Private To Touch A Star

[HRD Jalan Riyadosh]

The Stargazer was passing through the Fondor system, skirting close to the edge of confederate territory as it dropped from a hyperspace jump. It wasn't the biggest ship in the verse, but it needed room regardless for safety of it's guests. Crowds littered the forward ballroom, enjoying the view of the system laid out before them as the sails extended into cruising position. The sun was caught and reflected in the material, a shining beacon of luxury and riches to be had as the vessel slowly turned in toward the planet. A slow and lazy maneuver as the droids aboard conducted business as usual. Sabbac and slots games continuing while the ballroom danced to life while the droid band played a slow tune. Jalan was walking the top decks when a warning alarm pinged her droid brain.

"Proximity alert?" The droid hissed, brow drawing tight as what could be called concern flooded the programming. There was another ping, and shortly a small flood of alarms and klaxon's began to sound throughout the ship. Jalan connected to the system of the ship, her presence in an access hallway allowing her to stare out into the void of space. Several shapes began moving towards the Stargazer on the starboard side, their presence hidden until their engines flared and brought them into plain view.

"Miss Riyadosh, your presence is requested on the bridge." A message came through her mind, sending an affirmative message in response as she took the access hallways to the control room.

Guests were herded back to their quarters as extra security droids sprung to life, the strong bulkhead doors of each guests room sealing with magnetic locks as the private rooms were secured and access to guests quarters were slowly shut down. The extra security droids slowly moved towards the hangar bay, anticipating action as the defensive systems sprung to life, a few reaching the area as the first of the ships burned into the hangar. The pirates had not opened fire on the ship just yet, but a pair of vessels were moving towards the stern of the ship.

The eir defense system had been toggled when the interlopers had been spotted, but were still warming up as the sails finished their extending procedure before being set to fold once more. Laser fire erupted in the hangar, droids attempting to stave off the raiding party as a few shots found home before return fire had the droids scorched and scrapped by starfighter lasers. A party of them broke away, headed for the lift just off of the docking area.

Shut down the lift. The HRD commanded, and before the command could be processed, control of the lift was taken. "*They've hacked the controls and isolated the system." Was the reply she got. A heavy sigh came as she pondered their next move. Guests were being escorted to safety, droids were securing the exits of the lift, so what was their game? She examined the feed from the hangar camera, noticing a large repulsor skiff being ferried to the lift. Why-?

Realization hit the droid like a freight train.

Lockdown the medical ba- "They are already there ma'am." NO! Jalan seethed, switching the feeds in her mind to examine the camera's in the medical bay. Laser fire took care of the two security droids, but the droids had managed to take down three of the raiders. No no no no no no. Get more droids up there, NOW! She sent the order, droids from the middling floors moving through the access halls slowly.

Send a distress beacon to any Confederates in the area. We are under attack and require assistance. Give coordinates and pertinent information, I believe they are kidnapping someone. Jalan dispatched the command, stepping out of the command center and taking an access hall towards the medical center. The beacon was sent, a wide ranging one with coordinates, detailing the casino ship Stargazer was under attack by pirates, and they were kidnapping someone. The details were sparse as another droid spoke to her. "Ma'am, we would ask that you stay-"

Do not command me, someone is about to be kidnapped! She snapped back, in her own mind. The need to speak was limited to the organics that did business aboard the stargazer, most communications between the droids, ship, and even worker droids mostly taking part on the system itself.

The pirates blasted the locked door open, their prize a covered bacta tank. The fools had been told by their insider that it was something valuable, the coating over the sides hiding the occupant as they struggled to move the thing. The second group came through the access elevator, security droids opening fire but almost ineffective given their scattered numbers. The repulsor skiff came into the room, the team of raiders hefting on the tank before making a run for the elevator.

More droids slowly arrived, but too late as the doors slammed shut, and their fire held in case of striking the tank. Jalan arrived in time to see the bacta tank disappear behind the doors as the lift shot down into the hangar.

Kiff Brayde Rann Thress

 

[Kiff Brayde]

P A T R O L

Ship: CNS Touch of Glory | Murkhana-class Escort Frigate
Tag: HRD Jalan Riyadosh | Rann Thress

In the aftermath of the battle of Talay, Kiff had needed a break. The stress of constantly managing a terrorist threat in a border sector, as well as the deeper pain of the loss that he'd experienced over the water world, had begun to affect his performance. He would be lucky to get an hour of sleep at night, and constantly throughout the day his mind was distracted and could hardly ever focus on the task at hand.

A younger, different Kiff might have taken the opportunity to rest and enjoy a vacation. But the last time Kiff had done that, he'd been near-fatally poisoned. So, the High Marshal had decided to find a different stress-relieving source; command the regular patrols of the Fondor system, something that gave him the chance to feel like he had at least a little control in his life, meet and survey the status of his sector armada, and be close enough to Sector Command if anything severe occurred.

