Die and Rise

[Cryax Bane]

​

Location: The Space near Gulamendis
Theme song: Lacuna Coil Die and Rise
Allies: [member="Ice"] [member="Keira Ticon"] [member="Nei Laa"] [member="Asteria Starcatcher"]
Enemies: [member="Tesar Osted"] [member="Salacious Vile"] [member="Anja Aj'Rou"]
OOC Discussion: here

Ice's Corvette drifted through the dark space near Gulamendis like a lonely ghost, its crew and passengers, comprised of key members of the Red Ravens criminal syndicate haunted by a single distress beacon. The beacon had come from the darkest regions of Unknown Space where that planet of Gulamendis sat. This was uncharted territory for the Red Ravens. They had arrived in the sector in the hopes that they could track the beacon to its source where they'd find their comrade Keira Ticon who had been missing from the Casino for weeks.

Keira was last seen leaving the casino in the evening and then disappeared as she was headed down the street to the Mandarin luxury high rise building nearby. Then the rogue Jedi disappeared without a trace, and all of the Raven infochants had come up empty-handed. It was like she had disappeared into thin air. Until now.

Bouncing through all manner of galactic satellites and across the Cryptnet, the message they'd received was unmistakably Keira's. Cryax Bane, Red Ravens President and his team of slicers had traced the location of the message to this corner of space. Once her location was secured, no time was wasted amassing a crew of Ravens to suss it out in the hopes of bringing her back in one piece.

Cryax sat hunched over the ship's central computer with Ice and Nei Laa nearby, along with Ice's crew and a squad of combat droids and Red Raven Soldiers waiting in the wings for deployment. On the radar they spotted a large nearby ship, a 900 meter Deliverance-class Heavy Cruiser that looked to be their target. Not much of a pilot himself, Cryax looked to Ice to lead the spacing part of the operation. Cryax would then use his skills as one of the best slicers this side of the outer rim to gain access to the enemy ship's computer and wreck havoc on their networks. That was a big gamble, of course, as he didn't know what kind of slicing anti-safeguards the ship had. Whether he sliced in remotely from Ice's ship, or from inside the enemy ship itself, Cryax knew one thing. He'd do anything to get his friend back home safely. He'd also enlisted Nei Laa and Asteria Starcatcher because they were the best shots in the galaxy, and both women were tough as nails to boot. If anyone could handle this operation, he knew Nei and Asteria could.

He turned to Ice and Nei Laa, a blue-skinned finger pointing to the blip on the radar. "Here's the source of the beacon. I don't know who's on that ship, but I highly doubt they're going to be too happy to see us, so we should expect some opposition. Ice, Is there anything we can do to cause a distraction for their fighters? Since they're not expecting any attackers, there's a good shot their hanger might very well be open, and we can crash their party."

 

[Keira Priest]

Location: Order's End starship
Allies: [member="Ice"], [member="Cryax Bane"], [member="Nei Laa"], [member="Asteria Starcatcher"]
Enemies: [member="Salacious Vile"], [member="Anja Aj'Rou"]

Shuffling along the halls of the starship she’d been imprisoned on for weeks, perhaps even a month or more, the chains that bound her hand and foot clinked softly against themselves and the durasteel floor. In her weakened state she wasn’t able to move very quickly, and had to lean up against the wall just to stand. With every step she took another insult towards her captors flashed through her mind, each one more creative and colorful than the last. It had been a feat for her to even make her way out of the isolation chamber she’d been kept in, much less out of the medical bay. And now that she had gotten out and sent her message, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to return before anyone noticed something out of the ordinary.

I could use a little help. Come to the medical bay.
>>> Keira

It had been a simple, short message, typed out quickly on the first communications system she’d been able to find. Once it had been sent she started making her way back to where she’d been imprisoned, but that wasn’t looking so good now. One of her captors would more than likely come around eventually, and the only silver lining was imagining the look on their face when they discovered not only her cell but the entirety of the medical bay devoid of any life. The thought of a rescue coming had been keeping her going in captivity, and now that her signal was sent out, all there was left to do was wait. If they were surprised to see her gone, they’d be even more surprised when an enemy vessel docked in the hangar.

