Ask Plot Outpost Blue - Securing the Fuel

Corran Velt

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Cona, outskirts of the Pirate Depot

Desert. Rocks. Sand. The lowest of the low always seemed to pick the same geography for their secret bases, hideouts, or treasure troves. It’s never some paradise world or one with nice libraries. Always a desolate, water-thirsting world in the middle of nowhere.

Corran Velt, the novice Sector Ranger, sat behind a rock outcropping that gave him plenty of cover, both physically and visually, from the fuel depot below. He wore a field cap that matched the terrain, complete with a scarf to keep sand from his neck. His pants tucked into his boots provided a spit-and-polish feel to the whole ensemble. A blaster on his hip, blade at his side, and rifle in hand displayed his seriousness of the mission. A backpack provided some comfort as an ad-hoc chair. The base itself was tucked away in a canyon of sorts. It provided good cover from prying eyes above, while giving two ways to leave the depot - east or west. It would take a rather skilled - or lucky - pilot to bomb the place with any accuracy. Whatever company the brigands had cajoled into giving them this place had done their geography homework.

“Do you know how much I detest pirates, sir?” Corran said aloud, not taking his eye from the rifle scope of his A280C blaster, peering down into the base. “They leech off the honest work of merchants. I ran into a fair share myself. It’s nice to be raiding their stuff for once.”

The young human’s hand acted as a visor to prevent scope-glint from the sun. Withdrawing the weapon and concealing himself behind the outcropping, Corran nodded to his partner for the mission. “What do you think, sir? Two enough to take and hold a base?”

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Kal Zyn Dross

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This was a nice change of pace from all the Red Saber terrorism investigations that Kal had been working on recently. A good old, simple, piracy operation to break up. It seemed like a fair sized group had been using this planet and surrounding area as a base, no doubt putting the innocent citizens in danger, if not outright extorting them for labor or money. It was time to bring them to justice, so when the plan came in, the Ranger had jumped at the chance to join. Of course, some would say they had bitten off more than they could chew, but there were still advantages for attacking in a stealthy manner with smaller numbers. If they could pull it off, it would definitely free up resources elsewhere.

"No doubt they would say they were forced into this life, that it was the only option they had to survive." Kal was looking through his own rifle's scope at the refueling depot, having gotten a replacement after his last one had been destroyed in the prison break. "I say that's a load of crap. I had that exact same choice, the corrupt one being by far the easier option. I chose to be a Ranger instead, because it was the right thing to do. So I have about as much mercy for them as you do, it seems." He turned to look at his partner for this operation, having used his hand to prevent the glint from the scope as well and returning to the outcropping to continue speaking. "Ready to move out when you are. I'll follow your lead and get your back. Let's go pirate hunting. Two Rangers against a base of pirates? They've got the bad odds, here."


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Corran Velt

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Corran couldn’t help but chuckle a little. He had never worked with Kal before, but he found his optimism infectious. Compared to the last assignment with Ranger Darmus Onn, it was like night and day. Not that Ranger Onn was a bad partner, the man had saved his life afterall, but he did often seem despondent during the whole affair. Even before Darmus got shot.
“Point man it is,” Corran replied while slinging his pack on and securing his rifle to move, “I think I saw a communications tower or command center down there. A square building with the three dishes on the roof. We capture that and we can prevent any alarms or calls for reinforcements.”

Finally fully rucked, Corran rose to a kneeling crouch and motioned for the reptilian, “Follow me and stay low.”
The human Ranger made his way down from the rocky cliffs and outcroppings. Up this high and out of eyesight, it would take an alert and eagle-eyed guard to spot them. The fueling depot was hidden and well-protected and very likely never raided before. Even if the pirate patrols had been vigilant at first, months of boredom or rotation likely made it a cushy job between robbing cargo holds. As they approached, however, being seen would grow in risk.

On the way down, Corran would stop, take cover, and scout the fueling depot with his rifle scope. Looking at the layout of the base in greater detail, but also trying to count the guards moving about. In total it looked like three moved about the base, mostly around the perimeter. Their patrols had no pattern with one sometimes taking a cig break while the other two walked around together or they split off and walked around as individuals. No discipline.

