Bloody Swarms - The SJO Dominion of the Roche Hex

[John Locke]

Location: Bridge of the Shining Path
Objective: 3: Deal with failures in the Ship's systems

Post: 2

Allies: [member="Kei Amadis"] | [member="Jyoti Nooran"] | Various Engineers | Jefferies

The buzzing of the commlink on the armrest of his seat had John sending a long-suffering glance across the bridge towards the engineer in charge of the sensors, receiving a helpless shrug in reply before he reached for the commlink. "Master Amadis, thanks for the offer. We've got a bug somewhere up towards the front of the ship that's causing a cascading failure through the entire sensor system. We're effectively blind as far as anything in front of us right now. I'm trying to pull sensor feeds from the shipyard and allied ships in the area so we can test the rest of the systems, but as things currently stand if we had to go into combat we're a walking target. If you can grab your teams and work your way up front we can liaise with you and see if we can lock down the problem. I'm pretty sure we're looking at a miswired datahub that's corrupting the flow of the system."

Leaving the commlink locked into the on position John placed it back down on the armrest as his fingers flew over the controls in front of him. The system was designed to make the sharing of data as easy as possible so that there was no bottleneck in the middle of a battle, but that still all had to flow through this station and the man commanding the ship. Which meant, in theory, he should be able to jury-rig a workaround so they could run tests on the CIC machines and long-range analysis while they waited for the sensors to come back online. Just one item on the expanding checklist that came with the launching of any new major vessel.

 

[Gi Gregain]

Post: 2
Location: StealthX Prototype

There was more going on, she could sense it, she could feel it and the herald remained quiest within the stealthX while they were going through the asteroid field. Seeing all of it, where she could go and listeningto the conversations. The stealthX was equipped with the decryption software andc ommunications scanner that the old models had. It gave her a chance to prepare and look forward to what would be a fight though as the question about whether the queen would receive the jedi themselves. "Continuing." She said it to no one really but her droid that was controlling the second fighter near her. They stayed in a holding pattern letting the micro crystal coating along the outside of the ship activate and obscure them from sight better then most others would be able to do.

 

[Tyrell Caphey]

Location: Nickel One - Hangar
Objective: Military exercise
Post: 2
Allies: [member="Roona Osmari"] [member="Valkren Calderon"] [member="Vertigo"]

The squad of six rangers including himself followed sergeant Osmari and the private in a rather casual manner. The first weeks of his training had included strict orders and discipline on how to walk and talk. Moving closer to finishing it and especially after completion, things had soften abit. Unless addressing a higher ranking officer, the Rangers could act casual when being amongst themselves. They seemed to be more of a tight welded band of brothers, than a strict conscript unit.

Coming into the hangar, Ty offered the sergeant a handshake and a slight smile when they stopped. Answering in a steady voice. ''That's right. Nice to meet you too, Roona.'' Women were fairly common in the military and security forces on his homeworld of Taris, but he had never seen a sergeant. Every possible preconception though had been swiftly ereased during training and of what he had seen of her on Niflheim.

When all of who was to participate the days exercise was assembled in the hangar, he took up position sidelong behind Roona while listening to the colonel. Peering over to the tables being rolled out by the Verpines, already trying to figure out the function and operation of the weapons.

''Count me in!'' he exclaimed and gave Roona a glance, taking the bet.

The three Houks was a sight in it self. Massive juggernaughts that gave the Rangers a fire support to reckon with. He decided to let them pick their weapons first, not wanting to fight for what little room that was left around the tables when they all stood around them. Some sort of line formed and when it was his turn he choosed a short barreled carbine that looked like something you'd be wise to choose in close quarters battle.

Looking back and up at the Houk that came up behind them. ''Yeah? I guess it's not because we're going off-duty after this? Dex, was it?''

 

[Varindar Asyt]

Objective: Hellgate
Location: Charros IV
Allies: [member="Gir Quee"] [member="John Locke"] [member="Tanaski Yumi"] [member="Sentus Olan"]
Enemies: [member="Joon"]

"The Charon vanguard has begun attempting to revert to realspace, Hotelier, some distance away" Wallpaper recorded.

"Then let's score some... mobility kills!"

"This is Chapel Actual: take up positions in the field, stay de-powered until they come into" the squadron leader ordered the squadron.

Unlike in atmosphere, mobility kills in space usually meant that the mobility-killed craft would keep flying in a straight line until it is either hit or collides with something. In an asteroid field, a mobility kill can be every bit as dangerous as in atmo, so Varindar prayed that she wouldn't get mobility-killed today. Maneuverability was very important here, and she knew it, as they attempted to navigate the asteroid field to intercept the Charon advance party. They are no joke, and they were in for one hell of a fight, like any other fighter squadron based in this asteroid field. For the time being, the squadron to which Varindar is attached is hiding across nearby asteroids, depowered other than for life support, and she could feel the presence of Tana in another squadron, somewhere else in this asteroid field. It was a risky maneuver that only worked once, but once battle is joined they can hope to score multiple mobility kills on Charon that may well turn into catastrophic kills if they actually hit asteroids after they are mobility-killed. It was time for laying a trap on those Charon...

