Gunfight on Permafrost (open) - Weekend Treasure Hunt 30

[Jorus Merrill]

ROOM 4 - COMM CENTRE
ARCTIC RESEARCH BASE
UNCHARTED PLANET
WILD SPACE

“This is Captain Jorus Merrill to whoever can hear me.” Encrypted Underground channels might or might not bring in help, this far out on the black, so he'd gone with a public broadcast instead. After all, the situation couldn't get worse, could it?

He coughed away smoke without success. “I'm at a Silk Holdings research facility on the fifth planet of the binary red dwarf system.” A standard subspace transceiver had a range of maybe thirty parsecs tops, and in that area, only one system fit the bill. It wouldn't be too hard for anything or anyone to track him down.

At which point, the facility's databanks and prototypes might be more appealing than neighborly goodwill. Hopefully, the greedy would neutralize each other.

“Most of the research staff is dead and my ship's a wreck. Long-range strike, no idea who pulled it off. We're reading ships inbound from high orbit. Anyone who can hear me, we've got injured. We're gonna need a hand. I say again, this is Captain Merrill…”

***​

PLEASE TAG YOUR LOCATION IN EVERY POST​

 

[Krass Wyms]

Location: Orbit

The message was coming through, Krass stood there for a moment looking at the screen itself. She remained well seated and had been searching for any indication of where her master went. Sorel disappearing after her decisions well caused a bunch of the order to suddenly be cast down. it had stuck with her and Krass was taking the time now to explore further and further outwards from the systems they had once controlled in the silver jedi. She heard the distress signal and there was a standing opinion with most of the workers from Sasori that Jorus Merrill might not be the coolest but he was good peoples and didn't make a habit of luring people into traps. If she could help she would while the neural net responded to her setting he couyrse to get to the planet. Heading there she would be able to try and render what aid she could grabbing her hammer and saber along with some of the equipment and her field kit.

 

[Riva Quill]

Location: Unknown, aboard hostile ship
[member="Krass Wyms"] [member="Jorus Merrill"]

Another lurch sent her sliding across the deck plating and into the wall on her side. She lay there a moment in a heap before rolling over and trying to wedge herself unsuccessfully between deck and bulkhead. Another bump bounced her in the opposite direction after a moment or two, leaving her unceremoniously dumped in the center of the small compartment. She tried to ignore the rough atmospheric reentry and attempted to run how she wound up here through her mind.

Another bar, another job offer. Or rather, less a job offer and more that she'd overheard a conversation where a berthed ship needed crew. Quarreling between crewmen ended with one outright quitting and taking the next ship off world. It wasn't something complex, just another able bodied person on board to shift cargo and other odd jobs. Finding the ship was the easy part, but convincing them she could do the job was another feat entirely.

Concerned with her size and strength, they'd been about to turn her away until someone with more clout appeared and gave her a few simple challenges. She had trouble shifting cargo without equipment, but maneuvering her way around and quickly getting into and out of tight spaces seemed to appease the more powerful newcomer. They hired her on the spot and put her to work running cargo and manifests into the ship.

The first week was decent enough despite poor food and the occasional predatory eyes from a few of the men on board. The only thing she found odd wasn't that they were selling their cargo off with each stop, but that they weren't bringing on anything new. Figuring the captain knew somewhere to get better prices, she almost wrote off the oddity until the last of the cargo was gone and the true purpose of the vessel was indirectly revealed.

Not wholly pirates, but not entirely mercenaries, the crew of her ship were opportunists that gladly took whatever job they were paid to do. She didn't know the target, or who hired them, but the sight of a frozen world in the viewscreens told her it was somewhere remote. One of the officers had stepped up to give a quick brief and she felt her stomach drop to her boots as she felt the rumble below the decking; a sure sign that they'd opened fire and begun the hostilities.

Someone tried slapping a weapon into her hands and without thinking she dropped the thing. Laughing, they picked it up and tried to hand it to her again. She shook her head sharply and pushed the sidearm back to the armorer. She was pretty sure that was when things had gone south and quickly. The armorer started yelling, someone else responded, the crew around her cleared space for the officer and that was about all she remembered, though the rather painful migraine she had told her someone had knocked her out. Most likely, they thought her cowardly and insubordinate, though in the end it didn't matter. Bad Things would follow if she stayed a prisoner, which meant she needed to escape.