Finally making it to the last natural cover before the canyon floor opened up the industrially-fabricated fueling depot, Corran crouched behind a boulder and motioned for Kal to come to him. When Kal got close, the human would whisper, “When a patrol passes, we leap-frog from one outlying shack to another. Avoid the refueling pads, if we can. Too open. Good?”

The single word was checking if Kal agreed more than confirming a declaration of orders. If this task was going to be pulled off, they would need to think together and act together.

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Kal Zyn Dross

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Kal nodded, having all his gear set as Corran started on his way towards the perimeter of the base. The way the young man moved was logical, allowing the two of them to get to the best position they were probably going to get. Hitting the command center was the best bet, then from there they could divide and conquer. The number of guards patrolling, even if they seemed to just be making the motions, was a bit more than he liked. At the very least Kal would prefer for their numbers to be equal. Less possible flanking enemies to contend with if things go south.

"Sounds good. Wait...I've got an idea on something. Watch my back, I think I might be able to even the odds a bit." There was only one guard of the three making the rounds near the two Rangers, perhaps a bit drunk or just confident nothing would happen. Either way, the second he was out of view of his comrades his fate was sealed. Just as he'd passed their location far enough, Kal leapt out of cover as he took out his stun rod. He grabbed the pirate around the man's mouth, keeping him from screaming even as he jammed the rod into the man's back. It took only moments to stun him int unconsciousness. With a deft flick of the wrist the stun rod was put back in its sheath, all the while Kal was hoisting the downed guard over his shoulder. He slipped into one of the shacks that Corran had mentioned, hiding the body and motioning for the other Ranger to join him. Now, if things got difficult, it would be easier to deal with. Hopefully it wouldn't, though.


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Corran Velt

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As the lone pirate on patrol moved past the rocky cover, Corran watched as Kal silently lunged into action and used a stun baton to bring down the guard in moments. The action was incredibly fluid. Had Kal done this before? It seemed like he’s done this before. The reptilian Ranger hoisted the unconscious being onto his back, moved into a shack, and motioned for Corran to hustle up.

Looking carefully for any onlookers first, the human Ranger bolted across the open ground as rapidly as he could, holding his rifle to his chest to avoid any noises generated by jangling equipment. The small building, no bigger than a room, turned out to be a thrown together storage facility for old fuel containers and spare hoses to connect to landed ships. Likely plenty of those around the depot itself.
“I have got to get me one of those, sir, “ Corran gestured to the stun rod on Kal’s belt. With a gap in the meager foot patrols around the base, the way to the communications center was now a tad easier. The storage shed had a second door that opened up on the opposite side where the Rangers entered. Likely to make it easier to fueling crews to get the equipment they needed. Opening the door carefully, Corran got a better look of the route to their objective.

Between the storage shed and there were a few other similar outlying buildings, stacks of fuel drums or containers, support pillars and electrical-station pylons. Everything a fuel depot would need to run. Luckily, they also provided ample cover to make it to the communications building, or rather, close to it.

Sliding out of the storage shed, Corran darted for the next bit of cover on the normally exposed duracrete ground of the base. Briefly looking back at Kal, the human Ranger gestured for his partner to follow his movements but keep his eyes peeled. Looking for the remaining patrolling guards or possible onlookers from other angles, he would then bolt again to yet another bit of cover for maximum visible obstruction. Eventually Corran would kneel up against roofed resting area for maintenance crews, possibly for eating outdoors or cig breaks. It blocked visuals from two areas with an opening heading right to a set of double-doors of the communications center. All they needed to do what get in undetected.

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Kal Zyn Dross

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Kal kept a look out for the patrol patterns of the other two guards, waiting for when they were out of sight and not likely to be back IN sight for around a minute or so. Silently he motioned for Corran to follow him as he made his way to the doors. Luckily, they seemed to be unlocked and just slid right open for the two. Perhaps having to remember a password or using their fingerprints every time was a bit too much work for a bunch of pirates, or maybe they didn't know how to fully program the security system. Oh well, their loss.

It wasn't far to get to the main comms room, where the main comms panel would be located. Not expecting anything else between them and their first objective, Kal froze when he turned the corner to see a guard sitting close to where the panel was, watching...something, on one of the viewscreens. From the sounds of moaning and other lewd noises it was probably something scandalous, and for a second the just-getting-rowdy guard and the Range locked eyes in a moment of confusion and partial shame. Hopefully Corran could do something about this before the guard hit an alarm or called for reinforcements.