 

[Eugen Aker]

​

Location: Nickel One
Objective: Diplomacy
Allies: SJO ([member="Sko'saht"] [member="Charlie"])

Another diplomacy mission. Jyoti had personally visited Roche to go over long-term security plans with the local government and offer juicy new sub-contracts to help build components for the SEC's lineup of mining rigs and bacta-producing hospital ships. New vessels were flying out of the Kashyyyk system every day, but it still wasn't enough to keep up with the ever-rising demand.

Charlie, her newest - and now sole - Padawan was in attendance with her today for some good old fashioned OJT. She knew Charlie would rather be running around whacking Sith left and right, but Jyoti was working hard to instill the idea Charlie needed to be as capable as a diplomat as well as a warrior.

"We're supposed to be meeting with Queen Cs'sisiv'Xivesi today," Jyoti said, struggling a bit with that mouthful of a name despite practicing her pronunciation on the way from Kashyyyk. "I've never met her before, but if you are looking for a beautiful Queen to admire, we do have one that likes to hang around Kashyyyk from time to time. Queen Spencer...something. Maybe we'll see her next time when we're at the Rest."

The ramp of her sleek chromed barge dropped, and she motioned for Charlie to follow. They were supposed to meet with Captain Sko'Saht who would act as their liaison while speaking with the Queen. Verpine customs still remained largely alien to her outside of what she had picked from online studies, so his assistance would be a great help in ensuring a smooth exchange during a major deal between the two groups.

 

[Charlie Nooran]

Location: Nickle One
Objective: Diplomacy
Allies: [member="Jyoti Nooran"] [member="Sky'ito Yumi"]

Charlie listened to Jyoti explain her question about the Queen. It seemed that Jyoti was warning her about what to expect. Sighing softly, Charlie frowned and watched as all her hopes when down the drain. They wouldn't be meeting a Queen like she had read about in her fantasy stories. “Well, I'm not going to try and pronounce her name...that's all you Master.”

The Echani spoke about a woman that lurked around the Rest. Charlie pondered silently as she tried to remember any characters that lingered around the temple and didn't seem to belong. A hand on her chin, Charlie contemplated and figured that Jyoti was teasing her again. The urge to nudge the master for her trolling was strong, but they were in public and she couldn't do such a thing.

Instead, the Master would feel the force brush against her ear as Charlie attempted to do something annoying. “It's not nice to tease me Master Jyoti, what Queen would have such a dumb name like Spencer. I expect better with your tall tales.”

Little did the Padawan know that the glorious and infamous along with totally beautiful Queen Spencer was not a tall tale made up by her Master. As she remarked to the Master, Charlie looked towards the other Atrisian. She had a twin and she was pretty sure Tana had already explained that or was it the last time she ran into Sky'ito. A smile spread across her face as she shrugged. "We will have to wait and see."

 

[grammaticus]

Objective: Hellgate
Post: 1
Allies: [member="Joon"]

Darth Animus stood silently on the bridge of Warcruiser, his masked eyes watching the star trails flash by. Around the bridge, the crewman were going about their tasks, working at terminals and running repairs as needed. Each and everyone of them disgusted him. They were mercenaries, pirates and outlaws the lot of them. They were not soldiers, like those that had once stood where they do now. However, necessity required that these...warriors be used for the task at hand. The fact that he needed them disgusted him to measures beyond belief. When this was all done, he promised himself he would look into the cloning industry. It would be easier to make proper soldiers then trying to turn this lot around.

Looking down at hand, he closed it into a fist, watching as a few sparks of lightning arced across his palm as he channeled small amounts of the force. It would not be long now until he got to taste battle once again. It had been far too long since he felt the thrill of combat, the excitement of conflict. For the first time in so long, he would finally be able to fight his true enemy, the Jedi instead of his fellow Sith. It would be a glorious day, as long as these pirates and criminals did their job to the letter.

"My Lord, we are approaching the edge of the Roche System now. We shall be arriving shortly." The pirates voice drew him out of his revere, turning to face the short man. The criminal looked away quickly, after staring into the skull mask that the Sith wore. He backed away from the Sith and returned to his station across the bridge, sighing once he was far enough away.

"Send word to the other ships. Bring all weapons and shields online the moment we exit hyperspace. Time is against us, and I will not accept failure." His words sparked a new level of activity across the bridge, with numerous voices calling out over comm units at once. Crewman rushed back and forth across the bridge, carrying out the numerous tasks it required for a warship to prepare for the kill. Through it all, Darth Animus remained silent, simply staring out into the void of space.

