Fated for Deletion (Faded Shroud) [Ask]

[Mike]

Thaw Walore - Mike
Dominico da Silva - Dwarf
Alex Arroyo - Swicked

With three beings in the relatively cramped Samael class dropship Thaw had decided to pass on the piloting to Alex, who was a skilled flier in her own right. Thaw preferred to be able to devote his full attention to other matters anyway. He'd settled in on his hoverchair behind the pilot and copilot chairs, waiting for the enigmatic Dark Jedi turned Assassin to key open the Pit's Hanger doors and get them started on their mission to the snowy planet of Adari.

"Let's go over the mission one more time." Thaw said, always wanting to go into a situation with as much knowledge and preparation as possible. "Dominic and Alex, you two need to clear out Merilian's base of any hazards. I'll hang back at the first terminal I can find and try to help you towards his personal quarters. Take him out and I'll join you to steal or destroy his data, depending on how valuable it is to us. Then we can collect." Thaw's tone was cool and matter of fact, impartially listing off the best case scenario. While he had discovered that things didn't always go according to the plan no matter how many variables you accounted for, it was foolish to abandon it entirely.

 

[Dwarf]

Domenico raised his head at the mention of his name, absorbed in the mental preparations that always preceded a contract. Pushing an oiled rag through the barrel of his disassembled rifle, he thoroughly cleaned the tube, wiping away any errant speck of dust which may have been deposited there between missions. That being done, he fitted the long barrel to the polished rubber-bound grip, pushing and clicking the metal shaft into place. Fitting the bolts, he gave the small metal fittings a final tightening twist and jammed a clip into the readied weapon.

"Understood."

Slinging the rifle on his back, he turned to the main cockpit window, admiring the thick forest of Myrkr, trees swaying in the breeze to form a waving green sea.

"You realise that Garn is a cave-dwelling loner, right? He'll likely have a few battered battle droids and antiquated defence systems."

 

[Checkerboard]

Alex could hardly count the number of things she had had to relearn since taking up residence in The Pit a few weeks prior. With the Force comes a strange sort of external knowledge that cannot be described. The ability to hear a foreign tongue and know what is being said, to touch a droid and know what was wrong, to fly a ship and see how you will be manipulating it just before you knew how to. It wasn’t something to rely on as the connection to that akashic records was tenuous at best, but it turned a basic knowledge into that of an adept. Repetition was now a much more key part of her continuing training upon the surface of the force void world. Piloting was like that to some regard but was thankfully one of the easier things she found she had needed to re-master.

With a wordless acknowledgement Alex transmitted the required access codes and the heavy durasteel hanger groaned as it began to rise in reply. Disabling the ship’s magnetic locks the repuslorlift engines revved to life, drawing the ship into the air simultaneous with the retraction of the shuttle’s landing skiffs. The ship was sliding smoothly out of the hanger before the door had even finished opening. Maxing the inertial compensators so as to cancel the physics out entirely for those within the cabin, she floored the throttle hard enough that they were out into space within seconds, her being as eager as always to get out of the planet’s anti-force field. The navcomputer was working on acceptable hyperspace routes before she even cleared atmosphere so the dropship’s passengers barely had time to admire the great green orb already so far beneath them before starlines burned across the cockpit’s transparisteel viewport.

The Force rushed into her in a blur, her eyes glazing over for a moment as it seeped its way in and nearly overpowered her. Once more she had those extra senses, that extra strength, that extra knowledge, power and ability. Once more she was complete. She sat back in ecstasy, allowing herself a short time to revel in the feeling.

“I certainly hope he has something. I’m all for this mission being straightforward and successful, but I’d prefer if it wasn’t over too quickly.” Alex stated, matter-of-factly as she lay back against the pilot's chair. Pulling up her legs to sit cross-legged in the seat she immediately put work to centering herself. While it might be true that dark jedi prefer to revel in the force as opposed to bask in harmony with it, she couldn’t afford to be overcome and incapable of precision and restraint. Alex purged herself of the excess, wrapping it around her instead, once more in control.

“…anyway, considering we already have some recon established as to this Garn Merilian and his location and capacities, do we have a scan of his hideout? No matter how he’s protected his front door I’d rather that not be our access point.”

 

[Dwarf]

Domenico brought up the small circular disk he was provided before the mission, the holocron containing all available data on a particular contract. Pressing a button on its side, a small blueish hologram was brought up, crackling in and out of existence.

