Two days passed quite busily for the companions. Caden, Sam and Kara worked hard on getting the Aegis up and running with her new components, while Brim enjoyed the grounds around the mansion. Dan busied himself with both - helping when he could with the ship, and joining the Rodian on hikes or climbs.
Ranie's personal vehicle, and security escort, finally were heard entering the manor's garage. From the landing platform, Caden wiped his hands and watched as the speeders parked. "Now what?" he thought to himself. Behind him, the sun was setting on another spectacular Bakuran evening.
Throwing down the towel, he looked to Sam and Kara, and they nodded back in understanding. The work day was done. It was time to go see the senator, reveal their findings, and see if they could call this thing complete and get out of here.
Puk and the Shade watched as the two men offloaded from the transport. They were twins, but not by a natural birth - they were clones, created on Kamino some years ago and veterans of the war with the CIS. Now they were civillians, discarded by the Emperor's army due to the rapid aging of their bodies, having served the usefulness for which they were made.
Hacks approached the Rodian and the sinister cloaked Force-user and nodded. He was a tech specialist in the GAR and had amazing skills at slicing. Puk had already used him once on Bakura, for the killing of Seelig, but the clone didn't expect to be back so soon. The other clone was named Jasper, and he was a weapons and explosives specialist. He followed the trio over to a waiting speeder, his hands laden with bags.
Once inside the vehicle, Hacks spoke, "What's up Puk? Why the call back?"
The Rodian replied in his native tongue, "I have another job for you. Pay is the same for the both of you, and in advance."
Hacks and Jasper both smiled at that. Shade then spoke, handing out travel documents as he did, "Once you have completed your work, here are your travel documents and tickets to leave this world. Immediately." The last word was stated in a stern whisper. The shadow also handed a packet to Puk, "You, too, Puk. Your service here is done."
Puk took the travel packet quietly, staring hard at the shadow as he did. He had begun to enjoy Bakura... it had its pleasures.
Shade continued, "I have been informed that Senator Ranie shall be returning to his estate this evening. When the house has quieted for the night, we shall commence. It should be a relatively easy job. Hacks, you will quiet the mansions security system while Jasper plants explosives. It should only take a few well placed charges to drop the whole thing into the sea."
Puk drew forth blueprints of the mansion and handed them to Jasper. The clone looked them over briefly and saw the large struts and supports that kept the pictaresque house poised over the cliff. "Won't take much at all."
The nondescript vehicle pulled away from the curb and disappeared amongst daily Bakuran traffic.
Jasper kneeled quietly in the tree line, watching through his binoculars as the gates closed to Ranie's estate. The speeders carrying him and his security personnel had already entered and were making their way down the long drive. The clone lowered his viewer and looked to his comrade, "Alright Hacks... time to work your magic. Once inside, we duck into hiding until the grounds are dark. Then you shut down the surveillance while I set the charges. We'll be out by midnight if we do it right."
"When did we ever do it wrong?" asked the slicer. Jasper smiled at that - the two clones had fought side by side in the war with the CIS, and being alive was proof enough that they had done it right.
The duo moved forth, towards the gate. Hacks took from his backpack a handheld computer which had two data leads coming out of the top of it. Using the flora for cover, he followed along the fence line until he came to a small lid on the ground. Setting down his computer, and pulling out a screwdriver, he quickly opened the small box that lay in the ground and revealed the many wires that transmitted the communications within the house to the cameras, the gates, and even to the city far away.
He connected the leads to two major buses and smiled when his computer lit up with data. Tapping a few commands, he then linked his wrist terminal to the handheld and waited until they too were communicating. That done, he turned to Jasper, "All right, I have control of lights, gate functions, alarms, and cameras. I don't want to take anything off of its standard protocols for too long, so that no one notices. What I am going to do is start recording with the security cameras and once I get enough video, I will loop it so that the monitors in the mansion will not show us moving about the struts."
Hacks confirmed his wrist computer was controlling the other unit, and then closed its lid for the moment so that nothing happened by accident. He lifted up his blaster carbine, Jasper mirroring him, and the two moved towards the gates.