Which meant the ship needed to land...

 

[Salvador Grim]

**

 

[Darth Chagrin]

Location: Aboard the Moonraker in a binary red dwarf system

The Moonraker drifted silently through space. On the bridge, Mathas Cavyr issued directions to his crew as they began to make the calculations for a jump to hyperspace.

"Proceed with the countdown. We make the jump to hyperspace in sixty seconds."

He turned to the viewport, from which he could make out several planets orbiting the binary stars of the local system. Here in Wild Space, the fringes of the galaxy, Mathas doubted that there would be much activity. It was a place that few were willing to traverse, and despite his many years of space navigation it wouldn't have been Mathas' ideal choice for a holiday either. Only a precious smuggling job had led him here, and he wasn't exactly heartbroken at the prospect of leaving the place for good. Still, he had to admit there was a curious beauty about the planets orbiting the twin suns. It was as if there was a story that they wanted to tell, but not one that Mathas was going to sit around for...

"Sir, we're receiving a broadcast from the fifth planet in the system!"

Mathas snapped his head back. "Transmit!" he commanded.

“This is Captain Jorus Merrill to whoever can hear me.” Mathas had heard the name before. The man's smuggling credentials were well-known in the Outer Rim. “I'm at a Silk Holdings research facility on the fifth planet of the binary red dwarf system.” The audio crackled slightly but the contents of the message were still discernible. “Most of the research staff is dead and my ship's a wreck. Long-range strike, no idea who pulled it off. We're reading ships inbound from high orbit. Anyone who can hear me, we've got injured. We're gonna need a hand. I say again, this is Captain Merrill…”

The message cut out.

The crew of the Moonraker looked at Mathas expectantly, and he took a moment to consider before issuing his next directive. "Investigate," he said. He paused for a moment before nodding to affirm his previous command. "Make towards the fifth planet. Standby for communication with the planet. See if you can pinpoint the source of the message."

Mathas wasn't particularly keen on involving himself if there was a significant risk involved, but the scenario still demanded further investigation. Even if goodwill alone was not a good enough reason for saving a fellow smuggler in need, accumulating favours from notable spacers wasn't something to shy away from. Not to mention that there could well be something valuable down there on the fifth planet.

It was worth a look, in any case.

 

[Jorus Merrill]

[member="Krass Wyms"] [member="Riva Quill"] [member="Mathas Cavyr"]

ROOM 4 - COMM CENTRE

Static rushed out of the subspace radio, regardless of channel or encryption protocol. For a minute there, Jorus could have sworn he heard a voice, but it vanished before it could become anything intelligible.

However, the scan part of the comscan suite was showing more ships. More silent ships.

Shenna'vala clomped in with an armful of blankets and coats. She'd ripped off a couple of sleeves and taped them around her lekku. "Bundle up, boss. Warm clothes - the one thing we've got plenty of."

She had a point. Sleep, heat, time, ammo, friends. Not a lot of resources at hand.

 

[Preliat Mantis]

Location: Orbit


Wild space. A good place for a Jedi to prove their worth, make some change on the small scale. So far, Fel had encountered only criminals that were simply trying to get by that were trying his patience. He hadn't done anything more than break a few bones. His ship was drifting slowly, a junker by most accounts wherever he landed. He didn't have a lot of credits to spare, and he wasn't one for fanfare. What it did have, was a very reliable comm unit.

Which surprised him when it began to broadcast a message. He played it once, then looped it back.

People were in need of help. Fel grasped the controls of his ship and drew the force into his body, preparing for the conflict to come.

[member="Jorus Merrill"] l [member="Mathas Cavyr"] l [member="Riva Quill"] l [member="Krass Wyms"] l

 

[Myles Davorak]

Myles, along with his ship The Tempest would be in orbit with her crew in tow. Myles had a small crew aboard the ship to run the various systems and facilities so she would be more agile and deadly. More or less she would be a flying fortress.

Hawkins, who was Myles' SIGINT specialist and chief engineer had hailed Myles over intercom "Sir, you may wanna take a look at this, we are getting a faint signal from within this system. May be best if you head to the bridge"

Although Myles led his men, he would always listen to them and take their warnings into account. He cared for his men much like a father cares for their sons. Running toward the bridge he had racing thoughts on what would be going on. Hawkins wouldn't hail him unless it was important.

