When Rescue is Spelled E-S-C-A-P-E (Invite)

[Judah Lesan]

The annoying chirps of a datapad woke Ric from a very deep slumber. It was the kind of deep sleep brought on by the hormone crash most men experienced after a very rigorous evening with the opposite sex. In this case is was Lieutenant Marsh, a very beautiful blonde mechanic who worked on military cargo vessels. He was going to be adding another pair of underthings to his collection, but not until after he took the call apparently.

"Whoever it is tell them to call back, Ricky," the blonde said with a yawn and a wink, "I'm not done with you yet."

She chuckled lightly then rolled onto her back as the flyboy reached across her grab his comm. He placed a kiss on her soft, plump limps and smiled.

"As long as this isn't me getting a call telling me I'm getting mobilized, I'll be sure to do that."

His finger pressed the receive button and the device clicked to life. Putting the comm closer to his mouth, Ric greeted whoever it was calling him at this hour in the morning.

"Ric, here," he said fighting back a yawn.

"Ardellian this Fisk. You're needed on base in fifteen. Something's up and we need you to fly as soon as you can get here and get briefed."

"Right, well, I guess I'm on my way in. See you in ten."

The comm was turned off, and Ric looked to his evening companion with a "sorry about that" look. Throwing the sheets off, the Corellian got out of his bed and made his way for the fresher. A quick shower was needed before heading in.

"Sorry babe," he said as he walked out of the fresher dressed in his flight suit. "I'll make it up to you when I back."

----- Ten Minutes Later-----​

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"Briefing is on the way, Aredellian, your heading to Tython, and you're taking Captain [member="Ali Hadrix"] with you. There was a small scouting team that decided to cut through Sith space and got shot down. We're picking their signal up from Tython. You're taking this YT-2400, and the signal is scrambled so you should make it in okay."

Fisk kept walking through the hangar bay, as he led Ric up the ramp to the proffered ship. This was clearly a rescue mission, and a small one. This was an in and out, a pick and roll. Heading up the ramp Ric went straight to the cockpit, and sat in the pilot's chair. This was going to be an interesting trip. Ali was quickly becoming a fun friend, and the best wingman he's ever had when picking up women. Pre-flight was what Ric went through to make sure they could leave the minute Ali showed up. Tython or bust right. Hopefully she had a checklist of the weapons they would need in case this routine rescue was more than routine.

"Fuel, good. Engines, good. Booze in the lounge.... check. Ash trays good. Party music. Big guns, yes."

The uploaded details of the rescue chirped on the computer. Ric started the download, and went back to work. The files would be done soon. Engines were started, charged up. He was ready to take off.

[member="Shiro De'Vol"] | @Lurcano Car'dann

 

[Ali Hadrix]

As if they were kindred spirits, Ali Hadrix found herself woken by her commlink around the same time [member="Ric Ardellian"] was waking up to his own. The only difference was the other woman in her bed had red hair, not blonde. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Ali activated the commlink and held it to her ear. "Hadrix, what it is? What is it?" She answered groggily. The woman beside her remained asleep on her back, just the way Ali had left her the night before.
"Hadrix, it's Solstice. You're needed on one of the flight decks as soon as possible. You and Ardellian just got picked for a rescue run on Tython." Marcus Solstice was a friend of Ali's, same as Ric Ardellian, though the former worked within the same Military Intelligence Unit as herself, and the latter was a hotshot pilot.
"Unnngh, how long do I have?" She asked.
Marcus sounded confused. "I said as soon as possible. That means, as soon as possible."
Ali groaned, and her bedfellow began to stir. Osik, don't want to wake her... She thought to herself.
"Alright, fine, I'll be there...ASAP." She said bitterly, then hung up. Not bothering to cover her naked form, Ali slipped out from beneath the sheets and quietly began gathering her smallclothes and trousers from the night before. She slipped into her panties and pulled her trousers on, then looked around for her heels and her blouse. She found the shoes quickly enough but left them off for the moment, then got down on her knees and started searching for her top.
Kriffin' hell, where is it? She thought, searching more frantically. She didn't want...Elsa?...waking up before Ali had the chance to slip away. Finally she found the damn blouse underneath the bed and pulled it on quickly, covering her naked breasts. She stood up and turned to the desk in the corner of the room, and rifled through it for a piece of flimsi and a pen. She began scrawling on it her template good morning message:

Hey _________, I had a great time last night. Don't worry, I pulled the comm freq from your datapad, I'll give you a call sometime.​

​

:* A. H.​

Ali folded the lie in half and turned to leave it on the nightstand where Elsa? had slept. When she looked up the woman was sitting upright, putting on her shirt. She ran a hand through her tousled hair; it shined in the sunlight that streamed in through the window. She wore black-rimmed glasses that Ali didn't remember seeing the night before.

"Mmmmm, morning." Elsa? smiled, gently running the fingers of one hand across her bare stomach. "Takin' off already?" She asked. Ali was frozen in place, with a fake smile pasted on her lips. "Uhhhh, nnnnooooo, I was just going to...Um..." Ali stammered. After a moment of awkward silence between the two of them she sighed. "Yes. I was going to leave." Ali confessed, standing up straight and showing off the folded note. "But I have a good reason, so lock the place when you leave." She tossed the note with a flick of her wrist; it spun through the air and landed in Elsa's? bare lap. Goodness, I loved kissing those thighs last night. Ali thought to herself. Suddenly she realized she hadn't left, but was still staring down at Elsa? with her bottom lip held between her teeth. The red head arched an eyebrow at Ali as she read the note, then crumbled it in her fist. Ali sighed and rolled her eyes, then took off her blouse and climbed back into bed with the woman.

