Faction Recovering an impounded Barbarian - faction + mercs welcome

[Brimstone]

Mission lead : Brimstone
Support of faction: Ashlan Crusade
Location: nameless moon just outside Sith space
Possible defenders: local military forces, potential local sith reinforcement
Collateral damage: no non military presence
Objectives:

1. Infiltrate base
2. descend in to starship impound facility
3. Locate and recover Barbarian-4
4. Escape from base and leave system with ship.

Optional objectives:

• disable or cripple communications array
• steal or destroy other impounded ships
• Disable base operation

The towering form of Brimstone looked at the group of soldiers around the briefing table, most of them Crusaders of Ashlan, several of them hired mercenaries. "Welcome to the mission, we will be landing shortly. As you are aware this is a snow covered moon and we have timed out landing to coincide with a snow storm, which should cover our approach, but it will make things uncomfortable for us. My ship was stolen and impounded here many many years ago, most of these ships are old cargo vessels and light fighters, but my ship is something special and very dear to me."

He had explained the mission previously to the Ashlans and in the briefing to the mercs. It should be simple enough but was dangerous, for which the mercs would be paid generously and the Ashlans could count in his reciprocal support for the foreseeable future.

He brought up the map projection.

Blue= rough location of Barbarian-4
Green= estimated infiltration point
Orange= military barracks
Red= armed watch towers
Purple= planned extraction point

The circle shows ground level with the jagged edge being the edge of a tall cliff dropping down. The take off ramps leave the cliff wall through blast door protected openings.

"The plan is, in over the first wall behind what I am informed is an administration building at Green, we then have options to either use a service shift in the building to descend. Or we access the closest landing shift and rappel down. The landing shift will be more difficult but does not require sneaking in to the building." He paused to see if any of his allies had any suggestions along that front.

"Once in the lower level, where the ships are impounded, we can then find the Barbarian-4, which my source reports is as I left it when it was taken. We will fly the ship out of the ramps at purple and escape, easy" he laughed and looked around. He had already told people he was open to any helpful input and had allowed them full access to mission parameters. He was happy with the mission goals.

"While we are technically outside of Sith space, and should only meet limited local military forces stationed at the barracks and watch towers. The base is under the protection of a nearby enclave, once the alarm is raised, provided no sith are in system already for some reason. We should have about 20 minutes before the earliest they could arrive to reinforce."

He gave the gathered troops time to speak, then gave the order to make for the chosen landing point.

 

[Cedric Grayson]

There was only one Gen'dai in the entirety of the Crusade. Sometime ago, Brimstone had been rescued by a few Ashlan engineers that happened across his prison amidst the farthest depths of the void. The brute had offered a life debt in return for his rescue, claiming that he had been imprisoned for what might have well been centuries.

In the time since, Brimstone had proven himself to be an invaluable asset. So much so that Cedric had taken personal notice of the alien, and when this mission had been touted to the brass, he'd responded in person.

Clad in his traditional robes and battle plate, the exile listened in silence as his comrade explained the plan. This was Brimstone's operation for all intents and purposes: Cedric was keen on following orders and going along with the Gen'dai's plan. The matter a personal one after all - he had no desire to step on any toes.

"I look forward to seeing you try to rappel down anything," the Essonian quipped, a hint of good humor lacing his words. "I believe we should go with whichever option affords us the greatest sense of stealth. If we find ourselves trapped behind the forces of a garrison, there won't be much hope of getting back to friendly space without taking losses."

E Eric Vales , Brimstone

 

[Brimstone]

"So let's do this, I think our best approach is down the landing shaft" Brimstone points at the grapple attached to his backpack "I have that covered" he laughed at Cedric Grayson .

