Campaign &nbsp; The Edge of Nowhere [SJO/OPA]

Phalsi Drynchen

Okkeus stated that their only point of ingress was the vent. Audren personally disagreed with that, the state of the wall had cracks and depressions that a Jedi could use to climb to the top. He didn't speak up however, under the thought that the other man knew something he didn't on the matter, or maybe on the skills of the team members. After all, he didn't know the others beyond their given names, and while one was clearly Force-sensitive he was not a Jedi. Plus there was barbed wire on the top of the wall, which would not be pleasant to deal with. Given the close confines of an air duct though, he hoped that everyone's most recent meal agreed with them.

The vent could be a problem however. The presence of an air duct implied the presence of rooms and potentially more contained within the wall's confines; there would be no need to have a vent running from the wall up to the guard's booth on top of the wall. Limiting the weaknesses of a wall for this sort of compound was standard practice, so the positioning - it was on the outside - suggested that the rooms or corridors within were unlikely to contain prisoners. Either that or it was a trap, a false sense of hope that prisoners could use to escape that was either closely monitored or itself deadly. It could even be an exit point for smoke or waste gasses.

Like the others, the Sephi froze when the guard passed, though he had little concern of being seen. Once the slim danger was through however he signaled his assent with a slight nod and moved more or less with the others as they closed on the wall. At the entry point they paused, and a column of wind formed beneath each in turn. A glance and slightly raised eyebrow were directed at Phalsi: the amount of control needed to raise a humanoid adult while not blowing everything in the area into a frenzy was considerable. Air was not an element he was well-versed in, so he was all the more impressed for it. After Caden and his teacher, the Master went in the vent (third).

He could sense the Padawan searching via the Force ahead. This was normal for a Jedi and in most cases would be highly encouraged, but they should be careful with doing so this time around. On the Altor 14 mission he'd been clued in to the potential of Dark Judges being involved with the slavers. He'd not known the significance of that then but had since done some homework. Judges weren't the equivalent of Jedi but many of them were Force-sensitive and at least somewhat trained...and Dark Judges were those who had gone rogue. Not the kind of person that you wanted sensing you before you sensed them. That said, Caden was Okkeus's Padawan; it wasn't Audren's place to chime in just yet.

It ultimately would not take four to take over a guard shack. On the other hand, fortresses such as this historically had methods of locking gates shut, typically manual equipment operating independently of a central control station. It wasn't long before the elfin Jedi saw what he was looking for: a branching vent that intersected a vertical shaft. Since manual overrides tended to be relatively near the system they were overriding, he expected them to be near the gate itself. Maybe guard stations too. Down was the way to go. He spoke softly enough that he could barely even hear himself and hoped the others had remembered their comm units.

"Splitting off, heading down to the gate. Want to stop any surprises waiting for us there. Let me know when we're going loud."

He didn't know if anyone else would accompany him. He had no doubt that he'd forgotten something - he always did - but that was why there was a team here and he wasn't tackling the entire wall and gate alone.

Okkeus Dainlei · Aug 4, 2020

Stupid. That is what he was. Very very stupid. They were already deep into the air ducts when it hit him: why would these lead to the guard shack on top of the NERFING walls. He could have put the whole group at risk. Still bashing himself for his mistake he heard Audren quietly speak. He was spitting of into the other vent. Hopefully that one led them to the gates. Okkeus was still in the lead, so there was no turning back for him to join the Jedi. Hopefully one of them went with him, that way it would be two and two.

As they contiued onward he began to hear rustling below him. Crawling forward a few more feet he saw an opening in the vent. Peeking downward he saw a horrific sight. People were all being processed and moved to different areas. It looked like a Shaak Meet House. There were shouts and screams coming from almost everyone, in every possible language. He couldn't see any guards around, but he knew they were down there. Mainly because some blasters just went off.

He started to turn his head back, wanting to address the group.

"We have to go back and tell the others tha..."