Upon reaching the bridge, Hawkins shot a concerning face toward Myles while bringing him up to speed "It's a very faint signal, so it is distorted but by triangulation I was able to somewhat pin the exact location. Fifth planet in this system. I'll relay the signal again"

Myles raised his eyebrows and nodded to Hawkins.

Captain Jorus Merrill to whoever can hear me

The signal was distorted and hashes, only giving ghost transmissions. Myles prompted to Hawkins "Redirect power from the shields to boost communications relay" to which Hawkins nodded, switching buttons here and there on the large console, to which the transmission came in smooth as silk.

“Most of the research staff is dead and my ship's a wreck. Long-range strike, no idea who pulled it off. We're reading ships inbound from high orbit. Anyone who can hear me, we've got injured. We're gonna need a hand. I say again, this is Captain Merrill…”

"You said that it was the fifth planet in this system yeah?" to which Hawkins nodded once more giving another concerned look "What are your orders sir?"

Myles cradled his chin with his index finger and thumb before pursing his lips "Redirect power back to the shields and chart a course for that planet. I want scanners to pulse ever 30 seconds to survey the area for power surges and lifeforms. I wanna know what's down there before we disembark. This....Captain, could very well be in danger. No doubt it's a lab of some kind, no telling what we are dealing with."

Hawkins nodded and redirected power back to the shields.

There were only two other men aboard the ship that would accompany Myles: Hale & Parker who have been with Myles since the beginning. Speaking over the intercom Myles barked
"Alright, Hale...Parker I need you both prepped and ready to disembark. We have a mission that is very delicate. Get your rifles and armor ready, this is going to be a bumpy one"

Myles liked riling his men up, it gave them a boost in camaraderie. Myles and The Tempest, along with the crew were heading toward the unknown planet, unaware of what will be going on down there.

[member="Jorus Merrill"] [member="Mathas Cavyr"] [member="Riva Quill"] [member="Krass Wyms"]

 

[Krass Wyms]

Location: Orbit to surface

Kras was looking at the scanners and she could see that other ships were showing up here. Going through her ship as she had gotten into the medium type armor and could feel the lightside of the force. Her equipment nice and ready when she was going into the drop pod with some of the probe droids that could go around. A few emergency kits as well as some of the universal cells were being set up in case they needed some more ammo or power. Krass got into the pod before she sealed it up and the chevron pad on her wrist flickered showing through the hardlight interface that the ship waqs being locked to others. Between her slave circuits and the control keyed to her biometrics stealing one of the prototype ships would be hard since it served like a mini fabrication and testing area. "Alright, lets drop." Krass braced herself there in the pod as it slammed into the surface and the door popped off of the pod. Krass leaping out when she held hammer with her saber in the hilt like an extension. "Alright where is it." She was uncertain about it but could se the facility and stayed silent as she moved out her mim's eye and slid it on. Using it to search force faint force signatures in the facility it would give her soemthing to do.

 

[Darth Chagrin]

Location: Approaching the orbit of the fifth planet

The fifth world was simultaneously alluring and suspect. The planet radiated a natural beauty, but at the same time the Moonraker wasn't picking anything up on its scanners despite coming closer to it. Mathas turned back to his crew.

"You're sure this is where the signal came from?" The crew answered in the affirmative. Puzzling. There was nothing to be heard now; radio silence permeated all the comm channels.

Some ships in the planet's orbit caught Mathas' eye; an old Clone Wars-era gunship and what Mathas recognised as a Saotome Light Freighter. Further in the distance, closer to the planet itself, there were some other ships that appeared to be preparing to make landfall near the planet's North Pole. Within moments Mathas could see drop pod hurtle from the Saotome Freighter in the same direction. So there was something here. And it was something that other people were very interested in.

"Send three probes in the direction of that pod and those ships," Mathas called to his crew. He wanted a better idea of what was down there before he went down.

Some time later, the probes sent back images from the planet. An arctic research base operated by Silk Holdings, as their man in need had described. Silk Holdings was also responsible for construction of Mathas' freighter, the Moonraker. But he wasn't prepared to gamble his entire freighter by sending it down.