==THIRTY MINUTES LATER==​

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Ali left her quarters breathing heavily, and for good reason; Elsa? sure knew how to pleasure a woman. She left barefoot with her heels in her bag; Ali ran her fingers through her hair as she stepped out and the door slid shut behind her; she was sweating on her forehead and between her breasts. I probably smell like a shaak, Ali thought to herself as she stepped inside the turbolift down the hallway that would take her to the operations section of the building where the hangars were.
She pulled a small block of deodorant from her gear pack and applied it to her underarms through her half-open shirt, then left the lift hefting her bag over one shoulder. Her armor and weapons were stashed away in the galley attached to her assigned hangar block, she stopped by just long enough to grab them and hoist it all over her free shoulder. She spotted their assigned transport for the mission immediately, a crappy little YT-2400; the vessel was a disappointment even in the eyes of its designer. She grunted as she readjusted her bag and stalked quickly up the landing ramp, dumping her gear in the main galley with a clatter and making for the cockpit. Ardellian was already there; she smacked him on the shoulder and sat down in the co-pilot's seat and pulled up the mission details on her own display.
"Sorry I'm late," she muttered as she read, tucking locks of stray hair behind her ear. "I got..."caught" up in something." She said with air quotes before looking up at Ric. "Or my commlink didn't have connection. Or whatever you can come up with." She grinned and looked back to the display. "So...what's the sitch? Simple rescue on Tython, huh? Shouldn't be too crazy, what's the hostile presence situation there?" She asked, not giving him a chance to respond to her earlier comments.

 

[Judah Lesan]

When Ali slapped him on the shoulder and plopped next to him, Ric naturally looked up at her. Her hair was a mess, the blouse she wore was clearly about to fall off, Ric pleading with the force that it would, and he could tell by the smile on her face that whatever it was she had been "caught" in was some lady she picked up somewhere the night before.

"It's supposed to be a simple rescue, but the problem with that is Tython is surrounded entirely by Sith space. We aren't just flying in and flying out no matter what the briefing file says. As far as hostiles on the planet itself, I have no clue. It's all in the file which I am downloading now."

Ric let is pass for now that Ali didn't give him a chance to answer her in regards to the "caught." His smirk was enough to let her know he caught her meaning loud and clear. The two seriously were kindred spirits, which would normally scare Ric to death, but Ali liked women as much as Ric did, so there was no concern whatsoever that the friendship would ever turn into one of those awkward relationships where they messed it all up with sex, which would lead to commitment, and to end of Ric's life as he currently knew it.

Raising the loading ramp from the cockpit, Ric charged the engines to take off power and pulled on the control yoke. The piece of junk actually lifted off smoothly, which was a testament to Ric's ability. Even he knew the YT-2400 was called a hunk of junk by its designer, but hey, who would attempt a rescue in it. Which was why Ric was saying prayers to whatever force or deity existed, even though as a Corellian he didn't believe in any of them.

"The briefing file should be done downloading if you want to head back to the lounge and pull it up there. The booze stock is pretty good, and if you actually want to stay sober for this mission, there is caf in the cupboard as well. I make a mean cup if you want it..."

The ship cleared the atmosphere easy, and Ric plotted the coordinates for the jump to lightspeed. This was going to be tricky because he wasn't sure the maps he had in the computer were the most up to date. Certain calculations were made from memory, and he just had to hope he wasn't going to send them careening through an asteroid or something. Pulling the lever saw the space in front of them streak across the ship. Ric never got tired of seeing that particular sight. It was one of the reasons he loved to fly so much. Once the auto pilot was engaged, Ric unfastened his strap and headed for the galley.

"You're gonna want this anyway," he said to Ali handing her hot cup of caf in the lounge. "Go ahead and pull up the file, and we'll see what we're up against here," Ric smirked. "Oh and in case you were wondering, Lieutenant Marsh likes to go commando."

[member="Ali Hadrix"]

 

[Ali Hadrix]

Ali kept her ears plenty open for Ric's succinct briefing, though they pricked up when he mentioned Lieutenant Marsh. "I knew she was a dirty bird," Ali muttered, smirking. She hadn't doubted for a moment Ric wouldn't be able to get the gal home.
"Tython is sitting pretty comfortably in Sith space," Ali agreed. "But I don't doubt a freighter like ours couldn't fool Tython's planetary air control and talk them into letting us land for supplies." She shrugged. "Whatever our angle, we'll need a cover," she jerked her head toward the rear of the ship. "And a place to stash our equipment in case we're boarded."
Ali pulled one knee up to her chest as Ric came back several minutes later holding a cup of caf. She took the steaming mug in both hands and hugged it against her chest as the Corellian pulled up the downloaded file. "Thanks Ric," she muttered, leaning forward just far enough to reach the console. She opened the file, and the contents appeared on both displays. Most of it was crap Ali didn't care to know, like the names of those they were trying to rescue, so she skipped ahead to objective information like coordinates, time stamps, and travel records. "Looks straightforward enough," Ali muttered, sipping at her caf. "My, this is good." She said, perhaps a little more surprised than she expected to be. "Anyway...looks like their last transponder transmission was around here," Ali pointed to a holographic map of the planet Tython. "That must be where they were shot down." She scrolled through the rest of the briefing's text. "No info on whether they've made contact or not." She leaned back and shrugged, "I'd expect nothing but bodies at this point."
Ali set down her mug and stretched, then stood up and mussed her own hair. "I'm going to catch a shower, let me know if you find anything else interesting." Ali left the cockpit, the deck plating was cold against her bare feet. She grabbed her bag from the main galley and headed for the 'fresher, closing the door behind her and activating the hot water still. Ali stripped off her blouse and pants, then took the datapad out of her pocket and set it on the sink's edge to let some music play.
The shower was perfect. Hot water, steamy air, soft tunes playing; she was in paradise. Ali soaped up and rinsed off quickly enough, but took plenty of time for herself afterward to enjoy the hot water. When she shut the still off, Ali's pale skin was reddened from the heat, and warm to the touch. She reached into her bag for body lotion and applied it to her limbs and breasts and stomach, then drew the polysuit from her bag and stepped into it. Ali sealed the suit along her side, then pulled her boots onto her feet and tightened their buckles. The body suit was a mottled sort of grey, a camouflage pattern that replicated shadows.
Ali stepped out of the 'fresher with the suit still partially open to allow herself to cool off, then returned to her gear and pulled the plates of her beskar'gam from her main pack. One by one she buckled them in place; the suit was comprised of a leather harness with the plates bolted to it. All the plates were made of durasteel except the chest piece, which was made of pure beskar. It was a dull rust red color, with a large split down the middle of it. According to her mother, an ancestor of theirs had suffered an attack from a Force User using the Shatterpoint ability. The plate had never been mended, but being fastened independently of one another, the two halves worked well enough. The rest of the plates were a similar rusty red, dull in color and not very impressive. Ali could give a hoot; the armor had been her mother's when she'd gone to war, and Ali was plenty proud of it.
Grabbing her rifle, a carbine varient of the Verpine sniper rifle, Ali returned to the cockpit with her ammunition bag. She tossed the bag onto the console and dropped back into her seat, brushing the hair out of her face as she cracked open the rifle's receiver and inspected it. The rifle was one of a kind, a custom made magazine-fed, magnetic-rail driven assault carbine that weighed no more than nine pounds, had an eighty round capacity and featured a scope capable of picking out targets over ten miles away, and hitting them at over five on a clear day. The stock was collapsable and foldable, and the entire weapon was Farraday-caged to protect it from electrical damage or interference. The rifle featured an accessory rail that ran the whole length of the weapon on the top and sides, and half that along the bottom. Currently, Ali had canted iron sights, a multi-function light, collapsable bipods, and an angled grip fastened to the weapon in their respective places. The weapon was priceless, and more dangerous than almost any other small arms weapon designed.
"So..." Ali muttered as she wiped down the weapon's mag-rail with a static-free electronic's cloth. "How was Lieutenant Marsh?" She pulled a strand of hair from between her lips. "Was she fun?" Ali smirked sideward at Ric, closing up the rifle and slipping a magazine into the well before charging the weapon. It whined pleasantly, just barely loud enough to hear, before tapering off into silence one more. Ali checked the holographic readout on the weapon's far side and smiled. "Good to go." She muttered to herself as Ric began recanting his tale of the night prior.

