a legend for our characters or for you as DM?

Also, am I correct in noting a hatch of some kind on the roof of the complex heading into area 3?

Finally, is that an anti-air defense turret on top of the roof?

 :ooc:  I'm up for anything. Personally I like the stealth approach. Night creep. Also I think if we do go guns blazing what about a preop to that we cause a local diversion and try to draw out a patrol. We can get an idea what they're working with or even torture some information from them.  At the very least we weaken their forces. Or a reverse  dress like a storm trooper Gimmick.This time the troopers dress like you. (-D if they are droids maybe we can hack them or their equipment. Idk as much about the genre as you guys. I'm just throwing Gungans against a wall to see if one of them squeals

Quote from: Posterboy on Aug 31, 2013, 01:38 PM
:ooc:

Doug:Booth's load-out is good... maybe add a jetpack. See below. Also, a camo sheet for the Arrow to hide it when we're not driving. I imagine this to be kept in the Arrow, not on Booth.

Regarding the map, are the numbers, yellow spots, and red "D" a legend for our characters or for you as DM?

Also, am I correct in noting a hatch of some kind on the roof of the complex heading into area 3?

Finally, is that an anti-air defense turret on top of the roof?

:ooc: Cool about your load out. The jetpacks are fine, but if you are going to have one for the whole team I am going to need to take a look at the Arrow and see if it has room to hold six jetpacks and all the other equipment, plus six men.

The map is one I could find that represents an installation on top of a rocky prominence. There may be changes as we 'zoom in' - but it won't be too significant, cool? For the approach and the climb, we will stick with the one I have posted but the structure itself may change a little.

The legends on the map are for my purposes - again part of the original map, but I am going to use them. I didn't want to trash the map by trying to cover them all.

The thing on top of the building is actually the huge sensor dish - on this map it is a turret - but for our game, think of it as the sensor array. And yes, there is a service hatch on top of the structure.

Haywire had finished suiting up into his armor, putting on his bandolier, utility belt, and weapons when the order to saddle up was given.  After a quick check to make sure everything wasn't going to fall off, he grabbed his pack that was mostly full of explosives.  In fact, the only things that weren't an explosive in his pack was some data cards and a couple medpacs, but that was the way he liked it.  Plenty of explosives meant plenty of ways to make things go bad for the Seps.  It was sure going to be a bit cramped in the landspeeder, but it would be nothing new.  He was much more interested in what the approach plan was rather than how much leg-room he'd have for the trip.

:ooc:Well, Ascension Guns have a 45 meter range on the rope firing, so we can scale if needed.  2 uses means we'd potentially be able to scale up the cliff and then the building to get on top[Use the ropes we went up with to go back down when we're done].  If we can draw them off and then go up the front, I can lay down some mines on the way up to hit anything they bring when they're coming back.  Anti-Vehicle+Ion+Proximity in that order should take out or disable any vehicles they send, followed by proximity mines hitting any droids or troops.  Lay out a length of detonite cord across one of the turns, blow something up as it comes around a corner with a manual trigger.  Would allow us to defend if it takes time to deal with the cooling units.  Personally, I feel like a sneak in, hit the cooling units, get out fast, disappear is the better plan, but explosives is the plan that would make things more fun.  You know what, give one of those proximity mines a manual trigger so you can set it off after troops start to go over it for maximum effect.  I can almost guarantee the only thing that would be going up that hill after that would be droids after the first set of 3 mines.  Of course, there's always the chance they've planted explosives along that approach as defense too.

As for explosives in the pack that aren't on the equipment list, I'd like:  2 Anti-Vehicle Mines, 2 Proximity Mines, 2 Ion Mines, 2 Limpet Mines, 4 Explosive Charges, 4 timers, 4 manual triggers.  Plan is to leave 3 grenade clips, take all the mines, 3 charges, 3 timers, all 4 additional manual triggers.  Plenty to take out some cooling units, and leave some nasty surprises for the Seps if we have to defend the facility while I take care of the cooling units.  Should leave me unencumbered weight wise. 

 :ooc:
Stealth and guile is the preference -- deposit the explosives and detonate from a distance, an assault as a last resort.  Martel will need night-vision goggles of some sort for a nighttime incursion.  Mind you jetpacks have a limited number of uses before running out of fuel.

"So we are expendable? Ugh, I hate that blasting slimeball" muttered Mitts in clear discontent after hearing the recording. With each day that passed on this war it became more and more clear to him that they were just pawns in this game. "But pawns can get crowned" he said to himself. And that's what he intended to do. He longed for the day he could get out of this with his brothers and say goodbye to the damn kaminoans and the whole blasted Republic.
But for now he had to focuse on the task at hand. He checked his equipment again, he felt his med kit next to his thigh. He made sure it was still there. The life of his teammates depended on that, and he wasn't about to let them die like beasts face down on the mud for some general's glory.

