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The Aegis was again moving at lightspeed. The ship was now making the long jump up the Hydian Way towards the distance star known as Tantis, and the penal moon Tantau II that orbited the gas giant Tantau.

The voyage to Taris had been quite uneventful, and for the first time in a while, even the planetside stay had been quiet. Not that the crew found the place too hospitable. Taris had once been a thriving ecumenopolis - its landmasses all completely covered with shining city towers. Like Coruscant and Nar Shadaa, the city planet thrived within the safety of the Old Republic but war, corruption, and decay slowly brought the planet down. It was during the times of the Old Republic and the Sith Wars that Taris took its first blow. Darth Revan had committed a campaign of orbital bombardment that left most of the planet in ruins. Although much of the city would be rebuilt in the following centuries, many ruins remained. The planet's ocean and the kelp farming it supplied was also devastated by pollution from industry.

During the Cold War that followed the Great Galactic War, the Republic took up the difficult task of recolonizing Taris, establishing a spaceport, a military base, and settlements. The Republic believed that rebuilding Taris would be a substantial symbolic victory against the Old Sith Empire. Many centuries after the planet's devastation, Taris was finally resettled by Human colonists. These settlers were famous for their ship-building skills. These settlers rebuilt some of the planet's former cities, though much of the surface was left in ruin. Not long after, Taris was linked to the Hydian Way - the sole route that passed through the entire galaxy.

During the final days of the Republic and the Clone Wars, Taris was considered a "faded" city-world and was represented in the Galactic Senate by the human female, Kin Robb. When she found the battlefronts getting closer to her homeworld, she joined the Council of Neutral Systems under Duchess Satine Kryze, hoping it would keep her world out of the fighting. But what truly kept the planet out of the war was the lack of interest in it - save for a place to base, Taris had few resources left to offer.


When Caden had pulled the Aegis up and out of the planet's atmosphere, he had been relieved. It was sad to see the pathetic struggle of life on Taris and he knew now why the contraband that he had been paid to move was sent. There was little money left on the planet, but great need, and so the black market merchandise was made easily available to the colonies - items that the New Order would not see fit to waste on a world in decay.

That had been three days ago. Now the crew of the Aegis sat about, just aft of the Aegis' bridge, in the explorer's primary lab. Caden and Kex had re-fit the lab into a planning area with star charts and holo projectors, using the original equipment in ways that they were not designed. But it was still resourceful - even more so now that they had needed to plan an incursion into an Imperial prison.

Over one of the projector tables was the holo-image of the gas giant Tantau II and its series of small moons that hung amongst the asteroids in orbit. On the other planning table, schematics that were found on public files on the holonet were displayed. The data was old and the accuracy could not be guaranteed, but still it was something. The administration areas, maintenance sheds, hangar bay, and the penal area were all displayed.

The prison building was three stories wrapped around by the administation complex, maintenance buildings, the comm towers, and the landing bay. It was extensive, but not massive. It was also no longer a high priority prison and so the garrison of troops stationed there would not be great.

The crew of the Aegis were all aware that they were on a new desperate mission, but two did not know all the details. Kara and Logar'Dan looked at the two projector tables and the information they displayed. The public information that was available on the holonet read:

System: Tantis - Type G, Yellow bright dwarf star
Planets: 4 planetary system
-- Tantol, Class-D rocky planetoid in short orbit of Tantis; extreme environment, no life capable
-- Tantel, Class-F rocky planet in median orbit of Tantis; extreme environment, no life capable
-- Tantau, Class-J gas giant in median orbit of Tantis; extreme environment, no life capable
-- -- -- asteroid belt
-- -- -- Tantau II, Class-D rocky planetoid (moon) in orbit around Tantau; environment, normal gravity, can sustain life with protection from radiation
-- Tansil, Class-F rocky planet in wide orbit of Tantis, extreme environment, no life capable without support

There was more, but it was computer generated statistics of gravity wells, radiation levels, and magnetic fields - all important, but nothing that any of the crew really needed to know. Rather the images and information that did interest them all was the Republic built penal facility that sat on the far side of Tantau II from its gas giant planet. The public information for the prison was listed as well:

Tantau II Republic Penal Facility
-- prison facility built for dangerous convicts within the galaxy;
-- prison specifications - three story confinement center; control and administrative station; medical and barracks; hangar bay
-- facility is powered by quad-core nuclear plant along with geothermal syncs
-- standard sensor system and hi-frequency supra-luminal holonet communication link
-- garrison strength: base 25, not including adminstrative and command personnel

Kara and Logar were also mulling over the purpose of it all - to enter a now Imperial-run facility to retrieve a political prisoner taken to the rock, left to die and fade from memory. The importance of the individual was none to clear, save that the man was an engineer with the technical designs in his head of a new advanced fighter ship.

Brim gestured towards the three-dimensional display of the facility that was above one table, "There is a sub-surface maintenance channel into the maintenance shack on the one side of the prison. It would make for a discreet way to enter the facility... as long as it is still viable."

The information was old and none knew if the tunnel was caved in, secured by a new barrier, or whatever. Who knows what might have been changed since the new paranoia of the Empire now reigned supreme? Then again, Tantau II was about as far off the beaten path that anyone could ever go. Being stationed there had to be a dismal existence.

As had been discussed with Organa, the ingress to the planet would be safest on the orbital side that faced the gas giant. The radiation along with the body of the planetoid would block all sensors. Once within the confines of the planet's atmosphere, they could use the natural landscape by flying in low, to hide their presence. Thus allowing them to get in close enough to then move to the facility on foot. The side of the planetoid on which the prison sat was safe from the dangerous radiation that bathed Tantau II from its giant neighbor. The atmosphere and gravity of the planetoid was also within safe levels for all the human and humanoid members of the Aegis.

---

:ooc: if anyone has a question, let me know. If you want more information than what is displayed will require a Gather Information test DC 25 and may have to come from some outside contact and require a favor or other payment source.