Hacks mechanics test to link into the mansion's security, and also stay covert
(http://rpg.avioc.org/boards/Themes/default/images/dice.gif) DC 20 Mechanics +17, Circumstance bonus for equipment +2
-------------------------
Roll(1d20)+19: 8,+19 Total:27
:ooc: An opposed roll may be made by any PC that might think they see something, the DC would be 27.
Also, feel free to let me know what your PC's are up to and where you are in regards to the mansion, grounds, etc. Also, RP as you'd like...
Kara was about to get out of the refresher, and was happy to get the grime off and was walking into the quarters she had been housed in, when she saw the computer terminal in corner of the room flashing strangely for a moment. She looked at the screen for a few moments and shrugged, probably just her imagination she thought, and realized it had been a while since she had felt the itch, and immediately and began to come back.
Leaving her weapons and gear in the room, she headed back to her private refresher, taking a single stick with her that she had bought, making sure to lock the room door and refresher door, just in case...
:ooc:
So I rolled a 19 on a perception check to notice something wrong, and then rolled a 1 on a use computer check to see if I couldn't figure out something was going on with the Manor security system. I hope that's not too much of metagaming. ;D
Sam works, well...mechanically on the Aegis to install the combat thrusters during the down time. There was some time still before he had to shut down for routine maintenance and figured he had better get them working as their next course of action was undecided. The physical parts of the job were mostly complete - just the cable routing and computer interfacing remained. He kept his internal commlink synched with his friends...just in case they needed him for anything.
As usual, Caden slept on the Aegis; he was rarely comfortable with leaving his "princess" unwatched.
Caden always left the ship's perimeter scanners running at night, and while Sam and Kex had the access codes, even their entries would ping him in his quarters.
It's not that Caden was a paranoid man, but he definitely believed in protecting what was his.
The work on the new combat thrusters had gone well, according to all his instruments - the advantage of buying new, he figured - and before he left the cockpit for the night, he switched on the scanners like always before heading back to his quarters.
***
Perception check (DC 27):
Roll(1d20)+8:8,+8 Total:16
:ooc: I don't know if the Aegis' perimeter scanners have any in-game function; I just added them for flavor, reasoning that starships have some sort of key-chain car alarm. ;) But if they do, It's probably worth noting that the scanners on the Aegis wouldn't be fooled by the loop on Ranie's security cams.
:ooc: Perception Roll(1d20)+8: 4,+8 Total:12
IC
There was not much else to do about the situation with Kara, so rather than pursue accusations that had no proof to back them up, Brim decided that for now he would drop the issue and simply keep a close eye on her. If she was a drug user, the signs of her addiction would eventually reveal themselves.
While the others saw to the upgrades of the starship, Brim spent his time at the villa execising and climbing (more carefully than his first attempt). He rather enjoyed the fine accomodations and the excellent food, and began to think of the time here as a vacation from the struggles with drug dealers and empires and cloaked figures with glowing eyes ...
:ooc: Okay, I have your activities for the evening (and Brim's for the two days of hardware install), but no one wanted to talk to Ranie when he returned to tell him of what you all found? I will go with the assumption that everyone was worn out by the time the Senator came home, and you guys figure you'll just talk to him in the morning and reveal the find of Seelig's bad business.
Ranie's house had once again become quiet for another night. The senator had returned with his entourage, and had quickly made himself scarce. No one in the team knew why, but it was assumed that governmental affairs had the man worn out and that he needed some rest. And so, the companions went about settling themselves for the evening - only Qinos and Brim were still about in the main study. The Rodian's arms and legs ached from the rock climbing he had done over the last two days, and he sat quietly rubbing on sore muscles. Dan sat looking over the evidence, trying to piece together Seelig, the drugs in his storage unit, and his death.
Dan was a soldier. He saw most things as black and white and investigative work was making his eyes sore. The man sat back in his chair and closed his eyes, while pinching the bridge of his nose. It was then that again he felt a weird sensation and knew that something was wrong. He abruptly stood, causing Brim to stir from his own drowse.