That is when his hand slipped through the opening.

Phalsi Drynchen

Phalsi Drynchen · Aug 5, 2020

When they all were inside the vents, she allowed the wind to slowly die. Her concentration shifted then from the only real thing she had focused on since leaving Silver space. Besides being a shadowy presence in

Eldin Daine 's life. Typically messing with electronics around him. Now though, she focused on not absolutely making a ridiculous ringer of crawling through the vents, pausing as the group split. Eyes behind the mask waffled, following the Sephi in lieu of the master and student working together.

She did what she could, slowly creeping through the vent without the assistance of her favored element. A touch of annoyance in her mood as she heard something from the vents behind them. Something that sounded an awful lot like the beginnings of trouble as she paused, sensors picking up the sounds and her expression changing to dread.

She was caught around a corner when the sound came, floundering briefly to pull the wrist device open while half curled to do what damage control she could on the internal systems around them. It was slow going however, having failed to setup prior to their entry in hopes of having a quiet moment to lay down the ground work.

"Feth feth feth feth feth-" She whispered as she worked. Another group, or anyone with a knack for slicing would have scoffed at the heavy handed approach she had taken. Pre-programmed system's simply tearing through the security to black out the alarms

Anyone lacking experience would think it a weird virus from some questionable holo-net links. Those with experience however could see it was not a simple virus, even if there was a fledgling program made to distract and look like it was data mining rather than shutting down essential systems.

Ripple · Aug 6, 2020

Objective 3

Amani Serys

Reggie Faayare

Karra Tor

Amani informed him of her intent to get him closer, and he knew that carrying a bag when you were supposed to have been stripped of belongings wasn't going to be the greatest way of being inconspicuous. He was not expecting however to be tossed as Amani apologized for her next action, his eyes going wide as he felt the sudden free movement through the air before being rudely deposited on the ground with a somewhat mild squeak of both surprise and alarm. Eyes went to the bag at the sound, but Ripple had tumbled out and left the bag to its fate.

He wanted to be irritated with the toss. But around him were people that he and others had hoped to help, so even with the rather sudden and rude means of transportation, he couldn't say much. People around him had experienced much worse than a simple toss and plop.

A quick check of his gear had him fixing a few stray whiskers before sneaking his way between legs and assorted wall hanging objects for horizontal storage. Or it was beds for the larger beings around him, it was hard to tell with the limited view that he had. He carefully wove his way under them, reaching the bottom of the gate and watching the current flicker.

Little hands pulled the arc wrench out before placing it in front of him. He waited for a guard to walk away after standing at the gate for a long moment. Seemed something, or someone, behind him had caught their attention. The boots in his peripheral wandered away, and Ripple took his chance, jamming the arc wrench into the bar and sending a current back through the system electrifying the bars. A pop, spark, and a fizzle signaled the failing of the electrical system on the gate.

Boots to the side warned him against moving even though he was. Voices rose in anger as a hand reached down and grabbed him by the scruff. Unceremoniously yanking him through the bars as he was pulled up to eye level with a very confused looking being.

"The feth are you?"

They hissed, failing to notice the little hands moving and grabbing the arc welder and stabbing it in the beings neck. Electricity arced, the being tensing as another pair of eyes swept over towards the developing scene. The hand let go as Ripple grabbed the guards clothing and rode them down as they flopped backwards, unconscious.

He was in the thick of it now as a blaster was raised, or mildly lifted, in his direction as he pushed off the falling guard and made a quick dash for the next one. A single blaster shot rang as Ripple closed the distance and jabbed the stick into the next guards leg, the same process occurring as he counted his lucky stars that one of the rolls of engine tape had ate the blaster shot on his back.

Kimiko Taiyou · Aug 7, 2020

Objective 2
Dismantle the Leadership Tower

Vouvry |

Eldin Daine |

Veino Garn

Her at first cheery demeanor rapidly disappeared as the ideas hit her. She scanned the wall as well, deep in thought as she contemplated what they could do. The last idea was the only way.