 

[Arlen Rossi]

​

Location: Nickel One
Objective: Special Delivery
Allies: Sith ([member="Joon"] [member="Corin Zanith"])
Opposition: Jedi ([member="Valkren Calderon"] [member="Tyrell Caphey"] [member="Vertigo"] [member="Roona Osmari"] [member="Audren Sykes"] [member="Beltran Rarr"] [member="Sky'ito Yumi"])
Directly Engaging: [member="Charlie"] (eventually)

Stealth could take many forms, from advanced cloaking fields to Force-based illusions, but sometimes it simply best hiding in plain sight.

That's exactly what Arlen did, flying a beat-up light freighter to Nickel One.

The great fleets the Silver Jedi had amassed to protect their precious holdings would count for nothing as she breezed through checkpoints under the legitimate but stolen ID of Duros courier Del Trool. Making passive scans of all warships and defenses she could pick up with an upgraded sensor suite all the while, passing along the information to her counterparts en route via untraceable Ghostwave.

Once cleared by for approach by traffic control, she was direct to land next to just about one of the prettiest starships she had ever seen, looking like it had been forged from a single piece of chromium. She could feel two Force Users just outside the silver ship, though the Sith agent's own presence in the Force was well hidden.

Still under the guise of the kindly Duros she had jettisoned into space only about a day before, she exited her hauler to find the Force Users to be no other than a pair of Jedi. Three females, one that looked to be Echani, and the other two short Atrisians (maybe). From her study of the Silver Order, she immediately recognized the first Jedi to be Jyoti Nooran, newly minted Master of the Order. The others was a mystery to her.

She overheard Nooran mention something about Queen Spencer of Eshan (she was pretty attractive for a near-human, with an even hotter reputation as a great master of the Dark Side), but one of the other Jedi (Charlie) started whining that she didn't believe her.

"Your friend ain't lyin'," Arlen interrupted. "The Queen of Eshan does go by Spencer. I was just there last month. Cold as an icebox. Might want to pick up a datapad sometime, Master Jedi."

Before either Jedi could respond, Arlen tipped her cap and strolled off, smiling to herself. It felt good to get a jab in against a clueless Jedi. It felt even better to slip through right around under their noses.

Past the check-in gates, Arlen made a b-line for the public restrooms. She found a private stall and locked herself inside, then lifted the bottom of her jacket to reveal a bare blue stomach. In a painful process, she ripped open part of the masquer to retrieve a small black satchel hidden under the biot.

She unsealed the satchel, picking out exactly a dozen marbles of onyx. She subjected the marbles with just a tiny pulse of Force lightning through direct contact, activating the inert marbles. They began to glow a dull red as bright crimson runes appeared on their surface but curiously grew cold to the touch.

She tilted her palm, dropping the marbles into the water of the toilet by ones and twos, then promptly flushed them away to circulate through the sewage system. Now in an active state, each marble would move with a mind of its own, powering through pipes to find a nice location to roost together.

Job complete, Arlen set the toilet seat back down like a civilized person, then stuffed the satchel down into the breast pocket of her jacket before leaving the stall. Restrooms now behind her, she moved deeper into Nickel One along public routes for her final destination.

It was time to kill a Queen.

 

[grammaticus]

Objective: Hellgate
Post: 2

Where once their was empty space there now stood a fleet of nearly fifty ships, of assorted classes and sizes. The moment the fleet exited hyperspace, hundreds of interceptors and bombers were launched, forming waves of ships surrounding the main fleet. They were not idle long. Spread out before the newly arrived fleet were dozens of ships, from small freighters to huge civilian transport vessels. The Roche system was a prominent traffic spot for a few hyperspace routes, and they almost always had ships coming and going. Most days, they would have been able to come and go without problem.

Today was not most days.

Bombers tore away from the main fleet, flying straight into the civilian traffic. Missiles and bombs flew from the bombers, detonations ripping through their lightly defended hulls. In moments, hundreds were dead. The few ships that were armed tried to fend off the bombers, but they were torn apart as the larger capital ships in the fleet caught up, red turbolaser fire raining death on all. What few ships survived the initial onslaught fled back to the relative safety of the asteroids, though small squadrons of bombers and interceptors deployed after them, their small size and speed allowing them to bob and weave through the belt. Once the outer areas were secure, the Sith fleet set up a blockade position, preventing anyone from escaping the Roche System. Once the blockade was in place, transports and boarding pods were sent to the crippled ships, their goal to bring any survivors back to the flagship.

Darth Animus watched this all from the bridge of the Warcruiser he commanded, a slight smile lighting up his face beneath the helmet. In less than ten minutes, he had killed thousands of people. The simple thought sent a ripple of pleasure through the Sith, with prospect of more killing to come filling him with barely controlled joy. As he watched his fleet assume position across the blockade, he turned to communication officer, ordering a channel to be opened on a broad spectrum. The Jedi and all those within the belt would easily be able to pick of the transmission.