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Corran Velt

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The silence drug on a bit as Corran froze just as his partner did. The pirate, likewise, sat awestruck. It was as if their brains had ceased and their thoughts were like static holovision. The pirate guard reacted first and reached for his console. He pressed down a button and shouted, "Help!"

Immediately, Corran swung his blaster rifle barrel towards the sitting guard. Instinctively, he rose to flee and that put him dead in the sights of a close-range stun-blast. The human lawman pulled the trigger and a blue bolt shot towards its target. The pirate turned to run and his unbuckled pants slid to his ankles. In motion, he fell face first to the floor as the stun blast smacked harmlessly against the durasteel paneling.

"Huh? Terk? What did you say? Repeat, over." A voice returned from the communications console that the pirate guard had cried into. Corran immediately looked at the console, reacting to the voice blurting from it. Had their cover been blown? Had they come this far just to lose their stealth right in the door of their first and potentially most important objective? The disheveled pirate on the floor hiked up his pants and scrambled across the floor, getting just around the wall and out of sight. "Terk? Agh. Fine. We'll come to you." The voice on the other side of the transmission were likely the patrolling guards. Based on the transmission, they still had some element of surprise. All they needed to do was to prevent the guard that scurried away from raising any more alarm and find a way to avoid or defeat the incoming patrol.

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Kal Zyn Dross

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Kal almost went after the fleeing guard, knowing that could compromise their stealth, but stopped himself as he glanced at the main comms panel. THIS had been what they had been working towards, and he trusted Corran to handle the guard. It wouldn't be too long before the other patrol returned, so if they were going to lock down communications, now was the time. Gesturing for his partner to go after the pirate, Kal flexed his right arm, letting his armor's built in computer spike to appear. The thing had yet to let him down, which hopefully would be a streak continuing with today as well. After taking a moment to find the right entry port, he jammed it in with nearly as much skill as the actor in the recording they had walked in on.

Even if it was better security than what pirates could usually use, being from the parent company of the station, it still wasn't military grade programming and thus was very easy for the spike to manipulate. It was all over in just a bit of time, one of the viewscreens showing Kal a list of administrative functions to show he had full access. In quick order he shut down all communications, meaning there wouldn't be any calls for reinforcements that day. That would just leave them to deal with whoever remained in the base, then they'd be victorious. It was starting to look like they could actually pull this off.


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Corran Velt

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Lt. Dross signaled for Corran to hunt down the pirate they had so rudely interrupted during his private time. That guard also turned out to be the only one fully aware of infiltrators on the base and needed to be stopped before he could alert anyone else. Corran raised his A280C blaster to his shoulder and advanced around the corner, barrel leading the way.

The room around the corner gave way to a series of terminals and office desks. It looked like a ground level for monitoring or maintaining the various technical aspects of the communications array but perhaps even the whole depot itself. If the pirate was hiding under any of the desks, it would take too long to find him. Even worse, the pirate could get a jump on Corran.

Metallic clangs sounded from a utility closet with the door slightly ajar. The human Ranger advanced rapidly, keeping his eyes down-range and his blaster rifle at the ready. Throwing the door open with his shoulder, Corran’s iron-sights lined up on the pirate still struggling to pull up his pants all the way and his belt-buckle smacking the floor in metallic clangs. The guard froze. A single blue stun round erupted from the blaster and he fell unconscious. Using some cords in the closet, the Ranger tied up the criminal’s hands and left the body hidden in place.

“Guard subdued; returning to your position L-T,” Corran reported stoically over their communicators, “Got a plan for the patrol incoming?”

In an operation, the rookie was all business. Discipline had seen him through all the tough parts of adulthood and it would see him through this. The human Ranger hustled back to the console where he had left Lt. Dross, rifle still at the shoulder but pointed to the ground. It was good luck that the surprised guard had given away his location as it gave Corran and Kal time to prepare for the arrival of the other two patrol guards.