:ooc: I agree with the sneaky approach. If we can actually get in through the back of the mountain/hill we can just raid the bunker and provide cover while Haywire sets up the explosives. Maybe we could get Longshot into a sniper position so he can pick up the enemies at the top from a distance and look at the bigger picture, let us know what's coming our way, etc. I don't see how this can be done without a fight.

Doug, how about a survival knife? Could be usfeul for some emergency operation and stuff.

The decent through atmo went almost as well as the sergeant could hope for given the limited control he had with the pod. Booth had managed to slow the container enough that they wouldn't burn up... Now, I just to land this barge, he grimaced as he pulled hard on the stick, trying the bring the nose up level with the fast approaching ground. "Hold on, boys. You're gonna feel this."

The front belly of the pod banged and then bounced off Plinth's crust, skipped two more times, before gravity and friction finally dug the nose of the container into the ground. Booth gave his head a shake as the pod came to a full stop. "Not bad," he grinned back at his squad. "Hey, ow!" Sparks and smoke shot out as he pushed himself away from the control panel. "Time to load out, boys."

He didn't have to say it though; the squad was already working at getting the Arrow out and prepping their gear. He smiled, genuinely proud of his brothers. Efficient as ever...

Once the Arrow was loaded, Booth gather the squad for a quick review. His hand-held projector came to life and Admiral Desaul appeared, giving Derecho final clearance to engage the relay station.

Quote from: deadpool on Sep 01, 2013, 08:54 AM
"So we are expendable? Ugh, I hate that blasting slimeball" muttered Mitts in clear discontent after hearing the recording.

"Easy, Mitts. None of us are expendable," Booth gave the medic a pat on the shoulder and a wink, "That's why they put you on the team... gotta keep us together, right."

A quick tap with his index finger brought up the schematics of the station. Booth reviewed the plan:

"Alright, men. Operation Dark Sunset is a full go. We take down this station and the Seppies will be blind to our ships' movements. Give our guys a solid opportunity to hit the enemy where it hurts them the most... their credits. No credits, no more droids production. Let's make sure it happens.

"Not much intel to go on, but here's what we got so far: Our target is sitting on top of thirty meters of rock, with a sidewinding ingress route meant to slow down any assaulting force. It's pretty wide open all around, with little cover. I suggest we find and follow the river behind the station, get ourselves behind a nearby hill, and recon the target.

"The station is too small to garrison a large force, but I'm sure they can call up reinforcements for the port town. The good news for us is that reinforcements from the town will likely take two to three hours to arrive. We won't be waiting around for them.

"The taget is set for defense. I imagine a small patrol, perhaps a couple of STAPs*, might be sent out from time to time to investigate something of interest in the plains. Otherwise, tactically, they're in a much better position if they stick to defending. The enemy commander will call in reinforcements long before he'll let his troops out.

"As far as what we'll be facing, organic forces will likely be Muuns or, possibly, Gossams, depending on how valuable this station is to the Commerce Guild. suspect most of these forces will be within the station. Outside, the terrain suggests light attack vehicles... STAPs probably, maybe speeders. Likely two squads of battle droids, probably escorting DSDs**. If fact, I wouldn't be surprised to find two more ADSDs*** up top for anti-air defense and a few more mundane ones patrolling the mountain sides. Hopefully we'll get a better picture once we get closer."

Booth tapped another button and the projector went dead.

Quote from: GandalfOfBorg on Aug 31, 2013, 03:54 AM
The Jedi commander brought the briefing to a close. "Saddle up!" he called out.

"With pleasure, sir!" Booth ackowneledged the order. "You heard the commander. Let's load out!"

Booth moved to take his position in the pilot's seat. "Longshot, I want you up top with a set of binoculars, manning that cannon, scanning the area for any threats and keeping us away from those roaming hills. Let's do this, Derecho!" 


:ooc:

* = STAPs = "Single Trooper Aerial Platforml"
** = DSDs = "Dwarf Spider Droids"
*** = ADSDs = "Advanced Spider Droids"

The Arrow was stowed with all their gear. Derecho Squad began to climb into the armored speeder - Longshot climbing in and taking position in the cupola. Mitts, Haywire, and Hammer took the three of the four individual seats in the back while Booth and Martel climbed in the driver doors. The sergeant tapped a small radio control - behind him there was a hiss as the white phosphorous incendiaries ignited and began to burn at temperatures that would leave very little behind. Next came the THOOM! of an explosion and smoke and fire leapt into the air. What remained was a cargo pod that looked like it had seen the worst part of a fall through the atmosphere.

The team moved out.

---

:ooc: It is essentially 140 kilometers to the escarpment on which the sensor relay sits. If you guys were to drive at a normal speed with no stealth, it would take you a little over two hours to get there. If you guys drive with random direction changes and slower speeds it will take longer - so let me how straight a shot you are making. I am putting together a map now.