:ooc: I'll try to discreetly get more up-to-date information on the facility on our stop-over to drop off the contraband in Taris. I will try to meet an anti-imperial contact--maybe an escapee from the prison we may have heard about, or someone who used to work there but is now willing to give info to support anti-imperial movements. I'll make two rolls:

1) I want to persuade them to give details to support work against free of charge or very highly discounted since I have very few funds, though I am willing to pay up to 200 credits left to my name if I must.
Persuade:

2) Gather Information check to get the following:

• Updated schematics of the place
• List of prisoners including dossiers beyond the one guy we're tasked with getting (there may be others we'll want to rescue)
• Anyone garrisoned there that we could maybe bribe or contact who would be willing to work against the Empire
• Scheduled times for resupply of the outpost, patrol routes, etc.

Not sure if anyone else can or wants to assist with this roll, but she'll likely need some help. She will use a force point if needed on this one.
Gather Information:

:ooc: Jingo - the only test you are missing it the Gather Information test to find a contact on Taris that might know anything about the Tantau II penal moon. The test is DC 25 and will require bribes if successful. The first roll will determine if you found anyone; the second roll is to determine this persons attitude towards you, which in turn will determine the DC of your persuasion test - the results will be 1-5, right down table 4-4 in the CRB. Lastly, will be the Force Point roll you wanted to make.

Obviously since this is contacts made on Taris, which is behind us story-wise, these tests will reflect Kaida's efforts on the planet two days ago.

:ooc: The dice fell bad... the Gather Information to find someone failed and the Force Point spent to cover a roll was not enough... so Kaida gained no other information on Taris.

Kaida - Spent Force Point  :csu:

Caden zoomed into a closer view of Tantau II where the prison sat. It was mounted atop a plateau that had been cut into the planetoid's surface by a recessed river. The holographic image displayed the chemical make-up of the river as H2O2... hydrogen peroxide. The planet did have a source of water, but it would need to be treated before it could be used to drink, for now it was naught but bleach.


The wide river valley had another plateau just south of where the prison sat that would provide valuable cover for the Aegis' approach. The Bestinian manipulated the holo-images and laid the prison over the terrain map and the long maintenance/drainage tunnel could easily be traced to where it opened on the river for waste disposal. It would be easy for the ship to set down south of the prison and the crew make its way north to the access tunnel.

Caden spoke, "The turrets that can be plainly seen on the front and side balconies of the prison make me hesitant to approach the facility by any other means than the underground tunnel. The maintenance tunnel would deposit us just under the prison most likely at that maintenance shack." He pointed to the small one-story structure that was mated to the barracks and power plant.

Brim answered, "If that is a nuclear plant - it is possible we could be facing radioactive waste in that tunnel. Dangerous for most of us, let alone the radiation that bathes the planet."

"But the radiation from Tantau should be blocked by the planetoid's mass," replied Caden. "I agree with you of the fear of nuclear waste radiation, but I am sure Sam can keep a read on that for us, right big guy?" The Bestinian looked to the silent droid and then continued, "It would take us a good number of years sitting in those UV rays for us to develop some ill-effects."

The Rodian thought about how long the prison had been there and whispered, "Well hopefully nothing has been."

Caden turned to Sam and the two soldiers, "Well... you guys were trained for this stuff. Is it a tactically sound idea?"

---

:ooc: Also, John, Logar'Dan has just been brought into the fold regarding what is going on and the raid on the prison to free an engineer (this is not in the post above, but you can either ask the others about what's going on, so it is story, or read the thread called Meetings in Secret). Please give me some insight as to what he thinks. Is he cool with all this? It doesn't have to be in dialogue to the other characters, you can just give me narrative on his thoughts, if you prefer.

That kind of goes for ALL PC's. You guys are about to cross a threshold into acts against the government... you are about to become Rebels. That might be heady to some characters... to others, it might be the thing you all have been waiting on. Also remember, the New Order (or the Empire) is only about 5 years old - the Clone Wars ended in 19 BBY, and our story is taking place in 14 BBY. That said, the atrocities that Vader and the local Moffs may have committed may not be as prevelant yet. Alien species would be feeling the noose, as they were kind of sequestered and taken out of positions of authority. Oppression is starting to happen and white-shelled troopers are becoming common, but still... it is all fresh.

Your PC might just hate the fact that the Republic is no longer that... instead now, an Imperial state.

Anyway, keep these things in mind as you post, and I look forward to it all.

Britton cleared his throat as they all looked at the schematics and the layouts again.

"Well we have no new information so I guess the plan that we were given is about as good as we are going to get."

Britton walked around the holo projections hand on his chin, "Only one thing that bothers me...why do we break out only one guy, why not all of them? No one deserves to be left forgotten in a backwater Imperial prison on the edge of the galaxy because they disagree. I know if I was in there I would want out, and frak, I might be in a place just like this soon. Can we get everyone out? Do we have weapons we can give the prisoners? The Empire wont know why all the prisoners were broken out but they will be able to figure out why one was so it serves a tactical purpose too."

Britton looked around at those around them, "If we are going to fight the Empire lets do it for the nameless and the faceless, not just those who are known or important to important and rich people."

"There are 35 storm troopers, they have to work 24 hour shifts, we can make a guess that they do either 12 or 8 hour shifts. I did security work, once upon a time you may recall and in a back water like this I would guess they are working in three shifts of 8 hours. There is nothing to do in a place like this but work, but not working is better than standing around with all your gear on. That and the officers will know that the soldiers will stop paying attention even if they are standing there. So, say there are 10 guards per shift, one guys in charge of the troops, one guy is in charge over all making his own hours and working during the day, and a handful of admin guys and maintenance that work during the day. So if we attack at night we are facing 11 guys who will be suited up and ready to fight. The rest will be in various states of disarray and chances are that even if there is a drill if they come under attack no one has practiced it since they got here or at all. So we need to quickly reduce those who are on shift and then just mop up those who are not. Maybe we can mask our attack to look like some kind of system failure. That would provide initial confusion that would wake everyone up and then they would ignore it."
Britton looked around getting excited with is own plan, and looked back that map.