[member="Ric Ardellian"]

 

[Lurcano Car'dann]

Objective: Investigate Origins of Scout Ship
Location: Transport Ship
Allies: Shiro De'vol

Lurcano paced around the small transport ship. He had been hired out for mercenary work, and it had been wholly uninteresting. Despite this, things were looking up. 'Maybe I might find something that's actually interesting to do now, what with the arrival of some unidentified space craft.' They had been orbiting the planet of Tython and Lurcano had been ready to gouge his eyes out due to the sheer boredom of his mission so far.

That was until their sensors had declared a scout ship flying near the star system. They had quickly moved to intercept it, and their powerful Ion Cannons had quickly made short work of the small scout ship. With its systems shut down, it had quickly plummeted towards the planet Tython. Lurcano was now heading down to the planet in a transport ship. He was in full armor and was ready for any combat or resistance he might face on the planets surface.

He had ordered for a small group of infantry to mobilize out and investigate the crash site in case there were any survivors. Lurcano would arrive after they did. 'Hopefully I can discern something about the origins of this ship. Don't quite know what idiot would dare venture into the thick of Sith controlled space but I suppose I am about to find out. He had left orders to the captain of the Star Defender which was still orbiting Tython to keep him informed and shoot down any other unidentified space craft that might continue to sniff around the star system they were currently located in.

'There might just be a ship sent to investigate the disappearance of the scout ship we shot down, or maybe even come and rescue the crew. It depends on whether or not they were able to send out a distress signal before the Ion Cannons quickly shot down all of their systems. Lurcano settled in and closed his eyes, attempting to relax. On the ground he would be meeting up with another mercenary, who had been hired in a matter similar to him.

He knew little of the man that he was supposed to be working with, but he already was sure that he didn't like him. 'I suppose I'll meet 'em on the ground once we reach the shot down ship.' He had moved out with the men on the ground, and would likely be the first to arrive on the scene of the crashed scout ship. He hoped that whoever he was, he'd be sensible enough to keep whatever survivors there might be alive.

[member="Ali Hadrix"] [member="Shiro De'Vol"]

 

[Grrwunhoooll Agaburry]

Dropping out of Hyperspace the AEG-77 Vigo Cargo vessel moved steadily toward Tython. Broadcasting Red Raven access codes the Blockade outside the planet was forced to move aside and let the large ship pass. As the AEG-77 got closer one could see that it was not a simple cargo vessel, Armed with Ion cannons, Missile armaments and turbolaser turrets it was a Waring ship. The hull was tagged with Mandalorian and Blacksun Symbols, Who was this?

As the Ship entered Tythons Atmosphere the armored figure with long black hair. The Ship's Interior was dimly lit and the hum of droids operating the vessel was prominent. Shiro smirked as he read the logs about what he was sent to do and review. It was a simple job in Sith space and the payout would be decent enough to upgrade some new things on the ship. But He wondered who was his assigned partner on this? they would not be needed. Shiro brought Durge with him and that was a enough for any mission. Landing softly on the Planet Shiro remained seated as he scanned the area and the crashed ship, It was 2 miles away. Loud bangs and smoke ejected from his own vessel and several Darkeye Probe droids began to fly about searching for any targets on who were alive and who was the other assign Mercenary.

[member="Lurcano Car'dann"]
[member="Ali Hadrix"]
[member="Ric Ardellian"]

 

[Judah Lesan]

"I don't expect to find them alive either. All we have to go on is we lost track of them here," Ric pointed to where Ali had just indicated. "That means the search radius covers," Ric drew a circle around a large chunk of one of the mountains close to the last signal they had on record, "about this big."

Ric just nodded when Ali set her mug down and headed for the shower. His eyes followed watching the sway of her shapely hips completely undressing her with his mind.

"Have I ever told you, you got a great ass," he asked with a chuckle expecting her to flip him off on her way to the fresher.

The shower was about right to get clean, enjoy it, and come out dressed. Wow, she had beskar'gam. That was something new. Ric liked the gun too, it seemed unique, and he had a clear intuition to leave his hands off it. He did smile though as she asked about Marsh. His booted feet kicked up in the table in the lounge, and he leaned back, arms bent and hands behind his head.

"Let's just say the woman knows how to handle a joystick. Marsh clearly has worked her way around the barracks, and this rescue mission interruoted the long weekend I was gonna have with her. I should have her flat on her back right now showing her why Ric Ardellian is the best she's ever gonna have. Instead I'm here, you're missing out on something red, and we're likely bringing dead bodies back."