"Jedi, Vespine, rabble of the Galaxy, hear my words. I am Darth Animus, Sith Knight of the New Sith Order. The day of retribution and vengeance has come. Surrender to me, and your deaths will be quick and painless. Your reign over this part of the Galaxy ends today, Jedi scum. Your deaths shall mark the beginning of a new age of the Sith, and a New Order to the Galaxy. There shall be no mercy. There shall be no pity. All shall die in the flames of war, for the glory of the Sith."

Darth Animus had the transmission cut, turning to watch as the first transports returning to the fleet. He turned to the officer next to him, giving him brief instruction. "Bring the prisoners to the bridge one at a time. I will kill them, slowly, and make sure the Jedi can hear every agonizing moment of their passing. We will force them to come to us."

[member="Arlen Rossi"] [member="Charlie"] [member="Jyoti Nooran"] [member="Varindar Asyt"] [member="Tyrell Caphey"] [member="Gi Gregain"] [member="John Locke"] [member="Valkren Calderon"] [member="Beltran Rarr"] [member="Roona Osmari"] [member="Audren Sykes"] [member="Sky'ito Yumi"] [member="Vertigo"] [member="Tanaski Yumi"] [member="Kei Amadis"] [member="Joon"] [member="Gir Quee"]

 

[Beltran Rarr]

[SIZE=9pt]Location: Inside Nickel One[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Objective: The Queen Mothers[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Allies: SJO, Verpine, Debbis Endo and Obsidian Star[/SIZE] operatives
[SIZE=9pt]Enemies: Evil spider people (?), Sith[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Actions: Heading for hangar.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Post #2[/SIZE]

“I am sorry, sir.” The C3PO unit spoke, no longer directly translating for the Verpine representative. “My owners have decided that they no longer wish to continue this meeting.”

From his place standing behind Debbis Endo, Beltran Rarr kept his face utterly impassive. Inwardly, the Lorrdian felt a growing sense of annoyance. It was clear now that Endo had botched the entire thing though, as he studied both the Verpine and the Denon businessman, the Lorrdian couldn’t quite tell whether it had been intentional.

“Surely there is some way to continue this conversation,” Endo was saying, his gravelly voice never straying from its warm but modulated tone. It was the voice of a salesman, or more precisely a con man, which he was. It was gentle, but insistent. It gave the impression of humility while at the same time disregarding any point of view that was not its own.

Perhaps that was what the Verpine were picking up on. Or perhaps, it was simply that Obsidian Star didn’t have anything the Verpine wanted.

“No,” The droid replied instantly, not even waiting for its master to respond. “There is not. Please accept my humblest apologies, but my master has other matters to attend to.”

Endo had the good grace to stand as the three Verpine filed out of the room, leaving the four humans alone.

“I’m sorry Mister Rarr,” Debbis said, turning to face him. “I just don’t believe that we have the sufficient resources to compete with the other contractors in the region. Many of them are based on worlds far closer than Denon, and offer a far wider array of products.”

There was a part of Beltran that wanted to strike out at Endo, to turn the smug businessman back into the cowering, weeping mass he’d been when they’d first met. But that would have only served to stroke the Lorrdian’s own, wounded, ego.

From both Endo’s body language, and the facts at hand, Beltran read the truth in the man’s statement. Obsidian Star was making strides, but it was still very small. In time, perhaps, they would have the clout to revisit the situation.

Beltran was about to respond when soft, but insistent ding sounded inside his suit jacket pocket. Reaching in, he pulled out his handheld comlink and answered with: “This is Aura actual, report.”

His team here on Roche, consisted of a total of six trained operatives from Obsidian Star’s internal security force and operated under the operational codename Aura Red.

Two of the operatives, Aura-one and Aura-two, had accompanied Beltran and Endo to the meeting while the other four, Auras three through six, remained on Beltran’s personal ship, The Imperialis, which currently sat in a berth in Nickel One’s cavernous hangar.

“Aura actual, this is Aura-three. We’ve been monitoring the code frequencies you gave us and have picked up some chatter. There’s been an attack outside the colony. An as yet unknown number of warships have exited hyperspace and have begun attacking the colony.”

Catching the eyes of both the operatives with him, Beltran spoke. “Scanners, now.”

Both men proceeded to reach into their jacket pockets and each pulled out a small device which they then placed over their eyes and a moment later Beltran did the same. As the portable heads-up display and scanner came online, Beltran used a series of subtle facial and eye movements to connect the devices built in com-system to the channel he’d been using on his handset.

He also pulled up additional com-strains, which would allow him to monitor the Silver Jedi frequencies-which his clearance as an Antarian Ranger gave him access to. It was at the point that he picked up the open broadcast sent by Darth Animus throughout the system.

When it concluded, Beltran commed back to the Imperialis team. “Prepare to get the ship underway,” He ordered. “Set for operational configuration one.” In this configuration, the Imperialis would trade its impressive engine speed for its equally impressive shield and point defense system attributes. Beltran doubted that even at full speed, the ship would be able to slip past the Sith untouched, so he decided there and then that they wouldn’t even try.