I need in no particular order:

Two Perception checks DC 20 from Longshot

Three Use the Force [Search your Feelings] checks DC 22 from Martel

Two Use Computer checks DC 12 and Knowledge [Life sciences] DC 15 from Haywire to navigate from their position to the target (essentially you are bringing up the data maps and can understand the terrain from pictures seen and relay to Booth which way to go)

Three Pilot checks DC 15 from Booth

I like to have interactive games - I mean, what is the point in playing if you can't throw dice - but like in our old games, you guys would have me handle simple rolls to keep the game moving.

Let me know if that has changed and what level of rolling you guys want me to handle (i.e. fear checks, etc.).

 :ooc:I don't mind rolling dice... but I'd say, if I don't respond within 24 hours, roll 'em for me to keep the game going.

The team voted for stealth, so let approach stealthy and take the time needed.

Pilot checks:

 :ooc:Booth's bonus to pilot is actually +18, not +15.... so the checks are actually 27, 37, 34. Not that it really matters if the DC was 15.  ;D

 :ooc:Doug, let me revise what I said above regarding rolling. I'd say, use your DM/Storytelling discretion. If you've got the time to write up a post and all you need is a perception roll from someone, I'd say roll it and push on. If you're thinking a lot of us need to roll and you don't have the time to post up everything anyway, let us do the rolling. I think there is some joy in rolling your own dice, but in the realm of online gaming, where games can easily get bogged down, I say roll the dice to keep the story moving.

:ooc: Let's see, Use Computer Check I could do in my sleep(If sleeping was a -5 penalty to checks and I rolled a nat 1)  Bringing up maps is easy, navigating is obviously really hard.

As for the matter of how much rolling, I'd say keeping the flow of an RP is more important than a single perception check or something.  For combat, we'll obviously be rolling most things ourselves.  So, I agree with Posterboy's most recent post.  Use your own discretion if you just need a check real quick to keep a scene going or anything.  Unless anyone has any objections?

 :ooc: Works for me.

 :00:

Hammer had gotten his gear ready quickly moved out of the pod as soon as it landed to set up a perimiter while his brothers got the speeder out and prepared to move.  He ignored the message from the brass, Sarg would tell him if it was something he needed to know, and kept an eye out for the predators and droids that might be lurking.

Once everyone else was on board he picked up Marge and jumped into one of the back seats.

I agree with stealth. It would be better to conserve our ammo and avoid them calling for reiforcements till after we've accomplished our mission.

Hammer has everything he needs.  If it can't be fixed with firepower it's probably not worth fixing.

As they speed off, "Oh and boys, keep an eye out for some big creatures called paloo-beasts.  They can put a serious crimp in our plans to be on-time."

"They could come in handy providing a distraction or cover, too," he muttered to Booth.

:ooc:
Slow approach. Dice rolling, go with the flow, rolling is not a big deal.

:ooc: I will fill this thread in later tonight or tomorrow with your results - but I want to attach the two maps of the region.

 :ooc:LOVE this new maps!! Thanks!  :tup:

 :ooc: New maps are good, great for being able to pick out a route.  I'm thinking we hide the arrow a few klicks out, then approach alongside the bottom of that ridgeline that leads right up next to the building.  Against the cliff we'll stick out a LOT less than if we try an open ground approach.  Plenty of cover to hide the arrow.  The problem will be if we happen to need to make a quick escape it'll be a bit of a trek back to it with potentially faster enemies.  We do need to think about our extraction as well.

If the power generator goes critical from the destruction of the cooling systems, how big of a blast radius are we talking?

If we have decent cover for it and the ravine to deflect the sound we could probably get as close to 1500m depending on how loud it is.  Most people couldnt hear a car from that range and it would be a lot easier to run and gun.  Another thought is that we could leave someone with the arrow to come get us if things hit the fan.  Though it would be kind of a boring job.

It became a concerted effort to cross the wide grasslands of Plinth. After the team had set off, Longshot was the first to see them although Martel had felt them. Like a huge shadow on the land, a herd of the indigenous mammals were slowly moving south in the direction the Arrow traveled.

The Jedi kept in tune with the animals to know the direction that they might turn and guided Booth. In the back seat, Haywire had brought up the planetary regional maps and was reading the landscape to position them to their target. It was like a dance. Booth turned the speeder due south to run parallel with the palloo-beasts while Martel tried to influence the animals with gentle nudges in the Force and Haywire tried to keep them on track. They had no intention of making a straight shot for the facility, but the herd was not going to make the trip shorter. That was when Longshot saw the flash.