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Kal Zyn Dross

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Before answering, Kal analyzed everything that was available to him at the moment. Full control of the Comms station, stun rod, rifle, blaster, grenades, and the armaments that Corran had. He pulled up a layout of the building, looking around at the various doors around him. An idea came to mind as he gave a small grin. "I certainly do. Get back here quick as you can, I'll need you to help me deal with them. Gonna lock all the doors but one, we'll be on the sides of that last one, so when they come in to see what's wrong we blast them from their blind spots." It was a simple plan, but simple would mean less for the enemy to suspect. And simple usually meant easier to pull off, too.

He had just enough time to lock down the needed doors after Corran returned and got into position, seeing on the monitors that the two guards were making their way there. He got in his own position just as the other doors opened, almost getting seen, but as the grumbling pirates entered they didn't seem to be any the wiser. Perfect. Two shots to the back and they were down, just like their compatriots. "Well...No, not going to talk about luck yet. Let's get all four of them together, stripped, and bound, so that way they don't cause any problems.


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Corran Velt

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Corran allowed a brief sigh of relief when the two patrol guards from earlier were now nothing more than unconscious goons, ready to be secured and removed from being a threat for the time being. All in all, things were going extremely well. Taking the Communications center and removing the ability to raise the alarm certainly made securing the rest of the base easier.

The junior Ranger nodded in agreement, “Too early for luck, but we can be thankful it’s going our way for now, sir. I’ll grab the other guy from the storage shed. We’ll secure the four in that utility closet over there. None will know the wiser.”

With the capture of the two other patrolling pirates near the communications array, collecting the first unconscious guard was a trivial matter. Coming through the only locked door, Corran huffed as he marched past Kal to the utility closet, “This guy can lay off the dessert for a while.”

Once all four had been bound and secured, their weapons and gear locked away elsewhere, Corran shut the utility closet and locked it.

Leaning against the wall for a moment, the rookie took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. When he had caught his breath, the human’s vigor seemed to have returned completely. “Last objective is to secure the fuel containers. Capturing any refueling freighters or fighters is considered secondary, but ideal. Last resort is to blow the fuel to cinders,” Corran listed the mission out loud, almost exactly like reading it from the briefing report. Adjusting his pack and grasping his rifle to his chest, Corran nodded towards the general direction of the fuel containers, even though the walls of the communications building kept them out of sight, “They’re that way, if I remember correctly what we saw from the ridge line. Stealth is on our side, so let’s make it count Lieutenant.”

The approach to the fuel containers consisted of much of the same sheds, storage stacks, empty cargo containers, and portable fuel drums making up most of the cover. Corran made sure to move ahead first, sweep with his rifle, then silently gesture for his partner to move up, then they would repeat this leap-frogging maneuver to their destination.

The fuel containers themselves were a wide array sizes, with two vast circular storage towers containing the greatest share of available fuel. The two fuel towers held most of the active fuel, by the looks of it, and was used primarily to fuel the ships that came to and from the depot. Other rectangular cargo-like containers held the rest in storage. A single guard-house, only big enough to hold one person and a communicator-console, stood unattended. Corran moved to advance on the little station until the sound of two beings chatting forced him to duck back behind the power-station shed that the Rangers hid behind.

“I’m tellin’ ya, this is a great gig,” one of the pirates said to the other, “No more boarding actions, no more risking yer’ neck. Just standing around watching shuttles come and go.”

The two pirates stopped near the guard-house and leaned their blaster rifles against it. “Speaking of great, I got a great meal packed away for our break,” replied the other pirate, pulling a lunch-box from the patrol station. He eagerly sat down, unknowingly putting his back to the Rangers, and began chowing down.

The first pirate pulled on the belt around his pants, “If it’s break time, I’m gonna take a leak. Don’t turn around either. And keep your mouth shut.” The guard then walked nearly out of sight of his happily eating companion, undid his fly, and began urinating on the corner of a fuel container.

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Kal Zyn Dross

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"Good work, Ranger Velt. We're almost done, and I think we have the hardest part knocked out. Still, let's not let our guards down. I've got your back, just like before." He smiled, patting the human on the shoulder as a sign of gratitude. He followed the man as they made their way to their next objective, agreeing with the importance of the different goals they had. He really hoped they wouldn't have to blow up anything, this station could be a good asset for the Rangers at the very least. When they arrived on site, the Tiss'sharl couldn't believe how lucky they were again at how few there were guarding the fuel stations. At the news of the snack and such, Kal gestured towards himself then the guard relieving themselves. He'd take care of that one, he gestured for Corran to handle the other.