:ooc: More to come... I am gonna go play Xbox.
Quote from: tomcat on Aug 21, 2009, 07:15 PM
:ooc: Okay, I have your activities for the evening (and Brim's for the two days of hardware install), but no one wanted to talk to Ranie when he returned to tell him of what you all found? I will go with the assumption that everyone was worn out by the time the Senator came home, and you guys figure you'll just talk to him in the morning and reveal the find of Seelig's bad business.
:ooc: For some reason, I thought we had mentioned the drugs before Kara took the two vials, but you're right, of course. Oops. :-[ Anyway, your explanation makes sense enough to work in the story... obviously, we're not a professional detective agency here! (-D
Brim looked up and stared at Dan in that disconcerting way that Rodians were capable of. "Is something the matter, friend Dan? You suddenly look worried."
Qinos looked at Brim and then to the open door from the office that led to the living area of the mansion. The lights were out in the corridor as well as the room beyond, but something felt wrong. Maybe it was his soldier's instinct, maybe it was the Force that he had been told that he was sensitive to. Dan went with the former, "I don't know Brim, but something is going on."
Dan walked from around the desk, picking up his holstered blaster as he did. He quickly wrapped the belt around his waist and tied the holster off to his leg, then unbuckled the strap that kept the heavy weapon in place. The whole process made Brim very concerned. The rodian also stood, and followed his friend out of the office, a few paces behind.
The duo moved quietly into the living room and saw the sliding glass doors that went to the balcony overlooking the coast were open. The curtains fluttered in the strong, cool ocean winds that blew. Other than that, the room was silent, dimly lit, but empty.
:ooc: Okay, here is what I have as far as character locations:
Caden on the Aegis
Sam on the flight deck, under the Aegis (maybe working, maybe recharging)
Kara in her room, medicated
Dan and Brim, together in the house, looking around
Am I missing anyone, or incorrect with what I have? Let me know and I will make the next post.
Brim needs to make a Stealth check to move quietly, as well as Dan (but I did that); Brim also needs to make a Perception check... just give me the roll and I will determine the success and include the result via narrative.
Brian, let me know if you are going to search through the house, or what you wanna do... with Dan as an NPC now, I do not want to lead the story with him. I will react Dan to you with a little of his own initiatives.
The image below is a rough idea of how I see Ranie's place, just to give you all visual reference of where your PC's are.
(http://rpg.avioc.org/webimages/starwars/Ranie_mans.gif)
Area 1 - where Brim, Dan and Kara (in her room) are. Brim and Dan are approaching the double doors to the balcony
Area 2 - medical facility where Kex and Neja are
Area 3 - the senator's main home (private to guests, save the area where the rail goes to the landing pad)
Area 4 - flight pad; Sam and Caden are here
Area 5 - the struts that are holding the house up and over the cliff
:ooc: Looks good to me, especially since I'm uhhhhhhh medicating right now.
On the flight deck, Sam stood near the Aegis' forward landing strut. The droid had finished the last computer system links to the thrusters, and now all that needed done was a test flight.
With all that done, and Caden apparently asleep aboard his ship, the doid also went into 'sleep' mode allowing his systems to recharge. The lights that served as eyes dimmed out, but only for a moment. There was a sudden electrical change and the droid's detection systems picked it up. Sam's eyes immediately re-lit to see the mono-rail car moving and returning to the house. The droid was not completely sure, but the vehicle appeared empty.
Suddenly the night sky flared with a lightning discharge, well out over the sea. There was a storm front blowing in, and it would only be a few hours before the weather over the coast would be changing.
A lightning strike? The house systems should be shielded from that, Sam processed to himself as he went to a secondary control station of the Aegis. He interfaced the ship computer with the landing pad hookup and checked the subsystems to see if the monorail controller was online or if it was acting up.
Use computer +9
Roll d20 +9 = 11 +9 = 20
Perception +11
Roll d20 +11 = 13 +11 = 24
The computer screen began to scroll data, which Sam both read visually as well as processed internally via the data-link he made with the terminal.