"We don't have much in regards to his compound itself. The Voice knows that he lives in a cave, whose interiors have most likely be heavily modified. Garm installed a heavy blastproof door to protect the entrance, so blasting our way through is not an option. Sifting through his credit records have not been as useful as I'd first thought. We've detected a history of purchasing large amounts of databits, servers, hardware and the like. However, one item sticks out in particular: a TX-8000 Data Compression Unit, made on Coruscant. Top of the line. Thaw may have some use for this."

Rotating the holographic image, da Silva brought up a shifting image of a bulky robotic android.

"This is most likely what we'll have to face. The AF-TX Standard Battle Droid, a 40-year old model. Equipped with a run-of-the-mill wrist-mounted blast cannon, they may cause problems, but we may be able to pick some off at long range."

 

[Mike]

"Recon of the compound will be my job." Thaw provided. "I should be able to slice a set of floor plans soon after we arrive. Maps are rarely buried behind the most sophisticated systems." Thaw frowned at Dominico's description of Merilian's impressive data compression unit. That could be an obstacle; even he needed time to complete slicing jobs. Whether or not he would be able to steal the information contained inside depended on the volume of the data and how expertly Merilian had stored it away. "I don't want to destroy the computer without getting the information inside." he said, "If it's worth twenty thousand credits to the Hutts it's probably worth even more to someone else... or to us. You two will need to cover my back and hold the room until I can slice through that code."

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it though. First order of business is getting inside. The front door sounds starship grade, too thick to get through with a lightsaber. I'll have to help out with that too." Thaw flicked his heavily modified fusioncutter idly as he spoke. He hadn't yet come across a control panel casing that could stand up to it's heat, and if Thaw could reach a control panel he could make it juggle lightsabers.

 

[Checkerboard]

"Not necessarily. I constructed my blade to be dual phase. It's capable of being considerably longer than a standard saber.
Alex looked over the scan of the droid with a certain humor.
I will admit I have trained with that model droid more often than they deserve. Terrible at tracking targets. She said with a smile. "Their photoreceptors operate on an abysmal frequency and their software requires nearly a third of a second's worth of logged progress on a given vector before they can even attempt to lead their target. It won't be any trouble for me to get close enough to disable them."
Almost immediately the navicomputer toned in warning of exit from hyperspace. Her hands back on the controls, the sublight engines had them soaring down through the planet's atmosphere the instant they hit it's gravity well. The ship's modifications made it difficult to pick up on standard scanners, but not impossible, so she had to be fast. She had them landed just outside visible range of the cave within minutes, nestled in the side of the mountain far above the cave's mouth, the ship's engines steaming as they rapidly cooled in the fridged air.

 

[Dwarf]

Domenico swiftly got out of his chair, stretching his legs. He did so hate waiting, especially if there was blood to be spilled. Shouldering his rifle and slamming the ramp button in the same movement, he turned to the lowering boarding ramp, ready to take in the first whiff of Adari air. Damn good thing it's breathable, da Silva thought. The pressurized gas masks always made his face itch.

Leaping off the ramp, he landed feet-first on the snow-dusted lands of the polar planet, taking in a deep lungful of crisp mountain air. The first breath was always the best. Grabbing his long rifle, he nestled it in the hollow of his shoulder, peeking through the scope. Apparently satisfied that there were no immediate threat, he hiked up to the nearest hill, a small hillock of rock and ice barely cresting fifty feet, and settled at the peak.

Scanning the surrounding countryside for a few moments, he soon set his sights on the main entrance of Garn's complex. Set deeply within the solid rock of the mountain, the door was more than ten feet tall, with seven feet in width. Oddly enough, above the door was a jutting lip of mountainside, forming a rough corniche that seemed remarkably dangerous to da Silva. Around this door were discarded blocks of stone, with protruding "teeth" of solid rock growing out of the soil. Patrolling these grounds were three bulky droids, awkwardly walking around, their footpads sinking in the snow more than walking. Domenico could guess that these three wouldn't be the worst of their problems: that blasted door would be. Pressing a finger to his earpiece, he muttered:

"Perimeter secured, you are clear for dismounting."

 

[Checkerboard]

(Ooc: I wonder where Mike is... short post to see if this RP is still active.)