It was the flash of a blaster rifle and the sun off of something metallic. He brought up his electrobinoculars and saw another landspeeder racing alongside the herd of the palloo-beasts, a rifleman sitting atop the back and occassionally firing and dropping an animal.

"Hunters," the clone trooper thought.

The new guests were creating a problem as their speed and blaster fire was causing the herd to stir - already the animals in close proximity to the hunters were beginning to move at a quicker pace. It had a domino effect and was bringing the rest of the herd to a panic. What was worse, the Arrow was in their direct line. There was also the problem that might be created if the hunters saw them.

Team Derecho were not in the stark white armor of their brothers. They wore the elite armor of the Advanced Recon Commando. It was a special trooper armor with a matte black coating that enhanced their ability to go unseen, even in the light of day - of course, that was not the case for the Arrow. Booth began to react as the herd of palloos zig-zagged in front of him. He did not want to get caught in the middle of the mass. In the turret of the speeder, Longshot grabbed the grip on the laser cannon wondering what he needed to do about the oncoming hunters.

 :ooc:Question: the vehicle we're in is strictly/clearly military or could someone think it's just another group of hunters or something like that?

If it was his call he'd unload on the herd. Try to change their direction away from Dsquad with some straiffing fire. He'd probably go for taking out the hunters as well at the risk of being spotted by them. No loose ends he thought. But it wasn't his call. He followed orders unless told to use his own judgement. "Hey sarge, you want me to handle this problem?"

 :ooc: Don't have my book on me at the moment but can I attempt to influence the beasts with a Use the Force check?

 :ooc: I think you can't. But you could try using move object to get a tree on their way maybe. That would probably scare them away and it's more subtle than using blasters.

 :ooc:How far away are we from the station? (Can you position us on the map?) Any chance they'll notice us if we use blaster fire?

Also, is there any cover that we could duck behind while the herd rushes by?

Finally, is the herd fast enough to overtake us moving at top speed in the Arrow?

Quote from: Callowmoryne on Sep 06, 2013, 06:18 AM
"Hey sarge, you want me to handle this problem?"

Booth was bred to be a soldier, through and through, and within the last year he'd seen enough death and destruction for a multitude of lifetimes. It didn't bother him... as long as it was part of the objective, Booth rarely lost sleep over the matter. It was the deaths and destruction outside of mission objectives that bothered him... and it happened more often than he'd like to admit.

Through the headset comm, Booth replied, "Hold off for a minute, Longshot. See if we can use this to our advantage."

 :ooc:How far are the hunters from us? Is it looking like they are shooting the beasts for sport or food? If we're going to start shooting at them, I want to make sure they're not going to get away into town and tell some authorities someone was shooting at them out on the plains.

Also, what kind of area does this herd cover? If we get out from amidst herd, how long would it take to move around the herd?

Finally... dang it... I forget my last question. 

Quote from: multiple

• If the power generator goes critical from the destruction of the cooling systems, how big of a blast radius are we talking?
• Question: the vehicle we're in is strictly/clearly military or could someone think it's just another group of hunters or something like that?
• Don't have my book on me at the moment but can I attempt to influence the beasts with a Use the Force check?
• How far away are we from the station? (Can you position us on the map?) Any chance they'll notice us if we use blaster fire?
• Also, is there any cover that we could duck behind while the herd rushes by?
• Finally, is the herd fast enough to overtake us moving at top speed in the Arrow?
• How far are the hunters from us? Is it looking like they are shooting the beasts for sport or food? If we're going to start shooting at them, I want to make sure they're not going to get away into town and tell some authorities someone was shooting at them out on the plains.
• Also, what kind of area does this herd cover? If we get out from amidst herd, how long would it take to move around the herd?
• Finally... dang it... I forget my last question.

:ooc:

• The blast is going to be big - perhaps a way to set a delayed charge or overload?
• The Arrow-23 are a popular speeder for both military purposes as well as for private use. The description in the book reads: The Aratech Arrow-23 is an enclosed speeder designed for hunter or adventurous tourists on fringe worlds. It is also designated paramilitary. Your speeder is painted in camouflage colors to break up its pattern in the grasslands and other green/brown terrain.
• I am still checking into this, Matt, but it looks like Telepathy may work (Use the Force). The palloo-beasts have an INT of 3 and can be emotionally influenced with a DC 15 roll, but you can only affect one from the herd. The other option of Move Object might be something to consider - but how do you stop a charging herd?
• I will get a map with your position in a bit - might be the morning. As for the blaster fire, no, the CIS station would not see or hear it from where you are. [EDIT] It's below.
• There may be the occassional tree, outcropping of sandy-brown rock that sticks up from the prairie grasses, but that is about it. You could get behind something like that for protection, the herd would go around it like water in a river.
• The Arrow brought up to speed would easily outrun the herd.
• The hunters are essentially 450-600 meters away (300-400 squares, beyond Long Range for Rifles). Longshot is watching them shoot the beasts for sport.
• As far as how big is the herd, think about the stories of the North American Buffalo that ranged central region. It was said that some of those herds were as big as a state. Now, I can tell you that this one isn't, but it is spread out large enough that it would cover a city.
• Can't help you with that last one, Aryn!  ;)

Longshot could now see the craft better, in which the hunters sped. It was long and flat and flew about three meters off the ground, but this one looked as if it had been modified with plates of metal that boxed in the platform - maybe for protection? Still, the clone trooper recognized it, "Bantha-II skiff."