The proximity alarm went off, as Ric was about to ask about the red thing Ali had gone home with. He was curious if her night had been as fun as his. It must have because she showed up after clearly indulging a second time.

"Looks like we're here. Strap in we're dropping out."

Ric grabbed his field armor and pulled it on as he went to the cockpit. His standard issue side arm was on his right thigh. A vibroknife was on the left side, at a slant. His rifle was slung over the pilots chair ready to grab once they landed. A utility belt was on his waist, and the tactical vest ready to throw on when they landed as well. Dropping out of light speed, they were greeted by the wonderful site of Tython.

[member="Ali Hadrix"] [member="Shiro De'Vol"] [member="Lurcano Car'dann"]

 

[Ali Hadrix]

Ali set her rifle down along the far edge of the command console as Ric regaled her of his experience with Lieutenant Marsh. Ali knew the woman personally; she was clever and good at her job. She rolled her eyes at Ric's posturing, however. The man was all bravado. It's part of what made him a good partner, though she hoped to curb his ego a bit eventually. Half the women Ali had bedded she'd snagged with a humble mind and the right words. I'll have time to show him later, she thought to herself as the man announced their arrival. Ric stood and went to retrieve his own gear, and Ali recalibrated the commlink of the wristcomp built into her forearm plate to account for Tython's planetary conditions. She wanted to be able to communicate with their charges without any interference, and hoped the ship itself might be able to serve as an additional relay if one was needed.
Ric returned moments later, fiddling with his own gear assembly, then dropped the ship out of hyperspace. Tython grew to fill the view port, and Ali looked over the short-range sensors. "Looks like we're clear so far," she muttered, gazing at the display. "Though I would have preferred a stealthier vessel of some kind for a mission like this...I'm kind of lost as to who the hell thought a twenty-four-hundred would be a good idea. Just kriffin' kill us now, why don't you?" Ali asked rhetorically, keeping her eyes on the sensor displays as Ric brought them closer to the planet. She reached down and grabbed her rifle, collapsing the stock and clipping it to her shoulder plate. Ali tucked her hair behind her head and gathered it into a ponytail, which she secured with a hairband, then pulled gloves out of a belt pouch and sealed them over her wrists. Her buy'ce, or Mandalorian helmet, was clipped to her belt. She removed it and pulled it down over her head, hiding her face from view behind an opaque T-shaped visor. Her voice filtered through the vocoder built into the helmet's face. ::I'll meet you in the hold, I'll get the speeder bike prepped.:: Ali told Ric, then stood and grabbed her bag and made her way to the main galley. She strapped her gear pack to the storage panel of the recon bike, then switched the main power source on just as something rocked the ship violently. Ali was thrown off her feet and onto her back, the speeder bike tipping over and falling down onto her leg. ::Kriffing hell, what was that!?:: Ali shouted over the commlink to the cockpit. ::[member="Ric Ardellian"], what the hell just happened?::

 

[Lurcano Car'dann]

Objective: Investigate Origins of Scout Ship
Location: Transport Ship
Allies: Shiro De'vol

Suddenly, through the comm that had been attached to his ear; he heard static. Then the voice of the man who was commanding the freighter suddenly buzzed in to his ear.

Captain: "Sir Car'dann. Our sensors have detected another ship, just as you have expected. We are firing on it now." -static- "It's a direct hit sir. It's plummeting down to the planets surface. I believe its origin is similar to the first ship. It looks like they were both accessing the same exact hyperlane, though I can not be sure. We did not see it when it first arrived here so we were unable to discern its exact point of origin. What are your orders?" -static-

Lurcano Car'dann: Lurcano sighed, as he rubbed the bridge of his nose to ease his frustration. 'Well, I wanted excitement. Now I've got it. I was just about to nod off too.' He paused for a second, before radioing back in. -static- "Hail Captain, this is Car'dann speaking. Continue to stay on the look out for any other ships, and have your crew pinpoint the exact location of where the spacecraft that you just show down landed." -static- "We will need to investigate it as well once we are done with the location I am currently headed in to. Radio back in once you have the information that I asked for. Got it?" -static-

Captain: "Yes sir. Over and out."

Lurcano pushed himself up from his seated position, as they reached the planets surface. The transport ship landed merely a few meters away from the smoking wreckage of the first scout ship that had been shot down. Around the wreck were various Infantry men along with several droids, securing the area and investigating the source of the ship. Lurcano identified the head of the infantry unit, and he quickly moved to question him about the craft. He was greeted with a quick salute and a brief explanation of what they had discovered so far.

Sgt: "Hail sir. From what little information we have been able to gather, it seems that this was a Republic ship, on a scouting mission. We weren't able to discern why they would dare venture so deep into Sith territory, and what their orders were. There were no survivors. It seems the crash was to much for them to handle."

Lurcano nodded his head, and thanked the Sgt for his good work. He then turned to the wreckage to investigate himself, hoping to gather some sort of information that the other troopers had missed. While he searched, he patiently waited for his crew in orbit to radio in.

[member="Ali Hadrix"] [member="Ric Ardellian"] [member="Shiro De'Vol"]

 

[Judah Lesan]

Objective: Survive a crash landing.
Location: Some dumb Corellian frieghter with crappy shields
Allies: [member="Ali Hadrix"]

As if the universe had heard exactly what Ali had said and decided to play a practical joke on the two, the ship rocked. The sensors lit up and alarms began to ring out in the cockpit. Frak! They took a direct hit. With a fizzle and pop, Ric knew they lost engines and they would have to brace for a crash landing. Damn, Ric wished he had some Beskar'gam about now. The only thing for them at the moment was the thrusters seemed to still be online. The assessment took less than a few seconds to conduct Ali was now calling out for a report.

"Piece of crap sensors missed the ship in orbit. Engines took a hit, and we aren't going to land pretty. Thrusters are online, so I'll try and keep this piece of poodoo together. We'll need to grab engine parts if salvageable after we land. If I can manage to assess the damage on this thing after we land."