All systems were functioning normally. There were no alarms or outages from the incoming, inclement weather. The droid read the command order script that was sent to the monorail car - it was a recall/lockdown order made from the main station within the house. Yet again, there were no alarms going off within the mansion.
Sam withdrew his datalink from the terminal and his head turned to look back towards the house.
:ooc: I want to let you know that they incoming storm is more for scene setting than anything else... a dark, stormy night! Perfect for murder! ;)
So, you don't have to spend a lot of time trying to connect environmental conditions with what's going on... unless that is how your PC might interpret things, so please RP how you want too! ;)
Quote from: tomcat on Sep 08, 2009, 08:09 AM:ooc: I want to let you know that they incoming storm is more for scene setting than anything else... a dark, stormy night! Perfect for murder! ;)
So, you don't have to spend a lot of time trying to connect environmental conditions with what's going on... unless that is how your PC might interpret things, so please RP how you want too! ;)
:ooc: I think we're on the same page. Sam noticed an electrical disturbance, computer systems checked out okay, wrote it off as some anomoly with the weather (missed Perception check)
What is the physical distance from the landing pad to the house (along track if traversable on foot, if needed, or along the ground)?
:ooc: I think I referenced it earlier in the story, so I may contradict myself here... but, I am going to say at least a half-mile's length. The rail line is magnetic, so there is voltage running its length, but it is shielded. So, a person could walk the length of the rail back to the house, just would need to be careful.
Brim watched Dan arm himself, then remembered that he had intended to obtain a weapon of his own after the firefight at the bar. Shaking his head at his own stupidity, Brim kept his eyes on Dan to see if he could discern the problem that his friend was somehow feeling.
The Rodian had learned from experience that it was a good thing to heed the warnings of Force users. Dan's gaze lingered on the open doors of the balcony for a moment, so Brim quietly stepped outside, scanning the area to see if anything was amiss.
:ooc:
Stealth Roll: Roll(1d20)+16: 12,+16 Total:28
Perception Roll: Roll(1d20)+8: 17,+8 Total:25
Brim walked a ways out into the night, looking around as he did - behind him, Dan followed closely. The two felt the wind picking up as it blew in from the ocean, and a flare of white light suddenly illuminated the area, lightning from the oncoming storm. Both of them saw the shape on the next balcony over that attached to the central medical facility of Ranie's house. It was by the rail, and then turned and proceeded back inside, not noticing the two observers.
:ooc: The balcony overlooking the ocean is all connected, but it is sectioned off by area of the mansion.
(http://rpg.avioc.org/webimages/starwars/Ranie_top.gif)
Jasper watched as the monorail car came to a halt within the house. He quickly typed a series of commands and the control panel went dark. Still not enough for the ex-trooper, he pulled a pair of insulated cutters, opened a small access door and cut the main control lines to the house's computer system. The tram would not be going anywhere else tonight - no one was escaping.
Behind him, keeping watch and cover with his Blastech E-11, Hacks waited until his friend was done sabotaging the monorail. He then started moving slow and quiet, back into the main house. The duo passed the limp forms of three of Ranie's security guards. They had been good, but they weren't ex-CIS ARC troopers, and the elite soldiers had easily taken them down. The questions were: how many more did they have to deal with? And when was the Shade going to give them the order to fire the charges that now were attached to the struts that kept Ranie's house poised over the picturesque ocean cliff?
Motioning for his armed friend to follow, Brim used the shadows beside the house as cover and followed after the shadow they had noticed, trying to see who it was, and whether they were supposed to be there.
:ooc: Is there any concept of fate points in this game? Kind of like "Oh look, Caden left this fully charged large caliber handgun out here on the balcony? I'll just borrow it for a moment." ;)
:ooc: LOL! Brian that is funny! No fate points to be spent in that manner, but what I am willing to go ahead with the idea that in the two days of down time Brim was able to get himself a firearm. We can even say that Kara got him one and added a mod to it with the parts she acquired. Or maybe he picked one up when he purchased his climbing gear... just pick out what you want, and deduct the cost in the book +10% for new, at base price for used (functional), cost -20% if in need of repair.