To the probe operators, he said, "Keep those probes going; see if you can get inside the facility and find anything else. Team Alpha, come with me. We'll take a shuttle down there. Keep in contact with us."

Minutes later, Mathas was on a MC15 Niathal-class shuttle headed for the research centre with five trusted members of his crew. A second shuttle, carrying another five was travelling shortly behind them. Meanwhile, one of the probe droids that had reached the surface found its way through a half-collapsed door at the facility's south entrance.

[member="Jorus Merrill"] [member="Fel Drisk"] [member="Myles Davorak"] [member="Krass Wyms"] [member="Riva Quill"]

 

[Riva Quill]

Location: Unknown, aboard hostile ship
[member="Mathas Cavyr"] [member="Krass Wyms"] [member="Myles Davorak"] [member="Fel Drisk"] [member="Jorus Merrill"]

The bumps and rumbles spiked and then quieted down as the ship presumably finished entering the atmosphere of the ice planet she'd seen earlier. The steady flight let her sit up and properly assess her situation for the first time since waking up in the tiny room. Less a holding cell and more a re-purposed storage bin, the room wasn't really a "room" at all. Rather, it was a small container-like space that, if she had to make a guess based on the residue on the floor, held cleaning supplies of some kind.

Her hands were bound, but she wasn't gagged. Whether that was to prevent her from suffocating while unconscious or not was beyond her, but at least she didn't have a strip of who-knew-what shoved in her mouth. The bindings on her wrists were tight enough to chafe, but at least they weren't the durasteel cuffs she'd seen on holoshows in the past. Instead, they appeared to be something someone grabbed off a counter somewhere as only thick cable tied her hands together. It wasn't metal, but didn't quite seem to be rope.

She glanced at the hatchway to the cell and pulled her legs up under her body. Bound hands fished along the top of one boot until a slim vibroknife emerged. She carefully turned the blade around until the edge rested against the bindings before cautiously flicking the blade on. It didn't cut easily, or quickly, but it did indeed cut into the bindings. She kept the knife going and watched as it slowly sawed through the thick cable.

The decks kept rumbling, though now they rattled slightly. She knew the sensation well enough to be aware of what it meant. It wasn't a warship, but it had enough guns and armor to keep it afloat against most other ships of the same size that could try and take her. If the decks were rattling as they were, it meant only one thing.

The guns were firing, though at who she was at a complete loss.

 

[Delaney Wilder]

Location: Incoming.
[member="Mathas Cavyr"] | [member="Krass Wyms"] | [member="Myles Davorak"] | [member="Fel Drisk"] | [member="Jorus Merrill"] | [member="Riva Quill"]

Jorus Q. Merrill.

Old name, powerful too in the right circles.

Singh could remember a time where the One Sith had put an immediate kill order on him right after Manaan. Even thought he had taken a shot at him at one point or another during the war.

Funny how that worked.

:: Hear ya loud and clear, Cap' Merrill. This is t' Sunline, name's Singh and we gotchu. :: He had to wipe away some of the grease of last night's nuna roll, controls sticky with the sauche, but nothing a bit of red sleeve couldn't fix 'em up. Then the message was send in- from this angle Jack didn't know if they'd even get it. The soft shudder and the whiiiiine rummaging through the hull of the Sunline spoke of its duct tape'd status.

Half the time he needed to tune down the inertial dampners if the shield was to work.

Ten minutes later and the Sunline reversed from hyperspace.

Right in time to notice several pings on his sensors. Woulda been nice to catch them a few systems in, but that's what happens when you prioritize a chair with heating over that one crucial part.

Ah well.

There was movement on his sensory array- several little objects being launched at the surface, looked like he wasn't the only good ol' Ithorian out there. Should have been the end of that. Merrill had a whole flotilla of people concerned and he wasn't required. But. Jack wasn't born yesterday, he knew that for every good lad out there, there were half a dozen bad ones just waiting to pounce.

:: Looks like you a popular sort, Merrill. :: Jack mumbled into the relay, trying to see if he could establish a direct link now. :: Might turn ugly, this. Hope ya got ya triggers ready. ::

What the Sunline missed in sheer panache.. it made up with other qualities.