“We’re enroute with Smoke-One,” This was Debbis Endo’s operational moniker, created in homage to the ever-present cigar that always seemed to be in the man’s hands.

“Copy.”

“Alright,” Beltran continued to the men standing near him. “We’re going to make for the hangar. For the moment there have been no reports of landing parties on Nickel One, but expect that to change. We’re likely to encounter Silver Jedi and Ranger forces enroute. You’re to play your part as executive security contractors protecting Endo. If we are engaged by hostiles, you’re to protect Endo and get him to the hangar. I will handle myself, is that understood?”

Both men nodded, followed by a slower-far more wide-eyed-nod from Debbis Endo.

Slipping back into the role of bodyguard, Beltran proceeded to lead the group outside the room and into one of the many winding tunnels that made up the labyrinth that was Nickel One. Already, he could see numerous members of the Verpine species moving quickly to and fro. He had to admire them, even in the wake of this sudden assault, they all appeared calm and moved with complete organization.

As they started toward the hangar, the Lorrdian knew that they were still quite a ways away from their destination and that the situation would likely have changed drastically by the time they arrived.

 

[Sky'ito Yumi]

Objective 3: Nickle One
Objective: Talking Nicely
Peps: [member="Charlie"] [member="Jyoti Nooran"]
Sus: [member="Arlen Rossi"]
Post: 2

[SIZE=10.5pt]Sukai pulled a slight 'WTF' face as the queen’s apparent name, Cs'sisiv'Xivesi what? she did not think it was physically possible to say that amalgamation of words with a normal mouth, perhaps it was only something their species could do, then again Jin names were not any better. Once thing she could agree with was the whole 'Spencer being beautiful', most Echani, even Jyoti herself carrying quite a majestic look do to their genetics making each one look identical to their parents.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]The fact that Charlie was unable to accept the fact a queen with the name Spencer could not be real brought a small smile to her otherwise stoic face, "I guess we will see if this queen Cs'sissue eh I can't pronounce it, anyways yes we will see what she looks like". "Though Master Nooran as not lying, the ruler of Eshane does reside at the temple from what my brother has told me, I think they met during the Sith attack at some point, quite the force user at that... and perhaps stop annoying your master", it was very childlike, acting like a 15-year-old.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]As the trio made their way down the landing ramp a mysterious figure approached, seeming to have overheard their little conversation, something about the woman giving Sukai am off putting feeling. It seemed rather strange they would just randomly walk up to a few Jedi and make a remark about the Queen of Eshan? Was he a merchant of sorts? if such why waste[/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt] time on such a trivial thing, they did seem to be in a hurry.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]Reaching out with the force Sukai began to try and see if the person had any bad intentions, for the most part nothing coming up, perhaps it was just paranoia, 'guess It was no- wait what was that"? For a short moment she felt a spark pick of the dark side before it vanished, very brief but just enough, so she was not going crazy, the problem was where had the individual gone now?[/SIZE]

 

[Tanaski Yumi]

Objective: Hellgate
Location: Charros IV space
Allies: [member="Gi Gregain"] - [member="Varindar Asyt"]
Enemies: [member="Joon"] - [member="Beltran Rarr"]

[SIZE=10.5pt]Tana's fighter started to lift off from its position on the hanger floor, gently gliding along air as it shot out into the black void, a somewhat calm feeling washing around himself as the small craft began to form up alongside the larger vessels. Somewhere around her miss hotel girl was flying, along with some other pilots that where testing out these new X-stealth fighters, 'man I wish I could get my hands on one of those things, he I doubt they'd let me have one, probably think I'll crash it right away".[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]Continuing to fly through the system nothing appeared to be off, no sudden explosions, not sudden Sith fleet jumping in on top of them. Even so the risk of an attack due to the operations being revealed by the kidnapping of miss Togruta General, after all this was a major operation hub for a massive ship, then again, the prospect of a well defended ship yard may have been off putting to the Sith. Suddenly the force seemed to echo out en-mass a dark feeling, one that came with death, many lives suddenly vanishing, sending a huge shiver up his spin, the boy opening a com line to [member="Varindar Asyt"]. "Varindar, do you feel that? something like a huge amount of people crying out in pain and then silence, is there something going on nearby? are there pirates raiding the civilian transports"?[/SIZE]

 

[Charlie Nooran]

Location: Nickle One
Objective: Who bish was dat?
Allies: [member="Jyoti Nooran"] [member="Sky'ito Yumi"]
Enemies: ???
Directly Engaging: [member="Arlen Rossi"] (eventually)

Charlie was taken by surprise by the interruption of the stranger. Blinking, she looked towards her Master and continued to frown. The burn she just received would require her to obtain some bacta for it, but she was slightly too embarrassed to ask Jyoti for some. Sighing softly, she made a mental note that she should start saving up for a data pad of her own – maybe something higher tech. Charlie would have to ask Jyoti’s opinion on the matter or even the Master’s friend Allyson who has been recovering at the Rest. She would probably know the best data pad to get.