A pilot stood center deck while five others stood about and pointed as the one in the rear took another shot. Longshot could see the shooter was a Duros - his companions were a mixture of Duros and Humans. With the sudden acceleration of the Arrow, the sniper watched as the hunters took notice of Derecho.

Inside the Arrow, Booth punched the throttle to avoid the oncoming herd.

Booth laid down the Arrow's accelerator bringing her up to top speed to avoid being engulfed by the palloo-beasts. He was afraid of not staying a head of the pack. He just wanted to leave the hunters alone. And, unless the Skiff has been altered to increase it's speed, Booth was confident that he could continue to put more distance beertween Derecho and the hunters.

"Longshot, let's leave 'em alone for now. For all they know, we may have just finished up our hunting trip and didn't want to get in the way of theirs. No need to get hostile yet." Booth kept the Arrow in front of the herd and moved towards the left side of it.

Haywire had been keeping an eye on the maps and their course while the situation was handled by the others.  It wasn't his call to make what to do with the civilians, and was mildly relieved that Booth had decided to just play it cool instead of causing unneeded casualties.  The risk of them getting away and spreading word about them if they did attack was also something to worry about.  Putting those thoughts away for now, he went back to thinking mostly about what they were going to be facing up at the sensor station.

:ooc: When you say big, how big are we talking, 500 meters, 1 klick, 10 klicks?  50 klicks?  Although if it's that big, the devastation from debris will be quite large.  Also, about how long from shut-down of the cooling systems until overload?  If we're talking a 10+ klick radius explosion, I think I should have brought some extra-long specialized timers.  An hour timer is plenty if it's a klick, heck, even if it's 4-5 klicks combined with I'm sure some time required for overload after cooling systems are down.

Haven't really posted much for this, not a whole lot Haywire can do in the current situation.

:ooc:Same here. I'm not gone, just don't know what to do right now.

 :ooc:I say, what you're doing at the moment is pretty good, asking OOC questions and such. You could also post in character your own character's thoughts and feelings regarding the situation they find themselves in: Are they bored? Anxious? Eager to get going? Good with killing civvies? Annoyed with the hunters? Love the rush of driving fast? Dislike tight quarters? Physically, you might post about holding on for dear life  ;), or sitting calming while thinking about some cute Twi'lek you met up with during our last mission? You could post dialogue, with suggestions/questions/comments your character might have, like, "Nice driving, Sarge!" or "Think those hunters are gonna throw a hydospanner in our mission?" Lots of short character posts that helps the rest of us get a sense of who your character is. :tup:

On another note, we talked earlier on some forum about how, while there is a chain of command, there is also a basic assumption that each of the character is a professional spec-ops soldier and that they're trained to work and think independently. I'm assuming that there is a common understanding in Derecho that everyone has permission to speak freely, question an order and do what they think best. Had Longshot decided to actually open fire on the palloo-beasts or the hunters, Booth might have cringed, but he also would have trusted that Longshot knew what he was doing. Guess I'm just trying to affirm that your characters don't need to run everything (or anything) past Booth for approval (unless, of course, that's how you're looking to play your character).  :tup:

The team's medic noticed the tone in Longshot's voice. He knew that tone. It was the "leave no loose ends" tone. Sometimes he worried about him, about all of them really. It was one thing to destroy a few droids, they can always be put back together. Even a living officer could be an excusable death, their hands were most of the times bloodier than their own. But civilians were out of the question, though that didn't mean they didn't get killed. The did get killed, a lot. And for what? And by who? It was clones like Longshot, like himself, who had to do this. It was them who fired the guns, threw the bombs, arranged the explosives. He hated that. But that was him, others seemed to enjoy it. Could he blame them? They were raised to do that, hell, they were created to do that.
And he knew he was one of the few "lucky" ones. One of the elite troopers, ARC troopers, the ones withouth the conditioning. Did the others really knew about the conditioning? Did they know that they were programmed to follow orders? That it was implanted into their DNA? And did his brothers, the rest of Derecho Squad know they were different? He never talked about it with them, never brought it up, afraid of how they might take it. If Mitts knew about it was because of his special training; the kaminoans taught him how their minds worked, how their bodies worked, how they came to be.
He knew it; the jedi. The clone could tell by the way he looked at them, a mixture of compassion and pitty. He was having doubts about this whole thing too. He was one of the good ones. Maybe he could help them escape this mess? Maybe, but now there were more important things to do. His brothers, his responsability.