With a quiet sigh of defeat she slid down to sit against the wall, her knees up against her chest, arms resting on them, her chin on her arms. After having spent a seemingly endless amount of time in complete and utter silence and darkness, the dim light and noises of the ship were welcome, even if she was still a prisoner. This was a small taste of freedom, but if she had her way, it would only be the first of the day.

 

[Nei Laa]

Location: The Space near Gulamendis
Allies: [member="Ice"], [member="Cryax Bane"], [member="Keira Ticon"], [member="Asteria Starcatcher"]
Enemies: [member="Tesar Osted"] [member="Salacious Vile"] [member="Anja Aj'Rou"]

"Si'hklesi fonol be on that ship," Nei growled. "Si'hklesi fonol who soon will be ch'sei fonol."

She stood with her arms crossed, looking out the window at the enemy ship. Her visor was down, masking her face, and her tresses were curling gently. At first glance, the Nautolan appeared relatively relaxed, but on the inside bloodlust was boiling.

There were a lot of people Nei didn't like, Force Users being one of them. But there were quite a few she'd met within the Ravens that the smuggler had taken exception to, one of whom was Keira. So when Cryax notified her that the human had been taken, the Nautolan joined the rescue team without hesitation.

It'll be good to shoot something again, she thought. The idea sent a shiver of impatience down her spine, and it was all she could do to not jack one of the ships and go in herself, guns a'blazing.

The imagery was amusing, though.

 

[Puppet Kyrios]

Location: The Space near Gulamendis
Theme song: Lacuna Coil Die and Rise
Allies: [member="Ice"] [member="Keira Ticon"] [member="Nei Laa"]
Enemies: anyone on the other ship that's not Keira : )

Asteria liked corners, and that's where she was while everyone else was talking, she didn't feel like talking, but she had an idea so she cleared her throat at the mention of distracting the fighters.

"I could lead a squadron of fighters in the Finality and distract any fighters that tag along after you've picked up Keira. " Her voice sounded a little bit scratchy, but she acted like it was normal.

 

[Ice]

Location: The gods only know
Allies: [member="Nei Laa"] | [member="Keira Ticon"] | [member="Keira Ticon"] | [member="Asteria Starcatcher"] | [member="Cryax Bane"]
Enemies: [member="Tesar Osted"] | [member="Salacious Vile"] | [member="Anja Aj'Rou"]
Objective: Search and Rescue. Oh ya, and survive contact with the enemy.

Dropping out of hyperspace Ice was greeted by a less than pleasant sight. A ship that outclassed them in every sense of the word. No Ice was proud of his vessel. But in the end, it was still a carrier, not an assault ship. And he hadn't expected to be bringing his ship against heavily built beast. When Cryax asked if he could distract their fighters with any he had he laughed. Though his laugh was certainly not because he was happy. He simply knew from being an experienced captain, that they stood absolutely zero of holding out in any kind of fight against the warbird that lay before them. No his laugh was that of a person dumstruck by what he was up against.

With a swift shake of his head he countered. "That would not be wise. With the amount of guns that ship will be sporting, they wouldn't need their fighters. They'd simply blow us away on our approach. I say we put out a distress beacon and pretend to be having technical difficulties with our ship. We can request permission to dock. Or if they are a predator looking for prey, they will dock with us anyway. Either way, we prolly won't have to fight at all to get to them, and then we can spring our trap." He cast a glance back to Cryax. "Sound good?"

He waited to hear what the boss man had to say before he actually did anything.

 

[Puppet Kyrios]

Location: The Space near Gulamendis, Ice's ship
Allies: [member="Ice"] [member="Nei Laa"] [member="Keira Ticon"] [member="Cryax Bane"]
Enemies: anyone on the other ship that's not Keira : )

Asteria raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Her three good sides said he had a point, her reckless side said so what, and her killer side said murder everyone, so the three ruled out the last two. "Yea, I see your point. They wouldn't expect us to try to take their prisoner, or that we even knew about her. They would let us dock and then we go out there, some of us go find Keira, and the others stall or go guns a blazin'."