Charlie’s attention was grabbed again by Sky’ito who seemed to want to scold Charlie for her disbelief of her Master. It was obvious that the Jedi Knight hadn’t spent as much time with Jyoti. The woman was a grade a troll and joker. She didn’t grace the other Jedi a verbal response, but gave her a flat stare with narrowed eyes. Charlie wasn’t the biggest fan of being scolded. Her eyes turned to follow the stranger, but lost her as her attention was pulled to Sky’ito moments ago. Sighing softly, Charlie felt something in her gut form and she looked towards Jyoti. Giving the woman a look, she hoped that the Master could pick up on it.

 

[Sko'saht]

Location: Nickel One
Objective: Translate and prevent a diplomatic incident
Nearby: [member="Jyoti Nooran"] [member="Charlie"] [member="Arlen Rossi"]
Post: 1 of 20

The Verpine emerged from the ship in full Mandalorian armor, the Mandalorian sigil was a deep red along with the bulged out eyes on the helmet. The rest was black and looked like a giant black carapace over the Verpine. To say that Sko looked apart from the other Verpine, sentient or drone, that were currently moving about the hanger working on the landed ships. Pretty much the only part of him that was exposed was his antenna which twitched and moved extremely quickly. The jedi would be able to sense he was anxiousness and his highly agitated state. The backpack that he normally wore, which contained his yslamari, was missing.

Gesturing at [member="Arlen Rossi"] as she departed he didn't turn his head more then an inch to track her with his compound eyes. "You know her? Queen *Clack* zzt *crack* zat bzzzzzz knows we are coming so we should get moving." He turned to Charlie, "Closet I can get to how we communicate with our antennas. Her name in spoken Verpine would be easier for you to learn." He turned slightly to face the two of them a bit more squarely on, "Now we are going to the middle of Nickel One so if you are wearing anything illegal lose it now because the sensors will pick it up and you'll get automatically blasted by a very large stun turret. Oh and surrender your weapons when I say, the lightsabers should be alright though keep your hands away from them if you can. If you get separated try to keep out of the Verpine only areas, you'll get escorted out unless you are with me." He spoke quickly, his antenna working faster and fast as he got closer to them and deeper into Nickel One.

This was not going to be easy, filtering the messages coming to him used to be so easy. Now he could barely get a hold of two or three of the higher priority ones before losing them in the constant stream. He'd been away for to long and as he ran his helmets sensors tests he focused on the Jedi's conversation. Easier to adjust and get used to them then start branching out into the other Verpine. He'd only been in this almost sensor overload once or twice before and both were when he'd been in major pain.

 

[Kei Amadis]

Location: Sitting in a Booth near the Bridge looking Busy.
Objective 3: There’s always a Dave.
Posts: 4
Direct Allies: [member="John Locke"] | Engineers | Many Jefferies and a Dave.

After a series of impromptu button presses, several things were bleeping at him. Thankfully he had more than enough technicians coming and going, and at least one Dave. “Air conditioning on deck 4. Repeat. Who’s stuck in it?” Dave again, that man was a hazard. Amadis scratched his stubble, “fire on deck 7b in the showers.” He comm’d something in, the showers? Unfortunately not all the problems coming in were so simple or easily fixed.

[member="John Locke"]. “Hold on. It’s spreading.” The cascading failure of the sensor systems had spread to the gravity on the surrounding sections, causing a lot of people to be banging their head on low flying tools, cargo or each other for that matter. “No problem. We’ll get down there. Brace in case you lose gravity.” Zero-G. Had to be Zero-G, or did it? Better than sitting here looking pretty anyway.

****Some time later****

At the speed of a crutch-walk, Amadis had suited up with a small team and bypassed the affected areas in a shuttle, much of the forward outer hull being accessible because of the upgrades being done. They had two small forward docking ports which would eventually be removed. A seal made into the affected areas. The mixed bag of wildcard Nikto, and smart Galtech Jefferies crossed the docking tunnel out into the front of the ship, eager to get their hands dirty. Reports soon to be coming back to John on his end.

“Spread out into your teams, let’s catch this before it gets any worse. Keep comms open.”

Amadis wasn’t moving fast, so he couldn’t be his usual hands on self. Relying on others like [member="John Locke"]. “What are you seeing now?”

 

[John Locke]

Location: Bridge of the Shining Path

Objective: 3: Deal with failures in the Ship's systems

Post: 3

Allies: [member="Kei Amadis"] | [member="Jyoti Nooran"] | Various Engineers | Jefferies
____________________________________

Well, if nothing else the damage control systems on the Shining Path were getting a pretty intense test and work out right now. John remained propped up in the command chair, the space around him surrounded by an exponentially increasing series of holographic screens that flashed red at him, multiplying faster than he could collate them. The engineer had given up on using his commlink, switching to the ship's comm system as his dark eyes flicked from display to display, his fingers flying across the holograms inputting command after command as he tried to stay ahead of the cascading failures. "It looks like it's spreading to the life support systems too, I've tripped the breakers so we should keep the air ok by isolating that system but tell your guys to be careful. Gravity might get a little hinky till we manage to lock this down."