Fondor was one of the most heavily-secured and well-defended planets in the Confederacy, not to mention being a hub of trade and industrial activity. Not exactly the place that one would expect pirating action to go down. But, in spite of that, the Touch of Glory's communications were hit with a distress signal from an unidentified civilian ship -- according to them, they were under attack. Kiff stared at the message incredulously, but he knew that he couldn't just ignore it. "Astrogate to the distress beacon's location and have all contingencies on standby."
​

​

​

​

​

​

 

[Rann Thress]

P I R A C Y S U P P R E S S I O N​

Tags: Kiff Brayde HRD Jalan Riyadosh

Ship: CNS Touch of Glory​

Rann sat in his quarters meditating. Slowly disassembling and reassembling his lightsaber with the Force in front of him.

His 'quarters'. Barely a bunkroom. But he didn't mind. Following Rodia he desperately sought some action, and serving aboard a ship during patrols was the best he could get at the moment. So he wasn't about to complain about his lodging conditions, not like he deserved much better anyway.

Worst case scenario? Nothing happened. Nothing dinged the Radar, nothing caught their attention, nothing happened.

Best case? They stumbled upon an AoC invasion fleet.

He hoped for the best case.

But, as with most things, Rann would have to make do. He doubted the High Marshal would be as gung-ho as Rann was to engage an entire fleet single handedly anyway.

Alas, it seemed that the universe would provide some kind of middleground of action for Rann when a sound to ready battlestations rang over the intercomms of the ship.

"Not nothing after all." He said, opening his eyes, quickly reassembling his lightsaber, summoning it to his hand, and lazily lifting up to his feet. He sighed with disappointment, "Not AoC either. Pirates?" He asked nobody in particular as he gathered up his equipment. He continued to mumble to himself as he readied his gear, returning his lightsaber to his waist and ignoring the quickening, loud activity of crewmen with more haste than he had outside his 'quarters'.

"Pirates could be AoC." he mumbled, stepping outside of his room and slowly sauntering in the direction of the Bridge. Marshal Kiff Brayde would have more answers than he would, but this mental exercise would help stir him and, at least, help excite him for whatever engagement required their intervention.

"Probably not, I'm not that lucky." he continued, pre-emptively shifting his body as he sensed crewmen behind him rushing through the halls to their battlestations.

"Oh well. It shouldn't matter. It doesn't matter! I'm gonna do my best anyway! WOO!" He hopped up a couple of times, shaking his arms out and began running towards his destination, the Bridge of the ship.

As he entered the bridge he slowed to a walk and approached the commander, High Marshal Brayde. He bowed respectfully. Kiff's house, Kiff's rules. "Reporting for duty. What's our situation, and what can I do to help?" he asked, rising from his bow and standing with his arms behind his back awaiting his orders.



​

 

[HRD Jalan Riyadosh]

The doors shut tight and the lift made quick time down to the hangar as more chaos erupted from the ensuing fight. More droids had begun to assemble in the hangar, the starship's weapon only able to focus on a few at a time as more pirates fell to the floor. Droids fell into scrap, a few simply torso's that fired the best they could from their prone position as the lift reached the hangar.

Jalan cut across the hall from the access door, scanners surveying the scene before standing in silent dread at the now vacant spot where the tank was supposed to be. Add to the distress signal that they have kidnapped someone and I will pay or do whatever is needed to have that person returned to me.

The assembled droids did not move, a series of coded gibberish as they all fought against their internal programming for the HRD's safety while trying to process her order.

A new distress signal was sent, this time with greater detail as the pirates broke for the cover of their getaway vessel.

Someone has been kidnapped from the Stargazer. The owner will submit to a request of payment for the safe return of the kidnapped party. We fear for the safety of our other guests and request aid. We are a casino and resort vessel with no means of fending off these raiders, please assist.

The vessels outside listed for a moment, trying to discern the message for hidden intent. They hadn't come to kidnap, there were supposed to be medical supplies and other goods in that locked room. It almost felt like a setup as those listening shifted uncomfortably in their seats.

"Sir, I think someone-" One of the pirates whispered to their leader, the trandoshan waving a clawed hand at them.

"Doesn't matter now. In for a credit, in for a pound. If we nabbed someone, there is a ransom to be had." The reptilian hissed, having listened to the whole transmission over their shoulder. "Once the borders are clear, gets us jumped out of here before someone shows up."

The brain of the ship was working as quickly as the processors would allow, its systems dropping redundant processes to power general lights as the emergency lightning came on. Guests could hear the blasters from the hangar bay, some fearing the worst while others with more curious natures tried to catch a glimpse of the ensuing battle as they made for safety.