You can say it is in his room if you don't want to change your current posts, and if Brim wants to make a short detour to procure it.
Quote from: tomcat on Sep 10, 2009, 08:52 AM
:ooc: LOL! Brian that is funny! No fate points to be spent in that manner, but what I am willing to go ahead with the idea that in the two days of down time Brim was able to get himself a firearm. We can even say that Kara got him one and added a mod to it with the parts she acquired. Or maybe he picked one up when he purchased his climbing gear... just pick out what you want, and deduct the cost in the book +10% for new, at base price for used (functional), cost -20% if in need of repair.
You can say it is in his room if you don't want to change your current posts, and if Brim wants to make a short detour to procure it.
:ooc: I think that makes sense. In the Star Wars universe, it's like the Old West -
everybody's always packing heat. It's kind of assumed that someone who normally carried a weapon would immediately replace it at their first opportunity.
:ooc: Thanks. I think it is quite funny (and in character) that I have completely forgotten about arming Brim. I don't want to alter things too much from what's written already, so how is this ...
[IC]
Before the two of them moved into the shadows, Dan noticed his Rodian friend take another longing look at his readied blaster, and realized that Brim was still unarmed! He prided himself at being prepared for whatever might happen, and considering their encounters since they had arrived on Bakura, Dan had acquired a suitable backup. With a wry grin, he pulled a shiny new snub nosed hold-out blaster from his belt. He had picked it up a few days ago, and even had the resourceful Kara take a look at it. She had modified it slightly to boost the power from the small weapon.
Dan pushed the blaster into Brim's hands, and the Rodian responded with a grateful nod.
:ooc: I'll pay for the weapon and assume that Dan will let Brim keep it later on. Don't know if the suggested modification is possible - I'll check the books later.
:ooc: That is perfect man! ;) I like keeping the comic relief of it all, as well.
Feeling a bit more confident with a blaster in his hand, the Rodian moved forward towards the medical facility's entrance. Once at the door, Brim stopped and peered round the corner into the first room. He was relieved that there were at least lights on, though they were glowing dimly to reflect the night.
Seeing nothing, the two companions moved inside and began to look about. Though this section of the house was where Ranie's personal physician and his aids resided and worked, the area was still adorned with the creature comforts of a home. Small private rooms downstairs contained either medical equipment or provided for patient recovery, while the doctor and his staff lived upstairs.
The room in which Brim and Dan found themselves was another sitting room, with luxuries of a vid screen and couches, along with what looked like a refreshment bar for any that might want to enjoy a drink on the patio balcony. There was a door in front of them and to their left, while to the right, a passage extended.
(http://rpg.avioc.org/webimages/starwars/med_fac.gif)
Sam had his eyes on the monorail station in Ranie's mansion, where the tram had just been recalled, when the computer panel on the Aegis beeped. The droid turned back to look and immediately noticed that the monorail controls had just gone completely offline. He tapped so buttons with no response, and then reinserted his datalink to talk directly with the house's computer.
The main computer responded to the droids input and returned the information that the main power and communication to the monorail station was completely offline. Not shut or locked down, but offline.
"Why?" queried the droid, both audibly - a custom he had picked up from humans - and electronically to the computer.
[...]
SYS ANALYSIS...
DAMAGE TO MAIN CIRCUITRY LINK AND POWER GRID...
REASON: NONE/EXTERNAL...
MONORAIL: OFFLINE
[...]
Britton Rand had always seemed to find himself in places he had never expected. Here he was now, on the planet Bakura, working for a security firm and indirectly for Senator Kal Ranie.
After the Clone War, as a soldier, Rand found himself with only a few options - to get a job with a legitimate company within the Empire, or to go off on the fringe and either sell his gun as a mercenary, or even take up the role of a bounty hunter. He had worked his whole life to follow a path that would appease his father, and so he had taken the legitimate route and hired on with the security firm, Parsec Intel and Security. But now, after the few months he spent on this backwater planet, he was beginning to feel that all he had done was sell his gun.