Luckily it looks like the engineers working under Master Amadis had managed to stop the cascade from getting too far out of control but unless they managed to fix this the ship was never going to be signed off. The engineer glanced around the room at all the anxious faces watching the command chair and sighed, he was still getting used to this commanding thing. "What's everyone looking around for? Jefferies I want you on damage control with me, pull up the schematics and start tracing back the issues, let's see if we can get to the bottom of this. Everyone else, we have a testing schedule to keep up. I want to start feeding power to the weapons systems in five minutes and we can start testing the CIC now. Comms contact Nickel One control and ask if they'll release a squadron of ships to us to run flight ops tests." If he just let everyone sit around then they'd just get panicked and nothing would get done. Give them something to focus on and that would help with moral and keep their minds of this. Let him do all the panicking instead, if they couldn't lock down the problem and systems kept failing then it was only a matter of time before something critical went down and that would be a disaster. "Jefferies, have engineering prepare to isolate the engine control systems if this keeps building I want to pull the controls to an isolated system to protect them." John's finger's tapped a staccato beat on the soft armrest of his seat as he stared at the schematics, he wasn't going to let the ship blow up Nickel one on his watch.

 

[Valkren Calderon]

Location: Nickel One - Hangar​

Objective: Train with Joint Verpine and Ranger forces​

(Defend the Queen, eventually)​

Assets: First Ranger Special Tactics Unit,​

Third Ranger Infantry.​

Post count: #3​

___________________________________________________​

​

Valkren clasped his gloved hand on what would usually be a regular-sized human's shoulder, but with the Houk that just addressed him about the wide array of weaponry in front of them, he was practically patting him on the back.

"Ask nicely and they might let ya' keep it, big guy."

The colonel continued to walk down the length of the hangar bay, watching over each interaction between Verpine and Ranger personal from the third infantry. Slowly, he came to the realization that a transmission was coming through from within his helmet. He'd stop in place to lift up the familiar helmet and slide it over top his head. Just as the young special forces' officers HUD kicked into play, his eyes widened as he realized what exactly the Sith were saying.

He glanced over at the other side of the tables, making eye contact from behind his visor with Lieutenant Harris, just as he also realized what was happening.

Lowder appeared suddenly, gripping onto Konrad's plating as it was apparent that he was questioning what exactly was happening. More and more rangers and verpine alike began to look between one another as the transmission reached each one of them, then the hangar's transmission system.

"The kark' is going on?!"

"It's the bloody Sith, John boy. They're here." Of course, the lieutenant's statement was true but not so true. They had no idea how far out these Sith were. The transmission was the rangers only sign that the hostiles were even present in the area.

Calderon watched as every soldier there began to speak among themselves, as the sudden surprise definitely sent some sort of shudder through them. He couldn't let the thought of Sith fester in their minds, he had to get them mobilized.

Or at least prepared.

Quickly, Colonel Calderon shouldered his way between two rangers to reach the tables in front of them, assuring that his distinct armor patterns were visible to everyone so they'd see the officer as he went to work. Almost like clockwork, Specialist Lowder appeared behind Valk', fitting a ysalamir kit to his back. Valkren lifted a compressed Z-6 rotary cannon over his head, locking it into place on the right side of his kit for easy access. After picking up the essentials, like his combat knives and sidearms, he'd pick up the all-too familiar 'Grendel' assault ripper. After loading a sixty round extended magazine into the weapon and filling his utility pouches full of extra ammunition and detonators, he'd turn only to see all the rangers of the third infantry and the verpine soldiers arming themselves, almost in unison.

Weapon after weapon they'd lift off the tables, assuring each one of their allies had enough armaments to fend off a small army.

Valkren heaved up the rifle to rest onto his shoulder while he made his way into a better position, glancing out the hangar doors. Soon after turning back to the soldiers that were preparing for battle, he transmitted to them.

"I'm not going to give you some kind of inspirational speech here, boys and girls. I'm just going to leave you with this: you Third Infantry boys got your first taste of the Sith on Kashyyyk! Well todays not going to be the last time, but I'll tell you for damned sure that I'm going to be bringing more Sith armor home as trophies then any of you!" The last statement was almost a roar, helping fuel the infantry that trained as front-line grunts. This certainly got them going, as they continued to secure more weaponry and began cheering at themselves, almost singing in a chant as they readied one another.

"I want our barracks to be lined with Sith armor! We'll hang their chest plates from the karkin' bannisters of our pubs!" Konrad's voice came into play again, also a professional at riling up their warriors.