:ooc:How's that for some character development?

:ooc: That was a great post, Deadpool! I ike getting insight into PC thoughts. As for this particular encounter, no stress - I am not going to drag it out. I just wanted to see how your characters reacted to the locals.

As for how big, I am going to say within four-thousand meters is Haywire's estimate on the explosion. I want you guys to have an urgency to get out once you start the overload, but I don't want to put you guys in a position to outrun a massive ball of fire.

---

The speeder began to spread the distance between it and the head of the herd, leaving the hunters and the palloos behind. If the skiff's passengers had even seen Derecho Team, they did not make any reaction. Longshot kept his electrobinoculars on them for a while longer until they disappeared behind the raging movement of animals.

Though still abundant with the living energy within the Force, Martel could sense that their path was clear of any other mass herd for a good distance. Booth took advantage of that and kept the speeder moving fast over the prairie, Haywire behind him communicating course adjustments as needed.

The terrain began to change. In the distance, the bare rocky outcrops of what the map called the Salt Flats - why, when there was nothing flat about the area at all - could be seen. The shadows from the buttes and mountains were growing long over the grasslands as the sun was beginning to set. They had tried to time their planetfall with as much daylight available for when they landed, but the planetary rotation hadn't allowed for it. Booth knew he would need to slow, or even have the team stop and rest for the night once they made it into the Flats. He did not want to risk damaging their vehicle too far away from their objective. He continued to press on fast as the sun set into the mountains ahead of them until the grasslands changed into dry, hardpacked clay.

The trio in the back - some had dozed - felt the Arrow begin to slow. Longshot dropped down from the cupola and joined his companions. Booth brought the vehicle to a halt and they heard the whine of the repulsors fade, dust settling outside. The headlights were still on and the men saw a jagged hillock in front of them, high enough to give them overwatch of their area; rugged enough to break the outline of their Arrow; and good to block line of sight from the direction of the sensor station.

The team climbed out and stretched. They had covered 110 klicks of their ingress and it was only thirty more to the target. Booth waited until they had done any personal business needed before he called Derecho to him and Martel. It was thirty klicks away but they needed to plan their approach and assault. He wanted to get eyes on the station from a distance to see if they could assess the defenses. Well, that was Longshot's specialty but the whole team would give their input.

Hammer had watched the hunters and the heard with only a passing interest.  He had no interest in killing either with no purpose so as long as they werent in the way, he was perfectly happy leaving them to their sport. 

Now that they'd stopped he got out of the Arrow and looked at thier surroundings.  He quickly spotted a nice place for an LP/OP part way up the rocky tor that would allow one of them to keep an eye on things while the others rested.

"I'll take first watch.  If we're going to hit 'em before dawn we should probably leave about 3 to 4 hours before hand so we have enough time to get there, it's gonna be slow going across this terrain."

"Too big ... too many" Martel muttered aloud, obviously straining against something.  "No good trying to direct them.  Keep on course and we should be fine."
- - -
The ride had been long and cramped, kind of like the pod ride earlier.  At least there was no hard impact at the end.  The young Padawan got out and stretched -- Jedi techniques were great but there is no substitute for real exercise.  Looking around he nodded approvingly.  In his bones he ached to do something but once again it was the tense hurry-up-and-wait routine. "I'm gonna go up and get a look around.  You with me Longshot?

After a quick stretch Longshot went over his gear again. Nervous energy he thought. Sometimes he felt like a perpetually coiled snake. He hadn't really wanted to take out the hunters unless necessary. Had he? He tried not to get inside his head in these situations. Just follow orders. It just seemed like the need for action was calling from every fiber of his body. He tried not to howl with relief when Martel spoke up. "I'm on it, boss man." He snatched up his rifle and binocs. "I'll take point."

"It feels nice to get out of the speeder" thought Mitts. "So what's the plan?" he said out loud and then continued "If we're not moving anymore for the night, we should really try to get some sleep. It's no good being on edge every minute." Turning to Hammer "If you take the first watch, then I'll take the last one."

Haywire was happy to have some open fresh air for once as he stepped outside the Arrow.  It was a bit cramped and for the time they'd been in the speeder, he enjoyed being able to move freely.  "The plan is to stretch a little after such a long speeder ride in cramped quarters, followed by most likely a brief snack, which will likely be followed by our lovely scout team returning.  A mission briefing on our assault will likely follow sometime after that, or might be put off until we can visually see the place.  And then we'll figure out how best to escape the four klick blast radius for when I get the station's power set to overheat and blow."  Haywire said in response to the question from Mitts.  "And then probably sleep too."  He was very casual in saying so as he took a little bit of time to loosen his muscles up.  A bit of joy snuck into his voice at the bit about causing such a bit explosion under enemy forces.