It was darn lucky for one, Jack had been known to push it to unreasonable overlimits for years now and the beaut lady kept on trucking either way. So, no shuttle, no drop pod, just a light freighter too fast for its own good angling down and breaking atmosphere. Wouldn't be long before his low profile would mean exactly chit. They'd hopefully be too busy with all this other drama going around to care about one crappy small freighter tho.

 

[Myles Davorak]

The Tempest was barreling through the atmosphere, making a run to the planet itself. Myles and the crew did their part and got their gear together. Hawkins joked to Myles

"Scanner picked up the surface of the planet. It's gonna be cold as feth down there. Brings back memories of Hoth eh boss?" Hawkins said with a chuckle, to which Myles nodded and laughed.

"You hear that boys? Get your arctic gear together, it's gonna be cold.....bitterly cold." Myles added. Getting his thick parka and goggles ready he observed Parker and Hale getting their gear prepped as well. Parker fancied himself with a scattergun while Hale preferred something heavier and hard hitting.

Heading back up to the bridge, Myles knew that the rest of his team would be ready for this mission. "Sir, there is a subsiding blizzard, visibility will only be around 80%, I am performing a scan on the facility to see if we can get a floor plan laid out. In addition, I have picked up multiple craft maneuvering toward the facility or orbiting around the planet. What are your orders?"

Myles didn't like company...especially if it was bad company. Nodding briefly he replied to Hawkins "I'll have Hale stay aboard The Tempest with you to run security protocol. You just focus on being my eyes and ears for this op Hawkins. The other ships will have to be ignored for now. Assume that they are here for ill intention just in case. "

The Tempest was approaching the facility fast but scanners didn't pick up much during their fly-by. The roaring ship flew past the research facility and landed on an elevated clearing, providing a good FOV of the area.

"Alright men, listen up. Assume usual call signs: Dagger, Broadsword and Claymore. Hawkins, you be my eyes and ears for this op and let me know of any changes, even if a blizzard is coming through, I wanna know about it. Hale, you stay aboard The Tempest and run security, no telling who may be lurking about. Parker you are with me. If anything happens Broadsword, pull the ship outta here and broadcast a transmission to me. We will find you."

As if in unison, all of his men nodded and replied "Copy that sir!"

The bay doors of The Tempest lowered with a screech as the ice cold air swept in like a wildfire. It rattled everyone to their bones. Myles had a harness cam to record the mission for review purposes and to help Hawkins see what was going on. Myles looked back to Parker one last time before they departed the ship "Bring the thermal detonators and a few det. charges....just in case"

Parker obeyed and grabbed the required materials.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cautiously approaching the facility with their rifles at the ready. Myles spotted a roof access ladder to the building, to which he pointed at "Front door is too dangerous. Let's get a better look"

Nodding quietly, Parker reinforced the rear and was surveying the surroundings.

Myles climbed the ladder and once he got to the top he looked at the layout of the facility in detail. Seeing only one roof-top access door that went inside the facility he motioned Parker to advance up the ladder while he covered him.

The two men approached the door, to which wouldn't budge "Feth, it's locked. You got the Master Key?"
Parker chuckled and replied "I thought you would never ask sir" as he pulled out a small hand-held device. It was a torch.

Myles covered Parker's back as he started to torch the lock mechanism. During this exercise Myles thought to himself Sure hope everything goes as smooth as possible today
[member="Jackson Singh"] | [member="Riva Quill"] | [member="Mathas Cavyr"] | [member="Krass Wyms"] | [member="Jorus Merrill"]

 

[Krass Wyms]

Location: Outside Comm Center wall

Krass had not been going towards the doors as she sensed and felt others here as well. She remained quiet, getting a chance and seeing the screen she could detect some faintness to the force signatures while she spoke into the comlink to the open channels. "If you are near the wall, closest to the outside I would recommend getting back." She said it and held the hammer as it was designed as a force hammer you could focus the energies into.. but more then that it was a dynamic hammer. Once it struck a surface it was like a small explosion going off impact wise to really knock things loose. Krass held the hammer as she was focusing the force to reinforce it and then looking for a place to smash the wall. Her hand going to get one of the bottles as she thought better with a little, most of her species did when she adjusted and turned off the scouter but kept it in place to protect her eye.

 

[Rekha Kaarde]

Her heels rested on the edge of the console arms crossed on her chest, head tilted back and a strange sound resonating through the ship. Small flecks of paint from above her chair drifted downwards showering the Captain giving her freckles.