Valkren stepped away from the group only momentarily, waiting for key members of the rangers to group up on him as he transmitted through his helmet.

"This is Colonel Calderon. I have a small element of the Raiders with me here on Nickel One. The Third Infantry and our Verpine friends here are also on stand by."

[member="Roona Osmari"] | [member="Vertigo"] | [member="Beltran Rarr"] | [member="Tyrell Caphey"] | [member="Jyoti Nooran"]

 

[Varindar Asyt]

Objective: Hellgate
Location: Charros IV
Allies: [member="Gir Quee"] [member="John Locke"] [member="Tanaski Yumi"] [member="Sentus Olan"]
Enemies: [member="Joon"] [member="Corin Zanith"]

"Yes, I do" she answered Tana. "This is Hotelier, pirates are attacking at eleven o'clock, mark three-two"

"Focus on the reactor domes, command towers or hangar bays, then retreat after you fired" Chapel Actual ordered.

Navigating this asteroid field in hopes of inflicting mobility or firepower kills on the pirate ships that were attacking civilian traffic was a little more complicated than they thought. Just that the element of surprise won't last very long: already the enemy should be buffeted by the debris of the stuff they themselves killed, which made the job even more dangerous for them, forcing the fighters to keep their distances from their targets and to stand ready to retreat behind more asteroids. Hitting the capital ships' hangar bays, command towers or reactor domes were key items on the agenda, potentially crippling the ships, and foolhardy fighters or bombers would need to be able to navigate the treacherous asteroid field, friend or foe. A daunting prospect for one that seemed to be hallucinating for whatever reason, not the least of which is about how micro-asteroids may have entered the life support circuits. As she closed in on the targets, she tried to lock on to the reactor dome of the nearest capital ship, while still being some distance away, and then the proton torpedo was launched.

 

[Roona Osmari]

Location: Nickel One - Hangar
Objective: Military exercise
Post: 3
Allies: [member="Valkren Calderon"], [member="Tyrell Caphey"], [member="Vertigo"], [member="Beltran Rarr"]
Opposition: [member="Joon"], [member="Arlen Rossi"], [member="Corin Zanith"]

Pleasantries and introductions exchanged with Tyrell, Roona felt slightly more at ease now. She raised a brow as he spoke up next to her, willing to partake in the group’s friendly bet. Good, he would fit in quite nicely here, she thought quietly. As the hulking figure of the Houk came up to stand behind them, Roona took a glance over her shoulder. Immediately it felt like she had been cast in a rather large shadow.

But her attention was then drawn forward once more.

Her senses keen and observant, she watched as the Colonel’s expression changed. There were curious murmurs, and then questions were spoken. Something was definitely happening. Roona’s brows lofted as the Lieutenant mentioned that the Sith were now present. First Kashyyyk, now this… it seemed that these dark forces were still bent on meddling where they did not belong.

Watching as Colonel Calderon commanded attention, Roona drew up to her full height. He was a good leader; Roona had seen him give his men courage and strength to go to battle. Today was no different. As the shouts and chanting grew louder, she offered Tyrell a brief glance, as if to say ‘good luck,’ before she made her own way over to stand with the rest of the Radama Raiders.

The current position of the Sith was still unclear, but Roona’s green eyes were already scanning the hangar area – focusing on the stairs and catwalks that lined the walls. Should they break through here, she would go to higher ground. But she soon returned her gaze to the Colonel and the other Raiders, Clark was now at her shoulder.

“Things are going to get interesting,” He remarked, smirking.

“Yes,” Roona said quietly, “It seems that way."

Exactly how interesting? That would remain to be seen.

 

[Tyrell Caphey]

Location: Nickel One - Hangar
Objective: Military exercise
Post: 3
Allies: [member="Valkren Calderon"], [member="Vertigo"], [member="Beltran Rarr"]
Opposition: [member="Joon"], [member="Arlen Rossi"], [member="Corin Zanith"]

The atmosphere in the hangar changed from loose friendly chatter to intense listenings over the comms and murmurs through the ranks. Exchanging some words with one of the privates in his squad before the colonel spoke up about the situation at hand. They went quiet and listened carefully at his ''said not to be speech''. Simple words. Encouraging words! The murmurs from before the speech was gone. One could see the Rangers decisiveness in their eyes before the ones who not yet had helmets on, put them on. Siths, huh? As he was fairly new within the ranks, this would be his first encounter with the evil cult. His duties on Taris had not presented him to this kind of foe before. This would be a test. A test he was more than willing to take, he thought.

Tapping the Houks shoulder. ''Guess we'll have to wait with the introductions, big man!''. Ty took a step back from the table and reached behind his back to grab and prepare his personal weapon. Meeting Roonas glance with an expression to say 'you too' and 'stay alive', before making a summoning waving gesture to the members of his squad to regroup on him. The squad joined in on the cheering and chanting amongst the black clad troopers and their Verpine counterparts present in the hangar.