"You're right, we would have to find a crack in the defenses so to say." she looked between all her companions, hoping the spark lit in them,"I say we split up into two teams, circle in opposite directions, and find the first way in we can."

Veino Garn · Aug 9, 2020

Obj. 2.

Kimiko Taiyou

Vouvry

Eldin Daine
====================

Veino had been silent, observing the situation as it developed. Finally he nodded and stood, reaching through the satchel of supplies he had stashed next to him. He sifted through it for several moments until pulling out a cable-gun, rolling his shoulders as he imagined the impact of what he was planning.

"Why not up and across?" It was an audacious plan, but it could work. "You three use the grips on the armor to scale the wall. Should take you right up. Then take the cable gun and secure it to the roof of the tower." He pointed to it. "Pull yourself across the cable and infiltrate the tower from the roof."

He held out the small piece of kit. "I'll follow behind and make sure nobody gives the alarm." He tightened the robes around himself and secure his mask so his face was fully hidden. "I'll cover your approach and make sure the wall is clear before you begin your ascent." He removed a pair of electroboniculars and returned to his cover. "I'll guide you in with the earpieces in the armor."

Karra Tor · Aug 12, 2020

Although she was mainly keeping an eye on Reggie, him being the one in the most danger of her three companions, Karra couldn't help but notice the slight commotion near the cages as Amani tossed the bag aside to keep her cover, the Convor wincing at the thought of Ripple being thrown around in there. She had been on the receiving end of his grumpiness so she felt a little sorry for the poor unfortunate that would end up getting the brunt of it - probably Amani...probably. She watched as Reggie ducked and weaved through the shadows with shaky confidence, a young mind falling back on his training as he struggled to keep his head in a mission. All things considered, he was doing well, far better than she did at his age, and she anticipated him being quite the sneaky boy when his confidence grew to make this second nature to him.

”You're doing well Reggie, keep it up, Ripple is heading for the gates now so you'll be clear to shut them down when you get to the controls. She said softly, flapping her wings and jumping off her perch to float down before landing on the rim of the window, peering into the control room. "There are four guards in the control room, all armed, grouped closely together. Only one seems to be focused on keeping guard, the others are just talking, can you handle the-" She was drowned out by a single blaster shot that punctured the air with all the gravitas of a mournful wail. Time slowed for a moment, the camp seemingly becoming deathly quiet. Something was about to happen, good or bad, but it seemed the stealthy approach may be about to go out the window. "Ok, never mind, Reggie, you need to get in there and take out those guards, now."

Amani Serys

Reggie Faayare Ripple

Acaadi · Aug 13, 2020

Vouvry

Amani Serys Ripple

There was a reason that the base seemed to have so few guards. Not only had the slavers repaired the old confederate base. They had also reactivated a store of Magna guards beneath the walls.

As soon as the first guard would be alerted, they would activate and start to search the compound for Jedi.

Reggie Faayare · Aug 13, 2020

Objective 3

Reggie took in everything Karra was saying, confident that he could get in without causing too much commotion. However, the sound of a blaster going off and the the emphasis on Karra's words afterward threw out that plan. Without hesitation, Reggie moved in to take out the guards. Using the element of surprise he would have for a short while, Reggie was able to disarm the guard closest to him and used the force to push him into another one, the two falling to the ground.

The padawan moved for the next guard, but the one that was focusing had already pointed his gun on the intruder, not hesitating to take fire. His training allowing him to react quickly, Reggie put up a barrier to block the shots and moved in on the guard. One of them, finally putting things together in his head(a bit more slowly than he should have, though Reggie wasn't complaining), hastily moved to shoot. Reggie used this time to take a hold of the guard that was actually prepared, and forcibly re-positioned him in the line of fire. That almost didn't working considering how the slaver was stronger than Reggie, however the padawan had the force on his side, which the slaver obviously didn't account for. Taking the shot in the back, the guard slumped to the ground. The hasty shot guard was about to fire again, seemingly not caring that his partner had went down because of him, but the cloaked figure that had appeared out of nowhere was gone. Reggie had cloaked himself again so that the guard would hesitate, allowing him to disarm and knock down the guard. Not taking any chances, Reggie used force stasis to keep the slaver down.