:ooc: Right, so I think one last question should finish up my set for the station.  About how long of a period between blowing/shutting down the cooling systems and the place blowing?  A rough estimate is all I'm asking about.

Booth took in Derecho and the men exitting the Arrow. It had been a cramped ride, and the jostling about had kept his men's muscles tightened... it would be good for them to stretch out. The sergeant had noticed that long periods of inactivity and tight quarters tended to get the men edgy - like wild animals being caged, it just wasn't how it was supposed to be.

The Commander stated his intent to do some recon with Longshot. "Commander," Booth piped in. "We'll need to find an ingress route across the river... a bridge if we're hoping to take the Arrow across."

He watched Martel and Longshot leave, wishing them a silent "good luck" as they departed. Turning his attention to his remaining three squadmates, Booth listened briefly to their plans on keeping watch and such. "I'll take middle watch. Let get a perimeter established here and stay alert. While the palloo-beast might not roam this way, I bet their predators might have some homes here. STAP patrols too, perhaps."

Hammer climbed up to the position he'd noticed earlier.  It was high enough that he could see nearly anything trying to approach but still covered so that he wouldnt be a silhouette against the night sky.  He set his rifle in position so that he could quickly brace and fire if anything appeared.  After a quick scan he picked out Longshot and Martel but nothing else out of the ordinary.

He spoke softly down to Booth after his scan.

"All clear."

Quote from: Zilfallion on Sep 09, 2013, 06:39 PM :ooc: Right, so I think one last question should finish up my set for the station.  About how long of a period between blowing/shutting down the cooling systems and the place blowing?  A rough estimate is all I'm asking about.

:ooc: the time you have available to you will be determined by two things from your technique of causing an overload. 1) For example, if you decide to use your explosives to destroy the hydraulic pumps that maintain a flow of coolant fluid through the power generator that supplies the amped power to the relay station, then it would be dictated on the amount of delay you set on your charges and then the amount of time to overheat - this will be dictated by a scale based on your mechanics roll you make when you place your charges; 2) Or, if you decide to hack the system and play with the programming of the power generator's coolant system and have valves close and open at random times to create overpressures in a part of the coolant line, which would cause the system to malfunction. The time then would be until the power station overheated and went critical - again this would be based on a series of roll results (Use Computer, Mechanics, and Knowledge [technology]).

I will give you the scale of results when the time comes and you tell me your methodology on the station destruction. I will say that explosives will probably get the job done faster, but you can also create a mechanical malfunction via the computer which will cause a natural domino effect and save yourself the loadout - you decide.

Question for Matt and John - are you guys just going to the top of the hill to get a look around or do you intend to do a reconnaissance on foot of the area?

Once I get my answer, I will give you guys some more stuff to work with.

 :ooc: Intention is to initially get as high as possible to survey the area, while, of course, keeping a low-profile.  If promising areas are found for investigation for the path forward, we will reconnoiter with group before heading out.

Also, if we don't use explosives to destroy place and we remain undetected, it can look like faulty machinery instead of a Republic op.

 :ooc: My plan was mostly: Slice the computers, set the cooling equipment up for an overload.  Set Explosive Charges on cooling equipment with timers set to go off after the projected overload time in case they manage to undo the slicing.  That way we don't have to break in twice if they find the issue after we leave and prevent an overload.

Quote from: GandalfOfBorg on Sep 11, 2013, 05:54 AM:ooc: Intention is to initially get as high as possible to survey the area, while, of course, keeping a low-profile.  If promising areas are found for investigation for the path forward, we will reconnoiter with group before heading out.

:ooc: Cool about the destruction plans. As for the advance, based on the above, I am going to write my next post as Longshot and Martel just looking around from the top of the hill tonight, but tomorrow reconnoitering with the group.

---

The small hill had a jagged throne, or so it seemed. Large rocks were arrayed across the top of the tor in no particular order, but ringing it nonetheless. Martel and Longshot moved slowly between each stone cover, on their haunches, all the while searching the night sky and land before them for any sign of movement. The Jedi reached out with the Force, the sniper his scope and low-light visor but all that was seen was cold earth. Feeling and hearing proved more successful as both men heard the mewling sound of what had to be palloo-beasts. Martel could sense them in the Force - a small group of the animals that were just a fifty meters west of them on the opposite side of another small hill that rose there. What had caused the animals to come into the rocky terrain was unknown - perhaps they had gotten lost from their herd and had wandered onto the Flats and could not find there way out. It would be the death of them for sure, thought the Jedi looking at the sparse, coarse scrub grass that grew amongst the boulders.