Ric was pretty sure he didn't need to tell Ali to brace for impact. If she had her wits about her, and she seemed to always have them, she was strapping in now. The pilot wasn't going to look. His job was to fight with the control yoke to get the nose of the ship up. Ric pulled hard and somehow managed to get the nose up. It was a struggle to keepmthe ship upright and level as possible. Landing gears were activated and landing thrusters engaged. They were coming in hot and fast. The ship was going to bounce, no question about that.

*THUDUSH*

THUDUSH? Frak, a water landing, hopefully not mud, but the thud made Ric think that was exactly it.

*SNAP CRAKKLE POP*

"DAMMIT!"

Gods his ankle hurt. It was broken, he knew it. His left foot slammed into the plating of the floor on impact. At least they would be able to treat it. A small Medkit was in the cockpit with brace and a couple of bacta injections. All they needed was ten minutes and he'd be on the foot. Handicapped for the better part of an hour, but he'd be able to walk at least.

"Grab the medkit, Ali. My ankle, it's broken or sprained... and it hurts like the mother......."

[member="Lurcano Car'dann"] [member="Shiro De'Vol"]

 

[Ali Hadrix]

After Ali had fallen onto her back, the speeder had tipped over and trapped her leg. Another rock of the ship and it rolled over her pelvis, pinning her to the deck. The ship roared through the planet's atmosphere, rocking and shaking back and forth as fires erupted around the interior engine housing as sparks began to fly from behind wall and floor panels. Ali's visor dimmed automatically as the fires flared the thermals of her HUD. The ship continued its death throes through Tython's atmosphere, and still Ali couldn't get the damn speeder off of her. Wrapping her arm around a nearby coolant pipe, Ali held on as tightly as she could, knowing the impending crash was coming and she only had seconds till it did. She heard Ric's update at some point, but the words were garbled; the ship's intercom system must have been damaged.
Despite her helmet system being hermetically sealed, Ali felt as if there was a roaring in her ears. Everything was shaking violently and then suddenly every single panel and strut and bolt in that crappy YT-2400 seemed to collapse. With a great roar the vessel was thrashed against the side of a mountain. The overhead fuselage was rent, and fire poured out the great gash in the metal framework. Smoke filled the hold and Ali was lucky to have a filtration system on her buy'ce. Thankfully, the crash had thrown the speeder bike off to the side of the hold, leaving Ali's legs free. She turned over and clambered onto her knees, grabbing her gear pack and clipping it to her armor's back plate as quickly as possible. Stumbling through the smoke and fire, Ali made her way back to the cockpit, where she found Ric collapsed against the back of his seat, in obvious pain.
Without a word, Ali hoisted him up and grabbed him under the armpit, then grasped the inner thigh of his trousers and hoisted him over her shoulder. She turned as carefully as possible and made her way down the smoking corridor, then slapped the mechanical release of the landing ramp and struggled outside. Smoke and flame poured out of the fresh opening after her. The ship had crashed onto the banks of a small lake holed up somewhere in the mountains. All around them rock faces rose to pierce the night sky. A dense canopy of trees lined the beach and grew all around the lake, spanning the whole foot of the mountains around them.
Ali hefted Ric slightly to readjust where he rested on her shoulder plate and began slogging through waist high water onto the shore. After making it to the rocks and dirt of the embankment, Ali dropped to one knee and laid Ric out on his back, then took off her helmet and set it under his head before throwing off her gear pack and ripping a small medkit from the main pouch. "How you doin' mate?" Ali asked, smacking Ric gently across the face to pull his attention towards her. As he looked to respond, she jammed a bacta syringe into his thigh, then checked him over and stumbled across the broken ankle.
"Kriff." She muttered, reaching back into the medkit. She removed his boot and dosed the ankle with another syringe of bacta, then wrapped it in a Slim-Cast, which hardened over his lower leg, ankle and foot in moments. She pulled his boot back on and left it unbuckled, then packed the medkit away and reattached her pack to her plates. "C'mon you lazy little shaak," Ali muttered, hoisting Ric onto one foot and keeping his arm over her shoulder. She reached for her helmet and clipped it to her belt, sweat was pouring down her face, her hair was wet and soot had darkened her cheeks. Ali glanced back at the ship, which was roiling in flames and spewing smoke into the night sky. "We're screwed." She said to herself, half-dragging Ric away from the shore and into the woods, where they vanished for the time being.

[member="Ric Ardellian"] | [member="Lurcano Car'dann"] | [member="Shiro De'Vol"]

 

[Grrwunhoooll Agaburry]

With eyes in the sky Shiro eyed the control console in the cockpit. The screens were split and revealed each camera on the probe droids he sent out to search the area. Each droid hovered about, much of what they saw was only scenery but two reported a crashed ship with military figures around it. That was his mission there, investigate the first crashed ship. Grabbing his helmet and held it under his left arm, Next he grabbed his SBR-24 Devastation Rifle and snapped his fingers twice. A Growl emitted from the back of the ship as his companion Durge lumbered to him. Durge was a Storm-Beast that Shiro had spent many years training to serve him, he was his best friend. Running a systems check on his Beskar suit Shiro smirked and put his helmet on.

" Lets go Durge. Its time to hunt." he said calmly and watched as Durge snarled and walked to the back hatch, waiting for it to be lowered down. As Shiro holstered a blaster pistol his ships alarms sounded lowly, Walking to the monitors another ship had crashed on the planet. That only meant more credits to earn. The Probes would soon get a closer look at the newly crashed ship and scan the area.

Activating the back ramp Durge walked down and sniffed the air, behind him his owner followed. Taking the Lead Shiro slowly walked outside and looked around. First was first, He had to meet the other mercenary who was on the planet. Pressing a button on his bracer Shiros Jetpack activated and lifted him high in the sky, Durge could run pretty fast and would catch up. Steadily Shiro made his way to the Crashed wreckage intill he came within 1 mile of it and started to walk the rest of the distance on foot. His Jetpack was not infinite after all, This also gave Durge a chance to catch up with him. In the distance the Mandalorian could see several people around the wreckage, they were in uniform and were proper. His best guess was that they were sith lackeys. Approaching them with Durge the Storm Beast couple feet behind him. Shiro lifted his head up some and examined the scene more.