Before moving on, the first two guards that Reggie took out were beginning to retrieve the weapons they dropped. Reggie lifted up one of the bigger crates near them with the force, and smashed it into their head.....well, the crate didn't break like the padawan thought it would, meaning it would hurt more than expected. That guard was now unconscious, trapping the other under him. As the last guard panicked, Reggie kicked him in his temple, which would keep him down for awhile.

Reggie wasted no time running inside to the control room, knowing that the ruckus would surely get the attention of the other guards. This time, Reggie would most likely have to use his lightsaber to defend himself. The padawan was taught not to take a life so casually by his Master, so he tried his best not to use lethal force unless he absolutely had to. Unfortunately, if more forces came his way, there would be no choice. The guards he had just taken out would have been trouble if there wasn't only one being focused, so how would he take down fully prepared slavers non-lethally? With the situation he was in, it wasn't a likely plan to try.

Eventually, Reggie got to the controls and began working on turning off the barriers of the pens. "Hey Karra, the pens should be opening up momentarily. Please tell me the reinforcements is on the way?" Opening the pens was one thing, but making sure those locked up wouldn't be harmed was another. With the prisoners and a few Jedi in the area, they may be able to take out the slavers in this area if things went well. That was a risk though, especially considering most of the people locked up are probably hungry and therefore have no energy to defend themselves.

Karra Tor | Ripple

Eldin Daine · Aug 13, 2020

Objective 2
Dismantle the Leadership Tower
Vouvry | Kimiko Taiyou | Veino Garn

Out of all the plans put forward by the group, Veino's was the most likely. Eldin nodded his agreement, even though it probably will not work, but the other plans less likely and the result would be permanent for them all.

"No guts no glory as they say". He made sure his equipment was in order and ready. The position they were in, was somewhat of a blind spot for the guards, and any cameras, but whether any sensors where in place was anyone's guess. Nothing on his device indicated any presence of them but nothing was left to be trusted. "I'll go first, see if anything triggers".

Eldin was first to go, making a dash to the wall. At this point, no alarms went off and if any sensors revealed his presence, it was only one. He waved for the others to come quickly before he started scaling up the side of the wall. Ever nerve in his body was on edge, the force rippling through him fueling his limbs and for once he used it with purpose.

Audren Sykes · Aug 14, 2020

Objective 1
Tags:

Phalsi Drynchen

The aerokinetic chose to follow Audren as he split off from the other two Jedi. The more vents they passed, the more of a clamor they could hear. This was both good and bad: it meant they were getting close, but it also meant that time was running out and they needed to stay quiet. Not far ahead, he saw a vertical pathway. That was his method down.

Then the noises started.

A blaster shot rang out, barely audible from this point in the walls but all the more jarring for it. No doubt the alarm would be raised and the time available to them would be drastically cut down. There were still jobs to do though, and others were counting on them to do so. As he reached the cross-directional duct and prepared to head down, the Sephi noticed that their aerokinetic had stopped. They were almost curled up in place, but there was a faint glow of an electronic screen and a sense of intense concentration. Not a panic attack then, likely some form of electronic work. The ducts were probably the safest place - other than outside the compound - for this to occur, and if doing that helped tip the situation in the strike team's favor he was all for it.