"A distraction sounds good, we will need to get the service door at the top of the landing shift open, that will take a few minutes, so keeping watchful guard away will be useful E Eric Vales "

The ship passed low over some trees and the passengers could hear whistling of the wind as the door began to open. "We are coming in hot" crackled the pilot's voice. "Get ready to disembark and I will see you at extraction only if needed. May the force be with you"

With that the transport jerked to a halt its door open wide to the elements. The wall was invisible through the thick snow but reading his tracking device, Brimstone called our. "Alright, this way. Move out" As one the team fanned out and headed in to the snow. It wasn't long before the reached the base of the wall, a 4 metre concrete barrier stretching out of sight in either direction.

 

[Cedric Grayson]

Illusion had ironically ever eluded him.

The exile raised a brow at E Eric Vales . A stranger whom he'd not heard of before, certainly not one of the Crusaders, but a useful one. Those with trained in mental manipulation were rare, and valued equally to their scarcity.

"That'll do then," he mumbled in agreement as Brimstone barked a laugh. "My helmet will be recording. If you end up falling, I'll make sure to capture the moment," Cedric promised. He rose from his chair as the shuttle settled down over the snow drifts, the smell of fresh air filling his nostrils as he disembarked onto the bank.

"Good luck," he called back to the pilot as the ship would drift its way up toward the heavens. "Hopefully our taxi wasn't noticed," he added as they drew near the walls. They could be scaled easily enough with an expression of the empyrean's will, but if there any force users about, they would surely sense such a display. The exile deigned to move the mortals did, firing a grappling hook up and over the top, and began slowly marching his way up the vertical wall.

"Been a few years since I went repelling." He cast a quick glance back toward the ground below. It wasn't terribly far, but it made his stomach turn all the same. "Still not the biggest fan."

 

[Brimstone]

"Good to exercise your muscles once in a while isnt it Cedric Grayson , that magic will make you soft if you let it."

As the team reached the top of the wall there was a momentary break in the snow "not now," cursed brimstone, but it was only moments and he was convinced that they hadn't been exposed. He unhooked his grapple and dropped himself down into the thick snow that had drifted at the bottom of the wall.

He scanned the area around him as the rest of his team dropped down one by one. He could vaguely see the outline of the building looming, no more than 70 metres ahead of them. This is when the real risk started. " E Eric Vales , we could do with those tricks now, if we can keep them from seeing us we pass, the first landing shaft is about 40 metres beyond the building"

"Comms chatter is steady" came a voice from the middle of the group "no alert raised yet" The team's radio operator had tuned in to the communication array, hopefully that would give them advanced notice if they got caught.

 

[Brimstone]

"Great plan, and thanks for the heads up, if this all works I am sure the crusade will be in need of your future services" with the signal given Brimstone led the team forward. Down the side of the building, the windows were lit up but mostly shuttered up from the elements.

Ahead of them was a short clearing and then the large expanse of the landing shafts. They were heated to above freezing to keep them clear but were still icy cold for anyone careless enough to touch them unprotected.

Brimstone took a few strides around the circumference before he stopped an kneeled down. "This is where we go in," he gestured to a large rectangular sheet embossed with warning letters . 'Emrgency access only - do not stand - danger of death' a quick blast with his cutting flame around the edges of the latch and Brimstone was able to lift the think metal hatch out of the way, leaving the void below them open.

He turned to give a final briefing as "the shaft is 250 metres deep and dimly lit. Once we reach the bottom it becomes a matter of when and not if we are detected. On your map is marked the location of my ship and out egress point. This was accurate a week ago and there is no reason for it to be different." He looked at E Eric Vales "think you can get the door open before we need to leave?" He began attaching his grapple to the edge of the shaft, checking his and checking other members of the team " Cedric Grayson if you feel anything out of order let us know right?"

With that he dropped down the hole followed by other members of the team, he descended quickly down the darkened shaft towards the growing bright circle beneath them, stopping a few metres up in the darkness to survey the area and wait for the others.

 

[Cedric Grayson]

He moved in relative silence, half there, half drifting within the depths of the Great Ocean. As far as he could tell, no one had noticed them thus far, and the radio operator only confirmed his findings. They would be found soon enough, this team was too large to remain undetected forever, but it seemed like they would be able to cover a good bit of ground before that eventual inevitability.