Comms were on traffic was light the little droid AB sat quietly monitoring everything. Suddenly AB perked up a small chirp as if yawning himself awake as he listened to that last message.

He recognized the name [member="Jorus Merrill"] - he turned quickly extending a tiny prong he reached through the Captains chair towards her exposed ribs and zapped her.

Rekha jumped pulling her feet down, "FETH AB!" She jumped up looking down at the droid who huffed like some old cat as it laughed. Ow ow Rekha thought what the feth she looked over to where AB was talking and replayed the message.

"Hey that's Jorus." She stretched, "I think you gave me a bruise you little heathen" She rubbed her ribs, "Ok let's plot a course and go..." She peered down..."AB triangulate Jorus' signal and get me a heading to him." She frowned what had Jorus gotten himself into now.

If she didn't need AB she'd be putting him in time off right now. But she needed stimcaf and to get her wits about. She didn't notice the tiny flecks falling to the floor.

 

[Myles Davorak]

After a few long moments of torching, Parker had gotten the lock mechanism removed and the door was able to swing open. After pocketing the hand-held torch, Parker readied his scattergun and crouched inside the building and traversed down the stairs.

Myles turned around and walked backwards behind him, careful to cover the rear and that's when he heard it. A cracking boom noise coming from the other side of the facility. Myles whispered to Parker "Seems like someone else found a way in, keep sharp Gladius." After stating the obvious the two men saw that they were on a catwalk, which was overlooking the Motor Pool/Garage. There were transport vehicles sitting idly by, that had the notorious marking of Silk Holdings.

Comms started to crackle through the headsets of Myles and Parker. "Broadsword to Dagger & Gladius. I am now picking up energy surges since you are in the facility. Also picking up lifeforms as well. No confirmation, but they are not far away. Be on the lookout. Broadsword out"

After getting this chilling news, Parker and Myles advanced down the catwalk stairs and secured the Motor Pool/Garage. There were no sign of hostiles or lifeforms. There were a few doors in this room but without a floor plan, the team would be gambling with the results at this point. The facility was dimly lit, as if the facility was drawing upon emergency power perhaps. Parker saw a bay door nearby and motioned to Myles "Should we try to open it sir?"

Myles shook his head "Seems dodgy but we got no choice. Let's open her up and see if we can get a floor plan of this place"
Parker got into position and held his scattergun to the door while Myles went over to the access panel and engaged the "Door Open" protocol. Slowly, and with a eerie ring, the door open and revealed what appeared to be a Rec Room.

"Not sure where our special guest is but let's search this room for useful information, maybe even some loot to pay for the trip"
The duo went to work in rummaging through papers, materials and equipment to see what they could find.

 

[Darth Chagrin]

Location: Emergency exit, South Entrance Foyer

Bypassing the half caved-in door, the probe droid meandered through the halls of the base. Operated from the Moonraker in orbit, it was the only one of the three that had found its way into the research base so far. It moved slowly, the soft whir of its motors puncturing the cold silence around it. The bodies of dead researchers, slumped over consoles and tables, dotted the environment. Floating into the sample storage area, it found the room half-collapsed and littered with more bodies and dead electronics. Pausing for several seconds to take in good visuals of its desolate surroundings, the droid began to scour through the wreckage of the room to see if anything worthwhile could be found...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Location: Approaching the planet's surface

The Niathal-class shuttle traced a careful path to the planet surface, identical to the one the probes had traversed for the sake of safety and relative familiarity. From the viewport, the smugglers could barely make out that old, Clone Wars-era gunship in front of them, seemingly descending towards their target destination of the research centre as well. The thick falling snow obscured vision, causing the gunship to dip in and out of view.

"Follow that ship," Mathas ordered. The pilots obeyed, changing the shuttle's course just slightly to follow in the path of the gunship. A message from the crew's mothership came crackling in over the comm.

"Moonraker to shuttle 1, one of our probes has found the remains of a ship north of the research base. Another has entered the base and discovered significant casualties. The message's reports of a long-range strike appear accurate."