 

[Cryax Bane]

Location: Ice's Corvette
Allies: [member="Asteria Starcatcher"] [member="Ice"] [member="Nei Laa"] [member="Keira Ticon"]
Enemies: [member="Tesar Osted"] [member="Salacious Vile"] [member="Anja Aj'Rou"]

A street rat slicer from the outer rim, Cryax had worked his way up in the ranks of the organization, one seedy drug den at a time. He knew his way around a ship’s central computer, but being able to asses a spacing strategy beyond “shoot things” was not in his wheelhouse. Therefore, the Chiss crime boss could only trust that the Red Ravens secretary's plan was fail safe. Personally Cryax wasn’t keen on any plan that involved getting up close and personal with a given enemy, but if that was their best option, so be it. If it were any other Raven that had been missing, Cryax would have sent mercenaries in his place, but this was Keira, a loyal friend who had saved his life on more than one occasion. Against the better judgement of his security team he had embarked on this mission.

“Good as it’s going to get I guess,” said the Chiss crime boss to Ice. He flicked a switch on the terminal, activating the distress beacon. Then he took inventory of their droid forces which consisted of Miraris and Magnaguards. All that was left to do was arm up, and wait.

 

[Boethiah]

On board Order's End things were quiet. Their Vanguard fleet had already engaged with an unknown enemy along the fringes of known space and everyone -- Anja included -- were keen on knowing more. If Keira had an opportunity to escape it would be now; The Primeval Fleet was scattered and focused elsewhere, and although the bulk did stay close to their flagship they were so spread out that her flagship was a beacon. Several other ships were engaging in hyperspace as one of the final order's that Executor Pyrrhus Alet gave was for hyperspace test runs in preparation for a large-scale invasion. Inside the starship itself everything remained as it were. The officers handled day-to-day operations and Anja Aj'Rou meditated in her private chambers, the lightsaber belonging to Keira laid in arms reach along the rest of her throne-chair.

"Distress Beacon.", a single voice spoke over the intercom that lead into her chambers. Reserved only for matters of importance. Anja's brow raised as her eyes opened, revealing the pale-blue complexion of her eyes; she had just broken her meditation to the statement. "Care to elaborate?", a short groan came with the inquiry as she hadn't been in the mood to deal with such petty matters; mostly she wouldn't care of such things and rather they just blew the damn ship where it sat. "There's a ship: Looks like a Cargo vessel. Perhaps.", the exchange continued; whoever was on the other side of the line seemed straight to the point. "You wouldn't bother me unless there was something important about this ship.", although she came across as responsive her true intentions were impatient ones. "It's not like the smuggler ships we normally see; perhaps the cargo is valuable.", again the statements were straight to the point and Anja still wasn't particularly intrigued, unless that ship was containing an artifact of their Gods she really wasn't in the mood. "Do as you see fit but any failures will be your head.", her final command was strict; a violent tone carried in her words. The intercom cut out leaving her once more in the peace she sought. The broadside weapons of Order's End locked onto the source of the beacon, the pause afterwards lasted nearly a minute before the ship's communications system pinged theirs.

"State your emergency."

[member="Cryax Bane"] [member="Keira Ticon"] [member="Asteria Starcatcher"] [member="Ice"] [member="Nei Laa"]

[member="Salacious Vile"] [member="Tesar Osted"]

 

[Cryax Bane]

Location: Ice's Corvette
Allies: [member="Asteria Starcatcher"] [member="Ice"] [member="Nei Laa"] [member="Keira Ticon"]
Enemies: [member="Tesar Osted"] [member="Salacious Vile"] [member="Anja Aj'Rou"]

An unknown female voice responded to the distress call. The message was short and sweet, but not unfriendly. The fact that she didn't identify who she was raised a few hackles, but Unknown space was ripe with pirates and it could be the ship was merely on alert. Cryax flicked on the intercom, and taking a deep breath, returned the message.