Speaking in his natural deep tone he said " I am Shiro Tagachi De'Vol, Who is in charge here? I have been hired to investigate and hunt this vessel. Explain what happen..." he crossed he arms and stared at them through his black UV protected visor as Durge walked around sniffing. " Dont mind Durge... He wont bite much." he stated with a chuckle. [member="Lurcano Car'dann"]

[member="Ali Hadrix"]
[member="Ric Ardellian"]

(( Actions: Talking with Luncanos men on the ground. Probe droids are searching the area for the 2nd crashed ship))

 

[Judah Lesan]

"Watch the goods," Ric said as Ali hoisted him over her shoulder in full armor. "I kinda need to keep'em intact!"

Typical Ric, his ankle is broken but he was more concerned about other anatomy. The ankle would heal, and two shots of bacta and a cast we sure to have him walking under his own power by morning. At least Ric managed to grab his tacvest and assault blaster in the movement. A little chuckle escaped his lips when Ali called him lazy, and he looked up at her, batted his eyes as though he were some damsel in distress and sighed.

"Oh Captain Hadrix, my hero!"

He limped along as the pair headed into the woods. The forest was pretty dense, and with the cover of night, it would be very easy to go unnoticed. As long as there were not any probes about looking for body heat. Ali would be fine if her armor had a suppression system, but Ric had no way of covering his body heat from any kind of probe, unless they found a cave with a pretty thick rock wall. That's what Ric's eyes were scanning for in the dark. Pulling a night vision visor from his vest, he pulled the device over his head and flicked it on. The world around them came to life, clear as day, only all of it was in a green hue.

In the distance, the sounds of the night were setting a very ominous ambiance. Ric needed some humor to keep his mind off the ankle. He was doing fine, but the pain was still very real. Once they got to the cave, he could take something for the pain. Pointing off to the east, Ric noted that was where the first crash site would be. Hopefully with a more salvageable ship.

"Let's head northeast. Get's us closer to the crash sight, but off the direct route. If we got shot at up there, I'm guessing there's a crew down here raiding the downed ship at the first sight. They'll be heading this way soon enough."

He pushed off of Ali and started limping on his own. Honestly it was an ego thing. Ric didn't want to admit the fact he could move a bit faster with her help. It wasn't everyday he had to rely on a woman to pull him out of a crashed ship. He wasn't a chauvinistic pig, well depending on who you talked to, but Ric,, like any man, had an ego surrounding his manliness. It was feeling threatened at the moment. That's why he was walking without help, and pausing every several feet lean against a tree.

"Look Ali, there is a cave up ahead."

Ric made his way for the mouth of the cave. The opening wasn't large enough for a predatory animal to occupy the cave, so they were fine. Passing into the belly of the cave, Ric knew they wouldn't be making a fire for the night. The light could give them away if anyone was looking for them. Survival training kicked in. For now though, he needed to go over what they both had in their packs and ration it out.

"I have a weeks worth of ration bars, if I were on the hefty side. I can make this last a month if I have to. What about you?"

He continued to dig through his pack, checking his water supply, that was also good. The rock wall was cold, but he had a reflective blanket to keep himself warm. Ali had her environmentally controlled suit, so she would be fine. RIc chuckled to himself thinking about what would happen if this was a horror holofilm. Which of them would live or which would die?

"Alright Ali, if this was a horror film what would happen... who dies first between a hot shot pilot and a lesbian army captain?"

[member="Ali Hadrix"] [member="Shiro De'Vol"] [member=[/COLOR]Lurcano Car'dann]

 

[Ali Hadrix]

Ali remained silent for most of their beginning journey into the woods. She didn't mind Ric talking, but her eyes and ears were focused on the environment. The auditory pick ups in her helmet heard nothing but Ric's voice, though Ali had no idea what, if anything, might be after them. There hadn't seemed to be a significant Sith presence in orbit around Tython, and she hadn't been able to scan the planet's surface on their way in for any major bases or population areas during the crash.
Ric insisted on traveling under his own power; they'd move a bit slower, but if that was the price of saving Ric a bruised ego, so be it. Men, Ali thought bitterly, then remembered her own pride, and the number of times she'd tripped over her own proverbial dick. Can't blame him, I suppose, she corrected herself, though they could only afford for him to get away with so much. Ric seemed intent on heading toward a cave he'd identified, but Ali knew that was the last thing they ought to do.
"Alright, Ali, if this was a horror film what would happen...who dies first between a hot shot pilot and a lesbian army captain?" Ric's words were grating, and left Ali slightly annoyed, so she pushed passed him and grunted, "You do. We're not hiding in a cave." Ali told him, looking around the forest. "The mountains here are already elevated, the last thing we need is to be easily spotted. Anyone on our trail will be expecting us to take shelter, so we're just going to make our own."
She smacked the gear pack on her back, "I've got a thermal camouflage blanket in here, that will keep you hidden from radiation-based sensors." If Ric wanted to walk under his own power, fine. The bacta injections she'd given him, coupled with the brace, should have already been well on their way to stabilizing his ankle. But Ric was the pilot, Ali was the soldier. She understood their situation, and they were in her realm of expertise. Ric had his specialty, Ali had hers. She just hoped he didn't make a fuss about it.
::We need to keep low elevation, hide amongst the forest. The landscape slopes sharply downward here, which will make it hard to navigate if anyone's looking for us, which we have to assume is true.:: Ali told him as they continued onward, heading East along the wooded slopes of the mountains. ::We can move upward in elevation somewhat, but just enough to come out above the primary crash site. We'll do a quick ranged recce and if there's no hostile activity and looks like there might be survivors or something salvageable, then we'll check it out. If not, we bail and find the next transport we can steal.::

[member="Ric Ardellian"]

 

[Ali Hadrix]