"Good. See what it can find. Keep us updated." Mathas replied. Changing communications to the second shuttle, Mathas intoned into the comm, "Shuttle 1 to shuttle 2, we are about to make landfall. Approach the facility from the south. We will proceed via the main entrance. Do you copy?" A few moments of uncomfortable silence passed before he repeated, "Shuttle 1 to shuttle 2, we are about to make landfall. Approach th-"

The shuttle jerked violently towards the left before Mathas could finish his sentence, throwing several of the crew off their feet. Those that were still standing began sliding port-side as the ship fell onto a tilt, clearly damaged by whatever had impacted it. The gunship that they were tailing was violently wrenched from the viewport as their shuttle was jerked mightily off-course. In the cockpit, Mathas' head smacked into a side control panel, almost knocking the consciousness out of his brain. An involuntary groan sounded from his lungs as he tried to right himself, temporarily seeing double.

"We've been hit!" the co-pilot cried. The pilot pulled up slightly, narrowly skirting a rock face, then banked hard to the right as he attempted to swerve the shuttle back around to get to the research base, but the shuttle was losing altitude fast. An effort to pull up a second time failed as the ship clipped the side of an elevated clearing, then dropped like a pebble towards the snowy earth. From the viewport, Mathas could see the old gunship parked on the clearing now, but it was the least of his concerns. He braced himself at the last moment before the ship impacted the ground violently, ploughing into the snow with its nose and dragging for several metres before coming to a complete stop.

Knocked to the ground, Mathas struggled to his feet, once again seeing double. He shook his head and took a glance around as his vision cleared. The pilot and co-pilot had both been killed on impact, along with another of the crew. The remaining two smugglers had also been hurt but not severely, and they pulled themselves up at the same time as Mathas.

"Comm's dead," one of them said. The surviving trio looked at each other for a moment, bitterness and anguish barely masked on their faces, but they knew what they had to do. Mathas pulled out his comlink, sending a message straight to the Moonraker.

"Mathas to Moonraker, we've been shot down by something. Three casualties, including pilot and co-pilot. Shuttle is down and out for the count. No response from the other shuttle; we assume it has also been shot down. Send another detachment, but confirm safe descent first. Over and out."

"Copy that, Alpha Leader. We're not sure what opened fire on you, we'll report as soon as we find out. We'll send another shuttle down when we can. Over and out."

Clambering outside the shuttle, the trio were met by a freezing gust of wind and descending snow as they tried to look for their other shuttle. No success. All Mathas could see was that old, Clone Wars-era gunship again. Refuge in the remains of their shuttle was a possibility, but the research centre they intended to get to was a mere thirty-five metres away. The trio hobbled for several moments as they waited for the pain in their bodies to subside, then broke into a regular walk towards the roof-top access. The door had already been opened, and acrid smell of burnt metal emerging from the lock made it clear that it had recently been torched. The occupants of that old gunship, it must have been.

Mathas and his companions immediately pulled out their blasters. The three smugglers descended through the door onto a catwalk above a garage. Several vehicles containing the obvious marking of Silk Holdings lay in the room, and faint footsteps could be heard nearby. Clearly, they weren't alone in searching for Jorrus Merrill.

Jorus Merrill Fel Drisk Myles Davorak Krass Wyms Riva Quill [member="Rekha Kaarde"]

 

[Myles Davorak]

As Parker and Myles were searching the Rec Room/Workshop, they found nothing of value. The room was in disarray before the duo arrived in the facility. They still were not sure what the explosion was earlier but he would worry about that later. A familiar voice cracked over comms once more.

"Broadsword to Dagger, I am picking up some RF signals near your position. Not living....seems that there may be droids in this facility. Break. Also there are a few unidentified craft that have appeared within scanner range. You are not alone there. Careful boss. Over"

Already have company? This will be interesting indeed. Myles thought to himself.

Motioning to Parker with his hands Myles briefly whispered "Gladius, hold position outside this room while I search the rest in here. We aren't alone"
Parker nodded and waited outside the bay door, crouching down with his scattergun at the ready.

Myles was taking a big risk coming here, no telling who here would be friend or foe. Not to mention he didn't like leaving the other two Triad Operatives cooped up in the gunship.

Rummaging through a few lockers, Myles found a curious datapad. The contents of the datapad contained broken fragments of the facility. Seems that it was partially wiped, however there was a floorplan available. Syncing the datapad's map to his; he downloaded the floorplan and uploaded it to Gladius' datapad as well as Broadsword's display.