Alex had left for a back privacy room to change. When she emerged she was wearing a thick black bodysuit. Her torso was reinforced with thermal and impact shielded ceramic armor while the entire suit contained a thin energy mesh in a very flexible and adaptable material. It offered respectable protection against pretty much anything. Even the cold. Pulling a hood over her head her thermal profile nearly disappeared entirely, a small clear visor fitted over her eyes completing the outfit. Taking up a white dark jedi robe and wrapping it tightly around herself Alex became all but invisible against the snow.

“Well, all things considered, I suppose I’ll be clearing that entrance now.” She said, her muffled voice coming in clear through the com system. “I’ll get into position. From the looks of the place, however, he’s bound to have a backdoor. Just give me the word and I can make this much, much simpler.”

With no further formalities she sprinted off through the snow, disappearing immediately as it kicked up into a small cloud behind her.

 

[Mike]

(OOC: Sorry for my long absance. I was on vacation. I thought Dwarf would have told you. Unfortunately now <He's> on vacation... lol)

Thaw watched his companion barrel down towards the base's entrance. He admired her speed and sureness on the uneven snowy ground, but then Jedi always seemed to be graceful, even when they were being cut down by blasterfire. Not that this particular specimin was a Jedi exactly, that Order would never approve of a member joining an organization like theirs. But she had the skills of a Jedi and she had a lightsaber. And she was on Thaw's side. That was enough for him.

"Hold there Alex." he said, glancing at Dominico, who was lining up his rifle to give her some covering fire. A good headshot on one of those buggers would probably through the other two into confusion, fish in a barrel for Alex. "Dominico, how do you want to play this one?" Thaw only regretted that they were completely out of range of any tech attacks he might be able to use on them. Only an idiot would let their droids be controlled by a free-roaming signal that could be tapped into.

 

[Dwarf]

[Oshi-, thought you both had abandonned this one.]

His eye still peering into his sights, da Silva elaborated on a quick plan he had made on the trip here.

"Simple. There can't be much more than a dozen droids patrolling inside and outside of the complex. I can take out the three out here before they manage to raise an alarm, giving one of you enough time to rush to the door and figure out a way to breach it. I'm guessing there'll be some sort of terminal outside, so that leaves No-Legs to work his way around the network. Any arguments?"

 

[Checkerboard]

Alex didn’t actually stop. She just kept her com open as she made her way to the entrance. The force kept her on top of the snow even where it became deep enough to swallow her. Stretching out her senses she felt for the edge of awareness, the outer limits of the higher precision sensor arrays located around the entrance. That boundary she couldn’t cross without instant acquisition. She found it and stopped just outside of it, whispering into her com in reply.

“All fine with me.” She replied, palming her lightsaber as she began to scope her possible attack vectors.

 

[Mike]

"That's your cue." Thaw muttered at Dominico, waiting for the other to unleash a hail of shots down towards the three droids. He fiddled slightly with the controls on his chair, ready to crank it up to it's maximum, albeit mediocre speed. Of course, if Alex managed to cut all the way through that heavy door he wouldn't be needed at that exact stage of operations, but it was best to be prepared. Besides, even if her blade was long enough to breach the door she'd be stuck with a chunk of armored plating weighing a ton or more. He hoped that she'd have a plan to deal with that before she started slashing, and possibly break the door's actual controls in the process.

 

[Dwarf]

"Keep your legs on, you blubbering heap of bolts," Domenico muttered into his earpiece. Setting his rifle butt against his shoulder, he cocked back the bolt, slipping a four-inch long round into the breech. While he was perfectly aware that his weapon was old, antique even, da Silva hadn't yet suffered the indignity of upgrading to a standard ion blaster, preferring the sharp smell of blast powder and the sudden crack of a bullet ripping thrugh air.

Setting his weight on his heels, he lined up his crosshairs on the droid standing guard near the blast-proof door. Beads of sweat freezing on his brow, he gently, oh so gently, depressed the trigger.

Bang!

Shouldering the recoil, he pivoted on his left heel, jamming another round into his weapon in the same movement, swivelling to the next target. Firing a shot into the clunking battle droid two hundred yards away, he cracked a smile as he saw it stop, half of its right leg blown away. Like a toppled tower, the great machine came crashing down, smashing its three-hundred pound weight onto the soft snow. To his amazement, the robot's hand cannon fired as it hit the ground, unleashing a spray of sizzling-hot plasma towards its hapless metal comrade. Slow to respond, the third robot's "head" slumped down, as if surprised to see four gaping holes still smoldering on its chest, before toppling sidewards.

"Three clunkers for two rounds," Domenico called out to his earpiece, "I've still got it."