Rand was restless tonight for some reason, finding no way to close his eyes to get some sleep. He stood up and walked over to the window of his apartment room, which was nestled (along with his other fellow employees) in the lowest level of Ranie's mansion, within the main house. Fortunately, the apartments had the seaside exposure and had one hell of a view, that was, if you didn't have one of the massive pilings that supported the house in front of your window. Rand was fortunate not to.
He gazed out into the night watching the foamy seatide rolling in. "What a constant," he thought. He also noticed the lightning from the incoming storm, but then his eyes caught something else. On the massive strut, just to the left of his window appeared to be a small box... which had a blinking light?!
In her refresher, Kara had finished medicating herself and was starting to feel the high beginning to subside. It was quiet in her room, save for the light music that she had playing. Was another stick in order to end the night?
:ooc: Give me some narrative/dialogue/actions please for what your PC's want to do.
Britton got as close to the small box with the blinking light as he could to find out what it was.
:ooc: How do we roll dice here?
:ooc: Hey Gregg - Rand was in his bedroom looking out his window when he saw the device, if you would please give me story narration of your PC's actions that would be great (i.e. that he hurriedly got dressed and ran out of his room, or opened his window and climbed out... or whatever). Thanks!
As for dice rolling, there is a set of dice in the to p left corner of the game forums. Click it and it should open the dice roller for you. Please give me the reason for the dice roll, skill being used, and any applicable mods. Then cut and paste the results from the dice result window.
Thanks!
:ooc: I'm going to try and make a Perception check to see if I can make out better what the box is. Would my knowledge of Mechanics help any?
Sam pondered the possibilities for a moment. That is to say his processors ran through thousands of iterations, factoring out the unlikely to arrive at the most probable circumstance to match the facts as they were presented. Another second passed and he thought of rousing Caden, but remained connected for one instant more, scanning through the other house systems to see if there were other anomalies. An uneasy feeling began to grow but his logic compensators quickly damped it down. He needed some hard proof.
Use computer +9
Roll d20 +9 = 12 +9 = 21
Perception +11
Roll d20 +11 = 13 +11 = 24, (Use a Force Point)
Force Point +d6, 5 + 24 = 29
Sam probed deeply into the house's computer controlled systems - from the benign such as the cycles of the washing machines, to the important of intrusion alarm and cctv systems. Though to a human's perception it would seem only moments for the droid to begin to garner information, to Sam it was internally clocked in nanoseconds which seemed to drag on and on, as the droid read through, and processed, millions of lines of code.
Finally, he found something weird. There were override codes written just a few hours earlier, that were injected into the mainframe from an outside processer. By looking at an electronic mapping of all the external inputs, Sam was able to literally see where the computer had been compromised and how. He could see an ancillary connection was made on the outside of the compound gates, and that communication to the ancillary device was still being maintained. The droid was impressed with the subtlety of the injection of the device and the codes it had discreetly overwritten. Sam also could see that there was a loop file in process. In his own processor, the droid read/viewed the file and saw it was a series of images from the mansion external cameras.
In his room, Rand's eyes opened wide with understanding as he looked at the device attached to the strut. What was worse, the soldier began to peer all around the support bracings and he could now see there were multiple devices on multiple struts.
:ooc: Gregg, your character easily recognizes the attached explosive devices for what they are.
Brim turned and whispered to Dan. "Whoever was out on the balcony has moved away from here. Perhaps we should check on the patients in the infirmary. It could be that someone is after Neja." Without waiting for a reply, Brim moved quietly into the hall leading to Neja and Kex's rooms, keeping his blaster trained ahead of him.
:ooc: Caden's probably recently nodded off to sleep; his cabin locked, his blaster on the table by his bunk and his computer link to the cockpit still as active as always. 50/50 that he just conked out in his clothes. ;)
Sam considers the implications of the information and recognizes the folly in trying to regain control of the systems. Whoever sliced into the Senator's secure computers knew exactly what they were doing and likely were monitoring it or had safeguards to prevent tampering. They were likely doing it to hide their true purpose, which was most likely of the nefarious type and occuring right now. There could be little coincidence that these events were linked to their discoveries of the past few days.