"YEAH...... the tunnel leads to the maintenance bay, you jack nuts and bolts over here into the network, he can give them false readings like there is a fire, then tell the system there is a flood, then something else and keep setting off different failures. The maintenance guys will get dispatched, they wont have any guns and any thing that happens it will take people awhile to realize that there is actually an attack going on and not some weird glitch or mechanical problem. Response time and alertness will be even lower because no one there actually cares to be suspicious. We may even be able to bag the maintenance guys and get better info on the place."

Britton looked up at everyone, "set up a spot to see if we can figure out when their shift changes are, pick a time, cause some mayhem on their comms and weapons stations, storm the castle, imprison the guards, rescue the prisoners, and all head back here to the happy wagon, for space trip food and caf. How's that for a Commando Raid on an Imperial Prison on the edge of the world!"

"And BOOM goes their happy time!"

Logar cleared his throat. "Id have to agree on almost all those points. Your approach plan is sound, you dont want to fly anywhere near those turrets. And i strongly agree with playing games with there comps, if we can bag a maintenance crew theyll know all the ins and outs and possibly have access cards or another keylike device. Where i think you might be making a mistake is considering to free all the prisoners. I agree it would be a great distraction and sure some of these folks probably got the shaft from the empire and dont belong here. But what about the ones who do belong, the ones just as likely to want to rape and kill us as shake our hands, you let them out and arm them and weve got another threat to ourselves and the mission........... But, either way im in."

:ooc: Excellent post, Tom and John!

---

Brim listened intently to the soldiers speak. It was not within his purview to plan such things, but once laid out before him seemed very easy and understandable. He marvelled at how a person was able to think out a challenge in such a way. He spoke, "I agree with Britton in the removal of all prisoners... it would make for a less obvious reason on why the facility was raided. Yet, Logar's reasoning seems more sound. Do we really want to release some awful criminals back into the galaxy?"

Britton listened to what everyone had to say after he said what was on his mind. The excitement of the moment didn't appear to have carried him way, he listened to all the points and comments of what were said and weighed them for the merit and wisdom they may have contained.

"Our information indicates that most of these people here are political prisoners and not violent criminals. We don't have to arm them all, in fact we probably won't have enough weapons to do so, even if we were to find all the blasters in the prison. The most difficult part would be dropping them off somewhere or in groups where they had a chance to make it on their own and not compromise the mission as a whole. This mission is different than anything else we have done so far. This isn't survival, if that were our aim we would have begged borrowed or stole enough credits to exist in some corner of the galaxy, alone and in hiding, but a life none the less. But this? This is crossing a line. We go from being vagabonds space dust exiles to making a statement, a political statement. We can rise above our own selfish interests of self preservation and exceed the goals of a politician, a thug, or a gangster. We can, here, in this back water do something that has a meaning greater than the sum total of ourselves or our own selfish aims to survive.
     Chances are whether we succeed or fail here in time, maybe a few cycles or maybe a lot, end up in a place like this ourselves for the things we are being accused of doing. In fact being in a place like this we might in some future date consider ourselves lucky. But if this mission is the one where we cross a line, be it weight of the crime, or ideological departure, then let us do it on our own terms.
     I fought in the Clone Wars; I served proudly despite the end result of that conflict and would not trade that time for any other. Some have an idealized view of the Republic, some saw flaws in it and thought the Empire was a solution. But most of those people as individuals couldn't change the end result anymore than the fate of a dock rat in a radiation storm. The hyperdrive on that ride was set by someone else and we were all along for the ride. But if I am going to use my blaster on this rock to kill I don't want it to be for a Senator, a dead republic, an Empire, or some engineer with important friends. For once I want to do it for someone who couldn't do it on their own and deserved a chance. Perhaps by trying we may even save ourselves or those who may be facing what will be our future."

Britton stopped and looked around, he wasn't sure why he felt so strongly about it. At some point maybe the running and the hiding got to him as a soldier, maybe the Senator had said something that inspired him, or maybe it was hearing the story of Kaida's families defiance to stand when no else did, but something made him angry at the symbol of this prison on the display.

At that Britton looked down at the deck and mumbled, "I'm sorry, I was just a blasterman in a squad, no great military thinker or commander. Sorry I got carried away Cap but I think this is finally a place where we can fight, if not directly against those who have chased us across the galaxy at least the next best thing. Whether they are guilty or not, there is no justice for the person who would find themselves here."

:ooc: really kick ass posts, Tom. You have me ready to go in there gun a'blazing.  ;)

"Your words ring in my heart, Britton," said Brim. "You do argue a strong case for us to go to Tantau and liberate the oppressed, and certainly there are many that need to be liberated. There are many unjust things happpening that are far out of most of our control, but we must remember... this was a Republic prison first. It was used to contain individuals that our galactic democratic society had deemed as unsafe, due to their actions. These were not freedom fighters, these were individuals that commited crimes against our laws and thus have been punished. We cannot let the fervor of our new ambitions cause us to make hasty and ill choices. To turn some of these folk back out onto society would make us no better than the Empire we now take up arms against."

The Rodian was sympathetic, "Let us evaluate those incarcerated there on a case by case basis, and then decide, but also we must keep our eye on the ball." He turned to the others, "What say you... does it seem wise to grant freedom to all because we now feel the oppression of a greater force? Are their actions and choices given reprieve due to the greater evils that this Empire is starting to commit?"

Brim had not, as of yet, revealed much of his past. He had served in the Clone Wars, too. He was once part of the proud Republic Scout Service. He had seen first hand the effects of the war and then Order 66. He became an outlaw due to his associations with an Order that did nothing but keep the peace in the Galaxy. He watched younglings blown away by the white-shelled clones, as they trained in the Academy on Cularin. Brim disappeared into the fringe society of the galaxy... until he was rescued by Caden and Kex. He knew there was justice in society ... even for those that had made bad choices. They were tried and justice was done. The changes of their political world did not warrant a breach in the most basic of society's rules. The Rodian thought of what he learned while being amongst the Jedi on Cularin. He knew in his heart that he was following the path. Knew that Ulric would have agreed with him.