Slipping around behind the side of the fuel container, Kal took out his stun rod again and waited. Once he was done and zipping up, Kal struck, striking his back with the rod and pulling the stunned guard out of sight. This time, though, the weapon made a loud crackle when it went off, perhaps reacting to something on the pirate's body. It was loud enough to catch the attention of the snacking guard, seeing the barest part of his companion be pulled away. He leapt up, on alert, as he went to grab his rifle. Kal swore silently, not having expected to have his weapon give off that noise. He'd have to look into this later. Hopefully Corran could handle him in time before he was able to become a threat.


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Corran Velt

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Corran was looking over his shoulder, keeping an eye on his reptilian partner, as the Tiss’Sharl stunned his target. The crackle from the stun baton alerted the other pirate who lept up from his meal, blaster in hand. Corran whipped his head back to the sights of his own rifle. Hair trigger too late. Red bolts shot wildly sprayed against the corner of the power-station shed, sending sparks flying and leaving black scorch marks. One struck true; Corran’s right shoulder and upper arm were singed by the energy round. With a shout of surprise and pain, the human Ranger slammed back up against his cover and slid down the surface.

Corran had been shot. The first time he had ever been shot. A feeling of regret, panic, yet an odd calm swept over him. The physical pain felt far off, like mountains in the distance on a long road.

The remaining pirate guard, both unsure what happened to his comrade and who was on the base, took off at a dead sprint in panic and confusion. The lunch box and the food sat out in the open. No alarms were raised yet but a panicked guard would surely tell the first person he saw.

“I’m hit. I’m sorry, sir. I messed up.” The human Ranger groaned, loosely holding his shoulder with the rifle limp in his grip on the pavement. Corran shook his head loosely as if his ingrained discipline was fighting against the natural fear, “Forget me. Get the pirate!”

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Kal Zyn Dross

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There wasn't any time for words, even if he wanted to attend to Corran's wounds first. They had to secure the base and this one guard was the last person standing in between the Rangers and that goal. Cursing under his breath at the pirate, Kal dropped his stun rod and sprinted after the guard, drawing his blaster set to stun to take him down. He couldn't quite line up the shot, the man spry and darting between obstacles like he knew what was coming after him. It was only after a few turns that Kal realized what the man had been doing: leading him to some maintenance men who were also pirates, to use as backup. He yelled out to them, saying he was being chased, and the two stopped their repairs and took out their own blasters. Now the one had turned to three. Great. Kal ducked behind one leg of the ship they had been working on, getting ready for a gunfight. Looks like stealth had gone right out the window, now he was just trying not to blow this whole place up.


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A few moments after Kal had raced off in pursuit of the startled guard, Corran felt the shock of his wound wearing off and his professionalism taking over. He couldn’t stay there. There was only completing the mission or retreat. The young human rose to his feet and slung the rifle over his good shoulder. The Ranger drew his Power 5 and steadied his grip. He would have to rely on the pistol for now.

In the near distance, a voice called out for help. It didn’t sound like Lt. Dross’ but there was no time to lose. The Power 5 leading him, Corran snaked through the busy and crowded walkways beneath the two fueling towers. The Ranger frantically scanned his surroundings looking for Kal, but to no avail.

After nearly tripping over a large fuel line, Corran found a landed shuttle, though many of its components had been tripped and laid out on the landing pad. There were three pirates, though two didn’t look like guards, but all had weapons pointed at something to their right. One was the brigand who had shot Corran. They must have seen Lt. Dross or they wouldn’t be readying to fire. Clenching his blaster, Corran darted behind a storage crate that was more long than it was tall; only enough cover to kneel behind. With a quick breath, the Ranger popped up over his limited cover and fired off a stun round. The pirate guard from before didn’t even know what hit him as he locked up and collapsed to the ground. The two maintenance crew immediately turned and unleashed a hail of blaster fire. Corran dove to the ground, as the red bolts began chewing through the storage container. The volume of fire kept him pinned and his cover wouldn’t last for long.