Determining that the men were in the Rec Room, they tried to decipher where Captain Merrill would be located. Better to search every room just in case. Going out of the room he patted Parker's shoulder to let him know that he was advancing to the room adjacent to the Rec Room.

The doors were forced open somehow. It chilled Myles to his core as he slowly aimed his Blaster Carbine searching the hallway. The floor plan labeled this as [Storage Closets]. Wrong room to search.

Laying before him was a scientist that was murdered. Blood was trickling from his wrists as he was propped up against the wall. The blood had seeped into the tile floor and was caked in pretty good. Proceeding forward, Myles checked the Storage Closets and found nothing but broken crates and a few electrical components.

It was going to take some time to search this whole facility. He hoped that he wouldn't be shot at too much today.

[member="Jorus Merrill"] [member="Fel Drisk"] [member="Krass Wyms"] [member="Riva Quill"] [member="Rekha Kaarde"] [member="Mathas Cavyr"]

 

[Rekha Kaarde]

It took some time but after a few adjustments and changes the Midnight Star finally arrived. Disappointment could be read all over her face expectations of sun, sand, and warmth evaporated it was ice and snow.

"What's with Jorus and cold? Can't we go somewhere warm once in a while?" That sigh she let out echoed around the cockpit, slowly she drummed her fingers on the console. "Well AB, he's in trouble we know...so...let's go find a snow bank to land on." Rekha guided the ship downwards they broke through the atmosphere and before them the bright white was blinding.

She blinked a few times adjusting to the blaring white reflection keeping on course till she was near enough to the source of the signal. "OK AB, you stay here, I'll go find Jorus and the rest of the folks here." She pulled the cold weather gear and her Woebringer.

She entered through the sheltered entrance way stepping inside she looked around foot prints on the floor told her there was activity in here not long ago. Long being a day, maybe two she was unsure thing is there wasn't a lot of dust settled. "JORUS!" She paused in the hall outside the communications center cautiously moving along the wall she looked for anyone.

There was a bit of ticking sound not like a bomb ticking like the steady short taps of something hitting something else. She looked down the hall and then the other way she didn't know if she was alone.

 

[Darth Chagrin]

Location: 19 - Garage

The footsteps grew louder on their left. Mathas and his companions slowly descended the steps leading to the garage floor itself, checking to see if anyone had discreetly hidden themselves in the room. Some still-sealed canisters, several vacant vehicles and a couple of dead bodies, but beyond that, nothing. As they swept the room, Mathas helped himself to some nuts from his pocket. Fortunately chewing softly to avoid giving away his presence, he was able to hear a beep from the comlink in his jacket.

"What is it?" he asked into his jacket.

"We're receiving indication of ships coming down fast on your location. We've sent the shuttle down the long way for safety. You'll have to exit from the back to get to it. And, uh... we've lost contact with two of our probe droids. The third's still in the facility. Over."

The news wasn't good. No doubt danger was imminent.

"Message received and understood. We'll be quick. Over."

Mathas directed one of his comrades to investigate the hallway while he and the other smuggler explored the workshop, beginning with a cursory look inside the room that rewarded them with the sight of silhouette movement on the far wall. Someone was coming! The two propped themselves against the walls on either side of the door, their blaster nozzles directed at the entrance.

Unsurprisingly, a man walked out and crouched right outside the door, scattergun in hand. He was obviously standing guard for someone, and Mathas intended to find out who. Bursting out from the side of the door in a contextless attack, he grabbed the man by the collar and held his X-8 Night Sniper pistol to the man's neck. His companion simultaneously emerged from the opposite end of the workshop entrance and joined Mathas in pointing a gun at the man to quell any thoughts he might have had about fighting back.

"Drop it!" Mathas whisperingly instructed the man. He had no intention to kill him unprovoked, but if the man tried to make any sudden moves his efforts would be rewarded with a blaster bolt through his cranium. If he complied, however, Mathas intended to follow up with, "Who are you working for? Take us to him."

Within moments, the three would have heard a piercing shriek of "JORUS!" from somewhere down the hallway. Taking a glance in the direction, Mathas could only hope that the man he had sent in that direction was safe, but there was nothing he could do about it now.

Jorus Merrill Fel Drisk Myles Davorak Krass Wyms Riva Quill Rekha Kaarde