"Come to rely on the Force too much, and you tend to lose yourself in it," Cedric remarked as they neared the chasm. He glanced to E Eric Vales , offering a slight shrug. "Do not worry about me. I can shield myself well enough from any prying eyes." He was no master of illusion, but simple manipulations of the mind were certainly within his skillset.

"Oh don't worry. Consider me on a constant scan," he reassured Brimstone as he attached his own rappel line to the lip of the chasm. With a quiet prayer, a deep breath, and a decision to not look down if he could help it, Cedric descended after the Gen'dai into the abyss.

 

[Brimstone]

As if E Eric Vales warning needed punctuation, the lights turned a red colour and sirens started sounding. Their breach had been detected, it was now only a matter of time before the enemy were on them. Brimstone dropped to the floor and pulled his energy axe off of his back "here they come!" he shouted to his allies as three lightly armed men rounded the corner. He put his shoulder first and barrelled toward them, their pistol rounds bounced harmlessly off his thick chest plate.

Brimstone took the first off his feet charging in to him, the second he took across the gut with a wide sweep of his axe, it burning blade cutting deeply, the guard fell to the floor clutching his stomach and Brimstone finished him with a blast from his wrist mounted blaster pistol. He looked up, the third man was ducked some crates, brimstone could hear the crackling of radios. "he has called for help, prepare for more incoming, the ship should be this way".

Brimstone and the team began running toward where the ship should be stored, one of the mercs stopping briefly, hitting the cowering guard over the head with his stun baton. It was moments before brimstone was able to see what looked like the top part of his ship. At least it was where he expected to find it.

E Eric Vales Cedric Grayson

 

[Brimstone]

Brimstone laughed, this new guy had a passion for destruction, it appears the Sith wouldn't be using this base again for a while, that was a good thing. He watched at the woman jumped into a starfighter, not part of the plan, but it was a good idea, an extra set of cannons in the air covering their escape.

He ran toward the Barbarian-4, the cargo floor was down and he could see the ship looked intact. Great news.

"I am going to board the ship, 2 minutes to preflight, once you see the engines kick in, jump on board, i don't intend on leaving anyone behind so make sure you move your asses"

Two more guards threw themselves out of a service alcove, taking cover behind the nose of some light interceptor fighter. Brintone unclipped his BAW-63 and opened fire. The large weapon spinning up and blasting holes in the thin metal hull, he saw one of the guards fall to the floor, as the other tried to run. Brimstone continued firing as he walked toward the Barbarian, filling the air where the guards had come from with blaster rounds.

"Cover me and wait for the signal to join me, we need those doors open too." He pointed up a long diagonal shaft that led away from the hangar, its thick doors still blocking the exit.

E Eric Vales Cedric Grayson

 

[Cedric Grayson]

The doors he could certainly deal with.

Utilizing the cover fire Brimstone offered, Cedric darted through the dark corners of the hanger, circumventing several of the guards as he drew closer to toward the hanger's exit. Bogan's Lament roared to life once more as he drew closer, the weapon humming violently as it cut off the limbs of three guardsmen that were taking aim at the Gen'dai. They weren't dead, but the shock of losing their weapon-arms was enough to send them sprawling and into shock shortly thereafter.

The threat terminated, Cedric clipped his lightsaber to his belt, and outstretched both hands. He imagined himself prying an invisible wedge between the doors, a greater extension of his own hands, and the empyrean moved to meet his request. The durasteel began to groan as he started to pull his hands apart, prying open the door's seal and slowly forcing the portal open.

The grinding of metal and stone was ear piercing, but the results were well worth it. After a few seconds of exertion, Cedric forced the doors apart with one final push, jamming them in their mountings and preventing any further closure.

"Doors done," Cedric snapped through his comms just as one of the guardsmen fell on him from the top of a nearby starship. The soldier jabbed at his chest with a stun baton, the weapon sputtering uselessly against the phrik plating of Cedric's breastplate as the Jedi pressed a hand to his opponent's helmet. The guardsmen fell unconscious near immediately.