The shields were almost finished charging, the settings for standard shielding set to the stern and port side as the impending threats loomed closer.

A corvette, and several large freighter vessels were holding position around the stargazer, not yet assaulting the large ship, but both parties had weapons of varying capability pointing at one another. The defensive systems aboard the stargazer were targets to the weapons the pirates had, waiting for what felt like an inevitable strike.

The trandoshan watched silently from their position just outside the hangar as laser fire poured onto their boarding vessel, an agitated hiss coming from him as he moved to a gunner.

"Blast whatever is shooting at our people." He hissed, a double turret swiveling to the area before firing a burst into the hangar. The shields sizzled as the bolts passed through, an explosion of energy throwing the remaining droids aside as the skiff made a break from the elevator to the waiting ship.

Other vessels began firing upon the large ship, the hull absorbing the first round of shots sent its way as ion cannons blasted the stern with rampant fire. Inside the guests were screaming when the oncoming fire began, viewports allowing them to see the assault as the replica droids attempted to usher the crowd of guests with haste.

The trandoshan howled with approval as he stepped back and watched the assault. "Might as well see what the haul is. Soon as they get back, get us out of here." the leader hissed, making his way to the small hangar.

In the bacta tank, now being quickly loaded with much shaking and jostling as the group closed the loading hatch, the sedative concoction was beginning to wear off, marked by unseen gentle twitches of the body inside and a slumbering mind in the earliest process of waking.

Kiff Brayde Rann Thress

 

[Kiff Brayde]

P A T R O L

Ship: CNS Touch of Glory | Murkhana-class Escort Frigate
Tag: HRD Jalan Riyadosh | Rann Thress

Kiff stood up to turn around and was met by the Knights Obsidian that had been traveling on the ship. Why some magical warrior would want to travel on a system patrol was beyond Kiff, but then again, he was a High Marshal on a system patrol as well.

"Reporting for duty. What's our situation, and what can I do to help?" The young man asked, looking eager.

"Distress signal, probably nothing important. We're way past the Armada's perimeter, not much can get past that. Still, we gotta act like its something, it's the protocol," Kiff responded, trying to keep his voice monotone and not let any apathy rise into his tone. Kiff turned around and rolled his eyes, making sure that the young Obsidian Knight didn't see his expression. He fingered a flask hidden in the inner sleeve of the pocket, taking a long drink before hiding it again.

I don't get paid nearly enough for this, was the thought that crossed the High Marshal's line.

Kiff shrugged away his nonchalance and tried to focus on his work, looking over to where navigation was -- it was a small bridge. "Do we have visual on that civie ship yet?"

"Yes, High Marshal," was the response. Kiff's eyebrow raised, and the lieutenant cleared his throat to further clarify. "It's a large yacht, history indicates it was locally-made. Registered as the Stargazer, and manifest indicates that there is a high amount of passengers for. . . a party."

"Parties are great and all. What about an actual visual?"

"Er. . . yes, sir. Sorry, sir. There seems to be some sort of ship, with weapons, docked externally. Carbon scoring and structural damage indicates that it was a hostile encounter."

Kiff frowned. He really had hoped that this was a routine encounter; this was a time to sit back and relax, not deal with some problems. It did come with the job description though, so the High Marshal took another secretive whisk from his flask. "Looks like we have something to do, after all. Prepare a boarding party. You, Knight of Obsidian," he said over his shoulder. "You're up."
​

​

​

​

​

​

 

[Rann Thress]

B O A R D I N G P A R T Y​

Tags: Kiff Brayde HRD Jalan Riyadosh​

Ship: CNS Touch of Glory

"You, Knight of Obsidian. You're up."

Rann smiled and nodded his head. "Of course." He bowed again and turned around, exiting the bridge. He could have awaited more direct orders, what to do, Rules of Engagement. But truth be told, Rann was too eager. It'd been too long since he had a good, proper fight. He'd hoped this would deliver.

He quickened his pace to a jog as he approached the starboard airlock. There, he found a small group of soldiers awaiting the connection. He shoo'd them back and stood front and center.

"Sorry fellas, I've been waiting for some excitement. Besides, none of you really want to get shot at. Right?" He glanced around at the men and women nearest to him. A few incredulous stares and a series of rapid blinking.

"I thought not." Rann smiled as he heard the soft thud, click, and greenlight appear above the Airlock. The connection was made and it was safe to go. He looked towards the console on the side of the door and, with a nod of his head, pushed the button with the Force, opening the door. This was the worst part. It seemed like very little was actually between Rann and imminent death As he stepped forward into the Airlock, and the door cycled, he held his breath awaiting for the decompression that would follow if the connection between ships was faulty, booby trapped, or otherwise nonexistent. With a bit of panic in his eyes, and a grit of his teeth, he awaited, only for the door to open revealing just the simple, functional connector tube. He let out his breath.