Audren braced himself on the vertical shaft with hands, elbows, knees, and boots, then allowed gravity to take over. Variable amounts of physical force made for variable levels of friction and thus he was able to control his speed. He had to pause a time or two so as to minimize his chances of being seen in some vents but the delay in time was well worth it. Much to his surprise the duct ended below ground level, and on a hunch he chose to follow it. The end result was what appeared to be a dim storage room, pretty much empty from what he could see and sense. There were some metal racks present, a cargo lift that went up to ground-level large enough for several humanoids, and a winding staircase heading up.

The whole place would have been immediately discounted as inconsequential had he not glimpsed the machinery running along the ceiling. Intrigued, the Jedi slipped out of the vent to the floor and moved for a closer examination. He found several metal bars connected to a pneumatic system; most were vertical, but there were two horizontal ones as well. Delving through the Force showed that the vertical bars extended up nearly to ground level and what he was seeing in the ceiling were just metal caps. The horizontal bars were longer and exactly perpendicular to the vertical bars. He had a sudden flash of insight: he was looking at the emergency locking mechanism for the gate. The two pneumatic motors - one for each gate door - would force the vertical bars up and once they reached a certain height - no doubt intersecting the gate in several places - the horizontal bars would slide beneath and prevent the vertical ones from falling down. No doubt...yep, the same motors powered a similar system on the top of the doors, but that system pulled the horizontal bars back to let the vertical bars drop into place. Two horizontal ones for each gate door too, because overkill wasn't in this case. Relatively low-tech but still very much effective.

There wasn't much time available. He was no technical expert but he didn't see anything that stood out as anti-tamper lines going to the motors or bars. This was supposed to be a secret, emergency lock after all. There were two critical weaknesses that he could see: the power cables and the control lines. The Sephi yanked both, on both motors. A solid grip on each cable - mental and physical together - and a quick yank invalidated the system. It was noisier than he'd prefer but with the commotion above and nobody else being in the room he figured the risk acceptable. He keyed his comm to the team's chosen channel and gave his report.

"Backup locking system neutralized. Heading to ground level."

Given his focus, he didn't see the faint red glow behind some storage containers in the racks.

Vouvry · Aug 14, 2020

Objective 2
Dismantle the Leadership Tower

Kimiko Taiyou

Veino Garn

Eldin Daine

And so it was decided. They were climbing the walls. It was a risky move, but then, they were trying to get into a fortified base - risky was necessary. Letting out the slight chuckle, Vouvry nodded at Eldin's comment and followed along as the man lead the group closer. Staying low, and making use of his suit's stealth properties, the young Mirialan did his best to avoid getting detected.

It was not a long distance they had to cover and the amount of patrols were limited which was all working in their favour. The real challenge would be to climb the wall at a spot were nobody would look for however long it took them to climb it. While he had not tried the suit out properly yet, he was confident enough in its capacities. Following Eldin, he dashed up to the wall and quickly started making his way to the top. Once he got up to the very edge of it, the voices of two guards could be heard - the duo was chatting about the a dazzling dejarik game back in the barracks. It was a good sign that indicated that they didn't expect any trouble.

Looking to his side, Vouvry waved at Kimiko who he assumed had heard the voices too. If they wanted to remain hidden, the best route seemed to consist of neutralising the guards rather than crossing their fingers in the hope that they wouldn't be looking as the party climbed over the edge onto the top of the construct. With a horizontal climb, the Mirialan soon found himself directly beneath where the two voices came from. Once his ally was ready, he would quickly take the last few steps and leap over the wall to tackle a foe to the ground with a hand firmly pressed around the man's mouth and nose, ensuring that he would be fall unconscious quietly.

Kimiko Taiyou · Aug 22, 2020

Objective 2
Dismantle the Leadership Tower

Vouvry |

Eldin Daine |

Veino Garn

Unaware that her suit had such technology, she lagged behind her companions as she attempted to figure it out. Waving her arms frantically afforded nothing, but when she attempted to climb, and found she could with ease, did she begin ascending the face. This amused her as she felt like a holo-comic super hero she had read one time.