"How long Brimstone ?"

E Eric Vales

 

[Brimstone]

Brimstone was at his ship, he dragged himself up from the cargo bay floor up into the service corridor. The ship looked great, hundreds of years of grime had built up on most of the surfaces and anything not nailed down had been removed, but the old girl looked in great shape. He made his way to the cockpit and into his specially customized pilot chair, with oversized controls for his comfort. He looked over at Cedric Grayson and watched as he wrenched the doors open using the force. Very impressive work.

Cedric shouted to ask how long, judging by his instruments it would be less than 3 minutes until he was ready to take off. "2 minutes for power, 3 until takeoff ready" he chimed back to Cedric through his helmet. He began cycling power and performing pre-flight checks. The turbolasers were depolarised after years without power, he hoped he wouldn't need them as he might need to replace their power regulators entirely. Three of the Seismic charges were still in the launchers and usable, and the laser cannons were at 50% charge.

The power systems reset themselves and lights turned on, spreading in a wave from the front of the ship to the rear. 90 seconds later there was a momentary dimming of the lights as the engine ignition circuits kicked in on the long dormant engine system, a roar, followed came from the rear of the ship followed by a blue glow. That was the signal his team were told to look for.

He was ready to take off, and hoped his team arrived soon. The guards had brought up a scout walker that was advancing on Cedric's position. Brimstone turned the dorsal laser cannons on the walker, blasting apart several speeders parked in a row, but missing the walker entirely as it disappeared behind a support column.

Cedric Grayson E Eric Vales

 

[Cedric Grayson]

He turned to return to the ship around the time that the walker came marching toward him. Its initial plan of assault was ruined by the spouting of laserfire from Brimstone 's ship, but it seemed that none of the bolts actually hit home. Cedric turned on his heel, eyes narrowing as he eyed the mechanical beast.

It wasted little time in opening up on him with its rapid firing undermounted cannons. Streams of crimson flew toward the Jedi Master, missing him by a hair's breadth as he darted beneath the abandoned speeders and fighters. The bolts left melting metal and plasma residue in the places where it impacted, catching twice on the Jedi's shoulder pauldron as he hurled himself into the air. The shots sent him off course, sending him tumbling over the walker rather than on top of it.

He righted himself with a gesture of telekinetic will, rolling across the floor rather than crashing into it as the walker turned to finish him off. For a moment, he felt a shock of fear shoot down his spine, but instinct kept him alive. He thrust a hand upward, and in doing so, tore the flooring up from its mounts in a telekinetic mirroring of his actions. The sheet of durasteel screamed as it sliced up through the undercarriage of the walker, removing one of its legs at the joint and sundering its internal controls.

"Shab," Cedric muttered as he began to sprint off toward Brimstone's shuttle. "I'm getting rusty," he muttered in greeting, pulling himself through the ship's doors and into momentary safety.

E Eric Vales

 

[Brimstone]

"Excellent job today E Eric Vales , and good luck flying out of here in that ship. Once we clear the base I will run, you are right that my ship needs some serious work. Meet us at the Ashlan base after this, I am sure we can find more ways we can work together for the future" Brimstone replied, happy to be at the controls of his ship again and easing it forward into launch position. He turned to look at Cedric Grayson who had taken a seat in a gunners chair. "Apologies for missing that walker. You handled it well though."

"I am leaving them a little gift, one of my seismic charges set with a 2 minute delay after I launch, so make sure you get clear in time as I plan on terming a big chunk out of this cliff."

With that, Brimstone pushed forward on the controls and the ship lurched forward, accelerating up the launch ramp. Half way up the ramp he hit the button to drop a seismic charge. The barbarian left the base at high speed and climbed into the sky, there were a few light patrol fighters inbound on his sensors. Nothing too big.

"Watch yourself on the way out Eric. There is 2 bogeys incoming fast."

E Eric Vales
Cedric Grayson