Sam went to the locker and grabbed his slugthrower rifle and satchel of equipment. As he did so he composed a text message and sent it out on a secure burst to all of the party's communicators:
Perimeter compromised.
Unknown attackers in compound.
House security systems down.
He pounded on the bulkhead hard with his fist. "We've got trouble, Caden."
Britton quickly turned and headed to retrieve Ranie, using whatever communications he could to warn everyone else in the mansion of of the explosives. (ie. communications being yelling, comlink, ect.)
:ooc: ;D Tommy likey!
Dan and Brim both heard the warning transmission from Sam, and although both knew that the house had been compromised, it was a comfort to know the whole team was aware.
Dan nodded at Brim's suggestion and the two quickly moved up the hall to the infirmaries two recovery rooms. Rounding the corner, they each felt their hearts begin to race when it became clearly visible that the rooms had been forced open. Brim went to Neja's room, and Dan to Kex's - both were empty!
Suddenly, emanating through the ceiling above, a sharp cry was heard, "NO!"
Then came a distinctive sound of a snapp-hiss, as an energy weapon flared to life.
Kara, still in a bit of a stupor, heard her comm start to chime and then Sam's voice...
"Perimeter compromised.
Unknown attackers in compound.
House security systems down."
She wanted to react, but she still wasn't sure what she was hearing...
Caden heard the metallic pounding on the bulkhead of the Aegis, more than heard Sam's alert... until the droid's message began to chime from the pilot's own comlink. He snapped awake and quickly looked about to catch his bearings and try to make heads or tails of what he just heard.
Rand picked up his personal communication device, along with his blaster, and ran from his room. He followed down the long hall from the apartments where he and his fellow teammates lived, towards the stairs that led up to the main house. It was dark in the corridor, which threw him off, as it was normally lit - only two battery operated emergency lights were active. In the murk, as he came towards the stairs, a crumpled form of a body lay at the foot. Rand immediately recognized the man as one of the security team who were on night shift. The wound in the man's back showed how he had met his fate. Britton estimated it to be a vibroblade of some sort.
Stepping over the body, he sent out a quick communication and began to climb the stairs. Just then, another shape, at the top, moved slightly into view and a blaster erupted fire in his direction.
Throughout the mansion, everyone could hear it.
:ooc: Gregg, the first floor map of the mansion will be up shortly along with the rolls I need from you.
The thumping was what woke Caden up, and he instinctively grabbed his blaster and glanced at the computer screen. Then Sam's message came through. The crime syndicate had taken the fight to them. Kal, Kex and and the rest were in big trouble - and if the security systems were down, the monorail was too.
They were trapped on the landing platform, a half-mile tightrope walk across the narrow rail in a coming storm. Even if they made it across by some stroke of luck, it'd be all over by then.
Caden leapt into his pants and boots, threw on a shirt without bothering to button it and raced for the cockpit. He heard Sam sifting through his locker on the ship and shouted as he went: "Sam! Get the rescue gear and buckle up!"
:ooc: Caden's going to start the Aegis up and lift off. He doesn't know if there's room to land in the driveway (probably not) or anywhere else, but staying where he is isn't an option. He's planning on moving to a position in front of the home with a clear view of the roof and windows, if possible, and hover there with repulsors.
:ooc: Crikey!
Brim had heard that sound before, and he knew it meant trouble. He looked down at the nice shiny blaster in his hand and once again recalled the old Rodian proverb about the fool bringing a stick to a gunfight. In this case the same probably applied to bringing a blaster to a lightsaber battle.
Brim turned to Dan. "Did you hear the lightsaber? We need to go upstairs. If there is a good Jedi up there, we can rejoice and be glad that all of us are saved. But if it is a bad Jedi, we need to shoot many times and as quickly as possible." With a nervous grin he added, "Sometimes they actually do miss a deflection ... sometimes."