Sam listened in on the mission planning. He had little in the way of tactical programming. He was more tasked-based in his approach to things...leave the thinking to others. (Wait...'nuts and bolts'???...now hold on a minute.) Sam analyzed the plan and computed probabilities based on the available information. But too few inputs and too many variables made any prediction guesswork, at best.

Sam viewed the displays and compared them against his own internal copies to look for any errors in the combination of datasets that might throw off the scale of this endeavour. Satisfied with the integrity of the images and mapping, still frightfully little for a mission of this complexity, he considered his suggested role.

"Just because I'm a droid, doesn't mean I can talk my way past any computer. I have middling skill at best, so let's not hinge this mission on me being able to trick a defence net. It is likely to have some strong encryption. Likewise, I can go ahead and ensure the passage is habitable for you to follow, but this frame was not built for stealth. We need to be prepared to come hard and heavy at a moment's notice should things go spinward."

Logar listened to the whirlwind of idealism around him. He was moved by there words, a strange feeling for him. Logar had had been fighting for two decades, but never for a better reason than staying alive, or a few credits. He needed this, more than he could ever explain. And who would he tell, how would this crew take knowing the things hed done to get by. The easy road of not asking questions, just point and shoot when told to. Well he was determined to make a better life for himself. One his mother would be proud of. If he closed his eyes he could see her face, freshly bruised from a recent beating. The defiance in her eyes as she came to the decision to sneak back into the kitchens to steal food for her starving son. He needed this, the whole damn galaxy needed this. " Well like i said, im in. Either way, free them all or take the time and see which ones deserve to be there. The decision is up to you all. Im the new guy. And if we cant trick the comps then im more than ready to come hard and heavy." He smiled and waited to see who would make the final call.

"What justice was there in the old Republic that it was so sick as to need to become an Empire to the rejoicing of most of the core worlds? I will freely admit that in the begining I thought the Empire was an improvement so was it the Republic that was hijacked or was it the spirit of the Empire that left the path of justice first?
  We wont have time to cull the prisoner manifest and then sit in judgement on their crimes, even if the information that imprisoned them was accurate. Are you not, in the eyes of some, an assasin of an Imperial Senator Brim? This is an out of the way prison for people that are to be forgotten, not a pit to put rapists smugglers and thieves. We have already started down the path of passing life and death judgement when we shoot a soldier for the uniform he wears not the pesonal ideals he may have, so if we are to be judges I say in this case, freedom. Will it be in all cases right? No i dont think it will be, but if we have the opportunity to break some others out of there and still accomplish our mission than i think we should. It will also serve a tacical purpose of giving us more help to take the prison, as well as strategic to confuse the empire on what our actual goal here was."

Britton smiled, "Its going to be hard and heavy either way, the computer stuff is to add to the chaos. we dont have to hack the system, so much as screw it up. If we can get in and take out the cannons and comms, then the ship can come up and support us with the gun turrets and get us and anyone with us out of there. "

:ooc: I have some really cool visions in my head of the upcoming events! The Aegis hovering over the imperial prison with laser cannons flaring! While inside, freedom fighters kick some ass.

---

Brim sighed. There would be a constant break in their ranks due to idealism. He was not sure that Britton was wrong. It came down to a decision, and who was to make that final decision? They were a loose band of fringers, but would need to organize into a coherent unit if they were to survive. To do that required a leader, but who had enough clout and charisma to take up that status? The captain? It was obvious that Caden did not want such authority. The noble? She was used to leading, wasn't she? At least used to ruling over others, but that was not always the same. Still, she had been good at taking command in their last few skirmishes. The last question was, would they all follow her lead? Brim regretted the loss of Ulric. He could have been the one to fill that position.

"We could ruminate our positions forever, and in the end, neither be completely right, or wrong. T'is something that makes me think what the senate floor must have been like... and that takes a kind of person and a kind of patience that I neither have, nor the time. That said, I agree with your plan, Britton. It is well thought out and we should be able to see it through. The decision of freeing the prisoners will come down to someone else's judgment, but for myself, I am only entering this prison to rescue the engineer Antar Danjapa. I will not hinder your efforts, unless I see that one amongst them to be freed is truly despicable, but nor will I help." The Rodian closed that chapter of the debate in his brain. "So, we have Sam entering the maintenance corridor with our team and he will try to disrupt the prison's computerized infrastructure. We also have the Aegis ready as aerial support and pickup. Britton and Brim will also be on the raiding team, as will I. Who else goes in and who stays with the Aegis?"

Britton recognized that having said his thoughts and planted the seeds, the situation on the ground would ultimately shape the events to come. Rescuing one or many was all the same as far as the plan went. Britton looked to the Captain to see if he should shut up or continue,

"I don't know the internal lay out of this place so it will somewhat fall to chance and contingency. I would say we break down into three groups, one the assault element, the second a reserve to exploit opportunity and conduct secondary objectives, and the third the ship itself. I think Logar, Sam and myself should be the assault force to force our entry and deal with the immediate armed garrison, the second group of Brim and Kaira will support us or break off if that should prove necessary. The third group, the Captain on the ships guns, and Kara standing by for either a comm signal to fly in and open with the guns, to pick us up, or load us up at the assault position when we return. Our priorities inside will be to attempt to confuse the garrison through use of the maintenance area, storm the control room to find out where our prisoner is, breach the prison proper and retrieve our target, suppressing or destroying the garrison as we go. The second group can hold the control room and attempt to immobilize the communications and external weapons systems while holding the withdrawal route open for the whole group. Loss or capture of the assault team will abort the mission, loss of group two will require the ship to blast a hole out for the assault group, and loss of the ship means we pick out the cells we like best and get our names written on the wall before we are summarily shot and dumped in a ditch. Best time of attack is half way through one of the night shifts if we can determine when they change over, mostly likely if it's a 12 or 8 hour shift 2-3 am would be the best attack time either way.
  How am I doing Sam?"

Sam considered the plan. Tactically it was sound but there was no room for error. If one element got bogged down there may not be enough support to push ahead with objectives. So many things had to go well to pull this off, but surprise was a valuable ally. That would be key. "With our available resources, Britton, it seems the best we can do. Stealth and freedom of movement will be key. We should acquire some breaching charges in case our path gets blocked. I've never been one to believe in only following the path presented."