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Kal Zyn Dross

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When the fire stopped raining down on his cover, Kal assumed it was Corran trying to flank them. Standard tactics when outnumbered. Another tactic was to use explosives, which Kal had a couple that shouldn't cause a chance to explode the fuel and thus the base. Taking a concussion grenade out of his pocket, he stood out from behind the ship's leg to prime and throw it. Instead he got clipped right in the shoulder, grenade flying away as he spun to the ground. It burned so bad, the pain nearly causing him to black out, but he couldn't let himself do so yet. They still had a mission to do, and Corran had been shot TWICE. He wouldn't sully the man's efforts by succumbing to less. He got back behind cover, trying to think of the next move. Obviously a straight fight was beyond them at the moment.


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The blaster fire turning the storage container into debris slackened. A steady stream was still coming, but not enough to entirely stall his movements. He couldn’t stay there for long or soon he would have blaster bolts shredding him apart. A set of tools and a few gas canisters laid near one of the removed panels of the shuttle, barely visible around the corner of the rapidly falling apart storage container. Steadying his aim, Corran flipped his blaster to lethal and fired one bolt.

As hoped, the bolt clipped the side of the compressed gas and the container began to hiss. It shot across the pavement like a rocket and sprayed its grey gas across the two pirate mechanics. Unsure of what accosted them, the two guards either ducked or covered their faces in surprise. Their barrage of laser fire ceased.

Now’s my chance! Corran thought as he willed himself to his feet. In a crouched run, he darted away from the well-punctured storage box and slid behind a reinforced duracrete wall. It was meant to shelter other sensitive cables and equipment when a shuttle took off from its landing pad. There wouldn't be better cover this close to the pad.

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When the smoke appeared, Kal knew it was his time to act. The leg he was using for cover, a landing strut, was right next to the open entrance of the ship. They must have kept it open as they did repairs, which worked to the Ranger's advantage as he dashed inside while holding his injured shoulder. He looked around to see what he might be able to use, a turret, a missile launcher, anything. What he DID see was the engine's control panel powered on, if password locked. Nothing his spike couldn't help with. Jamming it in, it took only moments to get aside the protections to the commands proper. There should be one specific one if it were set for repairs...Ah, there it was. With a grin, Kal hit the key to start an exhaust diagnostic of the engines, causing them to start up and give a powerful backdraft over the landing pad. Which was where the three guards were right in the middle of, as well as the smoke.

The effect was stunning. All three were thrown back, along with any loose boxes or items, and flew so far they were knocked unconscious when they hit the ground. It was a good thing it had just been a low-powered test, anything higher and they would have been dashed to pieces. Kal came down out of the shuttle, looking at what happened and taking a second to enjoy not being in mortal peril. Damn, but that was a hairy firefight. At least they didn't blow up the base. Small victories. He then went to go find Corran, hoping the other Ranger was okay despite his injuries.


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It was lucky that Corran had taken shelter where he did when the overwhelming thrust of the shuttle thrashed the landing pad. He braced his legs against the ground as best he could, pressing his back against the duracrete barrier. Tools, boxes, and other miscellaneous things smacked against the barrier or careened overhead. As quick as it came, the engines ceased. Using the wall for stability, the human Ranger pulled himself up to survey the damage. The pad had been cleared of anything that wasn't bolted down or heavier than durasteel. The three pirates, including the stunned one, had been flung into the nearest stationary barrier, support structure, or shed. Out cold. At best they would have some bruises and broken bones; at worst they could be paralyzed.

When Kal came down the ramp of the dismantled shuttle, Corran couldn't help but greet him with an wiry smile. "Just crazy enough to work, Lt. Dross," the junior Ranger nodded to the blown-clean landing pad. The Tiss'Shar had come up with quite the unorthodox solution to getting them out of this mess. Corran, for the first time, noticed Kal's wound and shook his head lightly, "They got you too? Maybe we can get matching scars if we ask nicely."

In all likelihood, their wounds would heal with the right application of bacta. The memory of getting shot for the first time, however, would stick with Corran far longer than any damaged tissue. Holstering his Power 5, Corran took a deep breath and exhaustively pointed to the communications array behind him with his thumb, "I'll contact Command and let them know the fuel and the depot have been captured intact." He winced as he shifted his right shoulder to keep his rifle slung over his back. "Maybe request some medics too."

With a quick salute and a turn on the heel, the human Ranger sauntered off to relay the message. The first operation complete in a larger campaign to free Cona of piracy.

//END THREAD
 
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