"We were escorting a peaceful diplomatic envoy through the system and hit an ion storm We were seperate from our fleet and sustained major damage to our ship's navicomputer. Well needless to say, we're karked. We can't get back to them until we fix it. Requesting permission to dock."

Cryax flicked off the intercom and silently waited with his hands folded in front of him. He was practically holding his breath awaiting the reply.

 

[Boethiah]

Again Order's End gave a few minutes -- weapon's still locked -- of a pause. The intercom officer was relaying the information back to Anja, who had already given express permission to do as they pleased; after the pause the intercom pinged the ship once more. At first nothing came except static, a few raspy voices were speaking in the background but everything was unintelligible at this point. Then it went quiet but the connection was still active, they likely turned off their receiver momentarily and then just as it went the static returned a few voices got closer and there was an audible blastershot in the background before a different voice took over.

"Please make your course towards the General docking area. Our tractors will guide you in." , the communication split after that.

[member="Cryax Bane"] [member="Keira Ticon"] [member="Asteria Starcatcher"] [member="Nei Laa"] [member="Salacious Vile"] [member="Tesar Osted"]

 

[Puppet Kyrios]

Location: Ice's Corvette
Allies: [member="Cryax Bane"] [member="Ice"] [member="Nei Laa"] [member="Keira Ticon"]
Enemies: [member="Anja Aj'Rou"] and anyone else that's not the above

Asteria waited until Cryax had turned off the intercom to say anything. "Looks like we're ready to suit up, then?" She checked her gear, nothing to visible, just her usual vibroblade, and a blaster in its usual thigh holster. She wore a black jumpsuit with her long red hair in a high ponytail exposing her pointed ears. "Just tell me what needs to be done and I'll do it."

 

[Nei Laa]

Location: The Space near Gulamendis
Allies: [member="Ice"] [member="Cryax Bane"] [member="Keira Ticon"] [member="Asteria Starcatcher"]
Enemies: [member="Tesar Osted"] [member="Salacious Vile"] [member="Anja Aj'Rou"]

Nei tore her gaze away from the window once the enemy ship hailed them. She listened closely to what Cryax said, tresses curling in approval. It was a good excuse, and she hoped they would fall for it.

Of course, she narrowed her eyes at the sound of a blaster being shot in the background, just before a different voice spoke. "I think it be a trap," she growled. "Or something bad. Could they be onto us? Didn't anyone else hear that blaster?" The Nautolan curled her lip in a decidedly human way. "And tractors? Tractors be a smuggler's worst nightmare. No way to break 'em without some serious power." She placed her hands on her hips, awaiting her comrades' replies. Nei might not have been the sharpest knife in the drawer, but she was far from being the dullest and was usually pretty good at picking up on things.

Usually.

 

[RC 212]

Location: The Space near Gulamendis
Allies: Ice Cryax Bane Keira Ticon Asteria Starcatcher
Enemies: Tesar Osted Salacious Vile Anja Aj'Rou

Boom baby!

Colap leaned up against the bulkhead wall, idly waiting for the action to spring. He was clad in his usual gray catlike armor with the faceplate up. In his left fist was a bottle of whiskey and in his right, none other than his trusty Westar-35 blaster pistol. He had holstered a scattergun on his back and filled his belt with grenades of all types.

"Ey everybody, whoever can bring me ten creeper scalps will get a lil, *Hic* a lil present from me!"

Quite drunk already he slammed back another slug, emptying the bottle and smashing on the wall. Jagged glass edges shone cruelly in the dim lights, he now had shank.

"Tell em sorry bout tha' mess there, i'll be back and clean er up."

A cigar blazed away in the corner of his mouth, puffing smoke with each drunken breath. A Ticon was missing and it was time for them to roll out.

"Cryax, was the issue? They taking the bait?"