:ooc: The serious decisions that Caden will make, I am going to leave for him to reply. But this I can do...

---

Caden shook his head a moment for not bringing up the schematics. "Amateur," he told himself as he hit a button. Well, it was true... this was his first attack on a facility. He hoped they would all live to see it through.

The second table that had shown the three-dimensional image of Tantau II disappeared, and a series of two-dimensional architectural blueprints spread across. They were lit in orange and the projector table darkened behind them making it easy to see what was what.

---

 :ooc: Map 1 are the circled T's turbo lifts?
There are no underground levels so the prison is all above ground right?
Is there only one gun turret?
Where does one enter the barracks level? It appears like the stairs go up to the second storage level, and so does the lift,but how does one enter and exit this level?

I am somewhat spacial confused on how these different levels stack on one another and fit together.

:ooc: First let me explain that I do not have really nice map making software... most of this stuff I do with Microsoft Paint and the rest I grab from other sources. Point is, I had a patchwork of maps that I wanted to use for this prison so I drew the outside of the prison to mirror the shapes of the maps. It doesn't work perfectly, but it's close enough for government work.

Anyway Tom, I have posted my overhead drawing with where the inner maps would be, and how they would orient to help with your confusion - it is below.

As to your questions:

• The circled T's are part of the reactor - what they do is not relevant, unless you need me to define them.
• There is an underground conduit for waste that leads out to the river shown on the external map. It is a maintenance tunnel so it either connects to the maintenance shack, or the power plant... you guys will have to figure that out.
• There are three external manned turrest on the prison's face, and one on the back over the hangar.
• I will link the different sections of the building with obvious locations for doors. While the sections of the prison can be locked down from one another, it is not during normal operations.
• I would use the maps as mirrors for each floor, but obviously it would make no sense. The only one that does is the actual prison layout (3 floors of it).
• Above the admin area is a control room. Off it will be a passage that leads to the outer turret on that face of the building.
• Above the medical/barracks area will be storage, maybe some more bunk rooms and passages to the turrets on that face.
• I will put it all together cleaner for you once you guys are in there - remember... things may have changed inside. It kind of works though, because it seems easy engineering for far away planetoids to have things modular and put it together once at its location.

Anything else, give me a shout.

Kara didn't have any issues of the plan of her standing by on the ship ready to move, she wondered if Caden would really trust her under fire to not run and leave them there.  He had to know that Kara had the ability to run and have the ship sold off on the black market in less than a week.  She wondered if the soldier knew of her past, in the previous mission she had held tight, but then there was not as much worry of being shot at by Imperial TIE fighters.  Kara stood there thinking as they discussed the plan.

"I have no issues with the plan, but I think soldier or not, that everyone should have their say."  Kara looked at Kaida then the Captain.  "Captain, this is going to be a mission where people might not come back alive.  No need to sugar coat it."  Kara wanted to say more, but was worried after her previous run in with Kaida of making her even more of an enemy. 

:ooc:

Some of these maps are familiar to me.  :P

"Well, start collecting the things you all will need," Caden muttered. He didn't like to hear Sam's candid version of their operation, after hearing the upbeat confidence from Britton. "Most of us are going to have to rely on our own personal weapons as there is not a huge arsenal on board. Sam, if you need breaching charges, then maybe you can find a way to fabricate some. Organa asked us to do this, but he didn't really give us a lot to work with."

"Perhaps that was the reason for Ulric accompanying us to the ship, on Jovan," said Brim. "Maybe he had gear stowed in the space station's hangar for us. We'll never know."

"Maybe," sighed Caden. "Nothing we can do about it now, but try and see this done. We have one more day until we will enter the Tantis system. I will leave it up to you to finalize the mission plans."

Logar interjected again. "Ive got to take stock of my equipment, but im sure i have a few grenades to spare for you Britton and maybe a few for our back up team. Also ill be using my rifle, which leaves me a few sidearms for distribution, a heavy and a regular sized blaster pistol. If that'll help?"

 :ooc: Roger that, thanks Tomcat the overlay image helps. The only other is how are the sections connected to one another? The prison is broken down into functional areas which makes sense, but they way they are connected to each other will tell us how to isolate them from each other, which will be important.

Britton looked closer at the new maps, "this is actually good, I was expecting a prison with 100-150 people, this is more managable than I thought. we can do this. The key thing will be isolating the off duty soldiers to their barracks area. The on duty guard I think we can deal with, they are desgined to respond to internal threats, not external ones. Idealy if we could take over the prison the supplies alone would free us from some of our material constraints if we could load them up. Sam, with this information, what do you think the chances are that if the assualt team's focus is to take out the comms and gun turrets that the ship could then come in and breach the prison walls and evac the prisoners instead of having to clear the levels with the assualt team?"

Quote from: Telcontar on Feb 08, 2011, 12:51 AM:ooc: Roger that, thanks Tomcat the overlay image helps. The only other is how are the sections connected to one another? The prison is broken down into functional areas which makes sense, but they way they are connected to each other will tell us how to isolate them from each other, which will be important.

:ooc: Cool, Tom. I will make a cleaner combined map tomorrow. I will also re-dress the second story of the Barracks and Admin. It will be clearer.

Because you guys can't see each others PC's (at least I don't think you can), write down weapons or gear that might be useful and that you are offering up to the mission. Also give me a heads up on how your PC will be armed upon entry into the prison. Lastly, tell me your wish list and I will consider if it might be stowed somewhere on the Aegis.

Again, I am kind of waiting for Shawn to get back to play Caden - I don't want to do all the talking for him while he is on vacation. So, don't think I am ignoring you if you don't get an immediate response from Caden.  

 :ooc: Wow lots of posts in a day and half!

Kaida was pleasantly amazed and a bit nervous as the planning commenced. Things were happening. Instead of running away, they were running towards something, for once.