Ali remained silent for most of their beginning journey into the woods. She didn't mind Ric talking, but her eyes and ears were focused on the environment. The auditory pick ups in her helmet heard nothing but Ric's voice, though Ali had no idea what, if anything, might be after them. There hadn't seemed to be a significant Sith presence in orbit around Tython, and she hadn't been able to scan the planet's surface on their way in for any major bases or population areas during the crash.
Ric insisted on traveling under his own power; they'd move a bit slower, but if that was the price of saving Ric a bruised ego, so be it. Men, Ali thought bitterly, then remembered her own pride, and the number of times she'd tripped over her own proverbial dick. Can't blame him, I suppose, she corrected herself, though they could only afford for him to get away with so much. Ric seemed intent on heading toward a cave he'd identified, but Ali knew that was the last thing they ought to do.
"Alright, Ali, if this was a horror film what would happen...who dies first between a hot shot pilot and a lesbian army captain?" Ric's words were grating, and left Ali slightly annoyed, so she pushed passed him and grunted, "You do. We're not hiding in a cave." Ali told him, looking around the forest. "The mountains here are already elevated, the last thing we need is to be easily spotted. Anyone on our trail will be expecting us to take shelter, so we're just going to make our own."
She smacked the gear pack on her back, "I've got a thermal camouflage blanket in here, that will keep you hidden from radiation-based sensors." If Ric wanted to walk under his own power, fine. The bacta injections she'd given him, coupled with the brace, should have already been well on their way to stabilizing his ankle. But Ric was the pilot, Ali was the soldier. She understood their situation, and they were in her realm of expertise. Ric had his specialty, Ali had hers. She just hoped he didn't make a fuss about it.
::We need to keep low elevation, hide amongst the forest. The landscape slopes sharply downward here, which will make it hard to navigate if anyone's looking for us, which we have to assume is true.:: Ali told him as they continued onward, heading East along the wooded slopes of the mountains. ::We can move upward in elevation somewhat, but just enough to come out above the primary crash site. We'll do a quick ranged recce and if there's no hostile activity and looks like there might be survivors or something salvageable, then we'll check it out. If not, we bail and find the next transport we can steal.::

[member="Ric Ardellian"]

 

[Judah Lesan]

Ric grinned as they were pushing away from the cave already. He knew his words might be grating, and it was mostly a coping mechanism for the pain. He didn't really mean anything by them, so thought it best to just shut up. The Corellian nodded his head, and followed as they started to descend a bit. It was steeper than he thought, and he almost slipped, losing his footing entirely. Fortunately for his ego there was a thick branch near by to grab hold of to keep him upright. Ugh! Ego be damned. They'd move faster if he let Ali help. He motioned for her to come back over.

"Okay, so maybe I don't have this entirely. Maybe if my ankle had another twenty minutes or so. And sorry... I know my humor sucks right now. I'll just shut up."

The pushed deeper into the woods and down the slope before they were able to start climbing up in elevation again. By this time, Ric's ankle was feeling much better, and the cocky Corellian was able to put more weight on the injury. The direct infusion of bacta was certainly working quickly and the pain was all but gone. If it were not for the cast keeping him from lacing up his boot, Ric could move a bit faster. Ali clearly had received better training her. This was a land mission now, and Ric's survival training wasn't going to get the job done. He did everything he could to push that out, and even made sure his assault blaster was ready to go in case he needed it.

All that was on his mind at the moment was how he wished he hadn't been on call for the weekend. Ric could have been sitting in a jacuzzi with LT. Marsh at the moment, engaging in certain activities that were much more enjoyable than a broken ankle... OOO maybe Marsh had a sexy nurse outfit somewhere. Anything Ric could think of to keep his mind off the survival training. This was a tactical mission, and he had to follow Ali's lead on this.

"Well we need to hope we find whatever we can first before someone finds the ship we brought here, and decides to strip it further. If there is nothing though, Kayleigh runs THI and they are located here on Tython. If we can make it there, then we can get back just fine... hopefully in a better ship!"

[member="Ali Hadrix"]

 

[Lurcano Car'dann]

Objective: Investigate Origins of Scout Ship
Location: Transport Ship
Allies: Shiro De'vol

Shiro Tagachi De'Vol: "I am Shiro Tagachi De'Vol, Who is in charge here? I have been hired to investigate and hunt this vessel. Explain what happen...Dont mind Durge... He wont bite much."

Lurcano raised an eyebrow at the man that had appeared towards the fringe of his camp. He was a rather ugly man, whose face was marred by many different scars of seemingly different origins. He was in a full suit of Beskar'gam, which was no doubt heavy as kark and filled to the brim with gadgets and weapons that could kill you. His armor was decorated rather flamboyantly however, and the Storm Beast he had refereed to as Durge only added to that image.

Lurcano Car'dann: Lurcano snorted, shaking his head and muttering Mando's loud enough so that the man he was addressing could hear. He then cleared his throat before speaking once more. "I'm in charge here. One doesn't often see a Mandalorian working for the One Sith. I presume you're a Mandalorian due to the armor you wear which is unmistakeably Beskar'gam. As for what you've been chrged with? Well we've already investigated this ship, and you've found your vessel. So you must be done eh?"

As Lurcano spoke, the rest of the Imperial troopers eyed the new arrival uneasily, put off by his strange appearance, and the intimidating Storm Beast that flanked his side. Yet Lurcano wouldn't allow himself to be cowed, despite the admittedly impressive load out and creature.. He'd seen people much more threatening then some wannabe mercenary, who was trying way to hard to be intimidating. He'd seen true power, that left you helpless. Despite his factions uneasy alliance with the One Sith, he didn't like 'em. Suddenly, he heard static coming through the line of his comm link once more, and he turned away to address who was presumably the Captain of the freighter orbiting the planet right now.

Captain: -static- "Hail Sir. We think you've found what you're looking for. The ship wrecked half way across the planet sadly, and it's going to take you a while to get there. By my Ensigns calculations, it'll take you about an hour to get there in your transport ship; as this planet is pretty karking huge. You'll have to investigate by your self and whoever you can take with you in the transport ship." -static-

Lurcano Car'dann: Lurcano cursed his chit luck, as he tried to go evaluate their current situation. 'Karking figures. I've got the worst luck in the world. But, hey. Maybe this mercenary might be good for something?' He radioed in to the Captain and thanked him before turning to the Imperial Sgt and dismissed him from the crash site. It would take to long for them to reach their destination. They boarded their speeders and headed back to the Imperial outpost on the planet. Lurcano turned to the mercenary who had just announced himself. "Alright, another ship has crashed down onto the planet. We can take the transport ship there and hopefully we'll be there in about an hour. Though you'll have to leave the Storm Beast, as that karking thing is probably to heavy. Unless you've got an alternate mode of transportation? I can just wire you the coordinates and meet you there then?"