 

[Ice]

Ice smiled widely when he heard the response..at least up till he heard the blaster shot. "What in the world..." Was what he was thinking when Nei suggested a possible trap. Ice shook his head after a moment. "I kind of doubt it. You don't shoot someone with the mic still on if you are trying to lure them in. Then again you don't really shoot your men....so I don't know what just happened.". He paused for a moment as he tried analyzing the possibilities.

Finally speaking again both to explain what he meant to do as well as answer Colap he said, "Yup. Hook, line and sinker. So here's the plan. Well at least where the ship is concerned." He was cut off for a second as he felt the tractor beams grabbing hold of them to guide them inside the docking bay safely. "Once we get in there, I'm going to open fire on their landed fighters, tractor beams, and interior defense guns. That will make it impossible for them to snag us with tractor beams or run us down with fighters when we try to escape. While I do that and make sure the docking bay is clear, you guys go get back our girl. Sound like a plan?"

He gave a glance around to make sure everyone was on board with the simple plan. Remembering something though, he snapped his fingers and continued. "I also have 70 droideka mark 2's on board. Feel free to take 20 of them. I'll keep the other 50 to hold the docking bay. Them supported by my ship guns should be able to hold out easily enough."

 

[RC 212]

[member="Ice"]

Location: Ices ship

Colap raised an eyebrow at the metnion of the droidekas. If that was the case they had even more firepower on their side and he was certain the enemy had yet to encounter the beastly war droids in the galaxy as of yet. This was a deduction of the rumours he'd heard from old time spacers, talking of fleet that reappeared every so often of creature more ghastly than reavers themselves.

"Well if that's the case, why dont we just take the vessel than' and sail 'er away!"

This could kill two birds with one stone. A) Colap gets his cousin back B) Ticon Defense Industries gets to dissect the vessel and learn about the thing, maybe even create an updated version for themselves!

Pirate blood, what a boon to have in the family lineage!

 

[Ice]

Location: Ice's ship. Soon to be the enemy docking bay.
Allies: Red Ravens
Enemies: Whoever is on board the ship and not a Raven
Objective: Rescue op

Ice shook his head at the notion that they capture the large vessel. It was a tantalizing prospect to be sure. But unfortunately, it was also an impossible one. "I'm afraid that's impossible my friend. Even if we managed to get the much larger crew on board under control, we don't have enough people to fly her. I mean I guess I would have to take a look at how advanced her systems are and how much automation they installed in this vessel. But more likely than not, this ship is going to require a crew compliment that we simply don't possess."

He paused for a moment as he mulled the idea over in his head just to make sure it wasn't actually possible. "Besides, if we tried and were unable to overtake the crew, a retreat could be even more costly. Not to mention we don't know if they have any friends nearby. If they can call for reinforcement and get them here in short enough time, we'd be trapped. Not really a prospect I'd be looking forward too. If we wanted to take this ship, that decision would have to have been made before we left so we could have stalked up better. Smash and grab! That is what the name of the game is today."

Ice understood what Colap was hoping to accomplish, and if it was possible, Ice would have been the first to volunteer. But Ice was a realist. He knew the odds of taking over something this large with what they had on hand was remote. With the element of surprise on their side and the fact that these people didn't know who they were and by extension not know what they were after. This group had a good chance of pulling off this jail break.

 

[Cryax Bane]

Location: Ice's ship. Enemy Docking Bay
Allies: [member="Ice"] [member="Colap Ticon"] [member="Nei Laa"] [member="Asteria Starcatcher"] [member="Keira Ticon"]
Enemies: [member="Anja Aj'Rou"] [member="Salacious Vile"] [member="Tesar Osted"]
Objective: Rescue Keira Ticon

After a short time, Ice's Corvette sat in the docking bay of the unknown ship amid an eerily tense silence. Cryax activated his small droid army and put on a Kevlar vest, arming himself with a carbine blaster rifle which he slung over his shoulder. Then he cast a glare at Colap Ticon who looked rather drunk. "Having fun over there, Seargent?" he said sardonically. The Chiss then turned to address the rest of the team. "This is a search and rescue mission. Remember to team up and spread out. I'm going to take these droids, and try to find their central computer and wreak havoc on their network. Then we get Keira and haul jets outta here. Whoever finds her will let us all know over comm that it's safe to go back to the ship. Ice will give us the signal and then we'll go."