The debate between Britton and Brim on the ethics of the situation was stimulating. She agreed with many of their points on both sides. At least they were a thinking bunch...well some of them were anyway. She looked at Logar'dan. She wasn't sure about their newest addition. He had a rather unhealthy habit of talking to his weapons. Given Kara's warning, she wasn't sure if they could really trust him yet, but at this point the ball was rolling, and they had little choice but to try and trust each other

And Britton. It was like a change had come over him. He had often been reserved--true a pleasant enough fellow--but she hadn't really thought of him as much of a thinker. But this...? After observing Britton poring over the tactical maps and hearing his comments for several minutes, she smiled and patted Britton's shoulder. "Where have you been keeping all this? You've been holding out on us. I've studied tactics, but you're a natural."

The plan was a good one. Well thought out and as good as could be expected with limited planning time and not enough resources. Of course it all could blow up in their faces too.

She stood and cleared her throat and spoke to everyone. "I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. Britton is right. Many of you are going to be crossing a line today. I have already crossed that line. Simply by being me. My planet, Commenor, tried to stand up to the Empire to not cave in and cower. But such individualism was brutally subjugated. The empire came with their ships and their guns. My own father and brother were killed defending their homes and their way of life. The rest of my family I have not heard from. I suspect they are either dead or in slavery somewhere or running even now from the Empire's agents." She was amazed at how calm she felt. But whatever it was, it felt right. "This is just a taste of what this New Order will force-feed the rest of the galaxy if they are not stopped."

She paused and motioned to the tactical the tactical display. "It may not seem like what we are about to do matters very much. Afterall, rescuing some backwater prisoner probably wasn't on your top-ten list of life-time accomplishments. But one thing my father taught me, is that by these small and simple beginnings, great things can roll forth. Even one spark falling into a tinderbox desiring freedom from oppression can ignite an inferno that the Empire will be hard pressed to put out. Yes it is idealistic. But what are we without ideals to strive towards?" She glanced at Sam for just a moment and gave a small smile. She had been about to say 'mindless robots'.

"I just want to say thank you for the opportunity to fight beside you. I hope we can all make it back safely aboard the ship. To this end, I suggest we give tactical command to Britton for this mission. I've been around a lot of soldiers and have even studied tactics myself, and he's got a good head on his shoulders. He's obviously had experience with this sort of thing in the past. Any objections?"

 :ooc: Logar will be taking his rifle and bayonet, 2 frag grenades, spare ammo and med pacs.
For party use. 3 frag grenades 3 ion grenades, heavy blaster pistol, blaster pistol, field kit if anything is needed from within, it's full of goodies :)

 :ooc: Kaida takes everything she has on her char sheet. She will insist that everyone take at least one med pack from the ship's stock, for emergency medical care in the field. She'll carry three total herself and will act as field medic if needed.

Kara realized no one paid attention to what she had said and that she would not get much of a say in the mission planning.  Rather than listen to the boys talk about who had the biggest rifle, she snuck off to her room, she had a bottle that she had stared on earlier in the trip that needed some company.

:ooc: Hey Nick, I saw Kara's comments, but I did not want to respond too much on Caden's behalf. If there is more that you want to bring to the table, I will answer her as Brim. If not, then we'll leave your post as it stands.

---

Brim looked across the planning table at Kara, "I think everyone is aware of the risks, Kara, but I feel you have more on your mind. Do you have more to add?"

 :ooc: Nah its good, its fitting for Kara to be drinking and moping.  :P

Kara stopped as she heard Brim's reply.  She paused for a moment.  "I've already gone down a road I can't walk back on, so I'm all in just like someone with a pure Sabaac hand.  I just think everyone should have a chance to confirm their in, and discuss their issues with the plan.  Me, I have no issues, just fly the ship, easy enough for me."

Not bothering looking back she headed towards her room, hoping that the bottle would be good enough, not the special things she had packed away.

It was pretty apparent to everyone that Britton turned a little red when Kaida complimented him. Kaida's comments to him had comletly shattered his cool clear thoughts,

"Well it seemed like we were always reacting to things so i just went with the flow, but now we are actually coming up with a plan having to do with things that I know about. So ahh, well I mean, I always read this stuff, but i was a trooper so never really was part of the planning, and even as a security guard i was at the bottom of the barrel and was more of a stand here and shut up guy. Uhmm, yeah and when I thought I might end up in a place like this at any moment myself I thought getting other people out of there might be some kinda karma that will come back to me at some point."

Britton looked over at Caden, "but the Caps in charge, I'm just running my mouth so its up to him. So I mean if your asking me to lead this raid then uhhm ya i can do that for you, but I ahh...."

Britton knew he sounded foolish but the words kept coming out of his mouth so he looked over at the display and Sam, "SOOOOO, Sam where do you think the barracks area opens up out to the rest of the complex? It appears as though this hallway is a choke point and we can either rubble the hallway or with only two people keep them from getting into the hallway."


:ooc: On Brittons Characte sheet he only has a blaster pistol. I would like to get a couple of grenades, a rifle of some sort and if we can fabricate something that makes smoke would be good too.

:ooc: Hey Tom, Brim was correct in his assumption... Ulric did have a crate of supplies stowed in the hangar bay that was supposed to be moved onto the Aegis. It did contain rifles, explosives, and other tactical gear for a raid (i.e. nightvision visors, light armor and helmets, commo gear, etc.). With the attack that happened, the transfer was not able to take place and so the Aegis and her crew now have the mission to do with just what you have. If there is another rifle on board, you can ask whomever owns it if you can use it for the attack. Sorry, but we are going to have fun growing this new rebel raiding team and having them learn the hard way... that what could go wrong, probably will.

So, grenades can come from Logar - tell John how many you are taking and he can reduce his PC sheet count. I will allow fabrication of smoke and breach charges. It will require mechanics tests and I will give you the DC in a bit... I need to read the book.  (-D

But remember, when a Stormtrooper dies, he leaves behind a nice set of armor and a blaster rifle or carbine every time!

Lastly, I have attached the map you wanted. Remember, there is a second story on both the barrakcs level and the admin level.