[member="Ric Ardellian"] [member="Ali Hadrix"] [member="Shiro De'Vol"]

 

[Ali Hadrix]

Ali listened to Ric as he rambled and followed along. For a while there she wished he'd broken his jaw instead of his ankle, but something in the back of her mind told her that would have only made his current state worse off in the irritation department. She led him Eastward through the forests; they helped one another when the terrain steepened or was too rough to travel alone. Ric's ankle was improving greatly over the next several hours, though Ali began to wonder how much actual night they had left. The crash site was only a few kilometers further out by the time Tython's midnight arrived; their insertion was scheduled to have been late in the evening. ::We're making good time, Ric.:: Ali told him as she glanced back over her shoulder. ::You're keeping up well.:: They pushed ahead, and Ali began guiding them Northward, up the mountain. The soft, dirt terrain began to give way to rocks and slate slopes, though enough trees and shrubs grew along strips of the mountain's draws and depressions to provide them with plenty of cover. The night sky was dark, with thick cloud coverage. Neither of the ancient planet's moons were visible in the night sky, leaving yet another layer of darkness across the cosmos. This worked to their advantage, Ali knew. The heat control systems in her armor would keep her off of sensors, and the thermal control blanket she had would keep Ric plenty hidden. Speaking of which... She thought to herself as she slowed to a halt and took a knee, then offloaded her pack.
::C'mere, Ric. Tie this blanket around your shoulders.:: Ali told him as she pulled it from her pack and shook it out. It had a series of nylon ties around its edges for securing the blanket to trees and structures to provide sensor coverage over a patrol base or fighting position. Ali handed Ric the blanket and then closed her pack, replacing it on her back.

::We're going to push a little more Eastward, until we've got sight of the crash.:: Ali told him, almost an hour later. It was almost o1oo and Ali could pick up minor hints of activity through her rifle's optic, which could cover up to four kilometers in distance. Most of what she picked up looked like leftover fires from the crash, with small strings of smoke here and there that she could hardly confirm existed. Ali led her partner through a long cleft in the rocks, giving rise to great boulders and walls of stone that cut off their view of the forest below, or the rest of the mountain range surrounding them.
The cleft in the mountain continued for nearly a kilometer, then the walls of stone on either side began to shrink and taper somewhat. Their path, which was no more than two meters wide, began to rise, and soon leveled out at a small rocky outcropping that stuck out from the mountainside. ::Hold back.:: Ali muttered, pressing herself against the wall. The rock jutted Southward, sticking out toward the direction of the mountain's foot. The wall of rock behind them continued on, but the wall against which Ali was resting tapered down and dipped below the rocky outcropping. Ali looked to Ric and quickly drew the situation into the dust on the ground.
::There's a wall behind us, right? But there isn't one in front of us. Our path continues on, but because there's no wall here, any ships covering the crash site could spot us, plain as day.:: Ali made sure he was with her at that point.
::What we need to do is get a good eye on them, but we can't do that on top of the rock there.:: Ali drew a line underneath it with her finger. ::But this wall dips down under it, and we can set up underneath the rocky edge. ::That should keep us well enough hidden, there's plenty of shrubs and what not. And if we have to bail, the forest grows right up to the edge of the rock here. From there, we'll be able to check out the crash site and figure out what we're up against. Savvy?::

[member="Ric Ardellian"]

 

[Grrwunhoooll Agaburry]

Slowly taking off his Mandalorian Helmet, Shiro could only gaze at [member="Lurcano Car'dann"] the man who would be his partner..for now. Placing his Helmet under his arm he shrugged and pulled out a steak sized piece of meat and threw it towards Durges direction. Watching his companion catch his snack and guzzle it down made Shiro lick his lips.

" I Work for various factions and groups, Who hired me specifically is not your business." he paused and shook his head some. " Im a Mercenary with Mandalorian connections and friends.... This eh ship was my job and it looks you Sith goons have taken my pay day away.. Tsk Tsk." As he frowned Durge growled some. " But, My numerous drone in this section of Tython have picked up another ship that crashed down, having unwelcome guests?" Putting on his helmet again he walked past [member="Lurcano Car'dann"] bumping into him some. " My targets have changed, Im not done till i get my pay and some blood on my blades." Shiro made it clear that he was there to stay, snapping his fingers Durge started to walk back to him.

" Nari dayn.." Durge snorted and started walking away towards the crash site, Rising his arm Shiro checked the location of his Drones. One of them had spotted the freshly crashed ship couple miles out behind a mountain. Pressing another button Shiro emitted a loud sound the reached his own ship. " I will meet you there soon." In the distance a large ship could be hard starting up and preparing to fly, As it was Large ship it would take little longer but and Shiro would be late but all was fine, He would not leave Durge behind.

[member="Ali Hadrix"]
[member="Ric Ardellian"]

 

[Judah Lesan]

"Well the bacta is kickin in," Ric replied as Ali handed him the blanket.

Tying it to his shoulders, he was grateful for the fact it was camouflaged. The thermal blanket he had was not one that would keep him hidden, and with the uncertainty of who may be after them, it was something Ric needed. It wasn't as much about staying warm as it was about staying hidden at this point. The rock wall would provide for that as well. The pilot nodded at her instructions and he idea she had. His "talking through the pain" had annoyed his friend, but it certainly helped keep him moving without ever other word being an explitive of some kind.

"The ankle feels good, I'm more than certain I can manage getting under. I'm not hopeful that we're finding live soldiers though. The best we can hope for is a slavageable power cell for the engine on that hunk of junk we came in on."

They would have until morning most likely, and would want to get moving just before dawn. That would give them about five hours to rest and then move. Ric knew they couldn't fall asleep, but they could at least take the time to come up with a plan of action. Ric was certain their ship had been discovered by now. Pulling his ARS-15 from the holster, he checked the power packs to make sure the weapon was going to be what he needed it to be, and then replaced it on the tactical vest he was wearing.

"Let's get down there and figure out what we're doing next."

[member="Ali Hadrix"]