The group neared the top, and Ki's ears picked up laughter, probably from the guards. Shimmying over to where one of the voices was originating from, she caught Vouvry looking knowingly at her. She offered a sly grin, before holding three fingers...then two...then one...

She sprang up over the short wall and fell upon her unsuspecting prey. One hand grabbed the man's face in a vice-like grip, muffling any attempts to call for help, while the other hand swiftly drew one of her blades, plunging it to the hilt into his chest...

Domino · Aug 24, 2020

Objective 3

Karra Tor

Amani Serys Ripple

Reggie Faayare

Domino was late to the party, fashionably she figured. Hoped. But it wasn't really her fault either. She hadn't been active in the Silver Jedi since the one that had brought her in had been kicked out for, something, neither of them were sure what. And always the outsider, she hadn't wanted to risk a confrontation with the other members. And in the OPA she was known for for being a business woman and philanthropist, it was pure happenstance that she'd discovered this little operation was taking place. She'd volunteered at Sriluur and she was volunteering again now.

Whomever was in charge had put her 'in group three, going after the slave pens.' Apparently they were mostly Apprentices acting under the eyes of a Knight and she was to act as the heavy reinforcement if things went sideways. Which she figured they would. Accordingly she'd donned her new armor, wanting to give the Mk,III siege gear a proper shake down. She was also bringing her twin lightsabers, grenade launcher, repeating carbine, a couple of vibro-knives, and plenty of ammunition. It was probably over kill, but she'd recently started seeing an ex-slave and might have been a little more invested in this than she normally would have been.

In the dark skies the Sangromancer II cruised quietly on its repulsorlifts twenty kilometres up, less than a spot to the naked eye and hopefully invisible behind its sensor jammer. "Warden is on station," she tight-beamed to the shuttles to be relayed to the team. "Requesting to be patched in to the tac-net and a sit-rep." She also sent along the authentication codes she'd been given. "Otherwise I'm ready to act on your call."

Ripple · Aug 25, 2020

He brushed himself off, not giving himself a moment to think about what had just happened as adrenaline pumped through his tiny body. There were doors on the opposite side of the way, and his only thought at the moment was to remove the change for more guards to come in after that shot was fired. A tube of animated metal sealant was produced from underneath the roll of tape. He moved to the door that he guessed was the most likely choice by other guards to come out of as he put a bead of the molecular bonding agent against the seam, in hopes it had enough time to seal.

Karra Tor Ripple

Reggie Faayare

Domino

Phalsi Drynchen · Aug 25, 2020

Guards were noticing a lack of communication given the shot in that had rung out, but the quiet that followed made it seem almost like something had been solved. Some shrugged it off, some continued to mess with communicators, others just didn't care as Phalsi continued to operate on the communications blackout. Her eyes darted forward in time to notice that she was now alone. There had also been a strange sound, something like a blaster...maybe?

A few taps on the wrist device later she was pushing through the vent and left the heavy lifting of the blackout to an automated system, mask set to thermal imagining as she tried to mimic the one that had gone before her. The hot spots on the vent gave her an idea of what he had done, but that didn't mean she could mimic the move as she came sliding down the vent with alarming speed. A deep draw of breath had her blowing out harshly in an attempt to stall the final leg of her descent as she managed to tuck and roll rather than break a leg.

With a rather solid grunt as her diaphragm met her brain for a brief moment, rolling over before silently wheezing to herself. There was a strange reading in her mask, a spot against the far wall that shouldn't have been there. Not in her opinion at least.

Still reeling for air, she made the gesture to switch to night vision as the display briefly blanked out and snapped back to the green display. A pair of eyes watched her, and she felt her whole body go cold. She had all of two seconds worth of time to speak as the electro staff lit up, her eyes going to

Audren Sykes in the space of time the droid needed to come out from behind cover.

"Audren!" She whistle wheezed towards him, trying to roll over and scurry backwards as the droid moved towards her.

Tarok Vassket · Aug 25, 2020