---

Brim had been quiet but then spoke up as the search he was doing on the holonet beared fruit. "I think I have something! I did a holo-search on Republic prison conditions. I figured there was probably one time in the government's history that the penal system was being questioned and reviewed regarding its facilities and the well-being of prisoners. It turns out the Galactic Senate ordered a review of all Core and Rim prisons and there were 33 that received less than average ratings. Most were on the Outer Rim, and guess which one was amongst them? Yea... our little objective!" The Rodian hit a button, "And look! We have a current facility floor plan... well current as to 8 years ago."

 :ooc: And when you remove that stormtroopers armor with the thermal detonator keyed into his unique signature you go boom.

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Baradium-core_code_key_thermal_detonator

Seriously.  That little canister on stormtroopers backs, well if you don't have key code it goes a BOOM!  I read this in a technical guide, and is widely noted in the Star Wars RPG community.

Of course how Luke and Han got that armor?  Who knows...  :P

:ooc:

Quote from: StarWars.wikia.comBaradium-core code key thermal detonators were special thermal detonators in use by the Galactic Republic's clone army and later used by the Galactic Empire's special ops troopers, such as stormtroopers and the dark troopers. The model had adjustable time settings, ranging from six to eighteen seconds and a small range of five meters. They had activated only with the right code tapped into it, therefore Rebels couldn't use captured explosives against them. Also, the buttons were unlabeled, which ensured that even if a Rebel discovered the code, they couldn't figure out which buttons to press in order to activate the detonator

That description says it is a special thermal detonator with code activation, used by special ops troops... but it doesn't say anything about taking the armor off a dead trooper. It just says they were special coded so only the user could detonate them.

But, I don't wanna fight canon - so I will put it to a vote here. You guys want it to be a non-tamper self-destruct system on stormie armor?

 :ooc: I say no doug, but for incredibly selfish reasons  >:D

 :ooc:

I shouldn't vote since I can exploit either way in a severely horrible manner.  I was just noting that the Stormtrooper looting issue has been around since long before Saga Edition, but that it has been treated and discussed in the Order 66 podcast, and the consensus among most is that stormtrooper looting goes against the spirit of the game, as well as the mechanical issues of the coded explosive.

That said, I think its feasible for someone to loot it if its going to be a one time thing (and not a every trooper thing).

 :ooc: Exactly! Both Luke and Han got armor rescuing Princess Radar Hair from the Death Star! And Luke wasn't the brightest light in the galaxy. And that was MUCH later than the period when we're playing. I say players should be able to loot bodies as many times as they want, let 'em do it. I don't like games that restrict a character, saying you can't pick something up simply because it causes "game unbalance". There has to be a reason. You'd think it'd list it in the Core book if this were really the case. Ultimately it's the GM's choice, but if the armor is around and the char can physically use it, carry it, whatever, let them do it as long as there's not a specific rule in the equipment that states it's wired with explosives. Obviously, someone carrying around ten suits of armor to sell later is going to 1) have to lug it around, 2) find someone who will buy it and 3) eventually probably get on some watch list somewhere and then the special forces stormies are gonna come after ;em--but hey that's an oppurtunity to get better armor--unless those ones of course ARE wired for exploding.   Personally, I want to armor up all the prisoners we liberate with stormie armor and create our 1st Rebellion platoon. B-)

:ooc: Yea, I am going with what Jingo said.

I think that if the suits were rigged to explode it would have been mentioned in the core book. That said, the charge can still be an available weapon on their back.

As for characters collecting piles of armor - I do not allow that stuff in my games. There are no bag of holdings in the galaxy, so they will need to have a real good explanation of how to move all the armor they collect, or it doesn't move. Second, military issue stuff that is seen on civillians would immediately be questioned, so just because there is trooper armor there, doesn't mean it is going to be useful in everyday interactions - unless the character tricks it out and makes it not trooper armor.

Anyway, thanks for the canon info, Nick, but trooper armor and helmets are able to be looted. I will uphold the need to make mechanics tests to make it work (i.e. the helmet commo gear, or even the Baradium-core code key thermal detonators).

Quote from: Telcontar on Feb 08, 2011, 01:57 PM
"Well it seemed like we were always reacting to things so i just went with the flow, but now we are actually coming up with a plan having to do with things that I know about. So ahh, well I mean, I always read this stuff, but i was a trooper so never really was part of the planning, and even as a security guard i was at the bottom of the barrel and was more of a stand here and shut up guy. Uhmm, yeah and when I thought I might end up in a place like this at any moment myself I thought getting other people out of there might be some kinda karma that will come back to me at some point."

Britton looked over at Caden, "but the Caps in charge, I'm just running my mouth so its up to him. So I mean if your asking me to lead this raid then uhhm ya i can do that for you, but I ahh...."

:ooc: On Brittons Characte sheet he only has a blaster pistol. I would like to get a couple of grenades, a rifle of some sort and if we can fabricate something that makes smoke would be good too.

Kaida leaned towards Britton and bared her teeth in a tight smile. "Now look, Britton," she said loudly enough for anyone to hear. "No need to be modest. Everyone knows you're the most experienced in this department. You're a natural fit."

Then she whispered under her breath for his ears alone, "Look buddy, you were doing so well. This team needs all the confidence they can get to pull this thing off, so don't go back to stupid mode on me. Just do your best, I--we all trust you!"

She squeezed his shoulder reassuringly seeing his discomfort and then spoke up again. "Well, as to Caden, he's of course in charge of his own ship, no one's denying a captain that cardinal right. I'm only saying this mission stands a better chance with someone experienced in this sort of thing in charge. Since we're using your plan, what better person, than you?"

She wanted to roll her eyes and scream. Instead she looked around at them all calmly, hopefully reassuringly. "If there's no objections, then it's settled. Let's get geared up."

 :ooc: It says "use the captured explosives" not the armor itself. I do not read this to mean that armor was boobie trapped. More like a special troop had a couple of these on his person that he had the code for, not that he set it so his armor would explode if it was taken off.  :ooc:

Britton realized that he was flaking out, but it had nothing to do with the mission. The plan was as solid as it was going to get with the infromation that they had. Skill and luck were going to take care of the rest. stupid mode? he thought...

"Do we have any spot welders that would be portable?"