The mewling sound was soft and faint on the breeze and it relaxed Longshot. Herd animals tended to be comfortable within their kind and any threats would cause them to move or make more of a ruckus. As long as the things just softly cried in the night than things would be fine for Derecho. The sniper swung his rifle once more in a slow 360-degree circle and was pleased with the results. There were no droid scouts out and about moving amongst the rocky terrain, though he wondered about sensor trackers.

A few meters below the two men, Hammer was sitting in a small defilade on the slope of the hill his heavy assault blaster beside him strapped to its power generator. The hum from the small backpack was faint in the wind and the clone trooper could also hear the palloo's, but only when his companions below were completely quiet. They were for the most part, but the occasional soft conversation was spoken as Mitts, Haywire and Booth draped the Arrow in its camo netting. The men would sleep in their armor, but they were used to that, and its shadowskin upgrades would make them near invisible, but the sarge wanted to at least have their vehicle covered from any potential overflights. One Passover by a Vulture-droid and the enemy could be down on top of them before they made their objective.

Martel and Longshot passed Hammer as they made their way back down the hill, the one clone waving to the other in mutual understanding of the weariness and tedium that came from a silent watch. Hammer watched as the camp below went quiet. Three hours later, Booth relieved the heavy trooper. One hour after that the situation changed.

---

Stealth
:00: DC n/a stealth -6

:ooc: I need a Perception roll DC 7 from Booth, DC 17 for all the other men who were getting rest (sleeping). This will be for both surprise and initiative placement. A successful roll here averts surprise and will allow the PC to act within this round, which may require them to pick up gear. A failure will mean the PC is surprised and may do nothing in round 1, the following round will require them to use their actions to pick up their gear.

:ooc: I guess, these are the kind of rolls that we talked about that can make the game bog down. I am going to make the rolls for your PC's - if you want to reroll it yourself, I will allow it but you must take the new roll.

Perception [Notice Targets]
:00: DC 7 (Booth) 17 (all others) by PC below

:ooc: I corrected some of the PC's skill ranks - the +2 helmet package bonus wasn't included in everyone. Haywire, check your Gather Info skill. It is listed as a Primary but you only have a +3.

As for our results, everyone is successful but Martel.

I will post again once I get home.

 :ooc: Haywire's +3 Gather Info is correct(+4 half level, -1 CHA mod), even though it's in the primary skills section it's untrained.  Trace gives me Use Computer replacement of Gather Information when connected to a computer network so it was added even though it's not trained, since I can count it as trained in certain circumstances.

:ooc: Makes sense. Cool! I will post here a little later tonight or in the AM.

Booth sat where Hammer had positioned himself and the trooper stared up at the night sky. The stars seemed the same no matter the planet - whether a war raged or a peaceful night breeze blew - it was all the same. The quiet before the storm.

Suddenly the calm mewling of the palloos became a frantic scream. Booth snatched his rifle into his hands and rushed the few meters up to the top of the hill. Below him, Derecho squad began to stir. The small vale just west of them became a thunder of hooves and squeels. The trooper remained low in the rocks but looked to where the palloo-beasts now struggled. A shape stood on the side of the hill blotting out the stars above. It moved, bidpedal on its hind legs, down into the valley away from him. That was when Booth saw movement to his south - there was another... then another! The creature to the south was moving towards their camp, its great nostrils drawing in deep breaths tracing the scent of his men.

They were huge!

Booth knew these things. They were native to the planet Ryloth, but it was said that crimelords enjoyed taking them as pets. Sometimes they were transported to other worlds. Sometimes they got away and adapted to these new worlds, breeding and taking over an ecosystem. The beasts were called gutkurrs.

---

:ooc: Add any dialogue you want to here, but I am setting up round 1 of the gutkurr encounter. I will roll initiative for the round, but Martel is the only one who cannot act until round 2 due to surprise.

Suddenly, Mitts was woken up by the sound of intense screaming echoing in his head. Disoriented, he looked around to find the source of the disturbance and found himself facing some hideous creatures that seemed to have been taken out from a nightmare. Without a second thought, he focused himself and prepared to fend off the beasts.

It hadn't taken Hammer many months of combat to learn that when you were in it you slept light and kept your weapon close.  His eyes snapped open when the screaming started and he could feel the adrenaline pumping through his veins as he scanned for an enemy and braced 'Vera' to fire on whatever was out there.

"Rise and shine, Derecho! We got company." Booth spoke loud and authoritative through his comm-set. "Local fauna coming in hungry from the south. These guys look big and mean."

Booth took aim at the beast closing in on his men.

Bleary-eyed Martel slept soundly, yet on a mission, this was too soundly.  Not that he didn't need it, coming in to the drop zone was little to none at best.  Martel shook his head to clear the fuzz and with the world coming into focus, he heard his team getting roused and faint thumps of the large creatures heading their direction.