"Nothing too it." as he leaned forward and began sprinting across the tube. Still don't want to be in here any longer than necessary.

And with an outstretched hand he commanded the Yacht's airlock to open, beginning it's own cycling system as he approached. When the door opened Rann sprinted into it and turned around, seeing the troops behind him slowly make their way into the tube. He smiled and hit the Airlock again, shutting the outer door and beginning to open the inner one. He turned towards the inner door and withdrew his lightsaber from his waist, igniting it and holding it towards the innards of the ship. When the door opened he was met with...nothing.

"Nothing? Hm. That's disappointing. Signs of scuffles, more carbon scoring but. No guards. Hm."

It seemed a bit unusual. Not a hostage situation. A heist? Had to be. But... panicked. A smash and grab more than anything. They didn't try to secure this place for the time necessary to bust into the main vaults.


As he sat wondering, the Airlock behind him cycled again, and the boarding team entered the ship behind him.

"Oh hello. Fancy seeing you guys here. Anywho, you kids have fun doing what you do." He said with a smile and closed his eyes. Focusing.

...
...

...

Med bay? His eyes opened, and his smile disappeared. They were after something that was in the med-bay. They have it now. He closed his eyes again.

The hanger. fighting in the hanger... Not their ship. A distraction?
...
"Got you."

He turned to the boarding team.

"I wouldn't dare give you guys orders. But. There seems to be fighting in the hanger." He shrugged. and began jogging backwards, away from the hanger towards the main entrance of the Yacht. "I dunno. Your choice." he said as he turned. "Like I said, have fun!" He began sprinting, reigniting his yellow lightsaber as he rushed to intercept the pirates and their prize. And rescue whatever... or whoever he sensed in danger.

​

 

[HRD Jalan Riyadosh]

The pirate docking tube gave the skiff some trouble as the group tried to rush into the opening. It didn't help that a few more pirates from the connected vessel had come with an attempt to assist those leaving, only to cause a bottleneck at the door. The skiff teetered at the sudden stop, wide eyed men throwing their arms up to keep the tank from flipping over as a handful of droids, carefully this time entered the room from a different door. They enetered from a set of private access halls on the other side of the hangar as the secondary access doors opened to Rann Thress and showing him droids moving to intercept a group of men trying to heave a bacta tank onto a repulsor skiff.

The lot of them craned their necks, startled by the sound of a lightsaber before sharing a look between themselves. A curt nod all around had all but two moving to tangle with the newcomer as droids refrained from firing at those jostling the tank. The force slowly began to gather around the bacta tank as a solid thunk could be heard against the side.

A trio of humans, a bothan, and a rodian turned with blasters firing at him and the droids. The trandoshan and wookiee behind them handled the tank, a harried call from the wookiee getting them both to lift in tandem. The tank settled back onto the skiff as the pair split, the trandoshan moving to help the blaster wielding group with a scattergun.

The incessant sound of blaster fire aided in shortening the time it took for the concoctions to wear off, eyes inside the tank batting open as senses awoke in the being contained within. Hands slowly reached out, touching the sidewalls and casting a soft shadow against the already tinted glass.

The vessels around the Stargazer ceased fire, putting the yacht between themselves and the docked vessel.

Kiff Brayde Rann Thress

 

[Kiff Brayde]

P A T R O L

Ship: CNS Touch of Glory | Murkhana-class Escort Frigate
Tag: Rann Thress | HRD Jalan Riyadosh

With the long-haired, saber-twirling beau off to save the day, all Kiff had to do was wait, relax, and drink his way through his flask while he waited for the fighting to be over.

Then a shudder shook the Touch of Glory, and Kiff nearly spat out his drink. Good thing he didn't, too, or he'd probably be in for a Board of Ethics review or two. "The feth? Get me a status report," the High Marshal barked. "What exactly just hit us, and what did they hit us with?"

"Three nondescript freighters are approaching on individual attack vectors," came the robotic reply of a droid. "Military-grade laser cannons. Ship models appear to be retro-fitted."

Kiff stifled a frown and eye-roll. Just enough that they qualified to be more than a nuisance. To a capital ship like the Grievous-class Star Destroyer or even his flagship, the Storm King, a couple of light freighters were less than nothing. But for the escort frigate, especially in its vulnerable docked position, the nimble freighters could prove to be more of a problem. "Get our point-defense online," Kiff ordered quickly, "and divert what other power we have to our shields. How fast can our fighter complement be deployed?"

"They already are, Sir," was the mechanical reply.

Kiff gave a drunken smile. "Good. Let 'em loose."
​

​

​

​

​

​