Logar'Dan headed back to the room he shared with Britton. He needed to go over his gear. Mostly he needed to get out of the room before someone noticed his hands were shaking. Same old shit he thought to himself. Well it would stop or it wouldn't, but he couldn't have these folks thinking he was a coward. Back in the room he took a deep breath and got down to business. He rifled through his backpack fishing out his bandolier. Unclipping two frag grenades he moved them to his tactical belt, and laid the remaining grenades on Brittons bed. "Nothing like me is he Katherine" The soldiers plan was a good one. A bit naive thinking he could arm dangerous criminals and hope for their cooperation. But Logar would be ready when the time came. If the freed prisoners got out of line he would see to their immediate release from life itself with a quickness. He's was glad Britton spoke up with such a good plan too, his first thought when asked was quite different. The old Logar'Dan wouldve only been concerned with a successful mission and a clean getaway. Eliminate the garrison, free the target, assure his safety. And set timed charges on the reactor. Leaving no trace, electronic or otherwise to implicate themselves. And judging from then reactions to Brittons plan, he was pretty sure his plan wouldn't have went over so well. But that was the old Logar, he didn't want to do things that way anymore, it had earned him nothing but shame, and a few credits. He needed these people for guidance, he was no fool, no one was perfect and they weren't angels. But they were by a longshot better folks than he had been, than any of his merc friends had been. He would stick to the plan and be ready. Show these rising rebels that he could be useful, help them make a difference. His hands had stopped shaking only long enough for him to notice and they began again. Same old shit.

The Aegis' now empty hold on the lower deck became the staging area. While three-dimensional holo-images still flickered a deck above them, just before the bridge, the crew set to work here preparring the equipment for the mission. It seem to have come to a consensus that Britton's plan would be put in motion. Two teams entering the prison with different objectives, while the Aegis was to be on stand-by for extraction and aerial support. Brim set down the field pack that contained multiple items of use. It was not a bad plan at all, and if all went well, it would work. But all had to go well. Sam's commentary had pointed out it left nothing for error.

Around the Rodian, on the floor, was a series of items. All members of the crew had their own personal weapons, but there was other items that were available, and some that were needed. Sam had modified a set of pallets into a workbench and was even now attempting to fabricate charges that might breach a wall or door. There was also a welding torch that Britton had requested, which the droid would attempt to modify so that it could be easily carried on the back.

The gear consisted of grenades, synthrope, medpacs, glowrods, binder cuffs, commlinks, a pocket scrambler, and weapon power packs.

It would be Sam, Britton and Logar'Dan that would lead the mission into the prison, with Brim and Kaida following them close behind. The second team would be there to support the first, and also to try and take control of the prison facilities administrative computer system. If they could grab the control room, they could keep tabs on the whole building... hypothetically.

Sam lifted the small metal box he had taken out of storage and packed into it the putty that he had mixed with chemicals from the engineering room. It was the same chemical makeup of detonite, but mixed with starship superstructure putty - a putty that was used in times of micrometeorite damages. It should have the same explosive result when a current was run through it. With the box packed tight with the thick putty, Sam ran the leads. When he was complete, he would connect the leads to a battery pack with a timer. It would be crude, but it should work... well, at least the droid hoped it would work.

The Aegis had completed its final distance along the Hydian Way. Even now, Caden was on the bridge plotting the last jump to Tantau - a jump that would take them off any beaten spacelane.

---

:ooc: I would like Sam to roll a Mechanics test. I am not going to give you the DC because I don't want you guys to know if it worked or not... you'll have to find out when the time comes.  >:D

I will say, it will be a scale - from dud to varying degrees of explosive.

If I have anything wrong with the plan, you guys can let me know or re-develop it as you go. I reproduced it here, only to make sure I had the plan laid out in my head.

Continue to RP here as you'd like, but I will be starting a new thread. Also, I added the prison map to the drop-down above.

Sam did not forget the mission ahead, but the time spent working with his hand appendages was a welcome distraction. He had the schematics and mission plans loaded into memory and was still processing variables and contingencies on a separate thread, but that data was logged for later use. It did not concern him now. Even though he was creating implements of destruction, the tinkering and scrounging reminded him of home, his original master's home.

He stopped his remembrance and ran an internal diagnostic. He had missed discharging his static by almost a full second. This putty was generally stable, but there was no sense taking chances. Hopefully the component analysis was correct and this would explode with some force.

Sam's Mechanic's checks
Mechanics +17
Check for explosives -

---

(if needed) Check for welding torch mods - [/color]

:ooc: I don't need the test on making the torches more mobile... and we certainly don't want to use that Nat 1 roll.  ':}

Britton wandered around checking on everyone's preperations and to see if they needed any help. He found his way over to where the droid was working and watched him a moment.

"Sam, I had a thought and wanted your advice on the possability of it, not a raw number precentage. Well anyway, do you thinkn that with the portable welder we would be able in relatively quick time weld some doors shut so that they couldnt be opened right away. I was thinking of the doors that lead to the stairs and the doors of the barracks that open onto the hallway. I dont want them to be able to rush out of there and mass on us."

Kara sat snoozing in her bunk with a bottle with the door closed and locked.  Her preparation was just to be ready to fly.

 :ooc: I am going to look at the maps again Tomcat, and I'll give you a run down of the final plan we can tweak it were necessary and then hit the prison.

Brim stood not too far away from Britton and Sam, and easily overheard their conversation. He looked at the gear, weapons, and the welding torch that Sam was yet to modify to make it easier to carry into the prison. He thought about what Britton asked and then it struck him like a metor. The Rodian slapped his palm to his forehead. "I will be right back!" he called out as he ran from the cargo hold up to his bunkroom. He grabbed the long elegant weapon that he had forgotten laid there, and then returned to his companions.

Britton watched as Brim approached, breathing a bit hard from his quick dash. The soldier jumped a bit as the snap-hiss of the lightsaber was heard and a glowing green blade stretched from the hilt. "I fogot I had it! This should do everything that the torch should do, correct?"

Britton smiled, "havoc in the palm of your hand. Sweet!"