Cryax turned towards the Ravens secretary, and gave his rifle a dramatic gun cock. "Ready to kark up their whole day, Ice?"

 

[RC 212]

[member="Ice"] [member="Cryax Bane"]

Colap raised another eyebrow at Cryax and grinned as he cocked the rifle. A laugh escaped him and he swallowed some smoke, coughing half to death and bending over.

"Whoa watch out errywon! Cryax got 'imself a Gat!" Colap teased.

Righting himself he regained his composure, letting steely resolve settle back into his face. His eyes were lit like the fire of thousand suns, and the alcohol fueled mania had him rearing to go.

"Alright who's with me then! Let's make it FUBAR!"

 

[Boethiah]

The ship had finally landed in the hanger; a tractor holding it in place to prevent any sudden attempts to fly out. Two squads of Sephi warriors followed by an Umbaran officer approached the landed ship, a few fighters rested on either broadside of the corvette in the large hanger. The eerie silence went to a halt when the hanger defenses began to slowly ascend from positions along the ceiling. Their mission was simple: Kill the crew, capture the officers, and take the cargo before finally scrapping the ship for spare parts. Anja sat quietly inside her chambers whilst being quite aware that the ship had landed but something seemed off. There was a presence lurking inside her mind placing doubt but not about the ship, rather about Keira the Jedi they had captured. "Check the prisoners.", she ordered as the intercom came on in a secure connection to the bridge. An officer acknowledge the order, sending a few guards on their way to see the status on the prisoner. Much of the crew was displaced due to the ongoing battle and the fact their ship had just exited hyperspace moments ago. Most of the fleet was on the other side of Gulamendis, whilst Order's End's escorts -- save for one or two vessels -- had yet to exit hyperspace during their routine testing.

Everything seemed to be going fine at least but caution was a must. There could be no slip ups, this was not your ordinary starship; it was the heart of everything for The Primeval.

[member="Ice"] [member="Colap Ticon"] [member="Keira Ticon"] [member="Cryax Bane"] [member="Salacious Vile"]

 

[Keira Priest]

There. When she was just about ready to begin making her own slow way to the hangar, however slow it might have been, her senses passed across a number of familiar presences in the Force. [member="Colap Ticon"], family above all else, [member="Cryax Bane"], an old friend, [member="Ice"], a man she'd fought alongside and bonded with through countless fights for the Ravens, and finally [member="Nei Laa"] and [member="Asteria Starcatcher"], still slightly unfamiliar to her as individuals, though she knew them as friendly. The only question was how quickly they would move, and whether her wardens would find her before they did. At the rate things were going she was happy with simply being out of her cell as it was. Sure, she might not have been able to do much if the guards found her, but it was the little things.

Pushing herself to her feet Keira stood shakily, beginning to walk aimlessly, unsure of exactly where she was heading but not much caring. Another presence in the Force drew her attention, this one known to her for all of the wrong reasons. The woman that had spoken to her and Jorda at the beginning of their imprisonment, her name of yet unknown. Regardless, she seemed worried, and rightfully so, in her opinion. Almost hesitantly she reached out with the ethereal tendrils to touch on the other woman's mind, surprised she was still able to access even the basic Force abilities, and spoke soley to her through a telepathic whisper, "Worried? I would be, too. You might want to watch your back." Even that left her drained more than she would ever admit, but she still continued walking, leaning on the cold durasteel walls for support.

This was the beginning of the end for those who had captured her, or so she could hope. With her friends and family on board the ship, there was at least a better chance of this working out favorably than there had been in the past weeks. [member="Salacious Vile"] had been unusually quiet lately, something that weighed in the back of her mind as she walked, her chains clinking quietly in the deathly silence of the halls.

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"]